Survive and Thrive - Extraordinary Times Call For Extraordinary Career Planning

The future is not the past. In the famous words of Yogi Berra, "The future ain't what is used to be." And in the famous, although often misquoted, words of George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." These are extraordinary times in the financial markets. Some experts are using the "D" word. Most of us haven't had first-hand experience with the stock market crash of 1929, but we have all heard the horror stories ... people losing everything and jumping out of windows on Wall Street. The windows on Wall Street today ( as in most other modern office buildings) don't open, so it's unlikely we'll see the same scenario ... but there is the possibility of the economy crashing with resulting severe impact to those on Wall Street as well as to those of us on Main Street America. Career planning is probably the furthest thing from your mind right now. Maybe career panic is a more accurate description? Some thoughts you may be having are: Will I still have a job? How will I pay my bills? What about college tuition for my kids? The answers to all of these questions are the same: We just don't know. But we do know that we need to have a plan for whatever may happen. So ... to begin the process, let's talk about junk.

Junk collecting is not an option. We Americans are great junk collectors. Let me first define what I mean by "junk". Junk is anything we don't really need, and our lives are full of it. Just look around you. Maybe you've never thought about what you really need. To get a handle on it, let's make a list. Start by drawing a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. Label the first column "Needs" and the second column "Costs". Remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid? What's at the bottom of that pyramid? Food, water, shelter, clothing. Moving up the pyramid, what's on the next level? Safety and security. Think about your needs in this context. Some examples of needs are: Your home: paying your mortgage or rent, utilities (heat, lights, phone ...) and maintenance (fixing the roof, etc.), Your car: gas and maintenance, Groceries - well, you get the idea. Now figure out what it costs for you to fill each of these needs. Note the cost of each need in column 2. Then, total column 2. This is your financial survival level - everything you're spending money on that isn't on this list may be considered "junk". Is this mind-blowing or does it sound okay to you? For some people, listing their needs can be a very difficult exercise. Some people believe they need two homes, four cars, private school for the kids, several vacations each year, designer clothes, etc. And maybe in some way they do ... that is for them to decide. For most of us, however, this list is short and simple, and it provides us with a solid framework for decision making ... it gives us the opportunity to choose wisely. As we consider the "junk" that isn't on the list, we can either add more things to our list of needs, or we can choose not to spend our money on those things. We can instead put that money aside to build a more comfortable cushion for the future. Financial stability is an important factor in career planning, especially in this unstable economy with its far-reaching consequences. And among these consequences are changing career paths.

Career paths are dead - long live career directions. Many of us have set out on the "yellow brick road" career path. We have hopped, skipped and jumped along this path, heading toward the Emerald City shining in the distance. But ... what happens when we reach the Emerald City? We may see the wizard behind the curtain and discover that Oz isn't at all what we expected. Or, there's another possible scenario ... before we even reach the Emerald City, Oz may fade away. The truth is that specialized career paths today are like the yellow brick road, leading us toward a goal that may in the end not satisfy our needs. A career path may in fact become a career dead end. So what's the alternative? Identify a career "direction" that matches your capabilities: your interests (what you want to do), your strengths (what you do easily), and your competencies (what you do well). A career direction is broader than a career path. It contains many intersecting paths. If one path "dead ends", you can follow another. One example of this is the project manager career path. Many people think about the role of project manager only in the context of Information Technology, but the skills of a project manager can be applied to a variety of industries and functions. For example, an I.T. project manager with capabilities in home carpentry may become a project manager in the construction industry.

Plan A, Plan B ...? Career scenario planning is the way to go. Changing our thinking about career development from a career path to a career direction can help us to identify possibilities we may not have considered before. Most of us have a Plan A, a career path we're already following. But what will happen if that career path goes away? There's always Plan B ... that is, if you already have a Plan B already in mind. What if Plan B disappears ... then what? Rather than trying to identify other paths to follow, begin with what is happening in the business world. What industries may decline? What industries may flourish? What roles will be in greatest demand in these industries? Which of these roles match your interests? Can you leverage your strengths in these roles? Are your competencies among those required for these roles? If so, add these career paths to your overall career direction.

Generalists, specialists, versatilists ... oh my! Let's look back in time to the American frontier. To be successful on the frontier, many different skills were needed - and if you didn't have the needed skills, and no one was around to help you, you were in deep trouble - possibly in a life or death situation. To survive, frontiersmen and women became "generalists" - Jacks and Jills of all trades - hunting, building, farming, cooking, etc. As the population grew and towns sprung up, people began to specialize... blacksmiths, bankers, shopkeepers, etc. There was still a need for generalists, and some people were both. These people might be referred to as versatilists. Today people are playing multiple roles: generalists, specialists, versatilists - but there is another role we should all consider adopting - the role of "survivalist". I'm not referring to the people who have retreated from society and are preparing for Armageddon. I'm talking about those who are adept at surviving and thriving in a world that is rapidly changing and highly unpredictable. Financial stability helps, but the best survival tool you can have is to understand what you can do and, even more important, who you are.

Who are you - really? "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Remember this quote from the historical novel: Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? Character is forged in the worst of times. In the novel, the disreputable English barrister Sydney Carton learns who he is through deciding to make the ultimate sacrifice, giving his life for the disenfranchised French nobleman, Charles Darnay. Carton says "It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done ..." Most of us have found ourselves in difficult, though far less dramatic, circumstances in the past, and in these circumstances we, too, learned who we really are. We learned what is most important to us ... we found our values. This is a time to reconnect with those values. So what is it going to take for you to survive and thrive in these extraordinary times? Three things: Understanding and stabilizing your financial situation as much as possible, understanding who you are (your values) and what you can do (your capabilities), and identifying a wide variety of scenarios and possibilities for your career. Oh, yes ... and being open to new opportunities when they come along - and they will.

I wish you extraordinary career success!

JOANNE DUSTIN, Executive Consultant and Coach

Joanne Dustin is a organization and career consultant and coach focused on leadership development, career development, organizational change management, and talent management.

Joanne is the founder and principal of Synergy Consulting Collaborative http://www.SynergyConsultingCollaborative.com an association of independent consultants, focused on strengthening organizational effectiveness through employee engagement.

Career Choice in Recession Times

How many times in your life, you have mulled over which career to pursue since your childhood? Are you pursing the same career, which you had wished to pursue since your childhood? May be not! After completion of your graduation, your ideas changed and that reflected in your career decision as well. Now, you want to pursue a new one rather than your childhood dream career. That's great! Everybody in their lives at one point or other think like this about what they want to become in their future life. And every decision seems to be the final one. Alas! But, it is momentary. However, is it possible to take a right decision about your career at a very young age? And whatever you had decided, can you stick to the same no matter whatever changes happen both in your life and in this world? Read further to know ...

Career is one of the most important choices in everybody's life. Irrespective of the advancedness of the society, people take career decisions while they were young that they want to become an actor/doctor/ engineer/ politician/ etc. All those decisions were depend on the social circumstances/experiences they had faced during their childhood. Once the person gains maturity and his/her education levels improve, the thought process changes and that starts affecting his/her career decisions also. So, the person who has decided to become a pilot at his/her tender age, discards the same after gaining maturity and decides to go after pursuing some other career elsewhere.

Life is full of distractions. There are very few people in the world who achieved what they had decided to achieve in their childhood. Most of the people ponder different careers and still are undecided whether to pursue the same or not. There are a few psychological tests, which helps people to decide which sort of career is good for them. These psychological tests analyze the person's inherent abilities and map the same with those kinds of jobs, which needs the same kind of characteristics to pursue them. Nevertheless, these kinds of tests are available only for few people who can afford them. Overall, people around the world are blind regarding their career choice until they get struck by a good or bad job at some point of their life and once they get the job, they continue the same due to the duties and responsibilities they are expected to fulfill by the society they live-in.

Life is full of good and bad choices. It depends up on people which one they go after. It is not that much easy to crack a career, which interests you. Consider yourself lucky, if at all, that happens in your life. In most of the people's lives, they decide a career to pursue at their young age and start preparing for the same by doing courses to get into their career of choice. But, this world is an amalgamation of many trends. So, after the person has completed all the required courses and is about to join the career of choice, then suddenly, something happens somewhere in this world as recession has struck us now, and the whole plan of pursuing a dream career will become topsy-turvy.

What to do? The only solution to survive in the present scenario is to acquire capability to pursue any kind of career. It is not that you decide that you will pursue only so and so career of your choice. You should be game for what this world decides and offers you at different moments of your life. Acquire yourself all the skills and strategies, learn all the tools in demand, and shed all your fears and prejudices to pursue the career-in-demand.

In summary, the world wants you to pursue the career-in-demand not the career-of-your-choice at this moment. Since aeons, this world preferred the survival-of-the-fittest. Change your career strategy and show the world that you are the fittest to survive in this recession-struck world. Good Luck!

Resources:

Check your learning skills [http://www.geocities.com/diwan.kumar]

What Career Would Fit Me Best? How Many Times Have You Been Asked This Question?

How many times have you asked yourself this question or been asked by a students, your own child or a friend? It is a common question, and a good one.

Research shows that the match between your job and your personality plays a major role in your job satisfaction and success. From the moment you leave school your job and career will be the topic you most talked about so it's vital that you are in a job you enjoy and that matches the person you are.

Students do not learn in isolation. To acquire knowledge, they need the guidance of parents and the inspiration of teachers.

Parents have the greatest influence on the career choices their children make. Often parents will pre-select a career that they think best suits their child. Some want to relive the choices they made or did not make, by transferring these to their children. Parents need help to understand who their children are and where they can best succeed in life by using their natural gifts and talents.

Great careers do not simply happen. That is why it is important for your child to make career plans. Parents are the best people to ensure that your child is making wise career choices.

Teachers spend more time with children than do parents and influence students significantly. A teacher that connects with students provides inspiration and knowledge. Too often students may dislike a subject because they cannot relate to the teacher.

Career Advisers provide a vital service assisting students in their career path and in their transition from school. Career Advisers often find themselves acting as mediators between parent and child in important discussions in relation to the students future career, subject choices and educational options.

Most Careers Advisers base their recommendations on subjects the student excels at, interviews with the student and common sense.However students need help choose a career that matches their natural gifts and talents.

The four key participants in a student's career decision are:

Careers Advisers
Students
Parents
Teachers

By advising students on their best subject career choices and cross matching their personality to career options, the Careers Adviser can offer advice more confidently.

Career Advisers need a tool that will help them:

Understand their students better
Determine best career options based on students natural gifts and talents
Provide independent assessment of the students behavioural traits
Encourage students to consider a wider variety of career choices
Provide alternative career pathways
Encourage students to focus on their strengths
Provide Parents with independent advice based on profile outcomes

Students need effective feedback that will highlight:

A Students personal style
Careers that best match them
Their personal strengths
The ideal working environment for their particular style
What they bring to a job
What they value and what annoys them
Their learning style and how to improve

The benefits to students will include:

Affirmation of their talent and encourages them to choose a career that best matches their style and gifts
Reinforces strengths and natural styles
Helps them understand themselves and why they act and behave the way they do
Helps them to appreciate others and why people are different
Provides essential people skills they can use to form relationships with partners, colleagues and employers.
Builds student confidence and self-worth
Report content will add value and content to their CV. (Students often find it difficult to describe their personal qualities and promote themselves. My Career Match gives students useful information they can use)

Parents need guidance on their child's personal style and practical suggestions on how to develop a harmonious and stimulating relationship with their children where they are encouraged to be the best they can be.

Parent need advice and understanding on:

Why children are different
How to create a positive climate at home
How to help their child develop and learn
How to communicate with their child
How to encourage their child

Teachers also need to understand who they are and how their personality traits influence the way they teach and manage students. Teachers need essential interpersonal information to assist them recognise their personal strengths and shortcomings, and how to relate and communicate to students of each behavioural style.

This will help teachers:

better understand children
improve academic performance
discover motivational secrets
help students stay on task
enhance your teaching abilities
encourage self esteem in students
raise your own self-confidence
work with children rather than against them
reduce stress

To do this teachers need to be know and understand:

Their personal style
Their strengths and weaknesses
Their teaching style characteristics
How their teaching style influences students
How to deal with students of different styles
How to resolve classroom conflict

For more information on how to assist school leavers and career changers go to www.eaglesconsulting.com.au

Len Eagles B.Comm Dip.Ed
A Careers Adviser with 30 years experience, Len brings his considerable knowledge to MyCareerMatch. Having advised thousands of students on choosing the right career pathway, he knows that people are best when doing things they are naturally gifted at.

Len was trained and appointed as one of the first full-time Careers Advisers in the NSW Dept. of Education in the 1970's. He also worked as a Regional Consultant in Transition Education and was a Primary School Principal for several years.

For the last 20 years he has been the Careers Adviser and Vocational Education Coordinator at Christian Community High School in Sydney. During this time he was involved in trialling and developing many innovative programs in Career Education and Vocational Education. He has helped thousands of students to discover and explore relevant career pathways in their transition from school to work and further education and training.

http://www.eaglesconsulting.com.au

Finding Work in Tough Times - The Hunt for Reality, Optimism and a Job

Teresa, a 40-something manager, rode a career wave that peaked and crashed. The major telecommunications company where she had worked in Silicon Valley for many years showed signs leading up to the lay off. When Teresa lost her job, it marked the third round of layoffs at her company. The first had occurred four months earlier...

''You could see a trend," says Teresa. "I knew my position was in peril because I was finished with a large project and was looking for things to do. I was not surprised, but it was disturbing."

The company dwindled from 700 employees to 400. Last to be laid off were well-paid managers and directors. When Teresa found herself in that group, she deployed a seven-tiered approach to facing the job market anew. You can use these tips too. Use them to get a new job in your current field or to pave a new career path.

1. Seek Training and Support

Get the training you need to sharpen your interview skills and update your resume. Career transition companies like Lee Hecht Harrison (http://www.lhh.com) offer courses to give you a roadmap that optimize your job search results.

Certified career coaches, like the author, are also available. Coaches work with you one-on-one or in groups (typically with over the phone convenience) to build your communication and confidence. You can use your sessions to practice interviewing and receive feedback on strengths and weaknesses. Coaches point out where you're going astray, how to maximize your efforts and keep you on track so you can obtain the best possible job options.

Other resources such as professional organizations offer job leads, an opportunity to network within your industry and can provide subgroups for job seekers. Join existing job seeker groups within an organization or start your own. Form a "success team" with four to eight people. Get together with them to share job leads, successes and failures. You can hire a facilitator to direct the group and offer guidance about tough job obstacles or take turns switching off leadership for each meeting.

The success team that Teresa joined provided her with support during a time of uncertainty. It offered shoulders to cry on and a cheering squad to motivate each other onward.

The group also provided answers and self-esteem boosters. Teresa explains, "When people get laid off, it really is a loss. When it happens each of us needs to address the lingering issues and come to terms with: why was I laid off? Why not this other person?" Bringing these questions to a facilitated group helped build morale.

Whether you are pondering these questions in a group setting or on your own, also consider these questions: What can I learn from this? And, what is next for me? You may or may not get to the bottom of all the "whys" but you can learn from your experience and build the courage to move forward into your next opportunity.

2. Set Goals and Work Toward Them

Take some time to set both short term and long-term goals. Do you want to work toward a new career path? Do you need to find a job right away? Based on your professional and personal needs, form goals directed toward your next employment move. Sometimes setbacks can hold the gem of an exciting new opportunity. For example, let's say you enjoy designing web sites for friends and you have your own blog. You've dreamed about taking this hobby to a professional level. Does the ending of your current job give you the chance to go for your dream? You may opt to work either full time or part time while you get trained for and launch a new business. There are many ways to make it happen. Look for the opportunity in the setback. Shape a goal around it.

It may be challenging, but set at least one goal that is three to five years in the future. This will give you a bird's eye view of what you're moving toward. Write down your future goal with a date associated with it, such as: To advance my career and get a marketing manager job by June 30, 2011. Let your goal stretch you. Also make it real enough that you believe you can do it. Your longer-term goal will inform goals you need to set today.

Facing reality: what goals do you need to set today to get a job or make a career change? Set a four to six week goal. Make sure to write down what you intend to do by when. For example: To obtain a product development job at the same salary or greater by April 15, 2008. Once you put a specific goal with a target date out there, you can map out daily and weekly action steps to move you toward your outcome.

Each person in Teresa's success team created six-week goals and shared them with the group. This created instant accountability. Teresa's goals were: Join two volunteer organizations and to have a job offer at the end of six weeks. Teresa accomplished her goals. You can too by mirroring what she did. No matter how scared you are take action anyway. The next tip will give you what you need to create a plan and go...

3. Create a Plan and Go

Your goals are in place. Now post them in a visible area to remind yourself of them every day. Then let the rubber hit the road. Take at least one hour to figure out how you will achieve them. Develop a marketing plan featuring you as the product. Don't know where to begin? Seek the advice of a certified career coach or talk with a successful colleague. Bouncing ideas off of someone and saying your thoughts out loud can clarify next steps.

To discover her personal job roadmap, Teresa asked herself these questions: What are my job search objectives? How will I position myself in the job market? What skills and experience will I emphasize? With whom will I network? What companies will I target? What types of jobs will I seek?

Ask yourself the same questions. Also ask: What is my purpose? Why do I need a new job?

Answering these questions ignites fire beneath your job hunt. What are the compelling reasons that motivate you to wake up in the morning and search? Examples include: advance your career, learn new skills, support your family, connect with people and build a sense of personal accomplishment. Your purpose provides the key to unlocking your drive and motivation. Become intimately acquainted with the why behind your job pursuit. Remind yourself of it daily, especially if you are resisting taking action.

4. Set and Hold Daily "Work Hours"

If you are unemployed, your job is now to get a new job. That means that you must dedicate part or full time hours to a structured job pursuit.

You went from having set works hours to the vast open space of free time. We all long for it, but when it's before us free time can be daunting. Make sure that you set and hold "work hours" each day. That is, dedicated and focused time toward your job search. Know in advance what you'll do each day.

Teresa set regular 9 to 5 work hours. To lock in this schedule four days a week, Teresa rewarded herself for hard work. She says, "I took one day off as an incentive because you know how demoralizing it can be to find a new job."

You can also set up rewards or consequences to help you stick to your job search schedule. Another professional woman, for example, enjoyed spending summer weekends at the local water slide with her kids. She decided that if she didn't get her focused tasks done during the week as planned then she would have to spend the weekend working while her family was off playing. Her family wanted to spend fun time with her so they all rallied behind her to get her job activities done during the week. It was a strong incentive to keep her going even when she didn't feel like picking up the phone or dressing for an interview. She managed to follow her set schedule and avoided the "no fun" consequence. She found herself splashing away in the rush of water with her kids and husband: her reward for putting in a week of concentrated efforts.

5. Broaden the Range of Jobs You Will Consider

You're sending email blasts to get the word out. You've researched companies of interest and tapped into your network. But still no results. To get back out there, earn some income and re-build your confidence, you may need to broaden the jobs that you'll consider.

Perhaps you have been out of the market for a while to raise children, for example. The available jobs today may differ from those available when you were in the job market before. There may be a larger or smaller number job openings in your field of interest.

Put yourself out there and find out. Ask around. Search the net. Discover what people currently in your desired industry have to say. You may have to expand the types of jobs you are willing to accept and that match your skills.

A colleague of Teresa's, Jim, approached the job market as if the economy was still robust. As an ex-director, he pursued vice president and director-level positions, which made high salary demands. But, given the rapidly declining market and changed hiring needs, potential companies were not interested.

Jim started looking into government postings. But city and government positions, once overflowing, had been dramatically cut. To avoid a prolonged job search like Jim's, Teresa offers the following advice.

When you're faced with accepting less than you are accustomed to, Teresa suggests, "Lower your expectations about what you're going to get. When your gut feeling says to take the job, do it. Don't let pride get in the way." Do not stall. You never know where the position will lead. With often 100s of people applying for every open position, jobs can fill quickly. If it is not your dream job, it can be a temporary place holder until you find a more suitable career move. Here's how...

6. Fill Your Job Search with Leveraged Tasks

What actions will give you the highest return toward getting a new job?

Whether you're dedicating 40 hours a week to a job search or devoting an hour a week outside of your current job, continue to take steps toward your next position.

As mentioned, Teresa filled four full days a week with the targeted actions. You can take the same steps to accelerate your job search.

- Research job search engines like http://www.monster.com and Yahoo's http://www.hotjobs.com. Also peruse local on-line job listing sites to check out openings in your area.

- Contact hiring managers to ask questions by phone or in person. Or try contacting someone in a department of interest and see if they'll chat with you for 10 minutes about what it's like to work there.

- Submit resumes and always follow up by phone and email to make sure that the company received them. Don't just be another sheet of paper in the stack. Get noticed by making personal, voice-to-voice contact.

- Network. Contact colleagues for job leads. Set up lunches and coffee meetings to let people know you're searching. Friends and colleagues can be your greatest allies in finding work.

- Research companies before interviews. Even reading a press release about a new product the company created can let the interviewer know you did your homework.

- Interview. Getting an interview alone is a positive step. Be prepared with questions and clear examples of how your work fits the position. Greet the interviewer and a firm (but not bone breaking) handshake.

- Follow up with prospective employers. After an interview, call the person who interviewed you, send an email or a hand written thank you note. Re-emphasize your commitment and enthusiasm for the job.

- Attend trade shows and industry forums. This will give you direct access to recruiters and employees from targeted companies. Job listings are commonly displayed at trade shows.

- Join new business organizations. Get connected with members and build relationships with those inside of companies you would like to work for. Professional organizations often share strong leads with members.

7. Find Meaning Outside of Work

Many of us define ourselves by work, work, work. But when we lose our jobs, our identity in work is gone. There's a pause in those dinner party conversations when someone asks, "What do you do?" Before you could happily say, "I'm overseeing the Benefits Department at Seagate Technology." Now you fumble for words explaining your situation. Finding meaning outside of work will help you define yourself beyond your job. You are still worthy. Your job loss may even connect you with dormant parts of yourself. Was there a time in your life that you did a fun hobby? Did you used to enjoy wood working classes? Are there recipes you used to love to cook? What's that volunteer organization that you used to joyfully devote time to?

As you recall, one of Teresa's job search goals was to join two volunteer organizations. She says she did this to "get out there and do something. It was a way to make myself feel valued during this time of uncertainty. If I'm not working, I might as well be doing something." She enjoyed spending one Saturday a week leading tours at a historical property in Palo Alto, California.

We humans are wired to be productive. Dig your hands into volunteering at the community garden or take that Pilates fitness class one day a week. Do something that increases your energy and reminds you that there is more to life than work. Spend a full stretch of time doing something purely fun. Or commit one night a week to that cherished hobby you've almost forgotten about. It will lift your spirits and motivate you to keep going on your job search.

And while playing and pursuing work, you will remember the balancing act of life with its opportunities and challenges. If you look at life as a series of cycles and phases, you're in the midst of one to the next. Ideas and answers will point you toward new job beginnings. Teresa took her job hunt as an adventure saying, "You can't take it too seriously. As long as you have a roof over your head and food to eat with a little spending money... there is always much to be grateful for." With gratitude for what you do have and a willingness to let go of what is lost, you will be well on your way for what the future holds.

So step into the river, one step at a time, feeling the rocks beneath your feet until reach more fertile ground.

And are you ready to learn more about how to turn your goals into reality?

Then "[N]aked Desk" author Sue Brenner invites you to visit [http://www.suebrenner.com] to get access to her free success tele-seminars.