Another career myth: Career change is a straight line.
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, career change on 04 18th, 2010Most career change comes about through serendipity, not linear planning. Research shows that nearly every career choice and career change includes an element of luck or chance. For example, you run into an old college friend who tells you about a job opening in his company. You hadn’t considered this field but you take the job and discover you have an aptitude.
True Story: A medical social worker moved to a small town with his significant other. Finding no demand for his services, he accepted a clerical job with a real estate agency. He grew restless, so he studied for his real estate license to become an agent. He found his first client when he overheard a conversation in a coffee shop.
Three years later, he was the top real estate agent in the county – a career he would never have anticipated by logical planning. He would have scored near the bottom on any test measuring interest in real estate and aptitude for sales.
Another example:
Following a long job hunt, an attorney reluctantly accepted a job in the finance field. She had never been interested in finance and scored low on math aptitude. To her surprise, she soon realized she enjoyed the job. Her firm encouraged her to take finance courses and one day she realized she loves what she’s doing. She has received bonuses and promotions.
Both these examples are true. Many of us find our new careers by answering an ad we stumbled across by accident. That’s certainly what happened to me.
After years of working in corporate jobs, I answered an ad to teach in a small private college. I had taught part-time in a community college but hadn’t considered a full-time teaching career. Teaching came naturally to me and I found myself thinking, “Why not?” So I enrolled in a doctoral program and embarked on a 20-year career.
read comments (0)Career Change Book: Recommended
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, career advice, career change, career planning on 02 10th, 2010So far I’ve found two career books to recommend: Working Identity (Herminia Ibarra) and Finding Your Own North Star (Martha Beck). Now I’m adding this one to the list. Beck focuses mostly on choosing what you want; Ibarra talks about the search process. Now I recommend The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention by Pamela Mitchell.
Mitchell doesn’t have a lot of soul-searching exercises, like “What should be on my tombstone.” She invites readers to heed their intuition. Like Martha Beck, she believes the body knows more than the mind: if you find yourself feeling ill when you contemplate a type of work, it’s time for a move.
Nor does she spend a lot of time on the trappings of a career search, such as resumes. If you need to writea resume, she invites you to download samples from her company’s website.
Some useful points:
Career reinvention takes chronological time. She points out that many career-changers think “six weeks” when they should be thinking “six months.” I would agree more with Ibarra in Working Identity, who says three years is not unusual.
Besides chronological time, you need time during your week. One of my own clients said she could talk to me on Sunday evenings at 6 PM Eastern. Her weekdays were completely taken. She was too busy to change careers; she needed to take an interim job that would free up her hours.
Functional fear versus dysfunctional fear. Functional fear is based on realistic situations that you have to deal with.
Real qualifications versus negotiable qualifications. To be a doctor, you need an MD. For other careers, you may be able to substitute experience for academics.
My only quibble is that Mitchell can be a little too firm on some points. The term “laws” in the title sets the tone. For instance, on page 27, Mitchell suggests that “Patty” who dislikes a marketing job will not find happiness by moving to Google, which is after all an onlne advertising company. Yet in fact the culture of a high-tech company will be so different that a job with the same title might be transformed. I’ve seen people change their whole attitude to a career when they switched companies or even moved to a new geographic location. It’s not always easy to pinpoint the source of discomfort.
Similarly, researchers find that serendipity plays a key role in both career change and career success. By staying active and following the steps Mitchell lays out, you are more likely to experience the kind of serendipity that propels you forward. But I’ve met few people who logically chose a career and then took a linear path to get a job in that field. Mitchell undoubtedly understands the zig-zag pattern of career change, but she doesn’t highlight it the way Herminia Ibarra does in Working Identity.
Still, this book is one of the best career books I’ve seen in a long time. I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more publicity. The long, awkward name and bland cover might have something to do with it. The blurbs on the back cover don’t really convey excitement and the subtitle is a yawn that doesn’t even describe the book.
Is your career feeling sluggish and unmotivated?
Posted by CathyG in career change, career coaching, career management, career planning on 01 3rd, 2010Could your career use a 30 day “Wow it’s time to do something different and I want to get out there and start winning games….instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching others score the points?”
I just opened the doors to a totally awesome new un-program. Here’s the concept:
Who?: Any midlife, mid-career professional or executive who needs to add some cometitive edge to your career game…in the next 30 days.
What?: This is Get It Done for your career. . In this totally awesome un-program we will analyze everything that’s currently involved in the complex game called your caree. We identify and refine your goals and create a plan to reach those goals without taking unnecessary, time-consuming, expensive detours.
This is a structured program. We are not going to just get on the phone and shoot the breeze about your career. We will chat about what’s keeping your career change from happening and how you can get out there and kick some serious butt. .
Just as you’d work on drills to improve your game, you will have some things to do. You will get questions before each ONE-ON-ONE call, I will walk you through a process and we will come out at the other end with a model and a plan that will help you get a head start on your career change. J
Where?: From your office, living room, patio, coffee shop, bar…Anywhere! . All you need is a phone with long distance access. I’ll take care of the rest like telling you what number to call, recording it for you, and sending you worksheets so you say things like, “Good grief…I may make a 3-point shot after all.”
When?: Over the next 30 days. Well, any 30 days that you pick over the summer. We don’t have to start right now (but my schedule gets filled up so call when you decide go get started).
Why?: There are twol reasons I’m doing this:.
One: I’m getting messages from people saying they’ve just been frazzled by their careers and don’t know what to do next. Or they spent a chunk of change on career tests and feel like they’re chasing their own tail.
And I realize that some folks are nervous about investing the going rate for career consulting because they’re nervous about layoffs or they’ve been frustrated with career planning sessions that led nowhere.
How Much?:
Like I said, I like to see a game that’s played well. The current WNBA season has inspired me. That’s why you are going to get 2 one-hour sessions with me for just $1000 dollars. NO, NO, just kidding. . Seriously you are going to get 2 one-hour ONE-ON-ONE sessions with me for $275.
Sounds like a chance to elevate your game, right?
If you want to register, all you have to do is send a message to me:
midlifecareerstrategy (a) gmail.com with the subject: Career Special
Tell me a little about you and your situation and we’ll see if It’s in my scope. If it is, you can sign up.
Spaces are limited – I can only work with a few people each month at this rate. So go ahead and sign up. It’s cheap, it’s effective, and you’ll be glad you did.
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.
15 career change blogs to investigate
Posted by CathyG in career advice, career planning on 08 22nd, 2009Well, this blog isn’t there, but you already know about it, right?
So go here and decide which blogs you would like to follow. I recommend tracking many different sources of career advice; After awhile you start to get a sense of which one’s got the goods and which one’s got the fluff.
I like Careerealism. I would be careful of any resume advice (including mine) because there’s so much variation from one field to another and one level to another. Before sending out any resume, use your network to get feedback. Show your resume to people in your industry who are used to seeing resumes for applicants at your level.
I will be working to make this blog even stronger. Share your feedback by clicking on “Comments.” Got questions? Email me: midlifecareerstrategy (a) gmail.com
I can’t give individual answers but I *can* respond via blog or ezine.
Career Advice: Challenge your social environment
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, career advice on 06 23rd, 2009When career change seems stalled, take a look at the people in your life. The people you hang out with will influence your success in many ways.
Sadly, you may have to bite the bullet and release negative people from your life. Don’t be too quick to drop someone who’s having a bad day. But every time I’ve moved away from one negative source, two positive people arrive unexpectedly.
Negativity can mean, “You have to struggle. Things are tough all over.” Or you might hear, “Why do you have to work so hard? Life is too short.” These messages are deadly. They echo in your mind while you’re working late or taking an extra course to advance your skills.
This one action alone can get you on the right track. You get ideas and connections that will move you to your goals. You get inspiration to develop new goals.
Don’t get me wrong. Many happy people downsize their career goals to make room for family and other priorities. Just match your social environment to your own goals and dreams.
Career planning begins with a news fast
Posted by CathyG in 21st century, career advice, mid-life career change on 06 22nd, 2009Career planning during a tough economy calls for logical thinking. Yet it’s easy to get caught up in a swirl of emotions. You have to deal with rumors, fears and uncertainty. In my experience, the best course of action will not seem immediately obvious. But here’s what I recommend, based on years of living through economic cycles.
Begin by turning off the news. Stop buying newspapers that display scary headlines about jobs and sales forecasts. Be especially wary of news networks and programs. They have to come up with stories every day and they like to evoke strong emotion.
Journalists are wonderful people but they need startling headlines. They work on a case basis, highlighting extreme experiences. What’s happening “out there” may not make any difference to you. I talk to people every day who are changing jobs, getting raises and moving up with promotions.
Career Change: From Detour to Express Road
Posted by CathyG in back to school, career advice, career change, career coaching, career planning, relocation, resume on 01 29th, 2009Career counselors, career coaches and career guidebooks often give the impression that career change happens in a straight line. But in fact career change typically happens in a zig zag: you move in one direction and then another and eventually realize you’ve landed in the right place.
Career change can also take a lesson from chaos theory. I recently discovered that scientists used chaos theory to help a Japanese spacecraft land on the moon. The craft was low in fuel but the Japanese wanted to claim a moon landing. Scientists calculated a fuel-efficient trajectory that would take the craft to the moon by way of…the sun! What appeared to be a giant detour made the trip possible.
Careers sometimes work the same way. Here’s a story of an MBA (from University of Texas at Austin) who achieved his dream career via a detour to the Peace Corps. Click here to learn more.
Mid-Life Career Change Is Not A Straight Line
Posted by CathyG in career planning, mid-life career change on 12 25th, 2008Mid-life career change surprises many workers, especially executives and professionals who have achieved past success by careful planning. They are often accustomed to moving cautiously. “Should I plan to leave my job after a year?” they ask. “Can you give me a test that tells me where I belong in the world of work?”
Often they ask their career consultants, “How many interviews should I conduct this week? I want to explore one option at a time.”
But real career change doesn’t work that way.
When researchers began studying real career change (instead of rehashing what “everybody” knows) they discovered most career change happens by accident. You research a career in project management. Then you run into a classmate who just finished a degree in information science and realize you really want to work in a library. Or your part-time job – the one you took in desperation – turns out to be so much fun you embark on a whole new trajectory.
Career advisors have two functions. They keep you moving so serendipity is more likely to happen. You won’t bump into your dream career if you are standing still. And secondarily, they help you recognize signposts in your environment. They encourage you to investigate a new path because you don’t know what will be a pointless dead end and what will become an expressway to your dream.
A longer version of this article is available here.
When Career Change Seems Hopeless
Posted by CathyG in career change, career coaching on 11 30th, 2008Recently I came across this question in my e-mail: How do I change my perception of my ability to make a positive career change in the face of continued disappointments?
Here are a few questions to create a context for exploration.
(1) What are some common elements among all your diverse jobs and careers?
If you’re changing jobs within the same field, you might be in the wrong career. Nothing you do will make a difference till you bite the bullet.
If you’ve tried different fields, are all your jobs situated in indoor offices where you are chained to a desk? Or do you have to arrive at the office for 7 AM meetings (and you’re an evening person)?
And let’s get real. Some fields tend to favor people of a certain background, education, personality, and/or style. You have to decide if you want to beat the odds.
(2) What is your career brand?
Are you a first round draft choice or a walk-on? Researchers have found that first round picks tend to stay with their teams longer than other players who perform as well or better. Sometimes a walk-on can become a big star (like WNBA’s Becky Hammon) but your brand can be established early: rising star, loose cannon, high-potential, or misfit.
(3) Are you bucking a trend?
Career fields have rules that can be quite informal but rigid. Maybe you need to get your ticket punched by working in a specific company for two years. Or you need a certain degree or certificate.
(4) Are you someone who doesn’t fit in the corporate or academic world?
Years ago becoming self-employed was lonely and treacherous. It’s still not for the faint of heart, but you have a lot more support in the form of coaches and classes. Go slow and recognize that fitting your square peg self into a corporate round hole can be costly, too.
(5) Are you being realistic about your career goals?
Often a client will call to share a major challenge they’re experiencing at work. And often I respond, “You know, just about everyone I know has that problem.”
Other clients say, “I want a career with short hours, low stress and a six-figure income.” This combination is possible but it’s quite rare.
