Career reinvention can be a very unsettling time for clients!!! Reinvention is often very stressful, with anxiety and fear coming from many of the “fears” that exist during this process of renewal-fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of making a wrong choice, fear of never landing in the new field. And unfortunately, depending on the nature of the reinvention, this unsettling period can last for a very long time. As I coach clients though reinvention, I often think back to my own reinvention eight years ago. I remember feeling discouraged, worried, stressed about money and thinking that I would NEVER find an employer that would give me a chance. I stuck with the game and eventually got my first opportunity, a mere 19^th months after shifting gears. And this first opportunity was a 60% pay cut from my old career. Despite the difficult start for me, I have never looked back and TOTALLY love what I do.

At the present time, I am coaching a variety of individuals through reinvention-some are self employed and moving back into the corporate world, others are leaving the corporate world for new fields or self employment. Regardless of their career shifts, I continually hear the same comments:

“I can not stand not knowing where I am going”

“How many more informational meetings do I have to do?”

“Can’t I just do my resume and get on with it?”

Here are a few tips to help you get through this difficult period:

§  Understand that fear and uncertainty are part of the reinvention process and that you are not alone in these feelings. I suggest that clients read the book “Transitions” by William Bridges so they can understand the nature of this very difficult “neutral zone” where these feelings of fear and uncertainty often emerge.

§  Analyze what exactly you fear. Are your fears realistic? What is the worst that could happen? How could you reframe your thinking?

§  Is there a job you could do while you reinvent that would help you feel useful, bring in some money and ease your worries? Consider part-time or volunteer work to tide you over.

§  Don’t spend excessive amounts of money on a resume makeover until you are sure of the direction in which you want to move. If you feel the need to have a document in place, either focus on a one-page networking profile, or update your LinkedIn profile.

§  Instead of dreading informational and networking meetings, think of them as a opportunity to meet new people, learn new things, express your personal brand and as a way for you to help out others.

Reinvention can be difficult but also quite rewarding. Try to live in the present as much as you can and don’t let your emotions run away.

Maybe you Should Test Drive Your New Career

When clients come to me for career transition work, we often get to a point in our coaching where the client wants to learn more about a field or occupation that they find appealing.  They are seeking to learn more about the realities of working in an occupation than they could get from reading a book or from speaking with individuals on an informational basis.

One way to try out a new career or occupation is to engage in volunteer work in the new field. This approach will place you in a position or organization that intrigues you. It will provide you with an unlimited view into how this type of work fits your interests, passions, and goals. And, it will provide you with insight as to whether your skills match up to this type of position. At the same time, volunteering can open up new networking avenues for you, which may be useful later if you decide to pursue this field

This might work for your schedule and commitments. However, if it does not, you might want to consider another option. Vocation Vacations (http://vocationvacations.com/) is a company that organizes vacations that allow you to spend several days with someone working in an occupation you might want to pursue. The founder of Vocation Vacations, Brian Kurth, has written a wonderful book on this concept (link below), which describes how to use this avenue to test out a dream career. I just finished reading the book myself and wish I had know about this option when I made my own career change-it would have been helpful for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Test-Drive-Your-Dream-Step-Step/dp/0446698881/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259596361&sr=8-1

Is a career reinvention in the cards for you?

In the current economic climate, I have found that many of my clients are being forced to either switch industries or change careers entirely in order to find work. Many of them are not happy about it, but feel that if they do nothing, they will be without work for a very long time.

In fact a recent study by Monster.com has found that 89% of job seekers said they would think about an industry change to secure employment. Another 49% said they would try to completely change the direction of their career.

Do you find yourself thinking along these lines? If so, here are 5 quick tips to help you get started:

1. Evaluate your career likes and dislikes.

Think about your current or most recent role(s). Identifying what you dislike is often easier to define than what you do like, so start there. Then add in what you like to do and enjoy most. Read more at:

http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog.php?article=125

2. Identify your motivated skills.

The key to a successful career reinvention is to assess your motivated skills.  What this means is getting clarity on (1) the skills you are good at, but more importantly (2) those skills you enjoy using. Read more at:

http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog.php?article=126

3. Pinpoint your interests.

Think about what you are so passionate about that you would get up at 5am to do? Is it working with people? Or do you prefer analyzing data? What industries are you passionate about-the green tech sector, biotech, luxury goods?

4. Know what matters the most to you.

For me, understanding your values is probably one of the most important things to consider when thinking about a career, or even industry change. Think about the rewards you would like to get from work at this point in your life. Are the rewards focused around time for family and work-life balance, or are you seeking advancement, money and recognition? Read more at:

http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog.php?article=129

5. Get a handle on your finances.

One thing you must concede is that you might be starting at a lower salary when changing your career. Yet, if you truly want to follow your passion to a more rewarding career, you can manage this situation by doing your homework.

Work out the financial picture before you enter a new field. Prepare a budget, know what you need to live on and what costs you can eliminate and evaluate your education and retooling costs. 

One of the most recent developments for a new career is as a patient advocate in the health care field. This growing new career is considered a potentially hot area for future job seekers. Basically, this job is just what it sounds like—being an advocate for a medical patient.

The patient advocate position has many levels: one is more medically oriented; another is more administrative; and others are more service-oriented. The medical patient advocate would coordinate with other medical professionals on a variety of treatment options and patient care issues. The administrative patient advocate would help with the cost and usage of medical coverage, such as paperwork, insurance options, and reimbursements. And, the service-oriented patient advocates would help with setting up and maintaining physical therapy, home care, visiting nurses, home-delivered meals, and other service availabilities.

If any of this sounds interesting, you will need skills that range from being a health professional to being a very patient and empathetic person to be qualified for employment for one of the levels of patient advocacy. All of these types of patient advocates require excellent communications, problem-solving, time-management, and organizational skills.

If you have the interest and skills needed to be a patient advocate, you can start looking for this type of position at hospitals, nursing homes, health insurance companies, a federal, state, or local health department, or a preventative health organization.

Because the field is new, there is no set program or course of action to take to become a patient advocate. Patient advocates aren’t licensed, and there is no federal or state agency with regulations that supervise patient advocates. There is a master’s degree program in patient advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and the University of North Carolina and the University of Wisconsin are considering adding patient advocacy courses.

But, the best idea might be to research the position yourself. Try checking out The Patient Advocacy Foundation at www.patientadvocate.org, the American Nurses Association at www.nursingword.org, the Hospital Stay Handbook: A Guide to Becoming a Patient Advocate for Your Loved Ones by Jari Holland Buck, or just examine the job descriptions for patient advocates, such as those on www.monster.com. Various job descriptions listed on this site require some of the following: a nursing degree; a bachelor’s degree with experience with community organizations and /or the health education field; an associate degree in business; a high school diploma; being bilingual in English and Spanish; and customer or patient service experience.   

Financial Planning Is Essential When Changing Careers

In this economic climate, financial stress is common for many of us—even if we believe we have stable jobs and careers. But, what if you’re considering changing careers? How do you manage your financial considerations in such a time of instability?

One thing you must concede is that you might be starting at a lower salary when changing your career. Yet, if you truly want to follow your passion to a more rewarding career, you can manage this situation with proper planning and the realization that your salary will increase over time as you gain experience, skills, and knowledge in your new industry.

So, it’s essential to work out the financial picture before you enter into a career reinvention. This includes how to prepare to live through your reinvention, thinking out what the hidden costs might be, and what you can live on when you’re hired for your new career.

Here are five things to do to help prepare yourself for the financial effects of this time of transition:

1.      Know what you’re getting into: Find out how much you can make in your new career by checking www.salary.com, www.salaryexpert.com, and www.payscale.com. And, talk to professionals in your desired field to determine what salaries are available and what the long-term prospects are for compensation and advancement.

2.      Make a realistic budget: Start tracking your current expenses, and determine where you could tighten your belt. Then, start working at accumulating a three- to six-months cash cushion. Consider setting aside additional funds in case your reinvention period takes longer than expected. Taking on extra work (overtime, part-time job) could help you build up your savings.

3.      Plan for training expenses: Estimate how much you’ll need to spend for training and professional development. Ask those in your target field how much they spent on training, and research professional associations in your new field to determine how much they charge for training and certificate programs.

4.      Don’t overlook additional expenses: Membership in professional associations, attending professional conferences, and technology equipment and training all are potential extra expenses that you must plan for, as they can be essential for landing that new job. And, make sure you haven’t forgotten to plan for medical expenses that can be costly if you are between careers and coverage.

5.      Take some extra credit: Consider obtaining a line of credit while you are employed in your present job and have steady income. This might help relieve some stress and will help you feel more comfortable knowing that you have emergency funds available.

Don’t hesitate to ask your career coach for some advice in these areas. We have experienced our own career transitions and reinventions, in addition to those of our clients, and have planned financially for these times. We can help you determine if your planning, budget, and financial expectations are reasonable and realistic.

Career Reinvention May No Longer Be an Option:

Step Three: Know What You Want Out of your Next Role

In the past two blog posts, I have talked about the importance of separating out your “career likes” and “career dislikes”. I also touched upon knowing what your “motivated skills” are. In this post, I am talking about knowing what is important to you.

For me, understanding your values is probably one of the most important (and frankly the least concrete) of all the assessment parameters. Why? Because values touch the core of who we are, why we work, and what we want to get out of our work. And, if there is a mismatch between your values and those of the organization for which you work, this mostly likely will lead to career dissatisfaction and potential illness and undue stress.

Here are some questions to ponder:

What is important to you in your life and career?

·        This could include achievement, work-life balance, high salary, giving back to the community, time for hobbies. Make a list of at least 5-8 items that are important to you.

Which values are the most important to you?

·        Can you rank the above list? If given a choice between some of your values, which ones would come out at the top of the list?

What motivates you and is important to you?

Career Reinvention May No Longer Be an Option: Motivated Skills

In my last blog post  http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/weblog.php?article=125

I discussed the importance of assessing your career “likes and dislikes” before choosing what your career change options might be. In this post, we are going to talk about “motivated skills” and how important they are to your long term career satisfaction and fulfillment.

 “Motivated skills” is a bit of a buzzword in the careers industry. Simply stated, it means:

§         Skills you are good at,

AND

§         Skills you get satisfaction from using

This sounds overly simplistic but identifying your “motivated skills” is so important to career satisfaction and to identifying possible career change options. I’ll use an example from my own background and career change. When I went to business school and in my post-MBA jobs, I discovered:

§         I am good at “numbers” and “analytical” work

AND

§         I get ZERO satisfaction from this kind of work

Now had I been astute enough to figure this out early in my career, I might never had gone to business school. (I might have gone on to study what I am really passionate about-human development, counseling, coaching, etc.)  What I have learned since business school, is that using these skills leads to burn out and career dissatisfaction.

During this same period, when I was in sales, business development roles and, running my consulting company, I discovered that I am good at relating to people, motivating them and encouraging them to grow professionally. And that I get TONS of satisfaction from this work. This is what we call “motivated skills”.

To be happy in your career long term, you MUST lead with your motivated skills.

Now take a few minutes to reflect and ask yourself these questions:

·        Are you leading with your “motivated skills”?

·        Are you just doing work because you are good at it and have always been good at it?

·        If you are not leading with your “motivated skills”, what steps can you take to incorporate these skills I your work?

Next up, identifying what is most important to you (your values).

Career Reinvention May No Longer Be an Option

Just read the newspapers and add up the number of job cuts. Tuesday’s WSJ announced close to 80,000 job cuts, including Caterpillar, Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, ING Group and others. Jobs are imploding and so are industries.

If you have not thought about changing careers and reinventing yourself, maybe now is the time to step back and rethink your future. Better to have a plan than get caught off guard.

For many of you, this may sound overwhelming and daunting-and rightly so. Career change and transition can be very scary. Starting this week, I will be blogging every few days on the steps necessary to begin the process of career reinvention.

The first part of this process is very introspective, so I encourage you to buy a journal and keep track of your daily thoughts, ideas, revelations and recurring themes, all in one place.

Step One:

Assess your Likes and Dislikes

Think about your current or most recent role. Identifying what you dislike is often easier to define than what you do like, so we’ll start there.

§         With a bit of distance, try to identify the aspects of the role you dislike(d).

§         Are your dissatisfactions related to the company culture and the people you work with?

§         Or are they more related to the actual content of your work?

§         Do you dislike the industry, what it stands for and the products/services produced?

Now to your likes:

§         What do you enjoy doing at work, even if you are not/were not able to do it in your current/most recent role?

§         What others industries are you drawn to?

§         What do you like to do when you are not working-in your spare time?

Coming up next….Assessing your motivated skills

In my coaching work with clients in career transition or reinvention, I have discovered that many have a strong need and interest in helping others, making a difference and giving back. In fact, over the past few years, I have coached many career transition clients on exploring a career in coaching. In helping my clients explore this filed, I came upon a fabulous coaching school right in our backyard-New England Coaching. New England Coaching, launched in 2004 my Mr. Bill Sex, former President of the New England Chapter of the International Coach Federation, offers coach training and certification for individuals seeking a career in life, business or executive coaching.

If you are interested in dipping your toe in the water and trying out the school, you can take their The Life Potentials Training is a 3-day amazing experience that provides the foundation for everything that you’ll do as a coach. If this initial training seems to suit you, then you can enroll in the remainder of the training program (ICF-accredited Core Energy Coach Training Program), which includes on-site training modules, 3 day modules, teleclasses, peer to peer coaching, mentor coaching and supplemental readings. For more information visit

http://www.newenglandcoaching.com/coach_cert.html

or contact Judy Sunblade at judy@newenglandcoaching.com or 508-485-3855.