Fast forward to 2011 – LinkedIn remains the social network of choice for job search. Twitter and Facebook, the new kids on the block, have impacted job search strategy so much that traditional resumes and cover letters are consolidated into CareerComm.

CareerComm is the 21^st Century version of the career portfolio. In addition to your resume, cover letter, and thank you letter, your CareerComm package must include:

• Branded Resume with High-Impact Pitch Profile: shorter, sweeter and demonstrates value from the first word on. Accomplishments are the size of a tweet (140 characters) and support high-impact power profiles. The reader can easily scan critical data.
• Cover Letter: enforces your brand and guides hiring managers, HR staff, and recruiters, etc. through the key points of your resume.
• Power Note(s): immediately grab the attention of hiring managers and are used when both sending your resume by email and with email follow-ups.
• Personal Marketing Brief: provides people in your network with the names of companies and people on your target list and talking points to get you in the door.
• Personally Dynamic Value Driven LinkedIn Bio: differentiates you from people inside and outside your network.
• Branded Bio Suite: puts the perfect document for every event at your fingertips. From articles and introductions to corporate announcements, these documents project your brand in as little as 25 words.
• Thank You Letter: impress hiring managers, recruiters, and HR specialists by sending them a powerful letter within hours of your interview.

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– Vigyan Bhairava, Ancient Hindu Text

It has been a while since my last posting. Which was due, in part, to some major changes my husband and  I made over the past year. The biggest change was the sale of my house.  However, the move has favorably  effected every area  of my life. Each step I took was surprisingly similar to the process of making a career transition or job change. Therefore, I offer up so both what I learned and what was reinforced along the way.

• Square Pegs Are Not Made to Fit Into Round Holes: While I loved my physical home, it was a poor fit in terms of both my husband’s and my values, wants, needs, and desires. Much like someone who is unhappy with their employer or career, no matter how hard we tried to work to resolve things the same issues kept coming up.
• Face the Problem: It took both the passing of time and outside support for my husband and I to take a realistic look at our living situation. With the assistance of Robin Vaccai Yess, CFP , an independent, fee only financial adviser who objectively yet passionately confirmed the source of our trouble.  Almost 7 years to the day we moved in, we surrendered and put the house on the market.
• Prepare for Change: Aside from getting our house ready to go on the market, we had to create a criteria to find a new home that we would be happy in. While we were clear on what  didn’t work for us, we had to create a vision of what would work. I applied the same principles that I use with someone who wants to make a career transition to my own life. We visited  neighborhoods at  different times during the day and night, questioned local residents about the area, and clocked how long it would take to travel to and from New York before we narrowed down our options.
• Expect the Unexpected: If you have ever been in a job search you know things can quickly change. Early on in our search, I fell in love with a house. While I thought it was a perfect fit, the seller had a different opinion and accepted another offer. Shortly after that, a personal situation arose, which took priority. We took the house off the market for a few months.
• Find the Opportunity in the Challenge Once our situation was resolved, we were ready to make the move. We got an offer the first day we put our house back on the market. While it wasn’t while it wasn’t our ideal number, it was good given the market conditions. We accepted the offer and ramped up our search. With less then 3 months to pick our new home we explored our options. I thought I wanted another house yet we could not find anything we liked. As time ticked by, we considered other options and eventually found a wonderful co-op that would accept us and our 2 dogs. Within less then a month I was on the gardening committee and had made 2 new friends.  I never would have imagined that we could be so happy living in an apartment again.

What isn’t working in your life? What is one thing you can to change it?

But we’re alone now, and I’m singing this song for you

Not to date myself, I saw Leon Russel perform this song at the Nassau Coliseum over 30 years ago. And like the song, I’ve made some bad rhyme…Or have I? For sanity’s sake, I’ve chosen to view many of my decisions as stepping stones on the road to something better. Whether I am an eternal optimist or just a plain old Polyanna, I believe that when I view my past decisions as being bad or wrong I am rejecting a part of myself. Every decision I’ve ever made has brought me to my current place and time. Therefore, I am launching this blog with a few ideas on preparing for a rewarding career or job change.

Everyday I coach people who are faced with difficult decisions about their lives and careers. Good, smart people, who want to improve their lives. Some are anxious to get to the next stage of their careers while others are so paralyzed by the thought of change that they can’t get out of the starting gate. Regardless of where you are emotionally, change takes time and is most effective when made a step at a time.

Like a storm that is brewing change is precipitated has its own signs. Come Monday morning, you might feel an ache in the pit of your stomach because things are not the same at office. Perhaps you find yourself arriving later and leaving earlier because you no longer feel challenged. Your organization might be in the process of restructuring and you find yourself wondering how long it will be before you’re included in the exodus. Perhaps you’ve recently experienced a major life event such as the birth of a child or have entered a new decade of your life. Whatever the catalyst, it is okay, even healthy to stretch yourself. The trick is to be clear as to your intention.

Wilkipedia defines intention as a course of action that a person intends to follow. Miriam Webster defines it as 1. Determination to act in a certain way; 3. What one intends to do or bring about. Before you start sending out résumés, I advise you to answer the following questions:

• What will a career or job change mean to you?
• What do you want more of in your next position?
• Where do you see yourself one year from now? Two years? Five?
• Are your goals S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Tangible?

Gaining clarity is only the first step on the road to a new career. If you have made or are contemplating a career or job change I invite you to share your comments here.