As career professionals, we often work with individuals who are seeking work but not motivated to take actions due, in some cases, to job misfit; that is, they hate their current job or are de-motivated to seek a similar job.

They want a different kind of job but have no idea what else they can do.  As career professionals, we can help them get started on finding a different path, by taking the following three actions.

First, we need to remind them that none of their current work experience is wasted.  We can clearly see that they have put the cart in front of the horse (the horse being that part of ourselves that represents our natural strengths, vitality, drive, energy).

We can help them re-connect with that authentic part of themselves and show them how to harness it to their tool cart, that part of their job experience that represents all the knowledge and skills they have acquired in their careers. Motivation is the natural result of putting the horse in front of the cart.

In fact, the clues to our right work are often found in our childhood preoccupations. For example, in one study conducted by British behavioral scientists, on the relationship between our desires in youth and adult success, 50 individuals were tracked over a period of 28 years, from the age of seven to 35.

The result? Nearly all of the subjects wound up engaged in a professional pursuit related to their interests during the ages 7 through 14. While most strayed from these interests after childhood, the successful adults were those who found their way back to their childhood dreams by the age of 35, even if only as a hobby or avocation. Don’t you find that amazing? I do!

If you’ve read my book, JobJoy , then you know that I put a lot of emphasis on understanding what we did and how we did it during ages 7-14.

What I have found over the years is that individuals who find jobjoy success early in life are often people who were lucky enough to have parents and other significant adults who recognized their natural talents and inclinations early in life, then helped nurture those talents into a specific vocation.

For most of us, this does not happen. We tend to drift away from our natural inclinations and focus on learned or acquired values and behaviors that have more to do with the agendas of others, or economic trends.

Most individuals settle for this kind of career and that’s fine. However, if they reach an impasse, we have a choice to help them through it. Many of us fall victim to what the poet E.E. Cummings eloquently described: “To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best day and night into making you like everybody else is to fight the hardest battle there is and never stop fighting.”

I have found that many people lost this battle early in life and, by doing so, lost their memory of what they enjoyed most and did best as a child. The clues to our right work are always there in the details of our personal stories, our life history.

Second, ask your client to sit with you in a quiet office, no interruptions.  Ask them to close their eyes, and quiet their minds.  Ask them to let their thoughts drift back to childhood.

Ask the following kinds of questions: What did you enjoy doing at age six or seven? What were the activities that gave you pleasure? How did the world open up to you?  Over the next five years or so, what kinds of subjects did you gravitate towards in school and outside of school? How did you get the attention you wanted? What teachers influenced you the most? Whom were your heros?

This might be difficult for some clients.  Ask them to go home and take the time to go through family photos, watch home movies, talk to parents and relatives. Invite them to bring a list of impressions and memories to your next meeting.

One way to find jobjoy in life is to move back with conscious intention to what we drifted away from early in life.  Third, remind your clients that it’s not as difficult as they might think! The world rewards excellence. And our best chance for excellence is to develop our natural talents and motivations into a specific job or career—that’s the route to personal and professional success!

People who excel in their jobs often make it look easy and effortless. Like Robert Redford in the movie ‘The Natural,” they seem to have a knack, a flair, a talent for the core job duty; the same way Redford’s character had a natural talent for throwing and hitting a baseball.  This work is child’s play!

Do your clients think about changing jobs?  The power to do so is right under their noses…well, behind their noses actually!  Stored in their brains are memories about events and activities they truly enjoyed in life since childhood.

Here are some tips for analyzing their life histories for key success factors that reveal work that is personally and financially rewarding.

Get them to do a quick inventory from childhood years (ages 6-12), then teen years (ages 13-19), then young adult years (ages 20-29), then their thirties, forties, and so on.  In each period, there are specific examples.  Ask them to create a shortlist of their top 10 most enjoyable events.

The power of those stories is in the facts, people, and events of their lives.  These stories are like veins of gold that run through each life.  Mining gold, however, involves moving a lot of ore with tools and equipment to get at that precious metal.

Similarly, mining the veins of gold in life stories is easier when you use the tool of writing.  Emphasize that it is important to write about what is important to them, not what they did to please others.  Help them identify those activities that gave them an intrinsic sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

Above all, encourage them to be brutally honest about what is they truly enjoyed, as opposed to what they are simply proud of.  They may be proud of certain accomplishments but there is often no real innate pleasure from the activity itself.

For example, many people get high grades in school in order to please their parents, not because they truly love math, or history, or truly enjoy studying and doing homework.

It actually makes it easier for them to tell the story if they stick to a proven  format. You may want to analyze or evaluate their stories for an accurate and reliable picture of their unique motivational pattern.  Or, you may want to turn the exercise over to a personal story analyst to really nail down the essence of who and what they are in terms of work when they are doing what you enjoy most and doing it well.

For example, their  stories can be analyzed to identify and define Key Success Factors. Please understand that the factors critical to success are very different than personality traits, or the results you get from Myers-Briggs and other personality assessments.

A personal story assessment can answer in very clear, concise and meanginful terms the questions: What are their natural talents that consistently bring satisfaction to them when they are doing what they enjoy most and doing it well? What is the subject matter that they gravitate to without even trying? What circumstances or conditions have to exist in the job environment to bring out the best in them?  How do they naturally build relationships with others? How do these success factors combine to create an essential motivation; that is, the thing they are best at and best suited for in terms of work?

This accurate and reliable picture of their right work can be developed into an Ideal Job Description and matched to specific opportunities in the world of work.  This opens up a new level of coaching and service for you as their career coach.

On a flight from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis a few months ago, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. Always curious as to where someone is from and what they do for work, I discovered that Gary has been a registered nurse for a number of years. It turns out that after high school, he enrolled in a pre-dentistry program. Thinking it would be a crap shoot getting into dental school; he shifted gears and graduated with a degree in business administration. After trying his hand at a variety of careers, including seasonal park ranger in the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and machine operator/machinist, Gary decided to pursue his long-held dream of working in the medical field. A lay-off allowed him to re-train for a different career which facilitated his move into nursing.

Gary felt that nursing seemed natural for him and knew he would be good at it. Nursing allows him to live in a small community in a somewhat remote area that he loves while helping his neighbors and friends recover from an illness, injury, or surgery and take care of the family and survivors of dying loved ones. Gary says, “I’m able to let them know that I care and allow them to feel more at ease with a familiar person helping them through difficult times. I know that makes a difference to them.”

According to Gary, “Whether it’s me as a male nurse, or it’s a female nurse, I think we all know our limits, our strengths, and our weak points, and are able to do our jobs, based on them. It all pulls together for the best possible outcome for the patients.” 

“Nursing is not for everyone, but there are a multitude of options or areas in which to work,” says Gary. He goes on to say, “I would encourage any male to consider nursing if they are at all interested in the medical field. They can always continue on and expand their interests with the options that are available, whether it is as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.”

I recently read that the need for registered nurses will grow by 580,000 over the coming decade due to the 80 million baby boomers reaching retirement. Nursing will continue to be a high-demand career for years to come.

“I hate my job!” If you’re a coach or counselor who, like me, has worked with thousands of individuals, then you’ve heard this phrase hundreds of times, at least!

If you’re client expresses this sentiment with genuine emotion, remind them that the power to change their career is right under their nose…well, behind the nose actually! Stored in our brains are memories about events and activities we truly enjoyed in life since childhood.

Ask them to do a quick inventory from childhood years (ages6-12), then teen years (ages 13-19), then young adult years (ages 20-29), then thirties, forties, and so on. In each period, there are specific examples. Help them create a shortlist of their top 10 most enjoyable events.

The Power of Story

The power of our stories is in the facts, people, and events of our lives. These stories are like veins of gold that run through our life. Mining gold, however, involves moving a lot of ore with tools and equipment to get at that precious metal.

Similarly, mining the veins of gold in our life is easier when we use the tool of writing. Help them write about what is important to them, not what they did to please others. Identify those activities that gave them an intrinsic sense of pleasure and satisfaction, where the rewards were more internal than external.

Brutal Honesty

Above all, encourage them to be brutally honest about what is they truly enjoyed, as opposed to what they are simply proud of accomplishing. We may be proud of a certain accomplishment but there is no real innate pleasure from the activity itself. For example, many people get high grades in school in order to please their parents, not because they truly love math, or history, or truly enjoy studying and doing homework.

Pick a Format

It actually makes it easier to tell the story if we stick to a proven format. You may want to analyze or evaluate their stories for an accurate and reliable picture of their motivational pattern. Or, you may want to turn the exercise over to a personal story analyst to really nail down the essence of who and what they are in terms of work when they are doing what they enjoy most and doing it well.

For example, our stories can be analyzed to identify and define our Key Success Factors. Please understand that the factors critical to success are very different than personality traits, or the results you get from Myers-Briggs and other personality assessments they may have done.
Career match result

A personal story assessment can answer in very clear, concise and meanginful terms the questions: What are the natural talents they use and consistently bring satisfaction to them when they are doing what they enjoy most and doing it well? What is the subject matter that they gravitate to without even trying? What circumstances or conditions have to exist in the job environment to bring out the best in them? How do they naturally build relationships with others? How do these success factors combine to create an essential motivation; that is, the thing they are best at and best suited for in terms of work?

The Right Picture

This accurate and reliable picture of their right work can be developed into an Ideal Job Description and matched to specific opportunities in the world of work.

Turn the negative “I hate my job!’ into a positive that reinforces your value as a coach and counselor. Give them real hope that is grounded in who and what they are, and show them how that correlates to real jobs in the world of work!

— Determine Your Top 5, rank order them, focus on the top three, and be sure you know your #1 Core Value.

Discovering how to make positive life and work choices needs to begin with a person’s value foundation. Many people begin with skills, your natural gifts, or capabilities. This is recommended by many and is also important. My suggestion however is to begin with values. Determine your top 5 values, and rank order them. Be sure your purposeful work includes your #1 value. When people attend to all the other components of working their purpose and things still don’t feel like a fit, it is usually that values are not in alignment with important relationships, co-workers, management or the organization.

In the book, “What to Do Between Birth and Death”, Charles Spezzano speaks to the value of time. He says that people don’t pay for things with money; they pay for them with time. If you say to yourself, “In five years, I’ll have enough money to take the trip of a lifetime, then what you are really saying is that the trip will cost you five years — one-twelfth of your adult life. “The phrase spending your time is not a metaphor, “said Spezzano. “It’s how life works.”

Get energy back on your side by visiting and revisiting your values and core principles often. An easy to complete online Values Card Sort is provided compliments of the University of Minnesota, College of Continuing Education as an outreach to the community. Available for personal use, non-profit and pro bono activities you will find it at: http://oca.cce.umn.edu/prototypes/cardsort/values/

Leadership guru, John Maxwell, in his book, “The Maxwell Daily Reader”, encourages us to ask ourselves, “Are the tasks on today’s agenda worthy of your life?” What we spend our time on is what we value. After you complete the Values Card Sort you will want to check your top 5 values against where you have spent your time today, the last week, month, and year. What you spend your time on becomes your life.

In their book, “Be Your Own Brand, A Breakthrough Formula for Standing Out from the Crowd,” my friend, David McNally and his co-author Karl Speak say, “acting in concert with your values not only effects your relationships with others, it also has a highly positive effect on your relationship with yourself.”

Your clear values are your core relationship with yourself. Taking your core values to life and work develops your distinctive, relevant, clear and consistent vision creating authentic confidence. Once you respect yourself in this way others will respect you also.

What are your top 5 values? Is the time you are spending on activities in alignment with your values, particularly your top #1 core value? Knowing your values can be especially helpful and important in personal branding and career change.

I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand —Og Mandino

Often clients say, “I want more meaningful work.” Yet, they don’t know what it is or how to find it.  With the use of assessments, tools, and coaching your clients will discover their passion and purpose.

A free initial measure for your clients’ that are working on purpose is a10-question online quiz, “Power of Purpose Quiz” (http://inventuregroup.com/Resources/Quiz.aspx). After completing it, your clients can compare their total score with the average score of other test takers. Then, coach them to explore their answers to the various questions in the quiz.

“Calling Cards – A Journey of Discovery” (http://www.inventuregroup.com/inventure-store/Calling-Cards-A-Journey-of-Discovery-P5.aspx) is an inexpensive and easy to use tool to help clients focus on what’s most important to them. It’s a deck of 52 cards and each card has two or three words on it, e.g., “starting things,’’ “getting things right,” “building things.” Ask them to quickly review all the cards and select 8 to10 cards they’re most drawn to. Next, ask them to select their favorite card(s). Then, coach them on that topic by asking questions such as:

• “What about that card makes it your favorite?”
• “Say more about that.”
• “What work experiences are closest to the words on the card?”
• “What other work activities tie to that the words on the card?”

Also, ask them to notice what Holland Theme is shown on that card, e.g., enterprising, realistic. If they’ve taken an interest inventory, encourage them to explore occupational areas that fit that both that Holland theme and the words on their favorite calling card.

To help your clients find their passions, start them out with a short passion quiz (http://www.thepassiontest.com/Offer/PTProfile/index.cfm). Ask them for feedback on their results. Coach them to brainstorm passions, and then, ask them to identify their top five. Continue to coach them to discover work that best matches those passions. If they desire further exploration of their passions, encourage them to take the full version of The Passion Test (http://www.thepassiontest.com). Or, they can take the Core Passion Assessment™ Tool (http://www.corepassion.com) online which provides people with a rank order of twelve core passions.

Discovering purpose and passion is an important step for your clients to find meaningful and enjoyable work. The discovery process can best be facilitated through coaching. Wishing you the best as you and your clients find purpose and passion!

Further Resources on Purpose and Passion:

• Authentic Happiness, by Martin Seligman.
• Beyond Halftime, by Bob Buford.
• Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, by Bob Buford.
• Repacking Your Bags, by R. Leider and D. Shapiro.
• Something to Live For: Finding Your Way in The Second Half of Life, by Richard Leider.
• The Passion Test, by J. B. Attwood and C. Attwood.
• Wake Up…Live the Life You Love: Living on Purpose, compiled by Steven E. and Lee Beard.
• Whistle While You Work, by R. Leider and D. Shapiro.

Copyright 2010. Nancy Branton.

“I don’t have time to look for a job while I’m writing a thesis and finishing classes!”  In my time as a career counselor at a major university, I’ve probably heard this line a thousand times.

Most grad students saying that are right because they’ve avoided all thought of jobs since they started grad school, and they are especially pushed in the weeks before graduation. But now LinkedIn offers them an opportunity to become known in their field while they are taking all those classes and writing that thesis – if they take advantage of it.

The beauty of LinkedIn is in offering both a public profile of accomplishments and a communications platform. The profile can be filled in bit-by-bit, a few minutes at a time, and it can replace at least some of the email in their lives.

If grad students started a LinkedIn profile when they began their first classes, and invested 5-10 minutes a week, by the time they graduated, they’d have developed both a complete profile that will help them attract job offers and a way to become known and stay in contact with colleagues in their field.

What’s the minimum for you to get started with LinkedIn?

1. Start with your name. First, Google your name to see if others share your name, and if so, find a way to individualize your name, perhaps using a nickname (but keep it professional), a middle initial, or writing it out in full.

2. Choose a descriptive profile headline, such as “graduate student, University of Michigan,” or “Master’s Candidate, E.E.,” or even, “MA expected June, 2010.” The headline helps define and label your focus.

3. Upload a photo of yourself, and keep it professional. Think of the headshots of professors you’ve seen in professional conference programs. You don’t have to be wearing a tie, but don’t use a picture of your dog, either. Save it for FaceBook.

4. Use the summary section to describe your disciplinary focus. You can include your classes, your thesis title or a description of the research you’re involved in, but try to avoid sounding like a stuffed shirt. Interests, travel and languages you speak could fit here, too. And, you can use the Specialties section to add keywords that relate to your disciplinary focus or future job title.

5. Fill in the education and employment sections as completely as you can. Include internships, assistantships or any special training or research projects, as well as student memberships in campus and professional organizations. Include awards and accomplishments, especially if they’re related to your education.

6. Fill in your status box periodically (at least every term, but monthly is better), so people know your profile is current. Note the courses you’re taking, the professional events you’re attending or leading, awards/ accomplishments, or papers/publications you’re working on.

7. Join groups, especially those connected to your discipline or the field you hope to work in when you graduate. This is one of the best kept secrets of LinkedIn because you can interact with experts in your field just by engaging with other group members. By paying attention to the group discussions, you can learn about the issues in the field, and in the workplace, which don’t always come up in the classes you’re taking. Ask questions (and answer them) whenever you can. It’s a way of signaling that you’re willing to contribute to the field. When you see an article of interest to the group, post a News link, or begin a discussion. Engage and learn.

8. Set up your personal URL. Make it easy for folks to find you by replacing the nonsense URL (that LinkedIn automates for you) with your name.

9. Ask for recommendations. Faculty are used to being asked for recommendations. Ask them, and recommend them, too. Ask employers as well, and anyone who has supervised your volunteer work or your co-authors or research partners.

10. Start adding connections by inviting your fellow grad students, then professors, advisors and anyone else you interact with by email, especially if it is related to your research or future work. It’s commonly said that 50 connections is a tipping point and you’ll begin to see significantly more activity when you have that many.

11. Add content in the form of applications. That will allow you to add papers you’ve written, publications, PowerPoint presentations and other examples of your work. You can list books you’ve been reading and review them. Your resume could fit here, too.

Remember that this is not just a social twirl. You are building the basis of your job search a little at a time, while you are making your way through grad school. By the time you’re half way through, your job search will be under way, even though you may not have time to cruise the job banks the month before you graduate.

“The pitcher cries for water to carry, and a person for work that is real.” ~ Marge Percy

There is a trend, some say a movement, for people to combine paid employment with meaningful work in the second half of life.  Marc Freedman, a thought leader and evangelist for this movement, coined the term “Encore” career to describe this trend.  Freedman defines an Encore career as purpose driven work that combines income, personal meaning, and social impact. 

There are many reasons why people are exploring meaningful work in the second half of life.  We’ve all heard the term “midlife crisis,” characterized as a time when people desperately try to connect with a fading youth.  While midlife can be a time of angst, for many it is instead a time of great hope and possibility.  Midlife can be a time when priorities shift to reflect our authentic selves.  A common theme is a desire to give back and have meaningful impact.  Psychologist Erik Erickson saw this as a developmental task of adulthood, as people focus on generativity versus stagnation.

People who enter Encore careers often have a strong desire to stay active and productive into the later years.  They want challenge, and are drawn to work that gives them energy.  They feel called to make a difference in the world and to use their skills to promote the common good.  They often desire work that offers flexibility and allows them to call the shots.  And, they are often working for practical reasons as well – income and health benefits.

Findings from the 2008 Encore Careers Survey

The number of people moving into Encore careers is inspiring.  A 2008 Encore Careers Survey* estimated that 5.3 to 8.4 million people have moved from midlife careers into Encore careers.  These career changers represent 9.5% of the U.S. population aged 44-70 years old.  An additional 44.7% of respondents expressed interest in moving into an Encore career. 

A desire to advocate for a cause or issue topped the list of motivators for Encore careers.  People were also motivated to work with children and youth, preserve the environment, and teach.  People are starting Encore careers in education, health care, government work, and nonprofit organizations, and some in for profit organizations as well.  They fully expect to work well into the traditional retirement years, but see this work as a vital part of their “retirement” lifestyle. 

The nonprofit organization Civic Ventures has launched an outstanding website for people interested in Encore careers. For more information, visit this website: www.encore.org.

* MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey, June, 2008

Do you dread Monday mornings and can’t wait for Fridays? Have you dreamed about being your own boss? Are you eager to get your severance package and never go back to your corporate job?

If you have been wondering about a better path such as starting your own business, but are not sure what that would be or how to do that without risking everything, franchising may be an option. If you have experience managing a project, department, division or business unit, then yo have the potential skills for success as a franchise owner. The franchiser provides the industry expertise, training, systems, procedures, and marketing support that you need to succeed.

Most people associate franchising with fast food companies.  However, more than 1600 registered franchise companies exist in diverse industries in the marketplace. To explore and determine if this option is viable, you can work with a franchise consultant, and it won’t cost you a dime.

A franchise consultant helps you sort through the possibilities and match you with the appropriate franchise opportunity. The process begins with specific questions such as:

• What are your reasons for wanting a business of your own?
• Have you ever owned a business of your own?
• What hours do you want to work and do you want to work full time or part time?
• Where do you want your business to be located?
• How do you feel about managing people?
• How much capital do you have to start a business?
• Will you have partners?
• Do you want to build multiple units?
• How soon do you want your business to open?

If, after a thorough assessment, you move forward with a good match, the franchiser pays the franchise consultant’s fee. You would pay the exact same fees with any franchise company you choose whether you decide to work with a franchise consultant or not. It’s about ensuring that there is a fit on both sides.

Even with the hopeful predictions that have been reported over the last few months by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources, there are six job seekers for every available opening at this time. People who have been out of work for six months, a year or more are wondering if they will ever find the type of job they had before the recession.

So, what do you do when life hands you lemons? You make lemonade. That’s what Erik Proulx, an advertising professional did when he lost his job. He created a documentary called “Lemonade.” It’s an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who were laid off and found their passion—their calling. The film is about encouraging people to listen to their inner voice and ask themselves: what do I really want to do?, and make that passion a reality.

Proulx was featured in a recent interview on NPR’s “On Point” segment. As Proulx and the other people in the film discovered, there’s always an upside as with anything in life. That upside can be picking yourself up and seeing it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself by changing careers.

Unfortunately, when people lose their jobs, they don’t always listen to their inner voice. It’s often not until their backs are up against the wall that they finally start to pay attention to it.

What do you really love to do? What are the skills that you have and enjoy using? What are you passionate about? How do you want to spend your time and the rest of your life? What’s most important to you? These are the questions that may be in the back of someone’s mind after a layoff (or even before), but it’s not until they have exhausted other avenues to try and replace what they’ve lost, do they start to think about “what else?” they can do now.

For some that question can lead to entrepreneurial ventures. For example, the people featured in the film decided to listen to their inner voice and found other ways to exercise their skills—while still being able to pay the bills. One became a holistic health coach and yoga teacher; another relocated to Costa Rica and is now a successful landscape painter; yet another is a website renovator; and so forth.

People are discovering that there is no more security in a corporate job because in an ever-changing world, it can always disappear. Career reinvention is the new security. In order to move past the loss, you first have to come to terms with it and the feelings that it generates. Once people have allowed themselves to grieve and mourn the loss, can they truly say goodbye and welcome the next phase of their lives.

The key message of the film is to reconnect with the things you love and put that energy into it to see what happens. Rather than focusing on a job, zero in on the skills you know or want to develop to create the life you deserve.