If you are considering making a career change you might be feeling overwhelmed or confused about where to start. Change can feel crazy making. A friend once told me “sometimes we let go one finger at a time” when I called her for advice about a situation that I was having difficulty walking away from.
Change is process. There is a beginning, middle, and an end. In the beginning you may be unclear about what your options are. You may wonder whether your experience is relevant. Or you may have concerns about things over which you have no control such as your age or race. This is just your Inner Gremlin or Fearful Voice talking. The fact you are reading this blog already tells me you ARE employable.
Once you make the decision to explore a career transition you might be tempted to jump in and reply to postings that you find interesting. Hold off, there are some steps you need to take before you can start looking at opportunities.
You might make an appointment with a career coach expecting him or her to tell you what you would be good at. A reputable career coach will NOT tell you that instead they will give you the tools and the feedback to reach an informed decision.
A satisfying transition starts with a thorough exploration of career history, interests, and values. Make a date with yourself to go to visit a place that is relaxing. Some of my favorite places include the beach, park, or down under the Brooklyn Bridge. Bring along a pen, notebook and print out of this posting. WARNING: you may find it difficult to answer these questions, so you bring along some Kleenex, too. While you might find it painful, answering the following the questions is the first step towards a better road.
- What is causing you to make a change? Has there been a significant change in your industry or the culture of your organization? Are you frequently passed over from promotions? Are you unable to find work in your field?
- How long have you been feeling this way or thinking about making a change? Days, weeks, months, years? How often do you think about making a change?
- How has this affected your life? Do you feel irrelavent? alone? Do you lose sleep? Have headaches? Frequent disagreements with friends and family?
- What will it cost you financially, emotionally, spiritually… if things remain the same?
- How do you envision your life will be different once you have completed your change?
In MyCareerCoach’s next blog post I will share more tips for making a rewarding career transition
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Chances are registering with Monster could be slowing your job search down. According to an article in the Westchester Journal News over 80+ messages per day flooded the inbox of Yorktown Heights resident John Gembecki after he registered with Monster. The emails were all job or career related.
This information supports my assertion that job boards are not the best way to find the job of your dreams. In my opinion word of mouth or building a personal connection is still the best way to get yourself hired. Below are several examples of how 10 clients that I coached found employment over the last year:
- After 30 years with the same company Rick (not his real name) was offered a new opportunity after he saw the posting online. Instead of sending his resume he called the company directly. Instead of agreeing to a screening interview over the phone he offered to come by, citing that he lived within minutes of the office. He was offered a 6-figure postion at the end of the first interview.
- Barbara had played a key role in launching a world renowned financial services organization over 20 years ago. Within 3 years of being relocated to another country she was downsized. She called her former employer who had left the organization the previous year and he began tapping into his network to help her find a new opportunity. After 4 months of interviewing she landed a new position as Executive Director of Marketing.
- A true strategist, Khalil has a goal of reaching a C-level position by 2012. In order to position himself for the challenge he needed a promotion from Director of Project Management to Senior Vice President of Program Management. He made his goals known to key executive leaders including his boss. He was surprised by the support they provided. One CTO even stayed late to help him revise his resume after a series of positions opened up within the organization. He called last week to let me know he received the promotion.
The next time you think of registering with an online job board, you might consider reconnecting with that former colleague you think about from every now and then.
View the Journal News article in its entirety http://lohud.com/article/20081228/BUSINESS01/812280320#pluckcomments
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- Tags: 6-figure position, career related, employment, executive leaders, goals, hired, job boards, job related, job search, Monster, network, new opportunity, personal connection, posting online, promotion, resume, screening interview, Westchester Journal News
Twice within the past 5 years I have personally met and heard PETER WEDDLE, a recruiter, HR consultant and business CEO turned author and commentator, described by The Washington Post as “… a man filled with ingenious ideas,” who has earned an international reputation, pioneering concepts in Human Resource leadership and employment speak at the Kennedy Recruiting Conference, a conference that is widely attended by head hunters, recruiters, employment agencies and representatives from job boards. Both times I was astounded by his breadth of knowledge and boundless energy and enthusiasm for sharing eye opening information about the recruitment process. So, when I read WEDDLE’s latest newsletter, I immediately got his permission to share the following article with you.
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- Tags: career, employment agencies, goal, head hunters, hr consultant, job, job boards, recruiter, talents. staffing firms, work, workplace
Well, it’s Monday and I am back in the office after taking a week long training in the Myers Briggs Personality Type administration and validation. I am always amazed by my passion for learning, which, in part, can be attributed to my Myers Briggs Personality Type.
According to my validation of personality type, I am an ENFP. ENFP’s are credited with being warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities (for me, learning presents many new possibilities). Make connections between events and information very quickly (I am usually anxious to share my knowledge to benefit clients, friends, family and colleagues) and proceed on patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others and readily give appreciation and support (I just love it when clients report back that they’ve gotten a better position or that the resume I wrote turned their job search around1) Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.
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- Tags: career, employment agencies, goal, head hunters, hr consultant, job, job boards, recruiter, staffing firms, talents, work, workplace
