As a Career Transition Coach, I work with job seekers (employed and unemployed) who are looking for advice to land their perfect career. Though my approach includes a personalized and focused plan for each client based on their individual goals and attributes, I’ve also realized that there are some distinct pieces of advice that seem to ring true for every client – no matter the situation. I’ve decided to publish them here! Which one will help you the most?
My 8 Best Pieces of Advice
First and probably most important- Our sense of who we are precedes us in any encounter (interview, networking, written communication). Do not downplay or dismiss this.
Taking the time to examine what is on and in our mind will make all the difference in how we show up and how others receive us.
No one achieves success in a vacuum. If you want to succeed in your career or business, making connections and collaborating are essential.
You must continuously challenge your thinking, assumptions, and perceptions. The best way to know when it is time to do this is when you find that you are doubting yourself or feeling stuck.
Don’t underestimate the importance of follow through. I receive feedback from clients and hiring managers that the fact that someone did what they promised to do was a pleasant surprise and impacted their decision to hire potential candidates or work for potential employers.
If you feel stuck in your own “box” remember that you constructed your box and you can de-construct it!
It takes courage to proclaim your true passion and dreams to yourself and others. Not everyone will accept or agree with what you want to do and will have strong opinions about what you “should” be doing. Have the courage to embrace your new identity and let what others think be their business.
Finally, don’t assume you’ve heard this already. We all need a mind reboot from time to time.
The most important work you can do is the “Work Before The Work” – before you write your resume or set up interviews. You can kick start your new mind and reinvigorate yourself to be truly ready to do the work to discover your passion and begin a new chapter in your personal and professional life. This is why I built my workshop – Box Free Breakthroughs for a New Life and Mind. It’s time to reboot!!
P.S. – Remember, one other benefit of getting back to what makes YOU happy and motivated is that you will begin to naturally see what is interesting and inspiring in others. THIS can make life more colorful and full in ways that you may be missing today!
A common reason my clients come to me for help with their career transition is they feel “Stuck”. They know they want to take the next step in their career and life but have no idea where to start.
They have experienced success in their life in the past and they are actively working on their next career chapter through activities such as:
Attending career events
Searching online for new career possibilities
Working their resumes, LinkedIn pages, and other online sites
Getting new certifications, education, and training
Networking
So then what’s the deal? Why are they stuck? The answer lies within! The culprit? That dialogue going on in their own heads.
What if I am no longer relevant?
What if I pursue a new career and I don’t like it?
What if I can’t earn what I earned in the past?
What if I commit to something and it doesn’t work out?
What if my age is a factor and no one is willing to talk about it directly?
What if I try and start my own business and it doesn’t work out?
What if I am not willing to put in the same amount of time I did with my career in the past?
These questions and others can be absolutely paralyzing.
How can you make a decision and move forward in your life with these concerns whirling around in your head? The answer: Change the dialogue in your head.
Stop the “What if” questions and let go of the FOMO (fear of missing out) mindset. None of us has a crystal ball telling us how the future will play out. Start by clarifying what your minimum standards for your new career and life, things like:
Minimum earnings you are willing to accept
Career choice standards: things like hours you will work; how far will you commute…. etc.
What are you passionate about and would be willing to put the time energy and effort into?
Who do you know that can help you with advice, introductions and support?
I also recommend that you begin with short term goals. What will you accomplish this week? For example: you can set a goal to contact 3 people you know and write a preliminary list of your actual monthly expenses.
That’s it!
If possible, discuss your week with someone whose brain you trust. This is crucial since so many people feel isolated during this transition and having someone to talk to and process with makes a world of difference.
As we get ready to celebrate and spend time with family and friends, I find myself reflecting on the past year and asking myself — “What are you thankful for?”
I’d like to share my thoughts with you:
I am thankful for the things I don’t know yet. It is motivating and exciting to know that in the year ahead I will have puzzles to solve, challenges to overcome, and lessons to learn.
I am thankful for the people in my life now and the one’s I haven’t met yet. I know that expanding my connections expands me. (P.S. some of these people will prove to be challenging and frustrating. This is ok. Either way I will learn and grow from them.)
I am thankful for early morning epiphanies. They don’t all pan out but it’s great to wake up full of ideas.
I am thankful for the doubters, naysayers, and doomsayers. Without them we would have no one to prove wrong!
I am thankful for my Pollyanna attitude. I strive to see the best in others and will not apologize for this! Do I get hurt sometimes? I am happy to report hardly ever!! I just think it is a better way to live your life!
I am thankful for those disciplined, accomplished people out there who remind me that I am a work in progress and that they can be role models for me as I strive to be a more disciplined, accomplished person.
I am thankful for the unplanned events in my life. I have been thrown into life transition which, at the time, felt overwhelming and defeating. As I look back at these events I realize that they were all opportunities to reinvent myself and invite new and wonderful people into my life.
What are you thankful for in your life? How can you begin to see your past experiences and present opportunities from a Box Free perspective? The possibilities are endless!!
What do billionaires like Oprah Winfrey, and top athletes like Russell Wilson, know that you don’t? They know how to use VISUALIZATION to achieve their goals!
Change Your Life in 2016!
Box Free Minds Vision Board Workshop is happening on February 6th, 2016 – registration includes a catered lunch, gourmet dessert, all materials, and the chance to meet exciting people from around the Valley – and I guarantee you will have fun!
You are much more likely to achieve your goals when you “tap” into your creative mind and connect your emotions to what you want. This workshop will present this powerful technique and attendees will learn how to use visualization and emotion to achieve career and other goals.
A vision board displays images that represent what you want to be, or want to have in your life. The technique has been around for a long time, you just need to learn how to put the technique in place to begin to change your life!
Box Free Minds offers strategies for individuals looking to change careers, start a new business or simply seeking overall change. Group and individual coaching sessions are also available.
DATE: February 6, 2016 TIME: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM LOCATION:Waddell & Reed, 7001 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 2035, Scottsdale PRICE: $70.00
Workshop includes ALL materials, a catered lunch with a gourmet dessert, water, coffee and tea.
(Pssst – Want to save up to $20.00 on registration? Join us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to get the code!)
Generally speaking, I think most of us prefer predictability when it comes to our career and income. We don’t mind an occasional surprise but mostly we want to know what to expect, even if what we are doing or getting is not what we want.
In my experience as a Career Transition Coach, my clients come to me because of an “involuntary” change in their career. I have noticed this creates a combination of emotional and psychological shut down with a surge in resume writing and online searching activity. They end up feeling frustrated, defeated, and unsure about the future. When I have the opportunity to work with clients we begin with a “reboot” that resets their mind and allows them to embrace change and begin this new chapter in their career and life.
We begin by shifting the thoughts in their head and figuring out how to see what is possible in their new situation.
Here are 10 ways to embrace change in your life:
Begin by getting out of your own way!Many of us are defeated before we begin because we think we already know the outcome of our efforts. Unless you are a psychic, you probably don’t.
This circumstance is an opportunity to take inventory of your strengths, passions, and goals.
Being in transition allows you time to reconnect with you: what are the thoughts in your head, how are you communicating with others, overall how are you showing up in the world.
Use this time to change your focus from what is happening to you to what you are doing to make things happen in your life.
This time of change in your life allows you to refocus on what success means to you. Many define success based on an arbitrary definition created by someone else long ago. Take this time to look inside and rediscover your definition of success.
Being in transition is a great time to remind yourself what is “awesome” about you. Those things that are not on your resume, and make you a great asset to any company or business.
During this time of change in your life you have the opportunity to practice “Vuja de”– a sense of seeing something for the first time, even though you have seen and experienced it many times before. . . (read that again if you need to – it’s not what you’ve heard before!). . .and then apply this practice to discover how you can look at your life differently.
When you are in transition you get the opportunity to go and do things you don’t normally take the time to do. Go to the zoo, leave town, walk the malls. Inspiration can hit anywhere and at any time!
During transition you can take the time to answer the question, “How are you intelligent?” Identify your true and natural gifts.
You have the opportunity to connect and reconnect with others who can and often do give you ideas, inspiration, and confidence to pursue something you have been thinking about but never did. (and you can do the same for them!!)
It may not have been you that put you where you are today, but it is YOU that can embrace this time of change and create an even better exciting future. The possibilities are endless!!
We all make assumptions and interpret the world around us – and when looking for a job, our beliefs can limit our thinking and keep us from moving forward!
This is a sign that you are ready to learn how to think Box Free!
On this recent radio broadcast of “The Patricia Raskin Show” on 630WPRO in Rhode Island – Patricia and Pam explore what makes Box Free Thinking stand out as a new approach to Career Transition.
Listen to the show and find out more about Pam and the Box Free Thinking 101 Workshop. There is more than one path to success and inspiration can be around any corner.
Don’t underestimate the importance of follow through. I receive feedback from clients and hiring managers that the fact that someone did what they promised to do was a pleasant surprise and impacted their decision to hire potential candidates or work for potential employers.
