[Great Career Tips] "Money management for career change"

“Norman” was experiencing sticker shock. After years of career success in the corporate world, he had accumulated a healthy nest egg. But now Norman faced a midlife career crisis. He had just learned his division would be shutting down. To keep his job, he would have to relocate to a distant part of the country. Finding a new job meant fighting age discrimination. So, Norman thought, why not launch an Internet marketing business? He began exploring and collecting information. Norman first encountered sticker shock when he learned about the world of Internet marketing seminars. “Over seven hundred dollars for two days? That’s outrageous!” he exclaimed. When you’re facing a major career crisis, it’s hard to evaluate prices. I like to draw an analogy with getting a flat tire in the middle of the night. You haven’t bought tires for years and you have no idea what’s realistic. Worse, you feel stranded. You feel you have to make decisions right away. And you feel like money keeps dripping away. For career change, the expenses add up. Travel. Moving. Resume Services. Business Start-up. But I take a different view. I encourage clients to banish words like “cheap” and “expensive” from their vocabularies -- forever. Instead, I encourage everyone to respond to sticker shock with three questions. (a) How does this price relate to the market? Maybe you’re paying too much. Maybe not. Before hiring a consultant, attending a seminar, choosing a moving company or buying computer equipment, do some research. Learn the going rate. Sometimes you’ll get increased value by paying more. Sometimes you won’t. But you should be suspicious of offerings that are way below or way above market price. Author Barbara Ehrenreich, posing as a corporate job hunter, hired a resume coach who charged by the hour. As reported in her best selling book, Bait and Switch, Ehrenreich’s bill grew larger and larger as the coach found more and more ways to make the resume “perfect.” Had Ehrenreich checked the market, she would have learned that many resume consultants charge a flat fee, not an hourly rate. (b) Will you get value for your payment? Spending a thousand dollars seems like a lot of money...but not if it’s the best way to earn two, three or even ten thousand dollars. But throwing money at a career or business challenge won’t work either. You have to choose resources that make sense for you as an individual. I know lots of career changers who invested big bucks in education and training – only to realize the promised opportunities didn’t fit their unique profiles. Norman’s seminar actually was a good value because comparable seminars cost at least twice as much. And a seminar would save him months of research time as he explored new business opportunities. He would meet a dozen experienced, successful entrepreneurs – all potential mentors and role models – in one location. To get comparable value, he’d have to travel all over the country or rely on phone and email connections. (c) What’s your time frame? Most clients lose money by trying to move too fast – not paying for coaches, consultants and seminars. They don’t invest time in researching options. And let’s face it: If you haven’t dealt with a career crisis for a long time, you may not know where to begin. You’re like a motorist who has never had a flat tire – someone who’s misplaced the auto club number or even let the membership lapse because “this will never happen to me.” One client spent a significant sum to have her resume “blasted” to a thousand employers. She actually was harmed because her name became associated with a company that was distrusted by most legitimate recruiters in her field. Another client reacted to job loss by calling real estate agents to sell his house. “I need a change of scene,” he declared, making more calls to moving companies. Six months later, he felt stranded. Someone suggested he give me a call. “I thought I’d love living here – but I hate it,” he said. “I didn’t even know what questions to ask before I came.” Bottom Line: “Expensive” and “cheap” have new meanings during a career crisis. To transform breakdowns to breakthroughs, we need to discover new ways to think about money. Based on Transform Your Dollars to Dreams Learn more.

[Great Career Planning Tips] "Past experience doesn't count - what does?"

Career coaching question: After several years, I finally left middle school teaching, a career I had come to hate. Now I feel like a failure. My skills mean nothing to the business world. I have considered becoming a librarian, journalist or social worker, but I can’t afford to return to school. And I need a job immediately. Cathy Goodwin, a/k/a Career Coach replies: The skills to change careers are not the same as the skills to manage a career. Many of my clients feel a little uncomfortable when they ask questions about the job hunt. “I should know this, shouldn’t I?” But why should they? And why should you? Maybe the last time you job-hunted, you were in your twenties, right out of college, bright-eyed and eager. You probably had fewer responsibilities. Most certainly your identity wasn’t tied up in a profession. But now you’re over thirty-five. You’ve gained some stature. Calling strangers to ask for advice seems…well, different. You’re peers of those who are sitting across the desk, although you may come from a different field or industry. You’ve got some obligations. Travel four days a week? Move a thousand miles? Your family – especially the children – may have some thoughts on the subject! And if you’re single, you still may want to live near friends and family, not to mention make sure the dog will be welcome. So congratulations on beginning the career change journey. You can look forward to reaching your destination you'll love -- but expect a few intermediate stops along the way. Your first stop: Career change takes time, energy and financial resources. So get what I call a perch job. Think of birds perching on a wire when they migrate south for the winter: a place to rest till you can start moving to your real destination. Some organizations (such as Starbucks and Patagonia) offer benefits if you work as few as 20 hours a week. Second stop: Once you’ve covered your basic needs, take time to explore each career option in greater depth. The fields you describe are very different from one another. Even within each field you'll find major differences. A social worker can have a private practice, work in a hospital, or work for any one of hundreds of agencies, public and private. Talk to at least six people who are employed (happily or otherwise) in each field. Ask how they started. Don’t ask for advice: ask for experience. Third stop: Learn to speak the local language. These days, when you take a job, you’re joining a tribe, with its own culture. Even if you’ve been in the field ten years, your next company’s culture may differ dramatically. As a newcomer, you’ll have to earn what consultants call “idiosyncrasy credits,” the right to break rules and defy norms without getting penalized, formally or informally. When you try to sell yourself to a new world, you need to talk, walk and look like a native. When you communicate in the language of your target career – whether it’s business, nonprofit, education or legal – you’ll be taken more seriously. People rarely change careers because they dislike the work. They usually reject the culture they’re required to assimilate in order to do their work and use their skills. Finally, if finances are tight, investigate low-cost career change resources in your area. Some nonprofit agencies offer counseling. And if you find yourself getting seriously depressed, your first priority should be a visit to a qualified, licensed mental health provider. Yes, you can find a new, satisfying career – not overnight, but sooner than you anticipate. Good luck with the journey. Article Based on Cathy’s Irreverent Job Search Guide Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., works with corporate executives, business-owners and professionals who want to transform career breakdowns to career breakthroughs. Cathy has created the21-Day Extreme Career Makeover System" Fr*e Download: Why most career change fails (and how you can write your own success story). Click here!

mailto:goodwincathy@yahoo.com or (206) 819-0989