Reinventing Yourself for Multiple Careers

In many countries around the globe, people are born into their station in life and hence their professions. It is unnecessary for them to plan a career as they are expected to perform one specific job their entire lives. These cultures do not consider personal growth or the possibility of choosing one's profession.

America, on the other hand, was built on self-reinvention, and today's economy demands it. Those born before 1946 are less likely to have changed careers or even worked for more than one employer during their lifetimes.

Today, many employees outlive the lifespan of the companies they work for, and the average worker can now expect to have at least three or more careers, with up to six different positions within each of those careers.

Hardly a week goes by without hearing of corporate takeovers, mergers and corporate downsizing. As a result, thousands of seasoned employees are facing burnout from increased responsibilities or being laid-off and replaced with younger, lower-paid employees. Many are looking for a different means of earning a livelihood.

For the first time in history, employees must learn to manage themselves and take responsibility for their own employment. Even the word "career" is taking on new meaning, as a new generation of employees is moving in and out of multiple careers during their lifetimes.

Keep in mind that a career change is not the same as job advancement within a specific career. Most are either lateral or a step down in income until you gain experience and expertise in your new career. Be prepared to downsize your lifestyle.

Think of choosing a new career as an opportunity to bring a fresh outlook and revitalization to your life, as new experiences will stimulate your thought processes.

The most importance part of selecting a new career is also the most obvious, . . . deciding on what you want to do. Often this is a natural offshoot of a previous occupation(s). Reinventing yourself often involves a unique merging of your old talents with your new skill set.

Begin by making an honest assessment of your skills, interests and experiences and ask yourself:

- What would I do if money were no object?

- What did I love to do as a child?

- What activity do I do so intently that I don't notice time passing?

- What do I feel passionately about?

- What do I value the most?

- What are my strengths?

- What are my transferable skills?

- What kind and how much education will I need to make this change?

Most people find fulfillment by doing what they're good at. By evaluating your skills, interests, strengths and desires you will be able to see a connection between what it is that you value and what you excel at. These are the building blocks that you can turn into a new career.

While your new career is still in the planning stages, you can gain valuable information by:

- Attending professional meetings and informal gatherings.

- Networking.

- Joining an online career discussion group.

- Asking questions.

You are likely to need some additional education in order to begin a successful new career, start by improving the skills you already have. Sometimes, learning a few new software programs is simply all it will require. Should you choose to return to college, learning new skills is much easier when you are motivated to begin a new life.

Once you have chosen the kind of work you wish to pursue and acquired the necessary education, be sure to edit your resume to reflect your strengths and skills in this area.

Don't be surprised if your job search lasts a little longer than usual. Concentrate on companies that are seeking people with your reworked skill set and eventually you'll find an employer who will value the knowledge and experience you gained from your previous career(s).

It is vital today, more than ever, to remain versatile to stay employed. A successful career will evolve over a lifetime if you are continuously open to new possibilities. You must constantly seek opportunities for self-improvement and professional growth in order to be prepared for your next reinvention.

Mary Carroll at the beginning her fourth career. Hers career has progressed from photojournalist to catalog graphic designer to photo stylist. Mary is currently employed at Video Professor, the leader in self-paced software learning tutorials [http://www.videoprofessor.com/products/videoprofessorproducts.html] as a customer advocate.

Preparing For a Life With Multiple Jobs and Careers

In his ASU commencement speech this week, President Obama urged graduates to be prepared for more than one job or career in their lifetime. His recommendation was "to keep gaining new skills - possibly even new degrees; and to keep taking risks as new opportunities arise."*

Although our leaders in various fields have been expressing this for years now, I meet many people who haven't quite stepped into this career paradigm shift. The fact that many aren't sure how to prepare themselves for job and career transitions is understandable since we live in a demanding and transforming culture with few rituals, road maps, instructions, and support for people during or regarding change. There is a growing amount of information, expertise, and support for people IN career transition, but on a foundational level, how do we stand in this new paradigm powerfully so that job and career transitions start to become more organic and fluid?

Acceptance: To prepare ourselves as career marathon runners who'll likely make many stops, we first must step into accepting and absorbing that a career paradigm shift is happening within our culture as a whole. Although it can be difficult to imagine changing careers for many reasons, assessing whether this is likely to be a reality for you is ultimately the more empowering and energizing place to operate from. The problem with ignoring or denying something that is likely to occur is both that we loose the ability to steer our own lives and we often find ourselves ill prepared for change that comes our way.

Preparation: To elaborate on one of the essential points of President Obama's speech - staying in a place of learning and discovery in your day-to-day life is vital. This learning may mean an additional degree, broadening your skills within your desired field, or engaging in extracurricular learning activities. Whatever you choose to explore, the more you connect yourself to learning and growth-oriented activities you love, the more likely you will start to create possibilities for new jobs and careers in areas that you deeply enjoy in your life. In both my work as a business executive and in my work as a Life and Career Coach, I have met numerous people who's thriving careers sprung from a single extracurricular class, hobby, or life-long interest that was initially pursued by carving a small amount of time out of their schedule.

Flexibility & Openness: Getting comfortable with change is vital as well. If you've ever taken a first yoga class, you'll remember what it's like to marvel at the flexibility of others around you while you struggled to sit comfortably. Remaining flexible and open to career development opportunities and career change in general takes practice, practice, practice, but the more you practice, the better and stronger you feel. So, try and embrace new technologies and new ways of doing business, accept new work assignments, and stay open to job and career changes...the more you do, the more one thing will start leading to another naturally, and the more fluid transitions will be.

A Longer Vision: Start to think of your degrees and job experiences as important personal building blocks rather than things that define you within a singular career. In addition, imagine the kind of life and financial security you'd like in retirement and keep this image in mind when you make job and career decisions going forward. A long-term career vision that is rooted in what you really value and desire for yourself will help you plan and strategize for your life.

Risk-Taking: Take calculated risks when appropriate in your career. Whatever shape this takes for you, we frequently make our biggest leaps when we take risks. So, before you run from the risk, think of your long-term vision, enlist support and explore all the possibilities around this. There may very well be a way for you to take action with limited risk, and this risk may turn out to be the best opportunity you've ever create in your career.

*from the transcript posted on "The Huffington Post," May 14, 2009.

Maria McKenna is a Career Coach with the Institute for Coaching.