Tag Archives: Career & Jobs

I’m Thinking Of Making A Career Change – Don’t Recommend Any Stinkin’ Self-Help Books

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When you decide THE answer to career happiness is wholesale career change, not just ONE answer, you’re officially out of your mind. Check this out. You want out of the foul situation you’re in now and you want out 17 minutes ago. Danger!

Can You Say, “Compound felony”? Not only do you want change for the better, a lot better, you unknowingly have hit upon a decision that not only calls for a job change, but a new job you have never done before. Very likely it’s also in a “foreign” field, and with which your chances of excelling are slim and none. And the job market is vicious.

Too harsh? Unless you are serial career changer, like Richard Branson, with great resources, sorry, you’re like a lot of us. You are running “from” something, instead of “to” something that is better, is researched, and is real. Re-read. Is that what you’re doing? Re-think it.

Most Of What We Want TO Do Usually Equals What NOT To Do!

Merriam (not her real name) had background professionally preparing and serving food and convinced she was good making ceramics. People at her workplace liked and bought her creations. She wanted out of corporate life. Her idea was to open café and serve customers sandwiches and salad, while they made kiln-dried figurines and amazing pots. It never happened. She got stuck. She discovered she was unable to cause seamless transition from 9 to 5 decent paying job, job, to being an independent business person totally dependent upon her own whit and guile.

What TO do!

1) Do what Merriam did not do, your homework. Try on the idea she had by, for example, working part time a few evenings or as weekend fill-in for someone who owns a Ceramic Café or some other discipline you love.

2) Pour over Dr. Barbara Reinhold’s classic one pager, “10 Mistakes Career Changers Make” via her site: Barbara (dash) Reinhold (dot) com.

3) Experience solid advice in the form of real-life stories about others who have made significant career changes, written by virtual colleague, Herminia Ibarra, author of non-self-help book, Working Identity. I think she’s a genius because she agrees with my philosophy of making career changes, “Try on the new career before buying into it”. That’s the theme of Working Identity‘s series of true stories voiced by successful career changers.

Don’t believe what I write and say, just read and listen and decide. Do your homework like you mean it. Ignore naysayers, “You’ll never make it in the ‘outside world’!” Get acquainted online with Dr. Barbara Reinhold, author Herminia Ibarra, and others who are not pitching you to pay them money. Connect. Clarify. Collaborate. Cheerlead. Commit. You’ll soon discover how serious you are about your future, and how you can be less distracted by your present circumstances, which, by the way, are subject to change in less than 24 hours. Stay hungry.

Careers After 50: The Value of a Temp Job!

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Careers after 50: developing appropriate experience to qualify for a planned career.

You’ve researched and studied a variety of proposed new careers. After speaking to others working in the field you’ve narrowed your list down to one or two possible new careers. However, you’ve found both require specific experience that you need to acquire.

Other qualifications for a new career after 50, for example, can be learned through self-study, distance learning, formal education and working with mentors. However, now you have the dilemma of getting the necessary experience to qualify for new career.

Let’s suggest a way to put you in a position to successfully compete for job in the new changed career. You might want to consider working for a temp agency, to get some desired experience or to discover if the suggested career is right for you.

Ask around for referrals to the right temp agency. Some temp agencies are specialists only working with specific careers and industries.

Re-draft your resume to put your best foot forward depending on the career and job. For each career you might want to restrict only signing up with two or three temp agencies. As you progress and learn more about specific temp agencies you can adjust your focus so you are only working with the best agency relative to the planned career.

Make it a point to see the temp agency recruiter, have a face-to-face interview and learn all you can about their services. Don’t forget this is a job interview and you want to show the recruiter how you would present yourself to a prospective employer.

Find out in advance if you are required to show specific technical skills at the temp interview and spend some time brushing up on the required skills prior to the interview.

Do some research regarding prospective wages you might expect. You’ll probably be asked what wage range you would accept. Also, you should learn what possible benefits might be available.

Many times temp assignments can last six months or longer. Be sure to tell the temp agency the length of assignment you would accept.

If the temp job is in a career you wish to qualify for, you may leverage yourself into being offered a full- time position. Or you gain enough relevant experience to qualify for a full-time career with another employer.

Don’t expect that you’ll be immediately moved into a desired temp position. Continue to contact the temp agency, at least once a week, to let them know you’re available for placement.

So the value to you using a temp agency in qualifying for a new career after 50 is: (1) Gaining required work experience, (2) Possibly being offered a job in the desired new career, (3) Bringing in some income while you prepare to change careers, or (4) Finding out the new career is not for you so you can research additional opportunities.