Phoenix Jobing Community Blogs

Last month, two of my colleagues and I delivered a workshop called: Now What? Go from Thinking About a Career Change to Acting On It at Jobing.com’s Phoenix office.  Based on the enthusiastic response, we’ll be repeating the workshop twice more this summer, on July 28 and August 27. 

A few weeks later we were invited back for blog training.  Thanks to Kerry Sanderson, George Thorne, and Keith Flynn, we are entering the world of “Blogging at Jobing” (try saying that ten times fast!).  I’m looking forward to contributing some helpful ideas and perspectives on career and life fulfillment. 

I’ll be back soon with another post.  In the meantime, I invite you to visit my company profile and website.  Also, feel free to let me know if there is a certain topic or question you’d like to see addressed here.

Best to you,

Ginny

Writing the title for this entry reminds me of the 1950’s/60’s game show called “What’s My Line?” where celebrity panelists tried to guess the occupation of the contestants.  We certainly identify with our job titles and roles in life.  Over the course of just one day, we move in and out of various roles, at home and at work.

Have you ever taken an inventory of the roles you’ve had over the course of your career?  Try this exercise:  At the top of a piece of paper write:  I’ve been the… Then, jot down a list of every role you can think of, even the unofficial ones.  For example:

I’ve been the…
--number cruncher
--sales consultant
--go to person for a creative idea
--organized one
--sales director
--etc.

Once you have an exhaustive list, you can identify trends, themes, and maybe a few surprises.  It’s a helpful perspective for thinking about what you’d like your next role to be.  For an interesting discussion on the topic of roles and taking your career to the next level, feel free to register for tonight’s conference call.    –Ginny

When looking for a job, it is important to acknowledge which type of search you are conducting.  Are you: 1) seeking to find a job as soon as possible to meet financial and other practical needs or 2) contemplating a future change of direction to satisfy a deeper sense of fulfillment?  Of course there are other shades of these two categories, but generally speaking these will do. 

The first type, the find-a-job-now search tends to happen as a result of change being thrust upon you, whereas with the second type, you are the initiator and have the luxury of more time.

Last summer when I delivered three workshops with two colleagues at the Jobing.com Phoenix office, we had people from both camps who participated.  It was challenging to address the needs of both groups at once, and yet, the point of intersection was no surprise:  answering the question, “What do you really want?”  And of course, your answer will be impacted by which Job Search Type applies to you at the moment.

The reason it helps to consciously identify which type of search you’re running is that it allows you to adjust your strategy accordingly.  For instance, if it’s Job Search Type #1 and you have an immediate and pressing need to find work, you’ll likely be more open to considering jobs that you wouldn’t have otherwise, perhaps taking a job on an interim basis, while continuing your search for what you ultimately want.  Your criteria list becomes simple, e.g., earn enough to meet expenses, can begin right way, lets me learn something new, etc.  It can actually take the pressure off to realize that the job you take on an interim basis doesn’t have to be for forever.  It doesn’t mean you are lowering your standards; it simply means you are employing a short term strategy.

Likewise, it’s helpful to realize if you fall into Job Search Type #2.  This also allows you to take the pressure off by declaring the search a worthy project and giving yourself the appropriate amount of time to explore without having to immediately evaluate the feasibility of every option.

Which kind of job search applies to you at this time?  It’s perhaps an obvious question, yet one that must be acknowledged in order to form your best strategy.

This past Monday evening, we had 50+ people join us at the Jobing.com Phoenix office for the workshop: Now What? Go from Thinking About a Career Change to Acting On It.  We had a lively discussion and if you were unable to attend, you’re welcome to sign up for the August 27 workshop.
 
One of the thoughts I shared with the group is that in many ways, looking for your ideal job closely resembles looking for your ideal mate.  Depending on your perspective, this may come as good news or bad (!), however, creating a wish list of the characteristics of your ideal job does two things: 1) It clarifies what’s most important to you; 2) It enables you to more easily recognize that custom fit opportunity when it presents itself.

To create your Ideal Job Profile, make three columns on a piece of paper with these headings: Must Have, Nice To Have, Deal Breaker.  Then, start to fill in the details of your criteria under each column.  The first two columns are the features of a job that you require or would like to be present and the third column –the deal breakers– are those conditions or qualities of a job that you simply will not accept.

Two tips:

1. Don’t worry if you come up blank at first.  Just start filling it out and more things will come to you over time. 
2. If you’re looking for a job in the immediate future and you feel like it’s a stretch to consider the ideal right now, go ahead and make the list anyway.  Even if you don’t get everything you want, you’ll be moving closer in the right direction.

For a similar exercise that gets at a few more specifics, you can check out another version of the Ideal Job Profile posted in the Careers section under Tools & Resources on my website.

Best to you,
Ginny