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Dont Stop! Your Transition is Still Moving!Q. I'm looking for a new job and plan to work with a career consultant next month. Meanwhile, I'm working on the garden and some friends are coming to stay for a week. A. When you're in serious transition, a week can be a long time. Time sneaks away and you need to see where it's going. And you need to keep moving to maintain momentum and stay motivated. 1. Create a priority list. Starting a business? Your number one priority involves responding to paying customers. Second priority: Market for new business. Searching for a job? Your number one priority will be meeting with people who have the power to hire you. Your second priority: networking to meet more people with hiring power. And if you don't know what to do, your absolute top priority is finding answers from a consultant, coach or mentor. 2. Negotiate with everyone in your life to get support for your priorities. Charlotte feared the worst when her relatives announced they were coming for ten days. We considered her options. Say no (and alienate her whole family)? Postpone her goals? Go out of town for the duration? Charlotte needed to get her business going. She needed the money and she was working on deals that had taken months to set up. She decided to tell her visitors, "I will not be available from one to five in the afternoon." At first she physically left her house for a library, coffee shop or borrowed office. But by the third day everyone was used to her schedule, so she worked from her home office ? with the door firmly shut. Charlotte's story had a happy ending. But when a spouse or other close family member resists, I encourage clients to meet with a family therapist or counselor. Left unresolved, these resentments will linger for years. 3. Anticipate interruptions. Sometimes you have to stop and deal with a real crisis. But you can begin to ask, "Am I really needed? Can someone else help? Is the problem serious?" Bill almost caved in to pressure when a local charity called. "You've helped us every year! We need you again!" I asked Bill, "What if your company had transferred you a thousand miles away? Would the organization survive?" Bill still felt selfish. But he realized he'd soon be on the receiving end of a charity if he didn't reach his goal. And if he became wildly successful, he could be even more generous with time and money for the next ten years. Bill did agree to meet with his replacement for a briefing meeting ? which lasted all of fifteen minutes. Bill's replacement said, "I don't need you! I've got my own ideas." Bottom Line: Time moves fast when you're job-hunting, starting a business or getting ready for a major move. You'll be challenged to set aside your goals to help others with their priorities. And it's easy to say, "Another week won't matter." In my experience, people who reach their destinations quickly have a sense of urgency. They realize a day ? not just a week or a month ? matters. They allow time for leisure and love. And they believe in the value of their destination and what they must do to get there. Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., helps midlife professionals create career changes in sizes small, medium and huge. Strategize, get unstuck, start a business or start over. Free Report: Ten secrets of managing a major life change. |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES Careers-Changing Jobs: The Fantasy of the Ideal Job Most people would agree that the concept of a job today is vastly different from that of 20 years ago. Organisations are changing at speed, technology has changed the face and pace of work, and globalisation is pushing every business to examine it's operations in a totally different context. 10 Tips For Writing A Professional Résumé 1. Start with an attractive layout. Use bold and italics to highlight key points. 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Professional Moms: How to Get Ready to Re-Enter the Workforce Finally! Your youngest is in school and you are ready to hit the job market after an extended absence. As you scrape the last of the Fruit Loops from the kitchen table, you ponder a few unfortunate truths: Put Some Mystery in Your Life Mystery shoppers. For some it conjures up images of private eyes and undercover detectives. That's fair. In Nevada, a mystery shopper is required to register with a firm that is in association with the Private Investigative Licensing Board. Somewhat funny, but true. If you shop, and I'm sure you do, you have probably bumped into someone on a shopping assignment. Did you notice them? Doubtful. Or you may have found yourself on the receiving end of an evaluation by a mystery shopper. Did you realize it at the time? Probably not. But what is mystery shopping exactly? And can you really make money for shopping? Get Out of Your Comfort Zone in the Job Search Most everyone these days knows what a comfort zone is. My definition is the place, environment and tasks that we have learned to do and feel comfortable with--a comfort zone. Little Mistakes That Keep You Unemployed If your job search is dragging on and on, you might want to look in the mirror. Because the person looking back may be sabotaging your efforts. Negotiate Better Job Offers with This Twelve-Point Checklist You've been through an employer's interview process successfully and have now been extended a job offer. And you think the offer could be better. If that's the case, read on to find out cutting-edge strategies that'll help you negotiate a better deal. Medical Billing Businesses Are Growing Fast And Providing A Needed Service For Doctors You've seen the commercials and web sites about starting medical billing businesses in your home. You can't just start calling doctors and telling them you will take care of the billing for them. It is their income and they want to know you are a true business and that you have experience. So, before any thing else, look into classes to help you get those medical billing jobs. Is a Career Change on Your Horizon? Making a career change is nothing new in today's job market. The Chicken or the Egg? Even before I checked my calendar on Monday morning, I knew the appointment would be there. Passed over for promotion again, Ralph wanted specifics on why I hadn't chosen him for the position. This was not a new conversation. I thought of Ralph as my chicken and egg dilemma. Ralph was the chicken. He believed he would make a great Team Leader, and when I promoted him, he would step up and show me how well he could lead. My position was that of egg. Prove to me you have leadership skills by demonstrating leadership in the job you have now, and I'll consider giving you the next position. Here's the question: is it better to do the work, knowing you will ultimately be rewarded for having done it, or should you wait until the reward is there before you do the work? Like the proverbial question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, people differ widely on the answer and run their careers accordingly. Here's the way I see it - one has more to lose by taking the position of the chicken and waiting for someone else to anoint them, than by being the egg and anointing oneself. If I had waited to be a leader until someone offered me a leadership position, I might still be wishing and hoping for someone to notice me. When I wanted to be a manager, I did the work of a manager by taking on more and more responsibilities. And, I got promoted. When I wanted to be a director, I did the work of a director, without questioning compensation or title. After proving myself, I got the job, the title and the compensation. Same with being a vice-president. Doing the job first, gave me the job. It's the same now that I'm out of the corporate arena. Take my dream of being a writer. Changing careers after twenty-something years in management, I could have waited to write a column until I secured a writing contract for one. But, why would someone pay me to write without reading my words and knowing I can. Chicken and egg again. What works for me has been consistent. When I do the work first, the rewards follow. I think of it like exercising. Doing it gives me better results than thinking about it. No one likes to be called a chicken, so ... be the egg. (c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved. |
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