Career Changing Blueprint
Julie Jansen may have been way ahead of the times when I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not This (Penguin) was first released in 2003. In those less threatening economic times she created a blueprint for embarking on a successful career.
If anything, Ms. Jansen’s book is more relevant now than when it was first published. Make no mistake, reading the book will take dedication, the reader might even find it useful to have a highlighter or post it notes at hand. Ms. Jansen insists when it comes to careers, one size doesn’t fit all.
How do you recommend a job changer read this book? Are there some parts that are essential and others that can be skimmed?
The book was written so that the reader does not have to read it in its entirety. I doubt that I have ever read a self-help book cover to cover. The Introduction and Chapter One set the book up and are interesting but not necessary to read. Chapters Two, Three and Four are a must in my opinion because this is where the reader takes assessments to help him to understand his own situation, a crucial first step to changing work. Finally, the reader only needs to move to one of the six chapters that best describes his specific situation whether it be Bruised and Gun-shy or Yearning to Be on Your Own. Most people do tend to fall into more then one of the six work situations however there is usually one that is dominant.
Why is it so important for a job seeker to be clear on attitudes, values and personality preferences before beginning a job hunt?
There are so many reasons to know and internalize this information about oneself.
1. If you don’t know who you are and what is important to you, you won’t be successful at making a good match for you work-wise. This is analogous to dating.
2. Being clear about your values, personality preferences and attitudes will enable you to articulate this to a potential employer so that they understand who you are.
3. Articulating who you are will also make it easier for you to sell yourself and the value that you can bring.
4. People who are more self-aware are happier and healthier!
You have a lot of categories, indeed some of them may be overlapping. Is it possible a mid life career changer might be Bruised and Gun Shy at the same he or she is Bored and Plateaued? How do you suggest the reader prioritize which sections most apply to them?
Yes, absolutely! When I speak to audiences and ask them which of the six categories they fall into, the majority will tell me that they fit into at least three situations, if not more. If someone is Bored and Plateaued and Bruised and Gun-shy, they probably will need to work on improving their self-confidence and self-esteem first before changing work to move out of the Bored and Plateaued phase. Usually there is something the reader needs to do to handle in each of the specific situations they fall within.
In this economy, it’s inevitable that job seekers have gaps in their resumes. What’s the best way to handle that?
The good news about this is that because approximately 20% of the American population is unemployed, employers and recruiters are now accustomed to seeing gaps. It is still just as important for someone to be able to clearly describe their work history, including gaps of time. At the same time, avoid dwelling on them and prepare a succinct sentence if the question comes up.
If a job seeker has changed companies frequently, will that be a red flag for employment? How would a job seeker diffuse the idea they might be flighty or worse irresponsible?
This really depends on the pattern of changes. If the person has worked in the same industry but for many companies in a shorter period of time, this is a red flag. If the person has moved quickly from industry to industry, this may not present as much of a red flag unless the jobs are lower level/easy entry jobs. My experience as a career coach is that usually when people hop too much, there is an interpersonal or performance issue so the potential employer needs to be skilled in learning why the person keeps moving around.
What suggestions do you have for people who love being specialists, and may have had the same job title or similar responsibilities and job title, albeit in different companies for years.
I don’t see this as an issue unless it’s a case of the specific type of work becoming moribund or going away. A good example is computer programming. This job all but disappeared when companies started outsourcing this work overseas, in particular to India. Then it is time for reinvention for the specialist worker. Also, I think specialists are hired and then expected to become a generalist once they are in the job.
A Way to Make the Fifties Happier
The headline was definite. “Americans Least Happy in Their 50s and Late 80s,” trumpeted the results of the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index.
Surely the results came as no surprise to any card carrying fifty something member of the sandwich generation.
An ever lengthening to do list that includes teen and late teen child rearing, ministering to aging parents and squeezing in the possibility of a last promotion or two in a tanking economy is not exactly the best recipe for happiness. Who has time to contemplate happiness anyway?
The forties are long forgotten and the sixties look almost effortless by comparison.
Perhaps we’ve had it backwards all these years. Instead of a work family balance juggle that escalates in the fifties, maybe we need to consider an alternative. Why don’t be consider a ten year work hiatus in the fifties, an early and limited retirement, until myraid family responsibilities come back to a manageable size. Then we can retrain and have at least a decade of work ahead without distraction. Maybe then the fifties would be the happiest decade of all.
