When it comes to career change, we often focus on the blind spots. This is especially true if we have been recognized and rewarded for a particular skill, even though the skill might leave us cold or indifferent when using it to earn our living. In other words, we confuse the means with the ends, or in JobJoy terms, we confuse a ‘can do’ skill with a motivation. Let me explain by illustrating a specific case. ... Read more

This article was published in the National Career Development Association’s Career Convergence Magazine (Sept 2011).

Ken’s Story

Like many young adults, Ken made a “practical and realistic” career choice, and entered the work force with technical skills that were in high demand by employers. He landed a job as a software tester in a large company during the hi-tech boom…and got stuck there.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

To paraphrase Jim Collins… HAVING A GOOD CAREER IS THE ENEMY OF ACHIEVING A GREAT CAREER! What’s truly interesting – the book’s complete title is: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t.  This article is dedicated to continuing the discussion of why some leaders make the LEAP to a great career and others don’t. In direct conflict with popular beliefs, the ability to Achieve a Great Career will not require you to engage in excessive but meaningless NETWORKING; you don’t need to think up a cute tagline; you don’t even need great social media prowess. To Achieve a Great Career, you do need to:

• identify what you want
• design a Career Transformation Strategy Platform™
• take committed, targeted, continuous actions that deliver massive return on invested time (ROIT) results

    ... Read more

An organization leader I admire very much, Dan Burrier, noted in an article he wrote for the Harvard Business Review Insight Center: “Much has been written about getting out of the box, but perhaps the most frustrating — and useful — guidance I have received came from a Zen teacher who pointed out:

“The instructions for getting out of the box

are written on the outside of the box.“

  ... Read more

On a sunny afternoon in May, Southern Methodist University conferred the Doctorate of Humane Letters on The 14^th Dalai Lama for his ”lifelong leadership in promoting peace, compassion and interreligious understanding.” As he accepted the honorary degree, The Dalai Lama offered his particular brand of wisdom as it relates to leadership: »        The world belongs to humans, not kings… This observation reminds all leaders that we work for the good of our constituencies and we gain the most by ‘living’ the concepts of Servant Leadership. »        Leadership should be honest and should carry a sense of responsibility… ... Read more

  I met with a young man last week because he was worried about being left behind in the job stakes. He was thinking of switching programs from a BSc in Biology to something “more practical” like nursing because his two young siblings were in a nursing program that guaranteed a job after graduation. He didn’t see much prospect of getting a job related to biology without further education, despite the fact that he is currently employed in an internship with one of the country’s largest health sciences companies! ... Read more

Have you ever had someone make reference to something and it sticks in your mind?

Someone made a reference to Gilligan’s Island (a TV series from 1964 – 1968) within the last couple of days.  No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get the program or the theme song out of my mind: For those of you who did not see the original series or any of the syndicated reruns, the storyline of the program was based on seven people who set sail for a tree-hour trip on the trusty S.S. Minnow.  The Minnow is blown off-course during a storm and the cast is shipwrecked on an uninhabited desert island.  As you might imagine, each week the cast faced challenges and perils, triumphs and celebrations. You may have figured out that my brain is wired in an unusual way.  So, of course, I began to think about how each of the individuals had to put not only their lives, but they also had to put their careers on hold while the world went on without them. ... Read more

Causes

• Lack of a personal leadership brand
• Lack of an external reputation as a  ‘sought-after’ industry or career field thought-leader, speaker, author or influencer
• Damaged (walking wounded) or invisible internal reputation
• Lack of evidence of capabilities required in the next level
• Lack of a Mentor or Champion
• You think that doing the current job in a stellar manner or your past history of excellent performance should carry you to victory
• Lack of strategic focus
• You are playing football when the next-level role requires basketball competencies
• Non-alignment with the senior executive team’s values, strategy or leadership style
• Past faulty execution
• Inability to innovate
• Your boss advertises your successes as his/her own

Impacts ... Read more

I’m an idiographer. You might think I’m an idiot for saying so but idiography is actually the study of individual cases or events. And that’s what I do as a career professional. It is a proven, scientifically valid method for career assessment. ... Read more

 

 A new CA Career Café website has been launched.  This is a web-based resource for students, developed by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.  The CA Career Cafe is ready to share with students in counseling sessions and in counseling classes.

This website has a very user friendly visual layout. Many of the materials include links to careers centers at UCLA, UC Berkeley and Stanford.  Here is a brief overview:

Section 1: GET STARTED (http://www.cacareercafe.com/get-started/) to uncover who they are and where they want to be. Self assessments cover  the following areas:

• Identify your strengths, talents and passions.
• Define and match your personality to careers.
• Capitalize on your learning style.
• Focus on your goals.

 

Section 2:  GET A PATHWAY (http://www.cacareercafe.com/pathways/)  helps students to explore California’s 15 industry sectors.

Section 3:  GET EXPERIENCE (http://www.cacareercafe.com/get-experience/) is to practice and build workplace skills.  If they need to solve problems that get in the way, they can choose GET HELP (http://www.cacareercafe.com/get-help/). 

Section 4:  GET HIRED (http://www.cacareercafe.com/get-hired/) includes specific steps to find a job.

There are also HOT CAREER TIPS (http://www.cacareercafe.com/hot-tips/) to encourage students do little things to make a big difference (There are a total of short120 tips ) and COOL CONNECTIONS (http://www.cacareercafe.com/cool-connections/) to make helpful career contacts.

 I look forward to hearing what you think about this resource!