The powers-that-be are destroying my office.

Our entire office area is getting remodeled. And in this New World order, I’ve been cubed. Again.

So when I get back from Christmas break, my office (that I share) will have been demolished and I’ll be housed in a cubicle suite, they call it. A suite to share with a roomie, a cubby mate. A cubie (pronounced q-b please!).

I admit it’s a much better use of our space. But, geez! What does it take to get an office? Sometimes a girl just needs a quiet place to work, in peace, with her personal noises. Is that so much to ask for? I guess this brings us back to my previous blog entry.

Here’s what transpired at the doctor’s office: “Your blood work came back and you’re not allergic to anything.” “Nothing?” “No. So let’s try antibiotics. It’s usually prescribed to those who picked up E. coli somewhere. Like if you traveled abroad.” “Like a Third World country?” “Yes. But it might help in your case.”

Great. So no real reason for my strange gastrointestinal noises and bloating-deflating routine. But this 10-day regimen of Ebola- or E. coli-killing medicine may quash this problem — along with my will to live. OK, no. Let’s not be dramatic. Well, I am splattering my guts onto a blog. So let’s! (Actually no one’s reading this thing anyway). These drugs may cause diarrhea, gas, headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. So during a meeting at work I’ll feel the urgent need to go to the bathroom right as I’m supposed to speak. Then I’ll be in the women’s room for so long that I won’t want to come back into the meeting, where my notepad and steaming cup of tea are still sitting. Lovely scenario. I see it. Do you?

But wait. These are these possible side effects of… everything! Eating a hamburger or even waking up in the morning can give you any combination of these side effects. Someone gets killed everyday in this country just by driving to work. And remember, this medicine may allow me to work in comfort, without being at the mercy of my bodily sounds. This is no small desire, I say.

Yet it’s this ominous threat that helps spurn my fears, my motivation, to keep plugging away Monday through Friday; so that one day, I’ll have my own freaking office. Maybe even with a personal bathroom. No, no. I don’t want to sound greedy. That’s so 2006. Just my own bit of square footage, so my GI system can have at it, if it so pleases. Little fucker!

But I ask again: Will this medicine clean out these noisy bugs in me, along with my work ethic? Without this fear hanging over me, will I work just as hard? Will prestige and money be enough to motivate me? I wouldn’t say I make a lot of money, but enough. Or am I just settling?

I’ve been thinking about this and imagined something. Would I still want to be here if I had an office with a private bathroom? Heck, even with picture windows and a view? The answer was simple. No, I wouldn’t.

Why? There are a couple of reasons. First, I hate working with some people around me. I know we all have them: ingratiating, manipulative, meek, defensive, stressed-out, disingenuous clock-watchers. Maybe I’m being idealistic, but I don’t think it has to be this way. If there’s mutual respect, resources, leadership and organization, work can be places of incredible worth and fun productivity. And yes, even during a recession. Second, I’m not enjoying the work because I’m not quite in the right field, again. A second career change, so what? That’s better than having a really bad, late middle-life crisis, right? And this time around, it won’t be as dramatic of a career change. (Refer to my previous blog about my first career change).

So with or without an office, presidential cubicle suite or embarrassing sounds from my belly, I need to move on. It’s not an easy decision. But I know it’s the right one. I can feel it. I can’t accept working here any longer.

After I realized this, a funny thing happened. I found myself calling on my 20’s. When I, all of us, feared nothing. We walked, skipped actually, into unfamiliar corners, with cigarettes and drinks in hand. I did all this unafraid: of terminal diseases, failure, losing my life savings (I had none at the time) or bodily noises. This recklessness is foolish, of course. And we all looked like idiots. But with some hindsight, means, planning and good insurance policies, this lack of fear is simply precious. I mean, look at me! I’m starting to worry about not being worried enough! What happened to taking chances for something better?

So, I went to the pharmacist to pick up my prescription. What’s a little bout of diarrhea and nausea — all in the name of killing off Third World-born bacteria? I mean I’ve already been humiliated by these strange noises coming from my GI system. I’m still scared, but I’ll try not to be.

“Did you go somewhere far?” the pharmacist asked.

“No. But I will.”

In an ideal world, your experience in a particular field is considered an asset. But for serial reinventors, experience can sometimes be a double-edged sword, pigeonholing you into a career when you’re ready to make a change.

Employers assume you are the sum of your past jobs: accountant, engineer, lawyer, waitress.  So those are the jobs you continue to be offered, even when you’re ready to try something completely different. Soon, the gravitation pull of your experience can begin to feel like an anchor, tying you to your past.

That’s why, when you’re trying to make a change, it’s important to have someone in your corner who can see and encourage you in your new role.

Just ask Leo.

Like many serial reinventors, Leo was stuck in a job he never chose. But in Leo’s case, his resume was very nearly a death sentence.

Leo is a Pit Bull. He is also a former fight bust dog who once belonged to infamous NFL quarterback and convicted felon, Michael Vick. He is one of 50 dogs rescued in the 2008 raid on Vick’s Bad Newz kennels.

When Leo was rescued, the only thing people knew about him was that he came from a dog fighting ring. In other words, he was destined to kill or be killed. Even animal advocates are divided in their opinions as to whether fight bust dogs can be rehabilitated. Many say they cannot be saved and should be immediately euthanized.

For others, the name of the breed alone is enough to conjure a whole host of negative associations. Some cities, like Denver, Colorado, have even banned Pit Bulls and any dogs that even remotely resemble a Pit Bull, forcing owners to either move or turn in their dogs to be euthanized.

So, based on his resume, Leo should be dead.

Fortunately, when Marthina McClay met Leo, she saw something other people didn’t.  “He had that people-loving nature that is the hallmark of temperament-correct Pit Bulls,” she says. “People don’t realize that these dogs are bred to love humans, it’s actually built into their nature.”

Marthina is the founder of Our Pack, a non-profit Pit Bull rescue group, and a certified dog trainer and behavior counselor. (Disclosure: I volunteer with Our Pack). Her decision to foster and train Leo, and later to adopt him permanently, made national news headlines, including the cover of the Washington Post.

Marthina wasn’t surprised by Leo’s willingness to move on. She says he simply needed to learn some new skills.  “He was like a bull in a china shop when we brought him home,” she laughs. “He had never been taught any manners, so he jumped on the couch, jumped on people and was just really boisterous.”

Changing his behavior, Marthina says, was just a matter of training. “Manners you can teach, and with his people-loving temperament, I knew he could learn.”

Leo proved Marthina right. In just five weeks he achieved his certification as a therapy dog. Now, Leo spends his days visiting cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. A therapy dog’s primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it and to enjoy that contact. According to his fans, Leo shines at his work.

Watch Leo at work.

“I’ve worked with hundreds of dogs,” says Marthina. “People are drawn to Leo. I’ve never had a dog that was so magnetic.”

Despite his rough start, Leo doesn’t let his past dictate his future. He was quick to recognize an opportunity and move on. He just needed someone to believe that he could. Other Pit Bulls have followed in his footsteps, including Jakob, Belinda and Stella, three Pit Bulls that were rescued in the largest fight bust in U.S. history this past summer. They are training to join Leo in his therapy work.

If you’re contemplating a major life or career change, my advice is to take a lesson from Leo: Stay open to new opportunities. Make sure you have someone in your corner who can envision you in your new role, and help you develop the skills you need to succeed. And when the opportunity presents itself, move forward.

To learn more about Leo, visit Our Pack web site.

QUESTION:

December 21, 2009 by sparktalk

Dear Experts,

Before I ask my question, I just wanted to say thank you for all the advice you have provided for all the job seekers out there, including myself. Personally, it has helped me grow leaps and bounds over the past few months.

About 3 weeks ago, I applied for a position with a local sports team that seemed like a great fit for my abilities and vice versa. First time, I sent my application materials and waited a week for a call back; after waiting, I decided to place a call to the hiring manager. He said he never received it and suggested I send it again. I re-sent it and waited another week. After no word on the process, I called again and spoke to the same gentleman.

After a short conversation, he said they are reviewing resumes and suggested I contact him in another week to see if I made it to the interview pile. So, I did as I was asked and waited. Another week goes by and upon calling once more, he said they are still reviewing resumes but remembered me due to my ability to follow up. Three days later, I saw the job posted again. Should I place one more call or move on?

ANSWER:

You have nothing to lose in following up at this point. If they have decided not to hire you for some reason, you may be able to find out why and change course if necessary on future applications. The hiring manager noted your follow up skills as being a positive quality and will likely find your continued follow up positive as well.

I can’t count the number of times that a scenario like yours has resulted in an interview and job offer from another company. The hiring manager may know of a similar position to which he or she can refer you and even give a nod to your efforts.

The bottom line is – it is better to have more information than less, even if it might be difficult to hear!

Read more articles:

http://www.examiner.com/x-20518-Wilmington-Career-Transition-Examiner

http://www.marysevinsky.wordpress.com

http://www.twitter.com/marysevinsky

Delaware Job Network

Email:

mary_sevinsky@hotmail.com

When I was embarking on my career change, I had several ideas for differerent kinds of services I thought I wanted to provide.  Services that, based on my passions and values, seemed like a great fit.

After researching the basics of each, my critical early step was to test the waters by experiencing them for myself.  In one instance I found someone who had the type of business I was considering and spent a day with her helping hands-on with a client project.    In another instance I found two pro bono clients that offered to let me practice what I was learning. 

In both examples, I learned that these two areas were not a good fit… and most importantly, why they were not a good fit.   On paper, each seemed like a great fit.  Once I immersed myself in the actual day-to-day tasks, however, the misalignment became crystal clear.

If you are embarking on your own career change, I encourage you to let experience be your best teacher as well.  Whether a few hours or a few days, trying out a career you are considering can be an important step in your journey.

RN Nursing Club Members Laura Beattie, Zoe Spyralatos, and Carrie Ludwig selling baked good to support the Roswell Park Breast Cancer Resource Center

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the newly elected President of the Trocaire College Student Association. My name is Amanda Tredinnick. I am a full-time third semester RN student. I am also a mother of two, and I work in the Palisano Learning Center as a Peer Tutor for Med Essentials 1 & 2. I am very excited to have been elected into this position, and I look forward to working my hardest to represent the students’ voices at Trocaire. 

There have been some changes in officer positions for this year, but the majority of the students elected last year are still on the board. 

The officers are listed as: 

President: Amanda Tredinnick 

Vice President: Lila Ahmed 

Vice President: Chris Kopera 

Vice President: Lakeisha Page 

Secretary: JoAnne Batugowski 

Secretary: Kimberly McQueary 

Treasurer: Jessica Brown 

We also have several students that are going to be representatives for their title, such as an Evening Student Rep, Multi-cultural Rep, Traditional Student Rep, Non-Traditional Student Rep and even a Single Parent Rep. We even have reps for our Transit Road location, The Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality & Business. 

Some of our officers will have their picture taken and posted on the TV screens in the Trocaire hallways by the front door as well as the cafeteria. This way, we can be better identified for students or faculty. 

There are several issues that we plan on addressing and hopefully resolving this year as well as some fun activities planned. Just a few are: 

• IT and Computer Issues
• Parking at Lorraine Academy Elementary
• Smoking & The Grounds
• Better communication of upcoming events and changes at the school

There are some exciting activities coming up for students to take full advantage of… 

• We had our Student Association Dance at the Pearl Street Grill on November 20th. Food, Dancing, and basket raffles made for a wonderful evening.

• There are plans to have more free lunches provided by Student Activities

• A Family Appreciation Day. Fun for the whole family!!!!

Trocaire Student Association Meetings are held once a month and are open for any student to attend. There will be fliers posted around the campus as well as notices sent out online and posted on the TV’s in the hallways. 

I hope that we can all work together to make this a great and successful year. 

Thanks,
Amanda Tredinnick – Student Association President

When I wrote that Forestry was going to be a potential area of career growth in the green economy, I could hear the snickering from across the country. How can the ultimate “tree hugger” job be a catalyst for climate change?  Well, most people know that trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide from high school science class. Now we are learning how valuable trees and plants can be in the removal and storage (sequestration) of carbon from the atmosphere. 

Let me explain how this career field has become more important. Part of the US Climate Change bill calls for the use of forest lands as offsets or credits.  Whether you agree or not with science behind climate change or the trading scheme, one thing is sure: People are beginning to realize that planting trees may be bigger business than cutting them down. Forestry is a job that will be on the front lines of the battle against climate change. Check out this article from Science Daily and decide for yourself:

 U.S. forests and soils store equivalent of 50 years of nation’s COsub2/sub emissions, new estimates find.

I have recently spoken to numerous people that are looking to change careers but are just not sure what they want to do next.  Being in transition gives you the opportunity to evaluate your options by identifying your interests and key skills.  That will help you develop a profile of the necessary attributes for a happy and fulfilling career.  Through research you will match your profile against specific careers.  More detailed exploration will allow you to determine whether those specific careers will match your long term goals and interests.

List your interests and skills When considering a career change it is essential that you take inventory of all of your interests, abilities, and weaknesses.  It is important to know not just what you are good at, but what you really enjoy and what motivates you to get out of bed each morning.  This will help you make sure that a new career is not putting you right back in another bad situation.

What do you need? Compile all of those personality traits, skill sets, and areas of interest together so that you can begin to develop a profile.  There are several online personality profiling resources that will help you better understand who you are and how you handle certain situations.  Get input from your friends and family as they can often provide more objective insight.  It is crucial that you are honest with yourself during this process of discovery.

What looks interesting? Begin by brainstorming using the local library and online resources.  Explore and compare multiple different careers with your profile in order to develop a short list.  You can then begin more in-depth research through reading and speaking with people in the same or similar roles.  Ask questions about the day-to-day responsibilities as well as what aspects of the role they like and dislike.

Do we have a match? Continue your research in even more detail.  Look at things such as compensation, education, and experience requirements.  Write out the pros and cons of each potential career and evaluate the ‘fit’ as you make your final selection.  Consider volunteering or pursuing a part time role to determine whether your new career is truly the right choice long term.

If you are thinking about changing careers, it is essential to take all of these steps to ensure that you make the right decisions.  You must have an honest conversation with yourself as to whether or not the field you have chosen is really the right fit.  In our next article, How Do I Get There From Here, we will discuss how you develop a roadmap to success in reaching your new career choice.

Best of luck with your search whatever career path it takes you down.

My name is Steve Gray with Career Search Strategies, ask me about scheduling an appointment to get your job search back on track.

Future events – Stay tuned for more details
In mid January I will begin holding group classes to teach job seekers, in more detail, the principles of searching for that next career.  The classes will last approximately 90 minutes and will cost $30 each.  Discounts will be available for those that sign up for multiple classes.  Group classes will be held in person in Charlotte NC as well as on-line utilizing conference software.

Happy Holidays

Steve Gray
Career Search Strategies
704 877 5522
SGray@careersearchstrategies.net
www.careersearchstrategies.net
Twitter @CareerSrchStrat
LinkedInProfile

Today I have had my first one to one with the Training Manager currently looking after me. The short session went well and I was also able to feedback my gratitude for the excellent training given so far and, her seemingly unlimited knowledge of all things benefits; she really is a fountain of knowledge who never needs to pause after being asked a question. It was a short session in my fourth week of work (training) as a benefits assessor but one that was much appreciated as it gave the opportunity away from the rest of the group to discuss any issues to date.

Today we are looking at decision-making and the resources that are available to aid us in the abyss; the minefield that is benefits. This is not a criticism of the system; even the IRRV Learning website suggests that the whole area of benefits is a convoluted one. We are studying all the sources of reference that we’ll need to enable us to help us become MBA’s – master benefits assessors! These include the infamous Zebedee book (please don’t bounce any spring-loaded jokes about this – they’ve all been done), CPAG book, DWP and IRRV learning websites as well as online procedure manuals – and of course my personal mind maps – a useful resource if ever I saw one.

But decision-making related to benefits are not the only decision on my mind. After a brief gander at the Bury Council Jobs vacancy website, I came across a communications position that seems to be up my street. In light of both the immediate and future uncertainties the Bury Benefits Section may go through, I have put my application together for the said new position – it’s unlikely that I will even get an interview in reality as priority will be given to those adversely affected by changes currently taking place in the organisation – but nothing ventured nothing gained.

I didn’t think I’d be going through another 3 hour application so soon. I recall at the open evening held for this post, one of the fundamental reasons for the event was that the organisers wanted people to see that these were not simply call centre positions; in fact, for some of the trainees, with the front office:back office exercise, just the reverse may be true.

That life-sized game of snakes and ladders ’springs’ to mind again. Boing! Now that was a Zebedee based joke.

As the year winds down and before the busiest of this busy season swallows me whole, I wanted to share my reflections on the past year, where I’ve been, and where I want to go.

For me, 2009 was a year of extremes. At times I felt like a pendulum freely swinging between times of opportunity and times of challenge. The times of opportunity were wonderful, and I felt blessed. And the times of challenge were in and of themselves an opportunity to try to find the sometimes impossible-to-locate, nearly damn invisible silver lining.

From a young age, I have known of life and death, of responsibility, and of resilience. I don’t say this to sound dramatic, evoke feelings of pity, or to shock. I mention it because 2009 and everything that’s happened this year has felt like a throwback to my childhood. At times I’ve felt that eery sense of déjà vu, like I’ve “been there, done that.”  (And one too many times at that.) The happenings of 2009 forced me to re-evaluate what I want. (Sound familiar?)

My original purpose for starting my blog (beyond not wanting to be a blogging virgin any longer) was to help me find work-life balance. I think it has. So far, at least.

It’s also been hella fun completing the goals I’ve set for myself. Teaching myself to juggle? Wicked! (I apologize to my downstairs neighbours for not catching on sooner than I did! ) Learning Mandarin? Still in progress, though my pronunciation still stinks and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. An extravaganza of black bean goodness? Attending an NBA game? Quality time with the Hubster? Hells yeah.

But where do I go from here?

The other day as I sat at my desk at work in a bit of a funk because of all of the craziness that was going on (and which I had to bring under control)—and that this craziness was stealing time away from my dreaming up exotic travel plans—I had an epiphany. It wasn’t so much that a light bulb turned on so much as all the lights in an NFL sports stadium all turned on at the same time. I was finally able to articulate in words what’s been bothering me for a while.

Doing what I’m good at (for work, for instance) is not the same as doing what I love. Fortunately, what I love doing is also—in my not so humble opinion—one of the things I’m good at.

You see, at work, I’m a bit of a specialist and generalist all rolled into one. Some days I don my specialist hat. Other days I’m wearing my generalist hat. More days than not, though, I’m playing the generalist role. But it doesn’t satisfy me as much as it once did.

A third reason I started this blog was so that I had an opportunity to regularly organize my thoughts and give my fingers a workout and write. Like, really write. Write what I want and when. Write what I want and when. Write what I want and when.

Sure, I do a lot of writing at work. Perhaps I’m being selfish, but I don’t find my work writing satisfying. Certainly the content and style of writing is a bit, er, on the dry side. More importantly, the quantity of writing is, to be blunt, dismal, given my recently self-perceived needs.

So, I’ve taken the first step and articulated the nature of my issue. Doing what I’m good at (most things at work) is not the same as doing what I love (writing, writing, and more writing).

But now I feel stuck. Where 2009 forced me to re-evaluate my path, I’m not sure what 2010 holds. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you know? There remains so much possibility. I want to travel. I want to write. Could I possibly marry the two?

This brings up a whole other set of issues in that I’m not a journalist. (In my head, this is somehow a major strike against me.) In spite of all that I’ve accomplished writing-wise, I somehow still don’t feel like I have the right credentials to write. You know, people (the anonymous, all-knowing “everyone”) will one day realize that I’ve fooled the world and I’m not a “real” writer and everything I’ve written is somehow subpar (measured against that unknown, but nevertheless important Standard with a capital S), so how could I possibly throw myself into that world? And furthermore, is this really the best time for me to come to this realization (that I want to focus more on writing and less on being a generalist), given that so many organizations—and in particular news organizations—are running their businesses on the “less is more” principle (fewer people, higher workload per person), if they haven’t already gone bankrupt? Or maybe I can use this to my advantage. I just have to figure out how. (Maybe reading more of BuzzMachine will help.)

In the meantime, I’ll keep on teaching myself Mandarin, reading (next up: Long Walk to Freedom and Swiss Family Robinson), and completing more of the goals on my list.

Have you ever wondered if it is worth your time to look for a job around the holidays?  My answer is a definite “yes”.  It is not only worth your time, it is likely to be a more productive time for you.  There are three main reasons for this.  The first is that the holiday time is an easier time to network because of all the parties that you attend.  The second reason is that because there are fewer managers in the office, the hiring process is likely to be more relaxed.  Third, you will have access to positions that are planned for the first quarter but not yet posted.

 The mantra of a real estate agent is location, location, location.  The mantra of a job seeker should be network, network, network.  Fortunately, this time of year makes it easier to connect with people because of all the holiday parties that are happening.  Take advantage of these gatherings to meet new people and build your contact list.  You never know who you will meet and who they will know to help you in your job search.

The holidays are typically stressful but the opposite is true for the job seeker.  When I worked as a recruiter, we often had more relaxed procedures for holiday hiring.  During regular hiring, we would conduct several interviews and/or panel interviews with many people involved; however, during the holidays, we often cut out interviews or did away with panel interviews simply because many people were on vacation.   The advantage to the job seeker is that he can concentrate his efforts on fewer people, making his chances for being hired greater.

December is also a great month to talk with organizations because there are often positions coming up in the first quarter of the year that are not yet posted.  Take advantage of this by connecting with organizations now so they know you and can be considering you for upcoming positions.  Companies love to find their candidates without posting jobs.  You may even be able to land a position without even applying for a position.  Isn’t that worth taking action now? 

Stacy Harshman brings her experience as a recruiter for a Fortune 500 corporation to her work as career coach. In addition to helping people discover their passions, she also provides clients with insight into the mind of a recruiter, unlocking the secrets of what employers look for in potential employees. Stacy offers individual and group coaching in person and by phone to those seeking positive change in their professional and personal lives.

Making change sometimes requires patience rather than pace. We have a problem and see a solution and often jump to action! Sometimes in our search for a solution we can close down options or reject them an unachievable or inappropriate. Our need for a quick resolution can lead into further difficulties. It takes courage to take time when our instincts tell us to ‘act now’!

E was provided with a coach as part of a  redundancy package. Having focused on her career to the exclusion of other factors in her life E had only herself to rely on at this difficult moment, her confidence was very low and she was tempted to rush into any solution.

For various reasons it was clear that E was not ready to rejoin the job market immediately and work needed to be done in rebuilding her self esteem and confidence and deciding on her future direction. Her need to take action was directed towards ‘sorting out’ her home and private life. This meant decluttering and simplifying as many aspects of her life as possible, but in achieving those tasks E would establish control, reduce stress, reduce expenditure, and build confidence.

This process also gave E time to reflect and come to terms with things in her life that she had not had time to consider fully. The sense of achievement improved her feelings of self worth and confidence.

Coaching conversations developed around rebuilding the CV, what should E be doing with her career, what did she really want to do?  

E was clear about her skills and experience and in which industry she wanted to work, but as her confidence grew she began to move away from ideas of just ‘getting a job’ towards ‘starting her own business’.

Developing a clear business idea and offer to potential clients enabled E to begin to ‘network’ within her existing contacts. Very quickly, with her renewed confidence E began to get expressions of interest in her business proposition.

Within a six months of leaving her previous job E has turned down offers of full time employment, is now running her own business, has registered for VAT,  is paying herself a regular salary, has saved cash reserves, and has contracts that could provide her with an income worth more than twice her previous salary – for her first twelve month of trading. Furthermore E has now built a new network of business contacts, is building a public reputation for herself within her specialist industry sector. She has also continued to make progress in her private life, building new friendships, strength and confidence.

Well, it sure seems to come earlier and earlier each year.  To me, anyway.  This year I know it’s because I finally wrapped up the semester just a few days ago and until then and not a moment sooner, I had no time.  So while many people were hanging their lights and putting up their tree around Thanksgiving, and hitting the stores the day after to shop, I was still hitting the books . . . and my head against the wall.

I love the holidays.  It wasn’t always that way, but it’s gotten better over the years.  I like to decorate and wrap presents.  The buying part has started to lack luster, but wrapping, I love. 

But this year, wow, talk about crazy.  My final class was 12/12, exactly halfway to Christmas Eve.  I felt like Christmas might as well be tomorrow with all the stuff I had to do, condensed into barely two weeks.  One thing I’m learning about myself now though is that I’m learning to roll with it.  I think as crazy as school can get, it helps you find discipline, a routine.  I had a certain routine and sometimes I had to stick with it and other times, I had to learn how to shake things up and recover. 

I’m in recovery mode now, but every day I plan a list, take a deep breath, and do what I can.  What most people do in a month or more, I’ll have to do in twelve days.  Guess they don’t call it the “Twelve Days of Christmas” for nothing!

One big surprise for me though.  On Saturday in my last class, my instructor told me that she found out that Studio I is being offered in the fall in the EVENING!  This is one of the “meat and potatoes” classes where I would be doing major design work.  One of those coveted classes that I was going to push off to the very end of my schooling to take — when I finally run out of classes that are offered on evenings and weekends and have to drop the bomb at work that I’m in school and will need to cut into work time a little bit to finish. 

This is BIG news.

Christmas came early?  For me it did.

We’re almost at the start of the New Year and you know what that means, right? New goals… new diet…  new exercise program…. new job?

If you’re unsatisfied in your current work situation, or even if you’re just wondering if there’s something better out there, pick up a copy of New Job, New You by Alexandra Levit. You may know Alexandra from her previous works They Don’t Teach Corporate in College or How’d You Score That Gig?

This time, Levit is tackling career change. New Job, New You is designed to help you discover what’s really driving your career choices, so you can channel those motivations into a more satisfying job and, ultimately, a more satisfying life.

The book gets to the heart of what makes people switch careers, using some of the more common reasons as a framework for the discussion. In Levit’s words, these are:

Family: When true work/life balance becomes a necessity

Independence: When you’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug

Learning: When your bookish, curious side takes over

Money: When an increase in earning potential is on the horizon

Passion: When you yearn to do what you love

Setback: When one door closes, another one opens

Talent: When you’re too good at something not to give it a shot

If any of these strike a chord, New Job, New You could serve as the inspiration for your own career change in 2010 or beyond. But the book does more than help you identify why you may want to move in a new direction, it provides guidance on how that is specific to each section. Levit does a nice job of helping you think through options – listing steps to get your financial house in order before making the leap as an entrepreneur for example – so you can make informed choices as a result.  

If – like me – you find that New Job, New You helps you identify what you want out of your career – or even if it leads you to search for greener pastures, you will find plenty of inspiration from others who came before. Since the moment when you take a deep breath and decide to start a new career can be terrifying (yet incredibly liberating), each section features interviews with others who have successfully transitioned from one job to another.

There’s also a forward by Stephen Covey (Hey Alexandra, how’d you score THAT gig?!) that rightly points out this is no longer the age of a hierarchical career model where organizations have all the control. We – as talented employees – have real choices in how, where, and when we work….sometimes we just need a little encouragement to make it happen. Consider this book your paperback “kick in the pants” to get moving.

New Job, New You will be released December 29^th and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.

In my continued education on social media and the job market, I came across two articles that well, seem to be different as Twitter and bowling. One shows the power of social media in landing a job and the second shows how shifting career focus can land you a new job (both examples very quickly!)

YOU TWEET, YOU WIN!

The first story is from Eve Tahmincioglu of msnbc.com. In her December 11, 2009 article she discusses how a Hal Thomas landed a job with a single tweet on Twitter. See the article here.

In the article, it is described how BFG Commuincations used the unorthodox method of hiring someone through 140 characters on Twitter. The company spokesperson said Twitter was the “perfect medium” for the company’s search.

“The job requires someone to be social media savvy, so by going to Twitter instead of the usual cover letter and resume route, I was able to get a sense of how applicants use social media and, more importantly, how they think,” Kelley said.

She praised Thomas’ tweet for showing a sense of humor and for giving her a better understanding of his perspective on social media through a link to his blog.

“Hal’s approach definitely stood out,” Kelley said. Granted, Thomas did use a link in his tweet showing a fictitious cover of Wired magazine with himself on it surrounded by social media headlines. Click here to see the cover.

However, the article explains that few employers would follow BFG’s example. Regardless, an inventive way to get yourself noticed. While you can’t whittle down your resume to 140 charaters, you can brush up on Twitter skills!

FROM GM TO THE PBA!

The second article appeared in the December 14, 2009 edition of The Detroit News. Tom Smallwood, a laid-off GM worker set his sights on changing careers….to bowling!

Now before you go in your boss’ office to tell him that you are off to the Thunderbowl in Allen Park to work, you have to read on that he was a recreational bowler for 15 years and placed third in an Allen Park tournament.  The article is here.

Bottom line is that this individual reassessed his career path and took a totally different path. Granted, he is indeed an extreme example of shifting job focus, and succeeding, but should be an inspiration to all who are looking for a change. So, let’s go bowling!

Hope these two examples inspire you to think outside the box when it comes to social media and the job market!

Well the start of another week in Radcliffe and the morning has been spent looking at Housing and Council Tax  ’overpayments’ and, we’ve also been considering the whole issue of where the associated responsibility lies in different scenarios. Closer inspection of the topic also reveals an interesting happenstance called Underlying Entitlement; a rare-ish scenario where a non-payable underpayment of benefit may be used to offset an overpayment so long as the respective payments occurred in the same weeks!

The first Bury Council payslips of the nine new trainees have been made available on-line. Naturally these have been met with a sense of relief since Christmas is just around the proverbial corner.

However, in light of the day also being used to run briefing sessions for all teams to mark the opening of the restructure consultation period, perhaps the mood around first online payslips harbours some concerns around the future – indeed some may be questioning if ‘overpayments’ was more relevant today intended.

In my experience of FO:BO (front office : back office) restructure exercises with BT, I imagine that it’s unlikely the dust will ever settle; there is usually another gust or breeze soon enough.

Never mind we’re living through an unprecedented period of change. We always have been. Learn to surf and if you fall off your board, get back on or learn to swim…

I type this whilst sat in the training room on lunch listening to Kruder and Dorfmeister. In one of the lines in The Lab Rat’s – ‘Give My Soul’ track I hear in my earphones, a young boy shouts “What about the future?” [...] “I may just have seen it!” comes the reply from an older, wiser sounding Englishman.

Change is exciting. How dull would it be to know what is happening?

Linda has been at LCTA for a year as the Undergraduate Course Administrator looking after all of the acupuncture students.  Here she explains a bit about what she does:

My role at LCTA is to answer any queries and deal with any problems that the acupuncture students may have.  Once the course begins, from day one, I’m the person they speak to about overdue course work, exam results and anything else that might be affecting them on a day-to-day basis.

The students first meet me at their Introduction Day.  Bonny and I go through information about the College and give them the relevant documentation and hand outs.  We also set up team exercises so that they can get to know each other.  It’s especially nice to meet the students right at the outset.  When I started a year ago, everyone had already begun the course and so it took me a bit longer to establish relationships with them.

The Introduction Day is a really good day.  I had my first one with the March intake.  I was absolutely petrified but as soon as it got going it was great.  I’m sure the students were nervous too, after all they were in a group of people they didn’t know at the start of a long course that would change not just their careers but also their lives – it must be scary.

I deal with all students in all years and no two groups are the same.  The dynamics of each group are very different and weekend students are different to weekday ones.  There aren’t any specific stages that every set of students goes through or specific issues that arise, you just take each group as it comes.

Exam time is the busiest time of year for me.  Everything else stops so that we can focus on that and then we have to get everything in order again before the beginning of another new year.  The main thing we notice with the students awaiting their final exam results is a general eagerness.  They want their results because they want to get on with setting up their practice.

When they come back for Graduation, the March ones especially haven’t seen each other for a while and so it’s a nice excuse to get together.  We had a whale of a time at this year’s Graduation Ceremony.  It was nice to mingle with the students for the last time before they took off to begin their new careers.

One of the graduates emailed me recently about something and she said it felt strange to think that they don’t have to come to College anymore.  She said it felt like the end of an era, she was missing it a bit.

My main advice for new students is to enjoy the course and take each step as it comes.  They may have some difficult times but they shouldn’t worry.  They should always try to remember why you they are doing it and most importantly, just enjoy it.

From the home office in Ebenezer, New York- The top five reasons “You know that you don’t have enough money”:

5. You’ve been walking back and forth to Trocaire for so long that you wore out your shoes and put a hole in your socks.

4. You cannot afford the latest 3G phone with 100,000 apps – the old landline phone will have to do.

3. You cannot afford a monthly manicure – you will have to do your own nails.

2. You cannot afford to go to this year’s Kissmas Bash Concert – you’ll have to listen to music on your parents’ record player.

1. You cannot afford your 2-cup-a-day cappuccino habit – you only have enough money for 1 regular cup of coffee per month.

Now that I have your attention, below are some helpful tips on setting up a budget:

Step 1  Access Your Finances

How much money do you have? How much money can you make at your job while in college? How much are your parents willing to give to you?  In other words, what is the total amount of money that you have available for use.

Step 2   Set Your Goals

In order for you to budget your money, you must decide what your financial goals are.  If you simply want to get by, you may be able to do that without any sacrifice.  But if you plan on a major purchase such as a used car or spring break vacation, you may need to take a different approach to reach your goals. Start by making a list of your short range and long term goals.

Step 3   Access and Prioritize Your Expenditures

The last step in creating your budget is to analyze your assets and expenditures to figure out how you can have it all, or how to eliminate what’s not necessary.  If you need to make some cuts, think about things you can cut back on: i.e., is a cappuccino a day necessary or can I have it once a week?   How much do I spend going out to the clubs? Can I cut back to going out once a month?

To recap, in making up your budget, the total amount of money available to you minus what you spend should be equal. Anything left over is called your discretionary funds. This is the money that you can put into the bank or spend depending on the goals you have set in step two.

Stop by the Trocaire College Financial Aid Office and see me.  We have some great handouts, or I can be available to you if you would like some assistance in setting up your budget.

-David Schwab, Default Manager/Financial Aid Assistant

This is for everyone who is sticking with a job that no longer fits. Maybe it was right for awhile, for a certain time and place in your life. But not anymore. When was the last time you jumped out of bed with excitement about what the day would bring?

“But I love the people I work with.”
“It’s so convenient.”
“The money’s pretty decent, considering…”

I’ve heard all the excuses. Hell, I’ve made them. You know that job is sucking your soul and it’s time to leave. The only thing left to decide is how.

Above all, you want it to be your decision. Don’t let boredom and apathy lead to an attitude that gets you fired or passed over. Who wants to work with a burnout no matter how skilled they are?

The number one reason people stay in bad jobs is fear of the unknown. Are you hanging on to something that doesn’t fit just because it’s familiar? What if the unknown wasn’t scary? What if it was filled with joy and delightful possibilities? Sure, there’s that transition period where you leave what you can do in your sleep and head into new territory. I assure you that the downhill slide of staying too long is far greater than the steepness of a little learning curve. How might you make unknown territory more comfortable?

1. Make It Known
Learn about it. Do research. Talk to people. Do informational interviews. Volunteer, be a trainee. Find ways to educate yourself. Go to school. Hire a trainer, job, . Shine some light on the stuff the scary ignorance and it’s no big deal. If you’re drawn to it you probably have a knack.

2. Make It Up
There are a lot of successful people in the world who just decide that they know what they’re doing. I’ll never forget my friend Susan, a beautiful and confident woman who discovered her gift for public speaking in Toastmaster’s and went on to become a highly paid consultant just because she decided she was worth listening to. I had just finished grad school and was trying to get my nerve up to go pitch companies. She read a book or two, made a presentation, and was suddenly crossing the country getting big fees. There’s a, job, lot to be said for chutzpah.

3. Try It On A Small Scale
Part-time or pilot projects work well particularly if you’re thinking of venturing out on your own. The hours are long when you don’t give up your day job but, job, if you’re pursuing your passion you generally can find the energy. Cater a friend’s party for the cost of the supplies. Print some business cards on your computer. Do some pro bono work for a civic group for the testimonials. Before long you’ll feel ready to go for it.

4. Dive In
This is my favorite. I get enormous energy from leaping off metaphorical cliffs. Instead of screaming “NO”, try saying “Wheee!” or “Geronimo.” I’ve crossed the country on three occasions with no job and no place to live. I keep having soft, successful landings so I keep leaping. Sometimes it takes a geographic change to get yourself out of a rut. Try something out there and see if you can fly.

5. Be Prepared
So maybe you’re not a leaper. You can plan for contingencies, save that nest egg. Find an answer for all the what-ifs. But be careful, job, not to over prepare. Just how likely are those eventualities that you’re covering? There comes a point when it’s time to take steps.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now”.

—J. W. von Goethe

Remember, if you only do what you already know how to do your world would get pretty stale. Growth is an essential part of life. There comes a time to move on. You can feel when change is due. When that time comes the universe makes it easy for you. The money for graduate school appears, child care arrangements work out, an article about, job, a new company catches your eye. Pay attention to the signals. Then trust your judgment. If something tells you this new opportunity is right, it probably is.

Chapter 14

The Purple and Blue Rays of Dawn

In which the author learns that freedom is not just another word for nothing left to lose.

Not unlike those bottom moments that I experienced in my grapples with meditation and life in general during the summer, the low spots I encountered in the search for a contractor and a coach weren’t really all that bad, although I was more than ready to make progress on both fronts.

Then without fanfare or much additional effort my part, both searches fell easily into place without any additional pain the next week.

The contractor came first and from an unlikely source at that; my gardener. My gardener, a battle tested and bitter veteran of the urban outdoor environment, stubborn enough to use a leaf blower (against the city code) and pesticides (against the city’s morals) in the People’s Republic of Berkeley at least until I finally got him to lay off of the Roundup.  Yossi was also capable, if you let him, of talking your ear off as he chain-smoked his hand rolled cigarettes.  He had spent way too much time in the garden, when he saw a plant he saw its eventual problems, from lack of sun, to wind to moisture (always too much or too little). The former kibbutznik didn’t see the plants growing anymore, instead he saw them dying of fungus, too much fertilizer or the legions of ants. He regularly accused me of treating our garden like a beautiful woman (stop putting on the lipstick he would chastise me). It took me years to learn that inside of him just below his madness was an intelligent loyal and trustworthy person, the kind that who you would always want on your team.  Someone who would be there for you; that is if he understood the directions and it was before 4 in the afternoon.

Standing in front of my house one early autumn afternoon listening to Yossi go off on the state of my garden for the who knows how manyeth time, he pointed again to the leaking faucet, now covered in duct tape.  “For how many years are we going to let that go on for?” he inquired, unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.  I told him to cool it, I had been searching unsuccessfully for someone to fix my house and that I would get that person to do the faucet once I found him.  It was then that he suggested that I contact Earl Andrews, a contractor that he had worked with in the past and someone who actually had dug a trench in my front yard years before when we experience a leaking sewer pipe.  I remembered Earl as a 5-foot tall bowling ball of a man, quiet but efficient and strong as a bull.  He promised to get me a phone number and he did a few days later.

Meanwhile back in the coaching department I received several references from an old contact that had been out of the country for a few weeks in response to an earlier email from me. One of her recommendations was that I contact someone who she knew in Marin, otherwise known as “the county”, home of hot tubs, peacock feathers and million dollar views along side of some truly famous centers of Buddhist thought such as the Zen Center and Spirit rock.  So I did.

There is no funny story to tell about what happens next, there is no low-cut blouse I come face to face with, no brooding psychopath or passive aggressive priest.  Instead there is a really good guy who listened to my challenges in life as I tried to build a successful meditation and mindfulness practice. Someone who made a lot of good suggestions, some of which I followed and others I didn’t.

It is strange isn’t it? There are a lot more heroics when you are dealing with monumental and stressful issues that involve life-changing events.  The day-to-day grind of effecting change in your life is much more workman like and frankly a lot less interesting

As I worked through this, I realized that engaging a coach, especially one to help you work on these sorts of issues, is an unusual process.  Your coach is part shrink, and part personal advocate.  They work on your behalf blending the often painful neutrality of a psychologist with the enthusiasm of your high school counselor (or coach if you played organized sports. They feel free to actually call you out on issues not just ask you to consider them, to point out paths, not just suggest them.

The coach that I wound up working with was a self- described “bhujew”.  Equally steeped in Western Jewish and Eastern traditions, he could talk about a Passover Seder and hours spent in blissful pre-dawn mindfulness with equal ease. His years of Eastern training combined with real life experience as an entrepreneur made him an ideal selection for me.

I realized this only after I finished working with him did I realize this. In that sense anyone who looks for a coach should not understate the importance of this point.  Your coach will be a lot more effective if you can relate to him or her, something that becomes very apparent early on.

After learning about him I checked him out on the web, he seemed very normal (for a change) had written several books about bringing Eastern thought and training into the workplace and was a frequent lecturer with a small counseling practice.  I called, we spoke quickly, and we set an appointment. I drove up to Mill Valley to see him the next week.  And that was it.  We didn’t waste any time, got right down to business and went for it; engaging in a three-month dialogue about life, unemployment, human nature and how we can do a better of job of managing our day-to-day moods by expanding our mental toolbox.

I did make one adjustment in my approach this time.  After my experience with the silent listener shrink, I decided that I would take charge of the situation. I had learned from countless but effective sales and marketing seminars that most efforts will not succeed without those faithful old friends, objectives, goals to meet those objectives and a plan on how to achieve those goals.  So I applied the same logic to this engagement.

What were my objectives in seeking out this counselor?  First and foremost it was to help me teach myself how to achieve inner peace, to accept the confusing position that I had placed myself in by leaving my job and entering the free fall of unemployment and excess time.  Second, it was to get rid of the rod in my stomach that was stopping me from moving forward and away from my past and wouldn’t go away.

My goals, were to learn more about meditation and mindfulness to see if they would help me to achieve these objectives.  My plan was simple, to work with this coach for the next few months and to set benchmarks on whether I was reaching those goals.

Our first sessions focused on the most basic technique that supports all effective meditation.  And that meant learning to control my breathing.  Who would ever have thought that breathing would turn out to be such a challenge.  We breathe in and out about 40 times a minute.  That comes to 240 ins and outs an hour, 5,760 a day.    We breathe without much effort.  We breathe when we sleep.  No problem.

So what would happen when I tried to control my breath by consciously breathing in and out there in that Mill Valley basement?  By the second breath after I closed my eyes I would panic.  Controlling my breath didn’t relax me, quite the contrary, it scared me. When I started thinking about my breath my immediate fear was that it would be my last.  This was completely irrational and later as we worked on this issue I gained my first insight about just how damn anxious I felt about my current life situation.

What I realized is that I had been trying to gut my way through the vicissitudes of the emotional upheaval caused by leaving my work life behind.  This should come as no surprise, men are taught early on to struggle through our problems on our own.  Men are not told to be ‘in touch’ with their feelings.  Quite the contrary, men that are born ‘emotional’ or ‘sensitive’ are regularly castigated, called out on the testosterone carpet as fags or in your early life as cry babies, mama’s boys, wimps. For this is the curse of the aware and sensitive male.  We didn’t ask to see the behaviors that the other guys missed.  Hell, it would have been a lot easier not to see all of this shit.

We didn’t ask to have cold unengaged fathers who did not know how to connect to us except in socially sanctioned events such as sports.  Or didn’t understand us at all.  We didn’t sign up to have close and often suffocating emotional relationships with our poor scarred moms.  We had not choice.  We had to talk to someone.

But hold on, what does any this have to do with breath?  As one of the discussions with my coach slowly turned form learning to breathe under control (which I kind of did over time) to why I was so afraid of losing control he taught me a key concept.  After listening to me launch into a particularly emotional diatribe about the pain I felt in my continuing disconnect from the outside world he responded in a way that hit me foursquare and solid between the eyes.  He said this word: Freedom.

Freedom.  Said it this way: “You have the choice and you have the freedom to make the choice about how you feel and what you do.”

I had never thought about my life in those terms.  My ears and my eyes opened. The concept of inherent personal freedom changed my vision of how I look at the world on an everyday basis.  It came to the realization that I had the freedom to try things until they worked, to accept or reject advice and to make up my mind while allowing others to help me. I also came to understand that if I did not take advantage of that freedom to create change that none would ever occur.

I began to comprehend that too many of my behaviors were reactive, no doubt a result of the sensory overload that results from my often painful sensitivity to all that is around me.  I resolved not to put up with shit.  Not to be rude, why bother, but to move quickly away from the people and the behaviors that were not honest.

All of this because I couldn’t breath more than three breaths in a row without going in to a mild panic attack.

At each class my breathing got a little bit better, at least when I was under instruction.  Eventually I put together a few breaths in a row, long enough for my mind to begin wandering again.  This remained a challenge that I could not overcome. No matter how much I read about the subject, no matter how much we talked about it, it remained difficult for me to imagine how I would ever gain any benefit from this meditation stuff. I could barely breathe under control and when I did my mind went crazy.  While I enjoyed our discussions and the freedom to spend my time (and our money) working on why the simple act of breathing caused such a complicated response in the mind that I had always trusted as my savior I was still coming up short.  Making progress yet still lost on as the phone stayed quiet and hope of working again disappeared.

As to our contractor, he did a brilliant job of marketing his craft.  First he gave me the estimate to do the work on the shower and it was reasonable, detailed and fair.  I accepted it and he started work with his small crew a few days later.  Over these same weeks the house became a beehive of activity, a series of distractions that evolved around canvas tarps, nail guns, caulk and rotting floor boards.  Did you notice the word rot?  That is another issue entirely.