Valuable Diversions - Financial Freedom and Professional Security Through Career Acts

A Side Job. Profitable Hobby. Weekend Rock Band. Under the old rules of employment those with multiple sources of income may have been chastised by a spouse, parent, or nosy mother-in-law for "not having a professional focus" , "not being serious about your job" , "not sticking with it", and "being too distracted".

This is a new decade and those days are over.

Just as the riskiest financial investment strategy is to have all of your money in one place, the riskiest career management strategy is to have all of your income from one organization- unless you occupy a critical role, possess skills that are difficult to find on the labor market, and work for a company with financial security. There is a small percentage of working adults today in that group - with millions more who want to be a part of it. Heck, I want you to be part of it, enjoying full job security and financial freedom.

I am not advocating for you to add additional dull or stressful career acts. Multiple boring jobs would still result in an unsatisfying career overall (and an anxiety-filled life). You deserve more. I want you to do more of what you love, even if you start small with a profitable hobby, an eBay business, or a side job that starts you in an industry or occupational field you find interesting.

Here are three great reasons why you should consider leveraging your talents to manage your overall career as a portfolio of career acts:

Financial Gain and Security. If you are like most people, your career is your number one asset. And, as any other asset, you'd like to manage it for the maximum return. If you added a second career act (of something you loved doing) that provided an after-tax income of even 12K annually from age 25 through age 50, you would add $300,000 to your lifetime earnings. I know you didn't need me to do that math, but it is worth the visual - especially when contrasted with the fact that most people have less than $150,000 in their 401Ks upon retirement and the average home is now worth less than $175,000.
Intrinsic Rewards and Fulfillment. The additional benefit (one that neither your house nor your 401K will offer) is that your career can be a source of intrinsic rewards. If you have ever worked on a project you found interesting - really getting into the flow -- you know the joy and energy the right career act can give you. While I don't believe you should work more hours, I do believe you should devote more energy to building desired career acts to achieve greater fulfillment. Career acts also supply a stress-easing sense of security that comes from knowing if one act of your work-life becomes stale or disappears entirely that you have other sources of stimulation and income. Your career becomes more nimble and less stressful as your attention can be redirected positively, for personal and financial gain.
Professional Advancement. Careers are advanced through the acquisition of needed skills and a strong professional network. Multiple career acts can propel a career faster by multiplying the number of skills gained and people in one's professional network at a faster rate. You don't need to just believe me though. Published in 2009, researchers from the University of Aberdeen, Drs. Pouliakas, Panos, and Zangelidis, tracked over 5,500 people for almost 15 years, examining their employment patterns. While only 8.5% had a second career, those who did were able to use a second career act to obtain "new skills and expertise and as a stepping stone to a new career". Many of these people with diverse multiple career acts were able to springboard into entrepreneurial ventures. Having multiple income streams is a very productive way to grow your career.

Having a second or third career act (of something you love to do) makes sense. Have I convinced you yet?

Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Human Resource Management Department at Rutgers University where she has directed the Center for HR Strategy since 2001. As a career expert, Dr. Caligiuri has written Get a Job, Not a Life: Do What You Love and Let Your Talents Work for You (FT Press, 2010) http://www.getalifenotajob.com. She has been recognized as one of the most prolific authors in the field of international business for her work in global careers, international human resource management, and global leadership development. For human resource management professionals she has also written (with Steven Poelmans) Harmonizing Work, Family, and Personal Life (Cambridge Press, 2008) and (with Dave Lepak and Jaime Bonache) Managing the Global Workforce (Wiley, 2010). Dr. Caligiuri has covered career-related topics for CNN and has hosted a pilot for a television show, CareerWATCH. She holds a Ph.D. from Penn State University in industrial and organizational psychology. Dr. Caligiuri is a popular work-life harmony and career fulfillment blogger: http://www.paulacaligiuri.com/blog

Midlife Career Change - Proper Financial Planning will make the Career Change Successful

Making a mid-life career change is a lot harder than making a career change when you are young. You've got a lot more to lose because you may have already worked your way a good bit up the ladder of success at the career you are in today.

Many who have remained in jobs they didn't like longer than they should have because the job seemed "good enough." Many times that's a mistake. When you are forming an assessment as to whether a job is "good enough," you usually focus on whether the pay and benefits are good. That sort of analysis misses the mark.

What you earn is only part of the total pay package you obtain from the work you do. Your paycheck represents your day-to-day profits. The skills you develop are the result of your long-term research and development project. A company that ignores research and development because today's profits are acceptable is a company with a less than favorable future. Don't fall into this trap.

There is a good bit of wisdom in the "Do What You Love" maxim. It really is true that the most financially rewarding jobs go to those doing work that so motivates them that they possess the energy to become the absolute best at what they do.

When planning a mid-life career change, you need to answer the question: When will the money follow? If you don't get a reliable income stream in place in time, you might not be able to stick it out long enough at the new career to see the benefits of doing what you love ever generate real-world financial profits for you.

You need to have a plan in place before making a mid-life career change. Not just a career plan. You need a financial plan to protect you from the downside risks you take on in making such a dramatic life transition.

There are lots of work issues that need to be taken into account in putting together a plan for a mid-life career change. You need to take tests to learn what sorts of things you are best equipped to do. You need to talk to people now working in the career you hope to enter to see whether jobs in that field are as enjoyable to those on the inside as they appear to be to those on the outside.

Doing that sort of thing is not enough because, no matter how much you plan; you will never be able to anticipate every possible future development that will affect your job satisfaction years down the road. Jump to a new career without putting a financial plan into place to smooth out both the current and future transitions, and there is a good chance that a few years down the road you will be back in the same sorts of circumstances that caused you to want to make the first mid-life career change.

Even career changes that are successful in the short-term are often not so successful after a number of years pass by. You must explore new career options if you are dissatisfied with the career you are in today.

But you must also accumulate the financial resources that will open up options for future changes. Otherwise, you may find yourself five or ten years from now as dissatisfied as you are today but also five or ten years older. Not a good plan.

John Groth is a former HR executive and career coach. Find Career Changing Ideas, valuable articles and a Free seven day career planning guide. Discover up to date career and recruitment strategies at our Midlife Career Ideas all to assist you in advancing and managing your career.

Local financial leaders say legislation hurts jobs, economy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Local financial leaders say legislation hurts jobs, economy  
Tuesday 27 December, 2011 source: Hispanic Business Magazine

A year and a half ago, passed U.S. legislators the most significant law to hit the financial industry since the great depression in response to the more recent great recession, with the intention to prevent it from happening again.
What the Act Dodd-Frank has been achieved so far to squeeze revenue from financial institutions and delay of the economic re. ..
UK foreign policy in 2012 is likely to see an extension of that of the past decade, the most capastrophic since the 1930s. Britian's eyeing Burma, Somalia, Syria and Iran.

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

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