Career Change – Are you afraid to move in this economy?

The buzz right now is that everyone is holding on to their current jobs with a death grip due to the grim economy. The overarching belief is that there are no jobs out there and for the ones that do exist, there are too many people applying. Let's say some of that is true. What is also true is that there are job openings. People move, get promoted or something continues to pull people out of their jobs every day. There are jobs. Maybe not as many and maybe the competition for the ones that come available are stiff BUT there are jobs that need to be filled. One thing is also true; you won't get any of them if you don't try.

If you have arrived at a point where you think it is time to make your next strategic career move, you should not let the state of the economy stop you. Don't create barriers where there are none. The challenge will be greater than in previous years but if you're prepared for those challenges, go for it. Let's look at what some of these challenges might be:

Job Posting Site– You hear stories of 200 people applying for one job at a local nursery for a nursery stock tender. In this environment, you can count on stiff competition for any posted job. The key here is "posted job". While it is one way to find out what openings exist, you and millions are looking at that same posting. Looking for a job this way is the lowest priority in a job search because it is the way millions of others are searching and applying. It is hard to land a new position this way due to the volume of other applicants and it is hard to stand out in a big crowd. It can be done and you should pursue it, you just need to calibrate your expectations appropriately.

Recruiters- You also need some insight into the life of a recruiter. They receive thousands of resumes each day. They will often use their computer software to sort out all kinds of criteria to help narrow down the huge pile that has come in. This is a buyer's market also. They don't need to talk to you, give informational interviews or much of anything they used to do a few years ago. Right now, they want to process the paper as quickly as possible, narrow it down to a few that look hot and screen them. With tight budgets, geographic consideration is also a big selection criterion. They may not want to fly applicants or relocate new hires, so be aware that geography is now playing a role in how an applicant is being screened.

The perfect match – Because the use of resume' handling software has become so prevalent these days, there is such a thing as the perfect match. If a hiring manager has determined 9 key skills and experience, the software will prioritize the resume's that have the highest number of matches. With a large volume, it is now possible to have resume' selected that hit 100% of the criteria, thus leaving out perfectly good candidates who are "close".

This is starting to sounds like an increasingly impossible set of barriers. This environment is challenging for sure but not impossible if your plan takes these things into account. Let's look at the key actions a person can take.

Make use of your contact and network – More than 80% of all job openings never make it to any kind of posting. Only the seriously hard to fill positions go out publicly for the most part. That means you must find those positions through the use of "who you know". This has been and continues to be the number one way to find an ideal spot. It's good because to some degree, it's prescreened for you. Your network will be reluctant to send you into a snakepit workplace. They would have to face you later and simply don't want to feel guilty. Also, they will refer when they feel confident with both sides, you and the other being a good fit. Don't feel bad if some people you know simply don't refer, they probably are the same ones that don't fix up their friends with blind dates. Some people just don't want to do it. BUT, some do!

Expand your network – if a career move is on the horizon, it's time to cast the net a bit broader. Figure out some groups you can hook up with that will be rich in potential job contacts. Look in Meetup on the internet, tons of great groups. Also, look into social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, easy and convenient.

Look in unique places- on an airplane, coffee shop or church.

Plan your resume' – It is no longer possible to have just one all purpose resume'. Because of resume' search software, you must create resume's rich in key words. So if there is a few different related positions, create a different one for each position.

Set your expectations – Once you make a decision to move, it is a bit like stopping a freight train. You want to move right now. In this environment, you need to be a marathon runner. You need to pace yourself and set your expectations appropriately that this will take a while. You need to plan for a few dips and bumps which means you need to push through them and keep your eye on the goal.

Don't let the economic environment stop you from pursuing your dream job. There are millions of jobs and people are hiring every day. Your job is to understand the hiring situation, put your plan together and start working on it, today.

Mid Life Renewal played out on TV

If anyone has been watching the TV program "Numb3rs" this season and probably the last two, there has been a significant life change going on for one of the support players. Don't worry, you don't have to have watched it to understand the observations I'm about to make.

The quick back drop. Dr. Larry Fleinhardt is a professor and friend to the key character who shares in his math genius. The key character's math skills are the heart of the program premise. Larry is brilliant and also very introspective about his place in the universe. He is single and solidly in his middle age. A couple of seasons ago, he applied for and joined in one of the space shuttle missions. It was the first in a series of surprising actions by this character. Prior to his space shuttle assignment, he gave up his place to live and began living in the basement of the university. When he returned, he was a changed person. Larry went off to live in a Buddhist temple with total silence. Next, he was been selected to work in Switzerland on the super collider, looking for the "God molecule". He has now resigned this prestigious role and has tenured his resignation as professor, only he is still showing up at work. In the meantime, Larry has decided to scorn technology and speaks of the pureness of a simple life. The last we saw of Larry he was driving to Las Vegas with tickets to 5 possible destinations in search of his own meaning. Clearly, Larry is making a substantial mid life renewal.

I thought looking at what is going on with Larry was a great way to illustrate what happens to many of us at one point or another in our life. Usually that point is in our mid life, give or take a decade. So, what is going on with Larry (or us)?

Larry has had a great career. He has earned a lot of visibility, credibility and notoriety. He is a rock star of mathematicians. Larry (or us) is starting the process of shifting who he is. He is going through an internal change and transition. As a result, he is rethinking everything in his life. While he loves his friends and appreciates his own contribution, he is now realizing there are other things, other experiences or points of view he wants to have. His big issue is, he just doesn't know what that is. He has been experimenting with the possibilities such as going to space. When he returns, he isn't prepared for the huge transition of moving back to his previous existence, it's disappointing and somewhat pointless. He thought he would find the answers "out there". The good news with Larry is he has been patient with himself. He is experimenting with his life and willing to accept whatever outcome. He will find his answer because he is open, patient and optimistic that his answer exists.

I should point out that Larry is also very uncomfortable with the space he is in. All transition comes with the inevitable discomfort of confusion and disenfranchisement. When you don't know who you are it drains your confidence and clarity. All too often, we try to shake this feeling off by destructive means like drugs, alcohol or instant gratification. Even if we don't react that way, we tend to be inpatient with ourselves and try to ignore this important passage in our lives. This is analogous to the birthing process. It's not a piece of cake for mother or child. The end result, however, is well worth the discomfort.

Why does this take place? There is never one simple answer to something as complex as we are. Among the catalyst are "completions". All careers have a peak and a person realizes they are done. They have nothing more to contribute. When children leave the nest, it signifies a completion of parenting. Life events like divorce and death will sometimes set a person into a rethink mode. In addition to completions are emotionally stirring events like having a religious experience or falling in love. All of these things plus our maturity and insight go into the mix of what sets us into redefining who we are.

What lesson have we learned from Larry? As I see it they are: 1- be patient with yourself, know you will be uncomfortable for a while 2- try and experiment with new things, you never know what new passion you will discover 3- be self accepting, even when you change everyday 4- maintain a sense of humor 5- don't eliminate your friends, even if you have to lose contact for a while.

My pearl of wisdom: Be a Larry when the time comes. Quote from Larry to a friend: "You could move in with me but I don't live anywhere."

Personal Change: Does Logic Play a role?

It is important to look at the role logic plays in making personal change. If you look around you for a moment, you see TV, signs, articles and people flinging logic around with the clear intent of making someone change something. You can see it in anti-smoking campaigns. Those guys are spending the millions they were forced to spend on anti-smoking when they lost the various class action lawsuits. They wouldn't be spending millions if it didn't work, right? Not really. Smoking rates are going up, not down.

If logic worked to make us make change, we would all be non-smoking, slim and fit darlings already. Yet, I find it fascinating how many of us think that if we can just get this serious nugget of logic in front of the unknowing or uneducated that miraculously, they will see the beauty of that pure logic and change. You can also see this working with people that have the most to lose: death threats from heart disease. I recently read that close to 70% of people with serious heart disease ignore the lifestyle counseling from their own doctors. They know they have to eat right, exercise, lose weight and shape up or die, but that huge group ignore the counseling. They keep doing all the things that got them knocking on death's door and you would think that would be enough to inspire anyone to straighten up. Logic, while beautiful, is not enough to make most of us change anything.

Why do we keep shoveling out logic like a cure for the common cold? There are numerous things that go into that mix. Key among them is: we lack the skills to infuse motivation to change in others or ourselves. Making a change, whether it is flossing your teeth or changing jobs, has its challenges. Notice I said challenges. Making change is not impossible but it is a process that follows known characteristics and if you don't understand the process, you're left to "logic it out". For some reason, there is little education done on this subject and change happens our entire life. I liken it to ignoring the obvious. For the most part, we are left on our own to muddle through making changes, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Understand that logic does have its place with making a change. It is not the thing that will emotionally move you forward or cause you to take action. Logic's role is in the process of change, the thing that helps you plan, sort out issues and clear your mind. Logic, when left on its own won't motivate you.

Where does this revelation leave us? First, stop trying to use logic to convince others to change. We aren't prone to taking advice to begin with and logic really doesn't do the trick. Besides, if you're trying to change someone else, you're probably irritating. Second, there is information in the form of books, workshops and classes on making and mastering change and then of course, there is the occasional expert on change (ahem, cough) you can work with.

Personal Change Resistance: It’s getting a bad rap

 

There is an interesting myth that our culture supports; that we resist change. It's interesting but it's also untrue. You may be sitting there thinking "is she out of her mind?" Let me quickly show you my point. You have been making change your whole life. You changed from a child to an adult, you changed schools, moved, and changed friends. The list goes on. As an adult, you have even more change happening to you, some of it you caused and some of it "happened" to you. As you know, change is the only constant in our life, so it washes over us all the time. Change happens.

This leaves us to ponder the questions: If we have so much change happening to us, why do we think we resist it? Why are some changes so hard to make or accept? These are all good questions. Let's examine what change resistance is.

Our tendency is to turn our behavior into a habit. As humans, we benefit greatly from habits. It means we can perform numerous tasks with very little conscious effort. In other words, we don't have to think about things too much. The best illustration of this is when you drive home and suddenly realize you don't remember most of the drive. The drive home is a habit. You don't have to think about how to operate the car or what streets you have to turn on. These habits allow us to more or less go on auto-pilot mentally which reduces the amount of energy we spend on the various tasks of living. If you have ever had a day filled with learning something new, you know just how exhausting that can be. That is how each day of your life would be if you didn't have habits to help you.

An important thing to also understand about a habit is that it takes at least 21 days of repeated behavior to either make or break a habit. Three weeks doesn't sound like much until you try doing it. That means if you want to start exercising regularly, you're looking at about a month before it STARTs to become a habit. If you have ever been to a gym at the first of the year, you would notice a huge influx of people. By February about half of those same people are there. So changing or substituting a behavior means you have to know up front, it will take a while before it becomes routine and therefore easier to do consistently.

A strange aspect to habits is the unconscious aspect to it. That means that we aren't thinking too much about what we're doing, so if it turns out you're a jerk, you probably don't notice it. That's nice for you, not so nice for those around you. That means if you have had a deep and meaningful conversation with your spouse about some crummy behavior, there are worlds of issues creating the "resistance". First, they probably have no idea what the issue is. Second, even if you get them to agree to change, they have to figure out what to substitute. Third, if they figure out a suitable substitute the challenge will be for them to continue to do it long enough to create a new habit or behavior. Real change is possible, but it has its challenges. Let me tell you the refreshing part of this. Most of the people you run into that are jerks (including your boss), don't really realize it. That means, they aren't acting like a jerk to make your life horrible, they are simply doing things unconsciously. The refreshing part of this: it's not about you.

Now that you understand the role habit plays, let's look at how it makes you feel. Because a habit allows you to unconsciously conduct a large part of your life, it allows you to feel comfortable. We are creatures of comfort and we will go to great lengths to maintain that comfort. That means that if we can avoid having to do things consciously, we will. We will only voluntarily make changes when a situation has gotten to a point where we are uncomfortable enough with whatever the issue is, that we then take action. You can logic your way to thinking about a change but if you don't feel uncomfortable enough, you won't make the change. You can look at the no smoking movement. We are putting out all kinds of information about why you shouldn't smoke. Pure logic. The smoking rate continues to grow. If logic worked, none of us would be smoking, overweight or out of shape. Some of us are left to conclude, then, that if we "know" something and don't make a change that we must be resistant. Logic alone won't make most of us uncomfortable.

Change happens to us and is something we do to ourselves all the time for the rest of our lives. We really aren't resistant to it; we tend to avoid paying attention to it. We're dealing with habits, which are hard to change. There is a big difference between being resistant to something and simply breaking a habit. Being resistant is largely an attitude. You can modify your attitude much easier than modifying a habit. Lest I depress you, let me leave you with a few quick thoughts. Breaking a habit or making a change, is a process, so it can be done. You will need to do some planning and set your expectations about the amount of time it might take. Also, we tend to not retain or internalize how to apply one change to others in our life but the minute we do, we become its master.

Discover your passion through your natural creativity

We often find our passions through our creative instincts. We all have them, you know. As children we dance to our own beat, sing our own songs, build our own play worlds, and draw our own designs in the sand. As adults we can recapture those creative instincts by relaxing our minds to new possibilities.

I love to play the "what if I could" game. It allows me the freedom to think without limits. What if I could write a book? What if I could have a million dollars? Maybe if I wrote a book, I'd have a million dollars. What if I could plan a vacation or host a dinner party? What if I could fix a car or fix a computer or raise my own vegetables? What if I could manage a household or manage a group of employees? What if I could help the elderly or tutor children?

Of course, the answer to all of my "what if I coulds" are a resounding "yes". I can do pretty much anything, if I decide it is important enough to me. Whatever I decide to do always takes some level of creativity on my part. To think and to act is by nature using creativity. The more we think and act, the more creative we become. So if you ever think you have no creativity, just recall a time when you thought of something and you did it. We all have. We are all creative. We are humans, the only species given the creative ability to build a wonderful life beyond the drive for food and shelter.

Now get out there, no matter how old, how rich, or how fit you are, and play the "what if I could" game. Dare to show off your creativity. Dare to follow your passion.

Love and Joy, Ruth Colter

 

NOTE FROM DOROTHY: I wanted to let the blog readers know that from time to time, I will be posting articles written by people other than myself but the content reflects what is consistent with Next Chapter New Life direction. Enjoy.

How do I know if I’m ready to retire?

This question isn't really about the financial aspects as much as it's about the emotional or personal side of this equation. It's not the side that gets talked about too much, but retirement is much more than a question of money.

Clearly, you need to ensure you do have a financial plan for the day you decide to take the retirement plunge. Assuming you have some idea of the financial situation in your life, let's look at the other, more personal side.

The quick answer to the question is: Not if you don't have a plan for the personal side of your life. Many people mistakenly think that the day of not working will be a glorious day. What's not to like about not working? Actually, plenty. Up to this point in your life, your work has been the one, if not the primary source, of meaning and purpose. If you unplug from something that vital in your life, you have virtually unplugged yourself from life support. I'm not saying you have to keep working, but I am saying that you can only play so much golf and watch just so much daytime TV before you start feeling totally worthless about yourself.

There is not one aspect of your life that is not impacted or affected by retirement. It's a huge social impact as it will impact your relationships with friends from work and probably your spouse or significant other, family and other non work friends. It impacts how you define yourself and how you find meaning. It means that you need to find something to spark your interest and imagination. You may expand doing some of the things you only got to do periodically when you worked. You will also find new things to do (hopefully). Your financial situation may be such that you need to continue to bring in some income for a while, so what might that work be? Even if the finances aren't an issue, you may decide to work but in a different setting. Many people heading into retirement think about moving to be closer to family or in a geography that better suits them. Then there's the issue of your health and fitness. You might have ignored that while working, but your excuse will be going away. You have to work at staying healthy as you age. Are you getting the drift yet? There are a lot of things to think about. There are things you need to spend time thinking and planning for. This isn't a 2 week vacation. This is probably 30 years (give or take a bit). 30 years of your life is well worth the effort.

If you're sitting there doing a self assessment and you've come to the conclusion that all your ducks are in order both financially and in your personal life, then the answer is: don't wait. This will be the first time in your life that you have the freedom to really choose what kind of life you really want to have. So, don't delay, your life is waiting for you.

 

FREE assessment – Overwhelmed with too many issues? Not sure what to tackle first?

You may feel like a deer in the headlights, stuck, frozen and not moving forward. Many of us get to a point in our life where we know there is something more but are unclear how to get the answer. Take the free NEW LIFE assessment and get answers. Once you have taken this assessment, I will meet with you to review your results and advise you on next steps. It's your life, take charge of it.

Dorothy Tannahill-Moran
Life Coach and Change Agent
http://www.nextchapternewlife.com

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8 CRITICAL SKILLS FOR THE 2ND HALF OF LIFE

Too many people are simply bored with their life. The boredom can create a downward spiral. The spiral can include depression, listlessness, hopelessness and many other negative feelings. Perhaps the biggest issue for a person in this situation is a sense that they don't know what to do and so they do nothing. I call this the "deer in the headlights" effect. When faced with life (as in your life) too many people stop in their tracks, frozen with fear of making that first step.

I'd like to present 8 critical skills that you need to develop now and keep finely tuned. These skills will help you avoid the negative spiral and keep you out of the traffic.

Skill #1: Dream about the future

You don't need to sleep in order to dream. Spend time thinking BIG about your future life. If you have an unfulfilled dream from childhood, re-examine it as a place to start. What exists in your mind but is so exciting it scares you?

Skill #2: Eliminate barriers for your life dream

More than likely, you're your own barrier. What is holding you back? I know of a thirty something that regrets not going to college. She thinks she's too old to do it now. That is the kind of barrier I'm talking about. I have a friend that at 50+ is the "old man" in his political science department. He's getting his Doctorate. No barrier there.

Skill #3: Attain purpose and meaning

Over 40 sometime, we start seeking purpose in new ways. Earlier in life, purpose was creating and establishing elements of life such as: spouse, children, house and career. Now that many of those are in place the purpose shifts. Purpose can be found in giving yourself and surrounding yourself with those things that nurture you. Explore. Find your purpose.

Skills #4 Empowered to choose life direction

Our future is more than the circumstances of our past. There are only 2 things you don't have a choice over: death and taxes. Like the gal previously mentioned, she can choose what comes next. It's your life, take charge of it.

Skill #5: Continuously learn new things

The benefits of learning are numerous. The primary benefit for you will be all the new opportunities that will open up. The possibilities are unlimited. You could learn a new skill, about new places, interests or attitudes. Basically, you will continue to grow. If you aren't growing, you aren't thriving.

Skill #6: Recognize what's possible

Somewhere in our life we start shrinking the possibilities. Remember when you thought you could do pretty much anything? I went to a lecture by Dr. Wayne Dwyer and listened to a young man play improvisational drums. He had no hands. He didn't let that fact shrink him. He looked AND FOUND what was possible.

Skill #7: Learn from mistakes

Failure is a good thing IF you learn something in the process. It's also good because it means you are striving toward something important. Failure can also be an attitude. I've read that Thomas Edison "failed" 10,000 times. He never considered himself a failure. He looked at these results as 10,000 chances to improve his work. If you haven't failed recently, give it a try.

Skill #8: Cultivate meaningful relationships of trust and respect.

We find nourishment from others in our life. We are social creatures that need to give and receive of ourselves to others. Think of this concept like fabric. Fabric has many threads, going in different directions. The sum of the parts is stronger than any one thread.

How developed are these skills for you? It's easier to stay excited about your life than to pull yourself out of the ho-hums. Make this easy on yourself- get these skills and keep them tuned like an expensive sports car.

 

Bored with life? No direction? Want something better? Take the free NEW LIFE assessment and get some answers.

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