Why? a completely off topic rant
Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed Under Off the beaten path | 6 Comments
Why does the world make no sense? Why do I have two healthy children and other’s do not? Why do the people most deserving of happiness not seem to find it? Why does my dog stink like an old man? Why do we spend millions of dollars fighting a war in a country where we’re not wanted while the people of Darfur and Tibet suffer needlessly? Why do people who claim to love God not love eachother? Why do the meanest, nastiest, people seem to thrive while the good, selfless people do not. Why do only old people win the lottery? Why do we glorify celebrities with no talent or redeeming qualities, but ignore people who give their lives for the greater good? Why is it the end of October and still 95 degrees in Phoenix, is it hell and no one told us? Why do the good die young? Why?
Take Ownership of Your Career, No One Else Will
Posted on October 20, 2008
Filed Under Career Development | Leave a Comment
Webster’s dictionary defines ownership as: the state, relation, or fact of being an owner; also : the rights or interests of an owner. I like the last part; ‘the rights or interests of an owner’. Whether it’s your house or car or golf clubs, something that’s yours means that you have an interest, but it also means you have a responsibility. No one is going to fix your car or house without you doing something first, you have to take the initiative. Same is true in protecting those resources, you have to take out insurance and otherwise protect your investment.
Your career is no different. You alone have an interest in it, you alone are responsible for protecting and improving it. Just like your house, if you don’t take care of it, it will eventually fall down. Maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively. Here are some ways to own your career:
- Be proactive, not reactive. In the same way you don’t wait until the grass is a foot tall to mow it, don’t wait to provide a little maintenance to your career. Too many people stay in crappy jobs because they’re scared to try anything else. If you don’t like your job, find a new one and it doesn’t have to be at another company. Employers don’t want to lose good employees. It costs them thousands of dollars to do that, plus months to train the new person and they have no guarantee that the person they hire will be any good. Also, companies love to hire from within, you’re a known entity, the company already knows you and your track record, you’re the safe bet. If you’re not happy with your current job start looking within your own company. You’ll be surprised how easy it may be.
- Fix what’s broken. If your problem is a lousy boss, fix it. That’s right fix it. No one else will if you don’t do something first. Now sadly you can’t fire your boss, but you can try to make things better. First talk to your boss, tell them how you feel. If he/she isn’t open to your views, then at least you know where you stand. If your boss is abusive or harassing you, you may want to escalate the problem to their supervisor or to HR, but beware, starting down this path can be treacherous. A better option might be simply change your job. Again you don’t have to leave your current company, start looking internally. Talk to your friends and co-workers and see what may be available. And look on your companies intranet if they have one; internal jobs are frequently posted there. Once you find a job you’re interested in, go talk to the manager of that position before you talk to your boss. That’s right before. Take him or her for coffee, tell them you saw the position and would like to learn more about it before formally applying for it. This will give you a chance to meet your perspective new boss and get a feel for him/her. It will also give you some feedback on if they’re interested in you. If it’s a good fit you’ll know and then you can go through the proper channels. Believe me this happens all the time and I’ve done it myself.
- Don’t become stagnant. What I mean here is that you should constantly be trying to improve yourself professionally. Whether that’s taking additional courses in your field, taking on new challenges at work, or polishing your skills in other ways like blogging, don’t stand still. Remember it doesn’t always have be with a promotion in mind, sometimes it’s just about creating value within your organization. The better you are at what you do the more valuable you are to the company, which translates to job security and more opportunities and yes, more money.
Folks I don’t have to remind you that the economy is a mess, as is the stock market and the real estate market. In a nutshell there’s lots of instability in corporate America and we’ve already seen layoffs and I expect we will see more in the months to come. If you haven’t done so already take ownership of your career, don’t wait for the rain to buy an umbrella.
Until next time…
Leave a CommentWho Do You Want To Be?
Posted on October 15, 2008
Filed Under Career Development | 1 Comment
When we were kids, we all used to talk about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Doctor, Lawyer, Firemen, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys (yeah, that was mine, but at 43 it may not happen) all those grown up jobs seemed so cool. What we never thought about was ‘who’ we wanted to be. What about these cool jobs was going to be rewarding and make us happy, what was our passion. Today for many career professionals, what they do for work and what their passion is are frequently different things.
For many people it all goes south straight out of college. In college most of us find a major we really like, but come graduation can’t seem to find a way to apply it in corporate America. Eventually we do find a job, get married, have a kid or two, and a mortgage or two and wake up ten years later wondering how we got to where we are and why we are unhappy. The reality is that corporate America is a trap, especially if you end up in a job you’re not passionate about, because by the time you realize you’re trapped you’re often making too much money and have too many bills to do anything about it. How do you walk away from a 70-80k/yr job to try something new when you’ve got bills and a family. For most, you don’t.
Some people have change thrust upon them via layoffs, downsizing, or something similar, but just because you lose your job doesn’t mean you know how to change to a more meaningful career. Here’s some ways to do that.
- Figure out what you’re passionate about and then look at opportunities in that industry. If you’ve been in sales for 10 years, but would rather be a teacher, then go teach. If you can’t afford the pay cut try finding something on the side to supplement your income until you can, a lot successful teachers also are successful realtors. Yes you need to realize that following your dreams can sometimes mean sacrificing too.
- If you don’t know what you’re passionate about try taking a career assessment. There are many great ones out there, if you’re unsure of where to start drop me a line and I’ll point you in the right direction.
- If you know your passion, but are unsure of how to make the move there are also many excellent career coaches and mentors that excel in making your career dreams reality. Again if you need help getting started, I’ll be happy to help.
Finding out who you want to be and then becoming that person isn’t always easy, but the road to career enrichment is worth the trip. Afterall you’ve got nothing to lose except that job that’s making you miserable.
Until next time…
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