I recognize that time is flying by for most folks and this time of year some of you may barely have time to take a deep breath, let alone think about what you will do in the new year. But I encourage you to take a few minutes during these busy days to think about what you would like to accomplish. What do you hope and plan to do, at least in 2012 and possibly beyond. Sometimes we must come up with ways of doing things differently if we want to get different results from our plans. So if you have gone the route of New Year's Resolutions that were not fulfilled before, then think of what you might do differently this time around.
Before we get too far along with developing plans, we need to be clear on what our goals are. Those may be goals related to your personal life or your work life, or your spiritual life, or other aspects of who you are, but you need to be clear on what you are hoping to do. Once you have clarified your goals, you can begin to develop plans. If it is a goal that is similar to one you have had before but did not meet, then you need some different plans to reach that goal. If it is a new goal, then you have the opportunity to think about what would be achievable that would move you closer to your identified goal.
It seems that for many people, they do not achieve their goals because they spend too much of their time and energy working at things that are not directly related to what they want in life, that is, related to their purpose or mission in life. The more stray activities and miscellaneous clutter you can remove from your life, the more opportunity you will have to achieve what you set out to do without jumping over various obstacles. That is not to say that there may be no obstacles, but you are more likely to be able to see ways around or through an obstacle when you are focused on what you are trying to achieve. So take the time up front to clear your thoughts and your calendar for things that have meaning or importance in your life.
Once you are clear on your goals, it should become more evident what you need to do to achieve them. The more details you can include in your goals, the more likely you will succeed at each step along the way. Include time frames and/or checkpoints to help monitor your progression and increase your chances of success.
Happy New Year.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for retirement or non-retirement, coping with a job loss, preparing for return to work or to school, and other life changes. Mary Ann has been working with adults in transition for over 20 years and assists individuals to develop solutions to their life planning issues. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
What Does Winter Solstice Mean For Your Career Plans?
This year the Winter Solstice occurs on Thursday, December 22. This day is the shortest day and longest dark/night of the year. It is also thought of as a time of rebirth or reversals.
So what does that mean in terms of your career plans? My last post encouraged readers not to put their job search on hold during the holidays. But this post includes folks who are not in the midst of a search as well as those expecting to start a job search in the near future. Perhaps you are one of those people, similarl to many I have seen in my practice, who are not at all happy with their work and/or their employer, but have no idea what they would do differently or where. These folks are beyond being undecided they are saying essentially that they are clueless.
For those folks, you might use this coming time of rebirth to think about what you would rather be doing - and that may be work or it could be volunteer activities or other community involvement that would bring satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment to you. Some people start by writing down things they are currently doing, or have done in the past, that they were good at and enjoyed. That's a good place to start. I also encourage you to make a list of things you have actually done that either you were no good at or you really didn't like doing. In that way, you are less likely to have very much of that latter group of things in something you undertake now, if you keep those items somewhere in your head or on a notepad.
If you already have career plans, this could be a good time for a check up - see if you are still on tract - or to dust off those plans and remember what you said you would do for your career. As life gets busier, and right now our days really are a bit shorter, it is fairly easy to get off track or to stray from good intentions. Take this opportunity, before the end of another year, to decide or to recall what you will do for you and your career.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for adults in transition; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, coping with a job loss, preparing for retirement, and other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them in identifying solutions to life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
So what does that mean in terms of your career plans? My last post encouraged readers not to put their job search on hold during the holidays. But this post includes folks who are not in the midst of a search as well as those expecting to start a job search in the near future. Perhaps you are one of those people, similarl to many I have seen in my practice, who are not at all happy with their work and/or their employer, but have no idea what they would do differently or where. These folks are beyond being undecided they are saying essentially that they are clueless.
For those folks, you might use this coming time of rebirth to think about what you would rather be doing - and that may be work or it could be volunteer activities or other community involvement that would bring satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment to you. Some people start by writing down things they are currently doing, or have done in the past, that they were good at and enjoyed. That's a good place to start. I also encourage you to make a list of things you have actually done that either you were no good at or you really didn't like doing. In that way, you are less likely to have very much of that latter group of things in something you undertake now, if you keep those items somewhere in your head or on a notepad.
If you already have career plans, this could be a good time for a check up - see if you are still on tract - or to dust off those plans and remember what you said you would do for your career. As life gets busier, and right now our days really are a bit shorter, it is fairly easy to get off track or to stray from good intentions. Take this opportunity, before the end of another year, to decide or to recall what you will do for you and your career.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for adults in transition; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, coping with a job loss, preparing for retirement, and other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them in identifying solutions to life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Don't Put Your Job Search On Hold
If you are currently in the midst of an active job search, you may be tempted to put those activities on hold during the holidays. I would encourage you not to do that. You may need to cut back a bit, just so you have the opportunity to enjoy some time with family and friends, but if you put it away entirely, it may be hard to pick back up after the holidays. Besides, we do not know what will open up with the beginning of a new year.
So, if you are searching, you might use some of your time to catch up on your reading. You should have done some research on potential employers and the industry in which you want to work. If you have not done so, I would encourage you to take some time for reading. You can find information on the Internet in a variety of sources, but I would probably start with a search by industry type or company name. If you have not checked for a website hosted by your potential employer, you should do so. If you can not find that, then look for information based on the particular industry type - you are looking for trends or other hints that may indicate the industry is anticipating growth or at least not preparing for a decline. There may even be names of individuals mentioned that you can link to through your LinkedIn account or other networking activities. Your reading can provide some topics for you to use in your outreach efforts.
It is also a good idea to check for a professional association affiliated with the occupation you are pursuing to see if there is a link to their organization on Twitter. If not the actual occupation, then maybe you can find people who are part of the association who are active on Twitter. You may be able to find a thought leader you can follow and submit some responses to items they post. This can help to expand your visibility. If nothing else, you can search through Twitter just to see who is out there and try to identify someone you want to follow.
If you have been searching for a job for a while, this may be a good time to review your marketing materials. It may be that there are some ways in which you could tweak your resume or basic cover letter to make it more enticing to potential employers. Consider how you are doing in interviews. Do you need to improve the questions you have been asking or the answers you have been giving?
It may be that everything is in order and in tip top shape and you don't feel you need to improve in those areas, then you might just spend some of your regular search time during the holiday season looking for or trying to think of other people you might connect with. This can also be a good time to update your references, etc. on how your search is going and thank them for their support.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think it is a good idea to take "off" the month of December from your job search. Think of some things you could do that would be beneficial so that you will be ready to gear up after the beginning of the year.
Happy Holidays.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A. is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for retirement, coping with a job loss, preparing to return to school or to work, or other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them to find solutions to life transition issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
So, if you are searching, you might use some of your time to catch up on your reading. You should have done some research on potential employers and the industry in which you want to work. If you have not done so, I would encourage you to take some time for reading. You can find information on the Internet in a variety of sources, but I would probably start with a search by industry type or company name. If you have not checked for a website hosted by your potential employer, you should do so. If you can not find that, then look for information based on the particular industry type - you are looking for trends or other hints that may indicate the industry is anticipating growth or at least not preparing for a decline. There may even be names of individuals mentioned that you can link to through your LinkedIn account or other networking activities. Your reading can provide some topics for you to use in your outreach efforts.
It is also a good idea to check for a professional association affiliated with the occupation you are pursuing to see if there is a link to their organization on Twitter. If not the actual occupation, then maybe you can find people who are part of the association who are active on Twitter. You may be able to find a thought leader you can follow and submit some responses to items they post. This can help to expand your visibility. If nothing else, you can search through Twitter just to see who is out there and try to identify someone you want to follow.
If you have been searching for a job for a while, this may be a good time to review your marketing materials. It may be that there are some ways in which you could tweak your resume or basic cover letter to make it more enticing to potential employers. Consider how you are doing in interviews. Do you need to improve the questions you have been asking or the answers you have been giving?
It may be that everything is in order and in tip top shape and you don't feel you need to improve in those areas, then you might just spend some of your regular search time during the holiday season looking for or trying to think of other people you might connect with. This can also be a good time to update your references, etc. on how your search is going and thank them for their support.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think it is a good idea to take "off" the month of December from your job search. Think of some things you could do that would be beneficial so that you will be ready to gear up after the beginning of the year.
Happy Holidays.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A. is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for retirement, coping with a job loss, preparing to return to school or to work, or other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them to find solutions to life transition issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.