Careering

This page contains my notes on how to better manage our career.

Sound: Loose jazz

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Stages and Steps

Think of three stages to defining a desired career: A. Assessment   B. Strategy   C. Campaign   Focus one stage at a time. Don't skip steps.

Stage A. — Assessment

1. Build a list/database of stakeholders (friends, spouse, in-laws, relatives, kids, colleagues, bosses, supporting professionals, your charities, church group, etc.) - those who care about your fate.
2. Identify the Roles you feel responsible for (friend, spouse, parent, family member, employee, leader, property owner, investor, etc.).
3. Identify benefactors (Sources of References, referrals, where to get information or resources).
4. Find colleges and career fields on Princeton Review's Career-O-Rama
5. Estimate how much time, money, space, and other assets you currently invest in each role.
6. Take the Personal Development Self Assessment Questionnaire
7. What hobbies and crafts do you indulge in?
8. Write Personal History (Resume) (Organization, Title, Reports to, Contact Phone & Address, Salary, Responsibilities, Accomplishments, Reason for Leaving).
9. Explore what ignites energy and passions. (e.g., freedom, justice, children, etc.)

   "The secret of life is not to do what you like, but to like what you do."
   Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win. —Jonathan Kozol

10. Use conceptual models to clarify innate Personality Style and Perspectives.
11. Clarify what you prefer in Life Style (types of friends, location for living & vacations, education, kids, spouse, etc.)

Stage B. — Strategy

Define trade-offs in values (money, freedom, sacrifices, learning, etc.) Define action priorities. Research the most promising and organizations. Find out what the most promising organizations are need. Brainstorm strategies (such as "join corporation or military for education", etc.). Boil down what I can or want to uniquely offer in 25 words or less. Some called this an "Elevator Speech".

“The whole purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others.”

Stage C. — Campaign

• Write resume, cover letters, and to-the-point email replies.
• Put the word out. Print and Post resumes. Contact stakeholders.
• Interview for maximum impact, instant decisions.
• Ways to avoid or make negotiations productive.
• Get installed in the organization quickly and effectively.
• If you must, get out gracefully with reliably good references.

  From Todd Abronowitz

  • I used to work in an orange juice factory, until I got canned. Yeah, they put the squeeze on me, said I couldn't concentrate. You know, same old boring rind over and over again.
  • I used to be a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe.
  • I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it. It was a sew-sew job.
  • I used to work in a muffler factory, until I got exhausted.
  • I wanted to be a barber, but I just couldn't cut it.
  • I wanted to be a chef, figured it would add a little spice to my life, but I just didn't have the thyme.
  • I used to be a deli worker, but I couldn't cut the mustard
  • I used to be a musician, but I wasn't noteworthy.
  • I used to be a doctor, but I didn't have the patients.

“The trouble with the rat race is, even if you win, you are still a rat.”

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might”
—Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” - Confucius

Stakeholders

Who are important to your life? You stakeholders also include those YOU impact? (your pet). because they have a "stake" in what you do.

"It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall." --The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

Careers.Yahoo.com

Preferred Lifestyle

• Myers Briggs Profiles
• Spiritual Gifts Discovery Program
• Birkman Method is a comprehensive model of four behavioral dimensions - Interests, Style, Needs, and Stress Behaviors.
• Christian Financial Concepts
• "God's Gifted People" by Gary Harbaugh (Augsburg Fortress) helps understand what people should be in which jobs.
• Family Involvement in Children's Education. This 150 page Idea Book organized around strategies for overcoming a common set of barriers to family involvement in schools: * overcoming time & resource constraints; * providing information & training to parents & school staff; * restructuring schools to support family involvement; * bridging school-family differences; and * tapping external supports for partnerships.

Negative Working Conditions

too long a commute
too noisy, too quiet
strict dress code, no dress code
too much supervision
too little supervision
no leadership, no clear direction
too many 'chiefs'
too political
no flex time
no overtime, too much overtime
constantly changing priorities
low pay
lack of good benefits
no bonus structure
overcrowded
too structured, too unstructured
no windows/fresh air
poor temperature control
negative co-workers
no autonomy
no affirmative action plan
glass ceiling
stressful
no challenges
time clock
shortage of good equipment/resources
too much paperwork/forms
too many meetings
too much travel, not enough travel

Industries and Occupations

• SIC Codes
• Job Hunt sites

The Dentist's Hymn	Crown Him With Many Crowns
The TV Weatherman's Hymn	There Shall be Showers of Blessing
The Contractor's Hymn	The Church's One Foundation
The Tailor's Hymn	Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn	There is a Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn	Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist's Hymn	Open Mine Eyes that I Might See
The IRS Hymn	All to Thee
The Gossiper's Hymn	Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn	Send the Light
The Shopper's Hymn	Sweet By and By

Adapted from "Dream Job" exercise in Serendipity's "Ice-Breakers and Heart-Warmers"

What would you do if you could choose any career?
Look at the list below and choose a career you would rather do.

Actor/Actress	A popular and glamorous movie star who gets big money to appear on the screen.
Astronaut	A daring outer space pilot and extraterrestrial scientist.
Attorney	An eloquent, intelligent spokesperson of the law who defends the innocent in the courtroom.
Banker	The respected lender who can help someone fulfill their greatest dreams.
Computer Jockey	To boldly write software programs that no one has written before.
Counselor	The listener who helps people come to peace with themselves and others.
Developer	A visionary who can see a finished structure where one does not exist.
Fashion Model	A jet-setting career for those with a striking presence and an alluring smile.
Minister	A beloved servant who takes care of a congregation's spiritual needs.
Missionary	The bold preacher who trusts God to go into dangerous places to spread the good news of the Gospel.
Novelist	The writer who can produce best-sellers that everyone talks about.
Police Officer	A brave upholder of the law in an exciting fight against criminals.
Politician	A high-profile public servant who can whip out a clever deal or an inspiring speech at the drop of a hat.
Race Car Driver	A courageous competitor who tears around the track at 200 mph.
Social Worker	The steward of government resources who strives to help the unfortunate get back on their feet.
Teacher	The educator who inspires students to expand their horizons and appreciate the world.
TV Evangelist	An expert preacher and fund-raiser who is the pastor of the airwaves.
Veterinarian	The beloved animal doctor everyone trusts with their pets and livestock.

Transferrable Skills

Get this print framed for your wall!

Joke from LaughWeb:

The graduate with a Science degree asks,
"Why does it work?"

The graduate with an Engineering degree asks,
" How does it work?"

The graduate with an Accounting degree asks,
" How much will it cost?"

The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks,
"Do you want fries with that?"

Resume Preparation Advice

Ten Steps to a Great Resume:

1. Choose a job target (also called a job objective). An actual job title works best.
2. Find out what skills, knowledge, and experience are needed to do that target job.
3. Make a list of your 3 or 4 strongest skills or abilities or knowledge that make you a good candidate for the target job.
4. For each key skill, think of several accomplishments from your past work history that illustrate that skill.
5. Describe each accomplishment in a simple, powerful action statement that emphasizes the results that benefited your employer.
6. Make a list of the primary jobs you've held, in chronological order. Include any unpaid work that fills a gap or that shows you have the skills for the job.
7. Make a list of your training and educational experiences that are related to the new job you want.
8. Choose a resume format that fits your situation, either chronological or functional.(Functional works best if you're changing job fields; chronological works best if you're moving up in the same field.)
9. Arrange your action statements according to the format you chose.
10. Summarize you key points at or near the top of your resume. (In real-life resume writing, we do skip around, so don't worry if your resume comes together in some other sequence-as long as you do steps 1 and 2 first!)

• Princeton Review.
• Make a resume, then post it with Tripod
• The Boston Consulting Group
• Interim's Interview Guide includes tips on preparing resumes
• Resumail from jobs.com

Get this print framed for your wall!

"The closest to perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application." —Ken Kraft

Cover Letters

• Advice from the Boston Consulting Group
• Princeton Review on Personalized and Tailored, and Quality Over Quantity.

Interviewing

• Prepare questions in advance. This allows you time to phrase your questions with sensitivity.

• Assume that the other person will say something you didn't expect.

• Let people finish their though. Don't interrupt. Remember that your are in a dialog.

• Look at the other person, even when they are not looking at you. Observe body language.

• Look in the mirror. If you seem stern, force yourself to smile a little more. Observe body language.

• Schedule another time if you are falling asleep or are drifting off.

• Don't react immediately to what is said until you have confirmed what the other person really said what you thought was said. Confirm the other person's point of view, not your own view.

Get this print framed for your wall!

• Informational Interviewing: Steps and Questions
• Rebecca Alexander has a list of good interviewing questions with her answers on the Career Builder site.
• The Boston Consulting Group offers tips on how to handle their case interviews and tips on answering the gestimates and brain teasers they ask their recruits.

Salary Negotiations

Consider the following as part of the total compensation package:

• Commuting Costs (lease, auto insurance, gasoline, tires, breaks, repairs, etc.)
• Parking Costs
• Distance from parking to work site
• Potential costs of crime (car being damaged, stolen).

• Cost of insurance before medical benefits begin
• Period of time before participation in 401K plans
• Period of time before participation in profit sharing

• Home computer/software purchase rebate

• Medical plan co-payments
• Dental Plan co-payments
• Vision Plan co-payments
• Free drinks and food on site

• Child care reimbursements
• Tuition reimbursements (some make you beg)
• Children's College Scholarships
• Discount home appraisals and mortgage savings

  Conditions of employment:

• Length of guaranteed employment,
• Under what terms you can be terminated,
• What kind of severance you can expect if you are terminated, and
• Restrictions on future employment (if any).

• Yahoo's Salary Resources

Computing Tools

• Time management tools from Day Runner or Franklin Covey Featuring Stephen Covey of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" fame.

Career Setbacks

Passions - Personal Mission Statements
• Use Franklin Covey's Mission Statement Builder program on the internet. Job Profiles has real people describing what they do at real jobs.

  From The Bartender joke archives:
  If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

  The Top 14 Alternate Terms for 'Cubicle'

  
  14. Soul-Sucking Pod o' Death
  13. Tomb of the Unknown Bureaucrat
  12. Slack-In-The-Box
  11. Headquarters, Jodie Foster Fan Club
  10. Peon Palazzo
  9. Yuppie Terrarium
  8. The Snack Foods Triangle
  7. English Majors Entry Point
  6. Luxury Manhattan Apartment
  5. Picasso's Folly
  4. International Porn Downloading Headquarters
  3. Fortress of Servitude
  2. Casa de Livin' La Vida Veal
  1. Wraparound Turbo Demoralizer 2000

Strategies

From Richard Bowles' Parachute: Follow the creative method of job hunting, puh-leaze. The rules are simple:

• Know your best and most enjoyable transferable skills.
• Know what kind of work you want to do, what field you would most enjoy working in.
• Talk to people who are doing the work you want to do, in that field. Find out how they like the work, how they found their job.
• Do some research, then, in your chosen geographical area on those organizations which interest you, to find what they do and what kinds of problems/challenges they or their industry are wrestling with.
• Then identify and seek out the person who actually has the power to hire you at each organization, for the job you want; use your personal contacts -- everyone you know -- to get in to see him or her.
• Show this person with the power to hire you how you can help them with their problems/needs/challenges; and how you would stand out as 'one employee in a hundred.'
• Don't take turndown or rejection personally. Remember, there are two kinds of employers out there: those who will be bothered by your handicaps -- age, background, inexperience, or whatever they are -- and those who won't be, and will hire you, so long as you can do the job.
• If you get rejected by the first kind of employer, keep persevering, until you find the second.
• In all of this, cut no corners, take no shortcuts.

• Finding Info on the Internet Tutorial
• Career Builder
• TeamWorks! New England Team Works, New England is a firm of experienced line managers devoted to helping other organizations work more effectively. Our unique services include team building seminars, team design and implementation, and team coaching to help participants
• Transitions is a future-driven group dedicated to assisting business, government, and education with the transitions they encounter as their organizations experience change.
• CareerSpan
• TrainingNet
• Questions for Selecting a College
• Self Employment Newsletter
• The Virtual Coach
• Bizy Work-at-Home Moms
• Self Publishing
• Get Working on MSN articles.
• IT Job Descriptions
• Inc article on getting MBA online
• Richard doesn't think much of on-line career counseling from people such as:
  • Careertrainer.com
  • lominger.com by Bob Eichinger & Michael Lombardo (formerly of Center for Creative Leadership)