What Color is your Parachute 2010 – what’s new?

Does anything really have to be new to make this a great book? No, it’s still the classic go-to book for job hunters.  Written by Richard N. Bolles, for several decades, it has been the first/best/most comprehensive source of information and inspiration for the unemployed.  Most people would admit to have a copy of it in their collection, but too few turn to it when it’s needed.

I’m going to make a few observations about this newest edition in the next postings.  If you have a question or comment about the 2010 edition, be sure to add a comment now so I can address your point during the month of November.

Today’s observation jumps out from the cover:  this book is called the “Hard Times” edition.  And Bolles jumps right in.  Chapters 1 and 2 are specifically related to tough times.  If you are discouraged because of the barrage of bad news that is served up daily in the newspapers, online, and over the airwaves, this section is for you.  Yes, unemployment figures are high (and some say will go higher).  Yes, it will take you longer to get a new job.  Yes, there is increased competition out there for you.

Heard enough?  Time for a dash of Bollesian logic.  He takes you through the process of working through the numbers in a way that just might make you smile.  He quite possibly proves that it’s not hopeless, that there is a place for you, that you have done it before, that you will become gainfully employed once again.

Probably the most startling thing to me that he doesn’t back down from his long-held belief that one should begin one’s job search with an identification of one’s passion, something he calls one’s mission in life.

In tough times, it is so easy to forget that mission stuff, to just go for the nearest attainable job.  Whereas Bolles agrees that for now, you may well have to take that stop-gap job, he never suggests for a minute that you let go of what you are meant to do on this earth.  You just may have to get there via smaller steps.

Interested?  Stay tuned for a few more thoughts on Parachute 2010.  Meanwhile, get yourself a copy!

Congratulations, New Graduates: now about that job…

Doesn’t everyone out there know a young person who is just completing some aspect of formal education?  From high school to advanced degrees, our graduates are basking in their accomplishments while experiencing a gnawing sense of anxiety about their next steps.  I have a suggestion.

A brand new volume, just out, may have some information for new graduates on getting a federal job.  Get to your nearest bookstore or library and look at Guide to America’s Federal Jobs by Karol Taylor and Janet Ruck. Federal employment is surging in popularity as its virtues of reliability, good pay, and great benefits shine in today’s tough times.  

In Appendix A, you can find a breakdown of the most popular college majors and some typical federal jobs that use that education.  So if you despair because your kid majored in physical education, don’t worry: he or she might qualify as a program analyst or a recreation specialist.

If you know a new graduate in business with real estate credentials, remind that person about opportunities in housing, building management, and contract specialists.  Who knew?

Of course, there’s more to the process than connecting a major to a job possibility, but this is a great place to begin.  So many people feel overwhelmed, not knowing how to relate to these unique job titles.  

Despair no more!  Graduates, even as we salute your accomplishments, we’d like to welcome you to the world of work as soon as possible.  Get this book and begin your research.

Questions?  Please feel free to contact me at www.anneheadley.com for further assistance.

The Elements of Luck

I’ve never before written a review of a book review, but something so interesting caught my eye that I’m risking doing it.

On the website of the National Career Development Association, there is an article by Millicent Simmelink (www.careerlinkscounseling.com) called Getting Lucky: A Simple Approach to Successful Transition. In it, she reviews a book by Robert Wiseman, The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life: The Four Essential Principles (Miramax, 2003).

Dr. Wiseman (great name!) has identified four traits shared by lucky people that he has studied: They all

• expect good fortune,
• increase chance of good things happening by creating, noticing or acting on opportunities,
• trust intuition,
• cope with bad luck by looking for the good in any situation.

This is so fascinating to me that I’m going to get the book, but most of all, I’m grateful to NCDA’s review by Simmelink that brings it to my attention. And I’m passing it along to you.

The lucky people of this study might well look at today’s tough job situation by reflecting that they wanted to make a career change anyway, that tough times are followed by better times, that new training opportunities are available at the nearest community college, that free workshops and support groups are springing up where they did not exist previously.

Are you lucky? Are you going forth to have a lucky encounter? No one is suggesting that luck comes to meet you. Just as state lotteries remind us that “you gotta play to win”, I think you have to step out of your comfort zone to become lucky.

If you would like to speak with a career counselor, please visit my website at www.anneheadley.com for contact information. And meantime, get out there and increase your luck!

Where Work and Play Come Together – a Great Job

What if vegetables and dessert tasted equally wonderful?

Great chefs can actually make that happen.

What if your job were as much fun as your leisure activities?

The right job can be that, and you can make it happen

Maureen Anderson, author of The Career Clinic: 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love, has identified the ability to have fun as one of her rules of career success. Her message, here printed in bold, might jog your thinking about work possibilities:

Have fun.

My first radio job was with the Minnesota News Network in St. Paul. When I was out with friends and they started talking about their work my first thought was always, “I don’t work. I go to MNN.” When those friends waxed dreamy about what they’d do if they won the lottery, I thought, “I’d still go to MNN.” Back then my title was “intern” and my salary was “nothing.” But I knew I was headed somewhere fun because I was already having fun. I imagined myself on an airplane, wearing a suit, and sitting next to someone wearing a suit too. “What’s your business?” that person would ask me. I’d flash the biggest smile and say, “Stories.”

Try something new when you stop having fun.

It really is that simple. Have fun, and learn a lot.

Well, Maureen has given us a challenge. Do you remember the most fun you ever had on a job? Surely there was one where you and your colleagues laughed a lot, shared jokes, and looked forward to seeing each other each day. Maybe it was a volunteer or intern situation, maybe it was an early paid job… or maybe it’s the one you have now.

Are you having fun? Are you laughing and working at the same time? If so, congratulations!

If not, something could change. I don’t know how to make every career situation jolly good fun, but I do know that it is reasonable to expect that you can be happier in your next job than you are now. If you would like some help in getting a job in which you are more compatible with with co-workers, able to be more creative, and actually enjoy your work, please visit my website at www.anneheadley.com for contact information. Together, we can look at your options (and have a good time doing it!).

A Career Secret: Consent to Living a Fuller Life

Say yes.

You’ve probably heard the cliché–it will be the things you didn’t do that you will most regret. So do yourself another favor. Say yes to more of what you’ve always wanted. Make the list, start picking things off, add bigger dreams to the list. Be the person at Thanksgiving dinner with the most stories because you’ve done the most living. You don’t have to say anything at all–the sparkle in your eyes will make a great contribution to the festivities – Maureen Anderson, The Career Clinic, 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love (2008)

Saying yes opens one up to opportunity, adventure, humor, and a new line on your resume.

Saying yes opens you up to ridicule, risk, and even failure. It can also offer a darned good story once you get the whole thing in perspective.

Saying yes can provide fodder for an interview question. I’ve heard stories of applicants being asked to describe something they’ve failed at. Can you imagine saying that you’ve failed at nothing? That would strongly suggest that you haven’t tried very much.

Saying yes can take you in new directions you’d never dream possible. I once heard an experienced career specialist ask a class to list things they were doing now that they couldn’t have imagined doing ten years ago. Whatever appeared on our lists represented a risk, an opportunity, and an adventure in saying yes.

Saying yes is an exercise with infinite career potential. If you need a nudge toward being that more affirmative person, please visit my website at www.anneheadley.com to contact me. I’ll remind you of the possibilities in risk-taking, I’ll help you adjust your resume to reflect your new skills, and I’ll even help you explain your actions if it doesn’t work out (“growth opportunity!”)

Saying yes is a step whose time is now.

Free! Try it – you might like it

Could the concept of a free sample actually apply to career choice?

Maureen Anderson, author of The Career Clinic: 8 Rules for Finding Work You Love, thinks so.

Read the following excerpt from her book (Anderson’s words are in bold), reprinted with permission, to see if it might give you the courage to try something new in your job search.

Accept free samples.

Have you ever browsed a street fair and made your food purchases based on the treats you sampled? What about clothing–do you try that on before you buy it? When’s the last time you bought a car without taking it for a test drive? So when the stakes are higher–a job, or a career–why isn’t testing it out standard? You don’t have to intern, although grownups as well as students can do that. Volunteer to do a job for free. Help a friend, whose career intrigues you, on the weekends. Ask someone if you can tag along for a day. Anything to get a feel for what the work you’re considering is actually like. You won’t be sorry.

Exactly how do you ask for a free sample?

• You can visit a worksite,
• You can volunteer in a field of interest,
• You can ask your friends who they know that works in that field,
• You can follow news of that place in the newspaper or on the internet,
• You can join a professional organization in that field and go to local or national events.
  

When some of those activities and interests find their way onto your resume, you will find that you are a stronger, more interesting candidate to them. The concept of a free sample is one which can give you a boost up the list of possible candidates.

Would you like to read more of The Career Clinic? I have a few copies for sale at $15 each, plus shipping and handling, and the author has promised to provide an autograph if you are interested. This book is so new it is probably not in your bookstore yet, although it is coming. You can contact me to purchase one through my website at www.anneheadley.com.

Career Common Sense for the Confused

I’ve been enjoying a wonderful new book called The Career Clinic: 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love, by Maureen Anderson. Maureen, the developer and facilitator of daily (!) and weekly radio shows on all aspect of career exploration and job hunting, has provided a few teasers from her book. Here’s an excerpt:

Ask for directions when you get lost.

If you want to be happy, hang around someone who is–and take notes. The more successful people are, in my experience anyway, the more they love to tell you how they became that way. Sure, you can hire a career counselor–I know a lot of good ones!–or go to a workshop or retreat. But a lot of great advice is yours, simply for the asking. Don’t be shy. Do be a good listener–it’s the best gift, and a sweet way to make someone glad they’re investing time in you.

I think this excerpt sounds a bit frivolous on first reading. Come on – the economy is in the most uncertain mode most of us have ever experienced. Employment figures are headed in the wrong direction. It’s a very difficult time to look for a job. And Maureen wants us to be happy? About this?

Think about it. What if we substitute successful for happy? Maureen has managed to make that transition in the above paragraph. Happy doesn’t have to mean the person wearing a silly grin. It might apply to the person who is enthusiastic about his/her work responsibility, seeks to upgrade skills, and has plenty of wisdom to share with you.

If you have been in a car with someone who refuses to ask directions when (to your thinking) it is obvious that you are lost, you know what a waste of time it can be. Could it be the same with your career?

Refusing to ask for help, refusing to consult a career professional, refusing to follow up an interesting conversation that got interrupted, refusing to go to an exploratory meeting of something that interests you – all these are equally a waste of your work life.

Engage! Consult! Question someone!

If you would like to speak with a career counselor, but have been putting it off because it just might work out on its own, please visit my website at www.anneheadley.com for contact information.

And by the way, if you would like to read something inspiring and original, you can purchase a copy of Maureen Anderson’s new book from me. I bet I could even arrange an autograph for you!

Doing what you love – it is that simple

At some point, probably in elementary school, most of us learned that we don’t know much, that there are experts who know far more than we do. That was certainly partly the truth, but those experts never, never knew more than we did about ourselves and our longings.

What did you want to do/be?

That question was important then and remains so. Reality is also important, but your passions should definitely lead your career decision-making.

I’m continuing to quote from Maureen Anderson’s helpful new book called The Career Clinic: 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love. The following lines in bold are directly from the book:

Talk to yourself.

Quit thinking in terms of whether your plans make sense to other people. It’s not their lives we’re talking about. Pay attention to that little voice inside that knows going after still another corporate job is wrong. Sure, some careers command more interest at a cocktail party or will pay for fancier vacations. But if you hate what you do for forty or fifty or sixty hours a week, you’ll probably want to spend more time at cocktail parties…or on vacation.

I once read a story about a man who loved his job so much he was embarrassed to get paid for it. What would you love doing so much you’re embarrassed to get paid? Think that’s impossible, that you shouldn’t get your hopes up? Not according to my sources.

Who decided you shouldn’t get your hopes up, by the way? A few people who did, and were disappointed? That’s their story, not yours. Do yourself a favor. Go after a job you’re so excited about it won’t matter so much what you put on your resume or wear to the interview. Passion for the work is one thing employers consistently tell me is irresistible.

Several times, I’ve had the experience of students and clients who, after suffering through exercises and assessments and feeling dissatisfied with the results, have muttered,

“of course, what I’d really like to do is teach little kids.”

Whoa!

What’s that again?

If you know what you want to do, then why are we sitting here avoiding this obvious possibility?

• because it doesn’t pay much,
• because I might get tired of it,
• because women don’t have to settle for teaching,
• because, because, because…

To which I reply, true, true, true. And you may be a gifted and patient teacher who will influence hundreds of children for the better. And the world needs you.

If you are called to be a teacher, and you know it because of that little voice inside you, then run, don’t walk, to the nearest institution of higher learning and get registered for a class or a program. You are needed. You will love it. You’ll be so glad you listened to yourself.

Need some help with putting some form to that inner voice? Please contact me for career guidance or to buy a copy of Maureen Anderson’s book. You can reach me through my website at www.anneheadley.com.

Words of wisdom from The Career Clinic

As mentioned in an earlier posting, I’m finding much wisdom in a new volume by Maureen Anderson called The Career Clinic: 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love. In the next few postings, I’m going to bring you excerpts from the book and thoughts on how they tie into today’s tasks of planning our careers for tomorrow. The words in bold are excerpts generously provided by Maureen Anderson:

Looking for Your Dream Job? Go Ahead — Get Your Hopes Up
©2008 by Maureen Anderson

Do you love your job? Really love it? If you don’t, you have lots of company. It’s estimated four out of five people dislike what they do for a living, and many hate it. I think that’s a shame. That’s why I do a radio program called The Career Clinic, which helps people find work they’re passionate about–by passing along stories of those who’ve done just that. Here’s some advice from successful career changers…

No regrets.

If you’re contemplating a job change, give yourself a present: a clean slate. Let’s say you’ve spent the first ten or twenty years of your career doing the so-called wrong thing. You can stick with that and have a bad time for the next twenty or thirty years, or you can be thankful for everything you’ve learned so far…and use it to find happiness after all.

To me the word “regret” is a function of time. It’s what you feel after something goes wrong: “Ooh. I wish I wouldn’t have done that!”–but before you realize: “Oh! I am so glad I learned that lesson.”

Successful career changers approach life as an adventure. They dive into each new experience, perfect job or no, with a light touch. “I’ll have fun,” they say, “and I’ll learn a lot.” They frame mistakes as directions, which make it easier for them to get it right the next time.

Good words, Maureen. I recently met with a client who expressed concern about the way he changed jobs frequently over ten years ago. With reframing and letting go of regrets, we worked on how to say,

“Yes, it took me a time to find work where I fit in, could use my best skills, and concentrate on doing my best work. I’ve been there for ten years now. “

It is amazing how we hold ourselves back, quite certain that our flaws, mistakes, or lapses in judgment are apparent for all to see. Nah, others are too busy worrying about their own failings.

No regrets? That’s your assignment – to rethink those awkward times and morph into necessary stepping stones that got you where you are now.

If you would like to read more of Maureen Anderson’s book, please contact me. I have a few copies for sale and will be happy to provide details upon request.

If you would like to talk over your work life and receive help in reframing the bad stuff, please visit my website at www.anneheadley.com for contact information.

Career Risk-taking: the payoff

Last week I wrote about an upcoming radio appearance on The Career Clinic. I mentioned feeling nervous, albeit recognizing an opportunity to enhance my own skills. Thank you to so many who wrote to wish me well, some of whom listened and sent notes of congratulations. I am blessed with friends like you!

When you extend yourself, you meet some interesting people along the way. The payoff for me was reconnecting with Maureen Anderson, longtime facilitator and career expert. Have you listened for your daily career inspiration? I suggest you bookmark TheCareerClinic.com and check it frequently.

Maureen has written a new book called The Career Clinic: 8 Simple Rules for Finding Work You Love. In this book, she has compiled stories of fifty fascinating people, all of whom have taken career steps considered illogical, doomed, and downright impossible, and they are all happier for it.

The stories are organized according to eight threads common to five or six of the career changers. In coming postings, I will be presenting the eight rules, in expectation that they will inspire you to take courage, take charge, and take the plunge toward doing something you love to do.

The postings will begin at the end of October.