Career Planning: Portfolio Careers
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, career advice, career planning on 08 22nd, 2009Just heard about a book about “portfolio careers that’s scheduled for release in 
mid-October. The theme is that more and more of us bypass the single career option. Instead of working in ONE field for ONE employer, we now find ourselves working multiple jobs for different employers.
The book claims to offer a 10-step guide. I plan to review the book (if I can get it) but I have a few ideas of my own.
(1) Make sure that you are not creating a conflict of interest.
Employer A is a bank. They say you can’t work for banks or financial institutions.
Employer B is a dogwalking service. They say you can’t start your own business within 1 year in the same neighborhood.
Now you know you can work for A and B, but each job has restrictions. Get any info on restrictions in writing and be aware that (a) some unwritten rules may apply and/or (b) some written restrictions may be illegal or unenforceable. I am not qualified to give legal advice so you would need to talk to a lawyer who understands these types of laws if you have any question. Unraveling a conflict after the fact can be expensive.
(2) Choose careers that are synergistic with each other. If you have two jobs that call for writing, you may be exhausted. If one job calls for sitting at a desk and thinking, while the other gets you moving and talking, you may be refreshed and energized. I like to say some jobs are yin and some are yang; when you get both, you have a good balance.
read comments (0)Helping a Friend With a Job Search
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, job search, resume, time management on 03 28th, 2009We see many articles about jump-starting your own job search but this articles targets friends of job seekers. The author herself went through a painful job search. Now happily employed, she’s put together these very helpful tips. Just buying someone a hot chocolate or giving thm a ride can make a huge difference, she says. And definitely take a jobless friend to lunch.
Other tips include getting connected on LinkedIn, drafting a vision of your ideal job (even if this exercise seems hokey) and putting together a job search kit.
This article comes from the New York Times. You may need to register toread it, but the Times is very respectful of your info. Go here to read the article.
