...is not doing their job seeking during the holidays! As every career management professional -- career consultant, career counselor, career coach -- will tell you, the two best times of the year to conduct your job search are during the summer, and during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's season.
Why? During the summer people are naturally more mellow. They're just back from vacation, and reminiscing about the wonderful time they had; they're getting ready to go on vacation, and are already mentally kicking back; the days are long and warm, perfect for meeting after work (or for breakfast) and talking things over.
During the holidays people are...naturally more mellow! This is the time of year when people begin to think of others, and the emphasis is on kindness, happiness and hope for the future. People are more willing to stop and chat, during the work day, often take somewhat extended lunch hours to do their Christmas/Chanukah shopping, and find that the pressures of work are less onerous (UNLESS they're working in the Accounting Department and preparing to close the books at year end, or UNLESS they're in retail...in either of which cases you probably won't see them until after January).
Well, the holidays are here, now! NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! Send your contacts Thanksgiving cards (avoid the Christmas rush!), and remind them how grateful you are for their friendship, their experience and wise advice, and the fact that they're simply there for you. Who are you more thankful for, in fact, than those who extended themselves on your behalf? Let them know...and while you're at it you'll be keeping yourself on their radar, and reminding them that they may not have heard from you for a while. Ask to get together for an eggnog, or a cup of coffee, or a drink, to celebrate the season, and discuss your and their plans for the year ahead.
Nobody wants to be seen or thought of as the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge during the holidays season. Most people are feeling like kids again, or like the lights on their trees...happy and involved in family, friends, and good-deed doing. How about movies like "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol", and "Miracle on 34th Street"? It's good deeds that count during the holidays.
Now's your chance to allow people to be friendly and helpful...and all because of you! And don't think they won't take you up on it, either.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
It's been entirely too long...
...since I last posted anything on my blog. Seven months, in fact, or thereabouts. For someone who prides herself on staying on the radar of professionals interested in what's going on in the world of job search and career resilience, that's pretty damned unconscionable! So I hereby vow to post a new blog entry every week...as a way of sharing insights, news and information with readers, and as a way of disciplining myself. Let this be the first week of the rest of my blog life!
I'm very proud to say that I began a new chapter of my professional life this week: on Tuesday, 11/8, I began a part-time position at the Magner Center for Career Development and Internships, which is Brooklyn College's truly excellent Career Center, a position slated to last through February of 2012. BC is my alma mater, and I graduated from there in -- well, let's just say that I graduated from there long enough ago so that the current students could be my grandkids. And that's no exaggeration.
In many ways it's very much the same -- the main campus is still as beautiful as it was the first time I saw it, when I was about 5 or 6, and looked in through the main gate at Bedford Avenue. I was so struck by its loveliness that I told my mother, there and then, that this was the college I wanted to attend, and I've always been grateful for the excellent education I got there, and proud of being a graduate. I've also been doing volunteer work for the Magner Center for the past 2 or 3 years...but this opportunity to be a real part of the school again is very exciting for me, as a way of giving back what I was given.
In many ways, however, it's very different. One way is the truly amazing ethnic and cultural diversity of the student population. Another way -- and not, unfortunately, a good way -- is the incredible difficulty that so many students are having finding jobs after graduation. In this, the situation couldn't be more diametrically different from what it was when I graduated. Back then a degree in anything -- Basket Weaving, Folk Dance or Phys. Ed. -- could get you a job in the most prestigious of companies. Just so long as you had a degree. Any degree.
Now? Now it seems that companies are willing to hold out for astonishing lengths of time in order to find the absolutely exact individual with the absolutely specific knowledge and experience they're looking for, making "the perfect the enemy of the good," as the saying goes. How sad, and what a waste of talent among talented, educated, eager and perfectly acceptable candidates who simply need a little -- and often a very little -- time and training to become stars for the company intelligent enough to hire them.
Somewhere along the line, potential employers decided that training was a dirty word. I don't know why, when we've got so many people hungering for work. I only know that it's a sin and a crime, and that anyone who's got influence with senior management or boards of trustees of companies of any size should start trying to change hearts and minds. If we're going to stay the vibrant, successful "land of opportunity" that's set the model for what a nation could achieve, we've got to start putting our people -- young and not so young -- back to work. Waiting for the "perfect" person isn't the way to do that.
I don't know exactly when this came to seem like a good idea, or why; but these things don't happen without the consent of the folks at the top. To translate phrase I heard many years ago, when working for a non-U.S. bank, "the fish stinks from the head"...meaning that decisions are made from the top down, even the bad ones. We need to let corporate decision-makers know that they need to start changing their employment practices, start hiring, and stop burning out their current employees... those who are doing the work of 2, 3 or 4 other people while management waits for the "perfect" individual to come along.
Join me, if you can, in trying to make a difference for your friends, your family, your neighbors -- and maybe even yourselves!
I'm very proud to say that I began a new chapter of my professional life this week: on Tuesday, 11/8, I began a part-time position at the Magner Center for Career Development and Internships, which is Brooklyn College's truly excellent Career Center, a position slated to last through February of 2012. BC is my alma mater, and I graduated from there in -- well, let's just say that I graduated from there long enough ago so that the current students could be my grandkids. And that's no exaggeration.
In many ways it's very much the same -- the main campus is still as beautiful as it was the first time I saw it, when I was about 5 or 6, and looked in through the main gate at Bedford Avenue. I was so struck by its loveliness that I told my mother, there and then, that this was the college I wanted to attend, and I've always been grateful for the excellent education I got there, and proud of being a graduate. I've also been doing volunteer work for the Magner Center for the past 2 or 3 years...but this opportunity to be a real part of the school again is very exciting for me, as a way of giving back what I was given.
In many ways, however, it's very different. One way is the truly amazing ethnic and cultural diversity of the student population. Another way -- and not, unfortunately, a good way -- is the incredible difficulty that so many students are having finding jobs after graduation. In this, the situation couldn't be more diametrically different from what it was when I graduated. Back then a degree in anything -- Basket Weaving, Folk Dance or Phys. Ed. -- could get you a job in the most prestigious of companies. Just so long as you had a degree. Any degree.
Now? Now it seems that companies are willing to hold out for astonishing lengths of time in order to find the absolutely exact individual with the absolutely specific knowledge and experience they're looking for, making "the perfect the enemy of the good," as the saying goes. How sad, and what a waste of talent among talented, educated, eager and perfectly acceptable candidates who simply need a little -- and often a very little -- time and training to become stars for the company intelligent enough to hire them.
Somewhere along the line, potential employers decided that training was a dirty word. I don't know why, when we've got so many people hungering for work. I only know that it's a sin and a crime, and that anyone who's got influence with senior management or boards of trustees of companies of any size should start trying to change hearts and minds. If we're going to stay the vibrant, successful "land of opportunity" that's set the model for what a nation could achieve, we've got to start putting our people -- young and not so young -- back to work. Waiting for the "perfect" person isn't the way to do that.
I don't know exactly when this came to seem like a good idea, or why; but these things don't happen without the consent of the folks at the top. To translate phrase I heard many years ago, when working for a non-U.S. bank, "the fish stinks from the head"...meaning that decisions are made from the top down, even the bad ones. We need to let corporate decision-makers know that they need to start changing their employment practices, start hiring, and stop burning out their current employees... those who are doing the work of 2, 3 or 4 other people while management waits for the "perfect" individual to come along.
Join me, if you can, in trying to make a difference for your friends, your family, your neighbors -- and maybe even yourselves!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
"Boomer" technology...one day at a time
I'm continually astonished at how many people still haven't gotten over the fear of using new "stuff" on their computers...until I realize that I'm no different from those "many people."
For instance, I just installed the Google Chrome browser on my computer, and now I'm playing with it, and learning how to use it, and what it can do. It's not something that I'm entirely comfortable with, this idea of installing something new and teaching myself. Mostly I find it fun, but I still -- and probably always will -- get a little gut-clench, until I've really gotten the hang of it. I kinda have to force myself to click that next key, and see what will happen, but it's almost like watching a suspense movie: mentally I'm really watching the screen between my fingers, if you know what I mean.
Mind you, I know -- I mean, I really know -- that I can't launch a flight of cruise missiles over Washington D.C., or blow up my computer, or black out the entire Northeast power grid by hitting the wrong button. But I wasn't born with computers and all the bells and whistles that go with them, and I won't ever be as comfortable with them as anyone born after 1985 just naturally is. After all, I didn't emerge from the womb texting...
So I can understand how so many others -- Baby Boomers like me -- also find the experience somewhat less than comfortable. But we've got to keep on installing, and learning, and teaching ourselves, because it's crucial not to succumb to the urge to settle into quiet obsolescence. Technology is moving so fast, and it's not ever going to stand still, much less go backwards to the good old days of rotary phones, electric typewriters and TVs sans remotes...and no computers. If we don't want to become utterly irrelevant, and increasingly helpless, we've got to keep moving forward.
Besides, learning all this new and fascinating technology has got to be good for the brain...all those new synapses firing, or whatever goes on in there. So I tell myself that I'll avoid Alzheimers, and simultaneously avoid looking like a great, honking dork, by learning all this phenomenal new stuff.
So for all you Boomers who might read this, please join me in the second decade of the 21st Century, and start embracing this magic. Explore, make mistakes, delete, try again, go back and explore some more. Boomers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your dorkdom!!
For instance, I just installed the Google Chrome browser on my computer, and now I'm playing with it, and learning how to use it, and what it can do. It's not something that I'm entirely comfortable with, this idea of installing something new and teaching myself. Mostly I find it fun, but I still -- and probably always will -- get a little gut-clench, until I've really gotten the hang of it. I kinda have to force myself to click that next key, and see what will happen, but it's almost like watching a suspense movie: mentally I'm really watching the screen between my fingers, if you know what I mean.
Mind you, I know -- I mean, I really know -- that I can't launch a flight of cruise missiles over Washington D.C., or blow up my computer, or black out the entire Northeast power grid by hitting the wrong button. But I wasn't born with computers and all the bells and whistles that go with them, and I won't ever be as comfortable with them as anyone born after 1985 just naturally is. After all, I didn't emerge from the womb texting...
So I can understand how so many others -- Baby Boomers like me -- also find the experience somewhat less than comfortable. But we've got to keep on installing, and learning, and teaching ourselves, because it's crucial not to succumb to the urge to settle into quiet obsolescence. Technology is moving so fast, and it's not ever going to stand still, much less go backwards to the good old days of rotary phones, electric typewriters and TVs sans remotes...and no computers. If we don't want to become utterly irrelevant, and increasingly helpless, we've got to keep moving forward.
Besides, learning all this new and fascinating technology has got to be good for the brain...all those new synapses firing, or whatever goes on in there. So I tell myself that I'll avoid Alzheimers, and simultaneously avoid looking like a great, honking dork, by learning all this phenomenal new stuff.
So for all you Boomers who might read this, please join me in the second decade of the 21st Century, and start embracing this magic. Explore, make mistakes, delete, try again, go back and explore some more. Boomers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your dorkdom!!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Entrepreneurs (current or wanna-be), take note!
Anyone in the NYC area knows that finding work space -- particularly for a single practitioner, and particularly in Manhattan -- is nothing short of horrendous. For a start-up business, it can be prohibitively expensive, meaning that many entrepreneurs are reduced to working out of Starbucks or the many public atrium spaces that dot Manhattan. Privacy, however, which is usually a necessity when doing one-on-one consulting, is impossible in those locations. Also, for many potential clients, the idea of a consultant or business without an office or established address might be a turn-off.
Which is why In Good Company was created by two phenomenal women entrepreneurs, who themselves were finding it difficult to find space. IGC provides work space for other women entrepreneurs: desk space, small meeting rooms and a large conference room, plus individual, rentable offices. Home to a great variety of businesses, it's the place where I see my clients and will be holding future workshops.
Just as important, however, is the fact that In Good Company not only provides workspace, it provides a community for the entrepreneurs who use the space. Workshops, discussion groups, training sessions and more are available to members. To get a sense of the combined wisdom, industry knowledge and expertise of the IGC members, you just need to look at IGC's blog, the link to which I've provided below. I've also provided the link to their website, so that you can see photos of the work spaces.
Entrepreneurs, this may be the catalyst you need to get you started on your dreams!
http://ingoodcompany.com/blog/
http://ingoodcompany.com/
Which is why In Good Company was created by two phenomenal women entrepreneurs, who themselves were finding it difficult to find space. IGC provides work space for other women entrepreneurs: desk space, small meeting rooms and a large conference room, plus individual, rentable offices. Home to a great variety of businesses, it's the place where I see my clients and will be holding future workshops.
Just as important, however, is the fact that In Good Company not only provides workspace, it provides a community for the entrepreneurs who use the space. Workshops, discussion groups, training sessions and more are available to members. To get a sense of the combined wisdom, industry knowledge and expertise of the IGC members, you just need to look at IGC's blog, the link to which I've provided below. I've also provided the link to their website, so that you can see photos of the work spaces.
Entrepreneurs, this may be the catalyst you need to get you started on your dreams!
http://ingoodcompany.com/blog/
http://ingoodcompany.com/
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Be prepared -- it's not just the Boy Scout motto anymore!
Once upon a time, if you were looking for a job, were between jobs, or wanted to change careers, you picked up the classified section of your local newspaper, looked up kind of the job you wanted, found a couple of openings that looked interesting, and mailed your resume and cover letter in response.
That was then. As anyone knows, who hasn't been under a rock for the last 15 years, the job search has changed totally. It's more sophisticated. It's more complex. You need to know more about yourself, about potential employers, about the job market, the economy, and where to look for openings.
Here's another change: You cannot wait to start job hunting until your current job goes away, until you want to kill your boss, or until you're notified of an impending layoff. Job searches take time. Lots of time. And the preparation is enormous.
Some tips for preparing for your job search:
1. The preparation doesn't stop. From now on, every professional will need to be continuously in job search mode. If you stop you lose traction, you lose up-to-the-minute information, you lose contacts. Keep up your professional knowledge and your professional connections; you'll need them, and possibly more quickly than you think.
2. Join and participate actively in professional associations. Mingle, meet new people, listen to the speakers. You'll pick up the vital information you'll need about what's going on in your field with regard to technical updates, economic changes, mergers, potential downsizings and industry gossip.
3. Gain expertise in social media, particularly LinkedIn. 80% to 85% of Fortune 1000 companies now use LinkedIn as their primary source for identifying job candidates. Stop relying solely on company job postings, job aggregators and headhunters. LinkedIn has approximately 90 million members worldwide, using the computer's power to remember connections as no human being can. Use it to connect with others in your field, others with your passions, others who can exchange information with you and help you get noticed.
You're the one you need to rely on...
That was then. As anyone knows, who hasn't been under a rock for the last 15 years, the job search has changed totally. It's more sophisticated. It's more complex. You need to know more about yourself, about potential employers, about the job market, the economy, and where to look for openings.
Here's another change: You cannot wait to start job hunting until your current job goes away, until you want to kill your boss, or until you're notified of an impending layoff. Job searches take time. Lots of time. And the preparation is enormous.
Some tips for preparing for your job search:
1. The preparation doesn't stop. From now on, every professional will need to be continuously in job search mode. If you stop you lose traction, you lose up-to-the-minute information, you lose contacts. Keep up your professional knowledge and your professional connections; you'll need them, and possibly more quickly than you think.
2. Join and participate actively in professional associations. Mingle, meet new people, listen to the speakers. You'll pick up the vital information you'll need about what's going on in your field with regard to technical updates, economic changes, mergers, potential downsizings and industry gossip.
3. Gain expertise in social media, particularly LinkedIn. 80% to 85% of Fortune 1000 companies now use LinkedIn as their primary source for identifying job candidates. Stop relying solely on company job postings, job aggregators and headhunters. LinkedIn has approximately 90 million members worldwide, using the computer's power to remember connections as no human being can. Use it to connect with others in your field, others with your passions, others who can exchange information with you and help you get noticed.
You're the one you need to rely on...
Friday, March 4, 2011
In the beginning was the blog...
Jobs, and job creation, are everywhere in the news right now. Career information is as available as logging on to any server. We're in the middle of a recession -- and I don't care what the government entities think, we're still in the middle of a recession -- and those who are just entering the job market from school are worrying about what they'll do for the rest of their lives; those who have jobs are worried about losing them; those between jobs are worried about finding their next one; and those who are approaching retirement are concerned about whether they'll be stuck playing shuffleboard for the next 30 years...
Where are YOU in this picture? What's your situation, and what concerns do YOU have about your current job, your vision for your career, your long-term goals and...well...your happiness? What, in fact, is your definition of success? And do you know how to achieve it?
I envision this blog as a place where all kinds of people can read, learn and share information about what is, in the good ol' American way, one of the crucial things that defines who you are and where you fit into the world around you: your career. Please join me in exchanging thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions, answers and comments about anything and everything related to identifying your direction, knowing the value that you can add to an employer's success...and living a satisfying professional life.
Where are YOU in this picture? What's your situation, and what concerns do YOU have about your current job, your vision for your career, your long-term goals and...well...your happiness? What, in fact, is your definition of success? And do you know how to achieve it?
I envision this blog as a place where all kinds of people can read, learn and share information about what is, in the good ol' American way, one of the crucial things that defines who you are and where you fit into the world around you: your career. Please join me in exchanging thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions, answers and comments about anything and everything related to identifying your direction, knowing the value that you can add to an employer's success...and living a satisfying professional life.
Announcing...the new Career Charisma Blog!!
I'm pleased to announce that Career Charisma now has a blog...
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