career_ideas – Career Ideas

August 25, 2009September 29, 2014

Start Seeing Career Opportunities

Out of work? Looking for a new career? Then start seeing opportunities.

I just read about a fascinating experiment by psychology professor and bestselling British author Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor: The Four Essential Principles

He wanted to see if people who had lucky lives and those who were unlucky responded differently to unexpected opportunity.

He put ads asking for people to respond who considered themselves exceptionally lucky or unlucky. He wound up with 400 people over the years from 18 to 84 from all walks of life. The lucky had stories about lucky meetings with famous people, like Warren Buffet, that changed their lives or chance encounters that led to their marriages. The unlucky told about disasters like their planes being struck by lightning.

Yet through it all, Wiseman wondered if the lucky were DOING something differently from those who were unlucky. In other words, they didn’t just have luck happen to them, they did things that led to luck ”… Although lucky and unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behavior are responsible for much of their fortune,” in Wiseman’s view according to an article he wrote about his experiment in The Skeptical Inquirer.

One factor was seeing more opportunities than others.

In an experiment, Wiseman gave volunteers a newspaper and asked them to count the number of photographs. But inside the newspaper were unexpected opportunities—on page two he had a half page notice in 2-inch high type (hardly difficult to find), saying “stop counting—there are 43 photographs in the newspaper.” The self-defined lucky people tended to find it, while the unlucky ones tended to miss it. Then, later in the paper there was another big announcement that said they should stop counting and tell the observer that they had seen this announcement to win $250.

You’d think that would get someone’s attention. But not for the unlucky souls.

Wiseman concluded from this and other tests and experiments that the lucky people aren’t so focused on a single objective (like counting photos) so they can notice new and unexpected opportunities. It’s the opposite of what we are usually told about getting ahead and certainly getting a job in a tough market.

His personality tests also showed that the unlucky were more anxious and tense. Again, if you are in a job hunt or are desperate for a career change you are likely to have increased tension and anxiety as you do your job searching or career idea seeking activities. As Wiseman writes, lucky people “look through newspapers determined to find certain type of job advertisements and as a result miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for.”

The good news–Wiseman found he could help people understand this and 3 other factors, and that people understanding this led to improved luck.

In this case, the lesson is very clear for career changers and jobseekers (and everyone else, too). It’s not to be distracted and unfocused. But it’s also not about always concentrating on opportunities and goals. Instead it’s about staying relaxed and open ,being willing and confident enough that what you are doing will produce something good—though your idea of what that is may be only one good outcome.

It’s not in his research, but from experience, I’d suggest it’s also about gently holding an intention in mind—for instance, to find out something that will help you with a career choice or to find a great job opening. That intention doesn’t mean you are constantly waiting for every chance to hand out a business card or ask about career opportunities. Instead, it just prepares your mind to hear and see when the equivalent of the ad for the $250 prize shows up even though you are looking for photographs.

June 12, 2009June 12, 2009

Test Drive Your Career Idea

I just read a fascinating if a bit utopian essay in New Scientist magazine about the possibility of creating virtual twins for each of us. Our online twin would be programmed with all of our medical characteristics so that we would have a much better idea of what specific health care treatments will work for us as individuals, and what the long and short term effects would be. It would be like giving different treatments a test ride before deciding on them.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could have our virtual twin also test out different careers or jobs for us? OK, no one’s working on this one just yet. But for now, maybe we can take some steps that will help us decide what careers are best for us without having to invest in years of training and coursework as well as months or years in jobs and careers that don’t really engage us or feel meaningful to us. Maybe we can give our careers a test drive first.

How to test out a career

1. Information interviews—the classic best way to network and find out about jobs can also give you a sense of whether you would like a career path. Not only do you learn about a job and career from someone in the field, you can also check out exactly what the interviewee loves and hates about the work. If you do a good interview, you’ll be able to find out how similar that person is to you in their work preferences, passions, and dreams. They don’t have to be just like you. But wherever they are similar to you, that’s where to find out how well they love or hate their work and decide if that might be your response.

2. Shadow (in a good way). This technique might be a good follow-up to an informational interview that went well with someone you feel an affinity with. Or it could be with someone else entirely. Ask if you can shadow or literally follow them for a day or half day just to see what their job is actually like in the trenches. This might be easier to pull off if you can do this as part of a school project.

3. Volunteer or intern for work in a field you might be interested in. You can find out what people actually do all day at their jobs and what the organization is like. That can be quite eye opening. You might find yourself very disillusioned about what goes on behind the scenes or you might find it thrilling.

4. Pilot and prototype. Ever thought you might like to be a travel agent? Interior designer? Caterer? For many consumer fields, you can test out your skills and interests with friends and family before launching into an actual job or your own business.

Learn about the field as much as you can (including perhaps being a client for someone else first) and then when you feel you can pilot your work, ask friends or family if they’ll be your guinea pigs. You can play travel agent by helping to plan a complex trip or try interior decorating on a room in a friend’s house, etc.

This isn’t like having a virtual twin test out the work, but it is a way to find out experientially how well the career or job will suit you. It offers you a bit more of the nitty-gritty about a career than reviewing course descriptions about a field or reviewing your skills and seeing how they match with what’s needed.

–Career changers, jobseekers–Be sure to sign up for free career and creativity ezine and get your career info bonus

May 31, 2009January 24, 2011

Imagining Your New Career

You might have heard some statement or seen a quote like this.

If you can imagine it–you can do it.

This concept is good for helping people open up their thinking to new goals or careers. On the other hand, the fact that you can imagine yourself as president of the US or the first astronaut to Mars or the winner of American Idol, doesn’t mean that you will succeed or even that you are best off pursuing those goals.

But the other side of this statement is something everyone needs to remember

If you can’t imagine it, you’ll never do it.

That’s much more reliably true. If you can’t imagine yourself owning your own business or becoming an engineer–then you almost certainly will not pursue these careers at all.

With both of these statements in mind, I have my classes and career coaching clients imagine as specifically and concretely as possible what their ideal careers might look like. This exercise is great as a thought experiment (if thought experiments were good enough for Einstein, why not you and me?), so that you can actually try out a number of career scenarios. Not only does it help you imagine something so it can become real. It also allows you to safely “test” how much you really want to pursue each career you test.

Here’s what you do:

Choose any new, great career or work situation you might like to consider
Imagine you just completed a typical work day
Go through what you did and jot it down in detail as if recording a day log at the end of your day, hour by hour (or more frequently).
Be specific–9–945 am, had meeting with my business partner about how to approach a new client’s problem of xxx (whatever problem a client of yours might have).
Go through the entire day in this kind of detail.

If you’re not sure what a person might do in your imagined new career, go do some informational interviews first with people in the field or read about the career. Find out what the daily work life is like because some careers sound glamorous but be filled with activities you don’t want to do.

Write a few such days for each imagined career and maybe some days for alternative careers or jobs to see what each looks and feels like.

Very important–it does not have to be your ideal day, only a typical day in a potentially idea career.

Then, the most important step–reread what you wrote and ask yourself: If this was an actual typical day in my life, how would I feel about it, about my career, about myself? This gut-check portion is a great test. Very often, my clients or class members will come up with a day that makes them smile, but when asked if the day would be something they were happy with if it became real right now–they start coming up with fears, doubts, and changes.

That’s a GOOD thing. That’s how you can then reshape the day to be more perfect.

If a fear comes up, identify it. That may tell you what’s been holding you back in pursuing this imagined career or job.

As simple as this exercise is, it can be one of the most powerful as it so fully engages all of your senses and thoughts and desires if you let yourself really do it without holding back because it’s not realistic or what others think you could do.

It’s fast, fun, and can offer fantastic insights. Why not give it a try or two.

April 18, 2009November 8, 2009

7 Things Career Changers Should Stop Telling Themselves (or Their Coaches)

7 things I hear Career Changers tell themselves and what they could be saying:

This week I saw a great bumper sticker: Don’t believe everything you think. So true. We tend to accept our thoughts the way we’d never accept the same ideas from someone else. It led me to jot down 7 bad thoughts I hear from people considering a career change that all ring very loud alarm bells in my head…and after a coaching session, in the heads of my clients too!

1. I don’t know how

OK, you may not know how. That’s why people invented the word and concept of LEARNING.
Better Thought — I need to find some way to do this and will start finding out by…(seaching Google, asking my network, talking to a librarian or someone already in the field…)

2. I don’t think anyone would hire me to do this (or would buy this or be my client).

Good line for giving up completely. If you don’t want to give up about your career dream or goal or job search or…anything, stop recycling the past experience of no one being interested, check if YOU care, and then try this thought:
Better Thought — I just have to find the right people with the right needs/interests

3. Why try that? I’m just not good at it.

As in number 1–there’s this thing called learning. Also another cool concept called PRACTICE (check out the Outliers book on the side of this page. It’s all about how practice and not talent makes the difference in success). Finally, there’s the fact that you may not be the best judge of how good you are, so go find out if your thought is even true.
Better Thought — I haven’t been too great at that so far, but if it’s important for me to do, I can certainly learn how to do at least an OK job at it.

4. I screwed up. What an idiot I am!

Join the club. Who hasn’t screwed up? The bigger success the bigger the past screw ups in most cases. Just don’t go from a screw up to judging your entire self or personality (idiot, fool, etc.)
Better Thought — How can I make sure I do that better so I don’t screw up next time?

5. I’d love to do….but

When clients say these magic words, I always have them put on the brakes. I don’t even want to hear what the “but” is about until we confirm that they’d really love to do whatever they’re talking about (design buildings or teach skiing or open a floral shop or be an accountant, doesn’t matter what as long as it’s legal). If they really love doing it, then the better thing to say is
Better Thought — I’d love to do X, so I need to figure out some way to do it. OK, so what would be a way to at least get started.

6. I’m too old to change careers

Really? What does that mean? Usually, I find it doesn’t mean the person can’t get on their toes any more to become a prima ballerina, but that they’re afraid of having to go to school or face younger bosses in a new field or face (illegal) age discrimination. So those are real issues, but they don’t make you too old to change careers. Many of my clients are in their 40s, 50s and older. They can change. In fact I changed midlife too. So can you.
Better Thought — Because I’m really experienced, I know how to learn and can move quickly through a career change.

7. I’m too inexperienced to get the job/career I want

Now we’re on to a common variation of the I don’t know how to thought (number 1). Again, there’s learning, practice and often lots of places to get that experience–classes, internships, volunteering (great one for many jobs), jobs that will train you.

Better Thought — I’m going to brainstorm 100 ways I can get the experience I need (or brainstorm how I can get the job I want without that experience).

We all run some form of thoughts through our head that help get us or hold us stuck, whether in careers we don’t want or in some other parts of our lives. No need to be too harsh on yourself for that (See no. 4. What an idiot…). But, as the bumper sticker says, “Don’t believe everything you think.”

–Career changers, jobseekers–Be sure to sign up for free career and creativity ezine and get your career info bonus

February 24, 2009March 2, 2009

The Creative Jobseeker–Don’t Be a Slave to Your Job Search

If you are thinking of a new job or have new career ideas, or if your company may force you to think of a new job or career, now is certainly the time to get ready, not after you’re already out of work.

But once you’re out of work, how should you spend your time? Many people say spend at least 40 hours a week on your job search–after all, it’s your new full time job.

If you can find 40 hours of productive work, and it’s not wearing you out to the point you’re headed for an illness or exhausted presentation at your next interview–then that’s fine. IN the first weeks of unemployment you probably need to spend that much time on your job search.

But this is the real world folks, and in the real world, you may be a lot better off taking time off from your job search in planned ways than pushing yourself unproductively for 40 hours a week every week if you don’t find a job right away.

I’m just not convinced from what I see that most people can put in 40 useful hours, but some do this out of a desire to prove to themselves and others that they are doing all they can. So they spend hours in social media trying to make new connections, or reply to job ads they know don’t fit what they want or what the company really wants–simply because it’s putting in the time.

What should you do?

Focus on the basics. Assuming you will be staying in your same field/career/job area, focus on

1. Networking–always the big daddy of job search and no different today except for the new ways to network.

I like to think of this as building and tapping into your community of support where you find ways you can help others at least as much as you seek help. Even during your time of need when out of work, helping others should remain important. If you are not contacting most everyone you know and asking for new leads from them, you are not doing your job.

2. Customize and complete your profiles

Profiles include your

Resume (standard and portfolio style as on visualcv.com)
Cover letter
Online presence in LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, etc.

Don’t skimp on these, especially your resume and cover letters. Each resume and cover letter you send out to particular jobs should be customized with KEYWORDS from the job description so you can at least get past the computer/human screeners for the first round of screening.

3. Research job openings and company profiles at companies you might want to work for even if they don’t have openings now. Do what you can to get past the HR managers even if only to get an email, phone call or brief intro meeting with some decisionmakers in a company you like.

These are not the only things to do, but they have by far the biggest impact.

And Then Do…

If you are doing these 3 well, don’t spend hours at your computer searching for some new Twitter group or contact, some new job lead, some new way to tweak the resume again–just to put in your time.

Instead, make sure you spend the time in other activities, things that maybe you couldn’t when you were at work:

Exercising
Meditating or doing something to stay centered and focused
Taking your time with healthy vs. fast food rushed meals
Sleeping adequately, probably about 8 hrs a day
Catching up in the key skill or knowledge areas in your field of expertise.
Learning something new in another field. Very often, creativity and innovation come about from applying an idea from one field to a new field. Get creative–you’ll also be more employable.
HAVING FUN

When people are out of work and can’t afford some of the fun things they normally do, they often just shut down all fun or else beat themselves up for wasting time in front of the TV. Reconnect with hobbies and with family and friends in ways that don’t cost money but share good, upbeat energy.

These 7 non job search actions are necessary, not fluff. They will improve your mental, physical, and spiritual health. And there’s a bonus–they are also what will keep you energized, motivated, and positive and confident. If you can display these qualities when networking and on job interviews, you are MUCH MORE LIKELY TO MAKE THAT ALL IMPORTANT CONNECTION that makes people say, this is someone who I would like to work with, that can get things done, who stands out.

In other words, sure–do the due diligence tasks of jobhunting. These will take time. Don’t avoid them. But see the opportunities that are there to further your well being in other ways and to not waste time with busy work. After all, when you get that new job, you will probably find it a lot harder to get all that exercise, sleep, meditation, learning, and family and fun time back into your life.

–Career changers, jobseekers–Be sure to sign up for free career and creativity ezine and bonus

February 14, 2009February 20, 2009

Hold True to Your Career Ideas–Beyond the Fear of Rejection

A Newsweek article recently reported on research showing how powerful rejection by a group can be. A mere 15 minute exercise leading to complete strangers apparently not including some people in a group led people to become more aggressive, less social, more likely to misinterpret neutral statements as negative, and have less self control (with chocolate chip cookies–hard to blame them).

This, the researchers say, is due to the evolutionary value of staying in groups and rewarding those who can stay together.

I guess I didn’t find these results terribly surprising. We all know firsthand how painful such rejection can be, in our personal or professional lives. The question is whether or not we’ve learned to move on and keep up our confidence in spite of this tendency.

But when it comes to careers, it’s vital we don’t just go with the group. Groups are essential to all we do—we can’t succeed alone—but we also need to beat our evolutionary tendencies. We need to find out what will bring out our best, what will engage our passions, what will be meaningful and rewarding to us, what satisfies our sense of values and vision.

Here are a few things I see people do all the time that stops them or sets them on the wrong course due to fear of group rejection. These activities are fine to do, but you need to be aware that you might run the risk of triggering off a desire to conform and a fear of rejection that can get you off track.

1. Asking friends or family what is the best career for you.

That can be useful If your family and friends offer new career ideas or identify passions of yours you are ignoring in your planning. Do ask for help, but in most cases, make sure it’s primarily about brainstorming or networking or for support.

Too often, though I hear how friends and family are saying what they think someone else should do. For some people, that’s fine. It’s just more useful information. But in line with the studies and common experience, it’s clear we’ll tend to want to go along with our families and friends, at least losing some judgment.

2. Asking people online for career help in forums.

This might seem a lot safer since you don’t have to turn to your spouse or mother and say, no I’m going in the opposite direction you suggested. But it still can trigger off some irrational feelings of going against the group, especially if a number of people all offer the same answer, and no one disagrees. Studies show it’s much easier to go against a group if even one other person is doing so too, but when you’re the only one, it’s very tough. .

3. Not applying for positions. That can be a fear of failure or a fear of rejection because you think it so unlikely you’ll be accepted at a company or in an industry–even though this is what you’d love to do and think you could do well.

So often in coaching I see people simply toss out of hand the idea of approaching someone or switching to a particular career because they assume they will get rejected. They’ll have excuses about how it’s unrealistic or they don’t know quite how to do it, but when we examine it, they find that fear is behind it, often fear of rejection and failure.

To overcome this tendency to conform, remember:

Let your passions and energy motivate you more than external opinions.
Don’t avoid groups, but ask for the support you really want or need from groups
Keep the big picture in mind about finding or achieving your lifework and how that’s more important than a momentary fear
Simply being aware of the potential problem can give you some distance from it so you can take your time and not make hasty decisions or statements.

See related post on understanding failure

Remember to sign up for my free creative problem solving and career ideas ezine for more articles and special offers. You can also email me with your questions about career change here

January 15, 2009April 6, 2009

Career Coaching Mantra–Dig Deeper For Your Job Search

I just read a good article in Fortune about job opportunities. It spoke of possibilities in health care and green jobs, as everyone is. But what is great about this article is that it illustrates a principle I keep repeating to my career coaching clients and in my ezine–Discouraged? Then dig deeper.

Digging deeper means, as the article shows, that the horrible unemployment rate (7.2%) is actually much lower for college grads at 3.3% (hint for anyone wondering about the value of completing college). By digging deeper, you may find such relatively encouraging statistics to replace the more depressing ones we keep hearing.

It also means finding what is opening up even in fields that are otherwise depressed. For instance, construction has over a 13 percent unemployment rate, but maybe if you are an expert in green construction–a rapidly growing field, you may be able to stay afloat and be in great shape as the economy takes off again.

The article also points out that unemployment may be hitting some companies very hard while others may be hiring. You have to know where to look. Don’t assume every company in a field is in the same situation. Dig deeper. It also points out that being able to move can give you a big advantage, especially if you an executive. Not every city has the same opportunities for every field. Dig deeper. According to Fortune, “TheLadders.com researchers looked at metropolitan areas around the U.S. and found that out-of-work executives have the best chance of getting a new job in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, two cities where the ratio of candidates to openings is lowest (3-to-1). … Los Angeles is the most crowded (hence most competitive) executive job market, with a 7-to-1 ratio.”

Of course, digging deeper can give you info that is not encouraging, but still necessary. For instance, if you assume hospitals are steady places for jobs because medical care isn’t a luxury (and please tell that to your legislator this session), insurance pays claims, etc. But hold on. All the VPs I talk to even here in Minnesota with a great health care environment, are upset with the layoffs they were forced to make. This includes nurses and is due to a lot of red ink on the books. One friend of mine was a successful manager at a hospital for over 30 years and was laid off.

I’m not adding that to discouarge you (and especially not into going into nursing or managing in health care which are still expanding fields over the long term).

What I do suggest is that generalizations and headlines often depress us or mislead us without intending to. If you are want a job in a particular field, dig deeper than the usual classifieds and headlines about it. Go find where the openings are–the specific companies, the specific cities, the specific niches in the industry–and seek results there.

Good luck with your virtual shovels!

Remember to sign up for my free creative problem solving and career ideas ezine for more articles and special offers.

January 13, 2009

Keep Writing those Cover Letters

So with all the brevity online with Twitter and emails, maybe the wordy one page or multi-paragraph email cover letter is as archaic as the typewriter. An online resume is more than enough, right?

No so, according to study developed by OfficeTeam and conducted by an independent research firm. The firm interviewed 150 randomly chosen senior executives at top coporations. Executives said cover letters were very valuable (23%) or somewhat valuable (63%) and only 14% said not valuable at all.

In addition, your competitors are sending cover letters, as 80% of the execs said cover letters were either very or somewhat common.

You can check out the the full news release on the OfficeTeam site.

December 11, 2008December 11, 2008

How to Choose A Career–Tips from the MBA Application Process

Here’s a career idea that can be another aid in helping you choose a career, even though it is intended for a more narrow purpose (where it’s also useful).

Yesterday, I posted links to a Wall Street Journal study about the finanical value (or lack of it) for an MBA. Here’s what I think is a very cool follow up. It’s from the University of Virginia B school, but here’s the thing. What she’s saying on this video is is ALSO relevant to ANYONE thinking about career choices in general–not just about MBA programs.

For instance, she talks about asking people who know you when they’ve noticed that you were most excited or most frustrated in the past few months. She suggests that applicants use this as a way of writing a good MBA application essay (and not bore the heck out of the readers).

But don’t be fooled. You can also mine this information to help you find what you have real passion for doing and what is challenging and what is just not your cup of tea.

Others can’t tell you what you should be doing. Tests can’t tell you. Even career coaches, all knowing as we (think we) are, certainly can’t. However, people who know you CAN give you concrete examples of what they’ve seen that can help you get clearer about what kinds of things you consistently love. It’s up to you (with the further support of friends, family, and possibly career coaches) to see how to tap into those situations to decide what kinds of careers match those situations.

In other words, you are a detective and these are clues about your happiness. Sure, the exact thing that you were passionate about may not be the career you will choose (say teaching your girlfriend how to ski). But it may well give you info about how much people interaction you want, how much you want something where learning or teaching is important, etc.

So watch the video and see if her essay suggestions spark some good thinking on your part or that of your friends and relatives.

If you want me, your friendly career coach, to write more about how to use your passions to determine your career, post a comment or send me an email.

If you want some info about career coaching, also send me an email or check out my business site

So here is the YouTube video from Sara Neher, Darden’s Director of MBA Admissions (University of Virginia)