Are We Working Ourselves To Death?

An interesting Fortune article by Geoff Colvin shows that the death rate decreases and healthy habits improve in recessionary times.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/27/news/economy/health_recession.fortune/index.htm

The article credits the declining mortality rates to having more time for exercise and cutting back on expensive cigarettes, among other improved health habits.  This is a great reminder to the currently employed that you don’t want to wait for unemployment to start living better!  Do we really have to lose our job to have time to go the gym?

Our jobs are just one part of our lives.  Even if we work a 10-hour day, that leaves a good 3-5 hours AND weekends for other activities.  Balance out the career focus with exercise, sleep, personal hobbies, reading, community and spiritual involvement, taking care of your finances, seeing friends and family, and other activities that will keep you well-rounded, sane, and healthy.  Make a list today of fun things to do, and check one off your list every weekend till year-end.  This week I’ll be at the New York Botanical Gardens for the Japanese Kiku exhibit.  What fun things do you have planned?

Filed under: life coaching, resource recommendation , Fortune, Geoff Colvin, healthy living, Japanese Kiku, New York Botanical Gardens, work life balance

Book Review: Improv Wisdom By Patricia Madson

I have to love the book that introduced me to the term, bricolage, or as Madson puts it, “use what is there artfully.”  Improv Wisdom by Patricia Madson is a must-read for improvisers but still a good read if all you know about improv is Drew Carey in “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

Madson, chair of the undergraduate acting department at Stanford and creator of the Stanford Improvisors, lists 13 maxims of improv and coaches on how these relate to life at large, not just on stage.  The subtitle of the book, “Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up” are two of the maxims. Bricolage was in the chapter on Make Mistakes, Please.  Other insightful chapters include Be Average, Face the Facts, and Stay On Course. 

You will likely enjoy the book more if you have improv in your experience because Madson doesn’t take too much time explaining the concepts.  But her ability to draw parallels between what could be seen as pithy improv rules and important life concepts is impressive.   This book is a fast read, thoroughly enjoyable, and incredibly deep.

Filed under: book review, life coaching , bricolage, career coaching, Drew Carey, improv, Improv Wisdom, improvisation, life coaching, Patricia Madson, Stanford, Stanford Improvisors, Whose Line Is It Anyway

Match Your Work To Your Energy

Take this short energy quiz.  Give yourself 1 point for every Yes and 0 for every No.  How do you score?

I know what time of day I am most productive.

I schedule my most important work for when I am most productive.

I know what time of day my energy tends to sag.

I know what I need to do for a quick but sure energy boost (e.g., eat a snack, take a cat nap, go for a walk).

I know some activities and tasks that I can do even when my concentration tends to wane.

I know how much sleep I need each night.

I wake up without an alarm clock.

So how much do you know about your energy rhythms?  We all experience bouts of time when we can focus extremely well and times when we can’t.  Sometimes this varies based on the activity.  But many times, our productive and unproductive time blocks are consistently around the same times during the day.  We recognize that people are either early risers or night owls because it is a meaningful distinction, and we can empathize with it (I’m an early riser).

I don’t know what makes someone a morning v. evening person, but I do know that whichever you are you need to match your activities accordingly.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that night owls are destined for the graveyard shift.  But it does mean that where there is flexibility in getting things done you may want to schedule your most important work for when you are at your best.  This is one very basic way to match your work to your energy.  Rather than fight against the tide, you account for your internal rhythms as part of how you manage your work.

Similarly, you might reserve more mindless tasks for when you know your energy sags.  Perhaps this is when you return routine phone calls,  make that doctor’s appointment or run some errands.  Perhaps this is when you review previous emails or catch up on regular trade reading.  We all have regular activities that don’t require us to be 100% alert — figure out what these are and bunch accordingly.

Finally, there is a limit to how much we can get done if we merely match our work to our current supply of energy.  Ultimately you want to increase your ability to focus and work at high energy.  Therefore you do want to know how to maintain and increase your energy.  You want to get enough sleep and know how much is enough.  You want to harness and manage your best energy and therefore manage your work to its best.

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching, time management , career management, energy management, time management

How Great First Impressions will Land You a Job!

First impressions are so important at every stage of the job search process – you can get a job by truly impressing someone from the start.  And since there are six stages to finding a job, I’ve outlined six ways you can make great impressions.  Read all the details on my latest post to CNBC.com:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/32657533/site/14081545

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching , First Impressions, job search, Success in job search

Best Advice for a Job Search: Be Yourself

I recently led a group coaching class where some folks were very talkative and outgoing and others quite shy and reserved and they asked which was better for a job search.  My answer:  be yourself and never try to adopt a new persona.  A recruiter can and will pick that up in a split second and it will not help your cause.  Introverts will probably need to pay special attention when networking and interviewing to ensure they use strategies that will get them the contacts they need … but other than being aware of this and ensuring they work their plan, no one need worry.

A well thought out, well planned and well executed job search will work for extroverts, introverts and everyone in between.   It’s in the thoughtful planning and fine tuned execution that will get results.  We coach our clients through a six step job search process that works if you work it:

Step #1:  Know your target:  know the industry, function and geography that you are most interested in

Step #2:  Create a powerful and compelling marketing campaign:  this includes a well written resume, cover letter, on-line profile and networking pitch

Step #3:  Research:  use technology to drive information about your targets directly to your email address.  Use your network to find out everything you can about opportunities and companies

Step #4:  Networking and Interviewing:  Networking is the buzz word for the 21st century yet few do it effectively.  Networking leads to interviewing and there are many types of interviews and many types of interviewers.  You need to know how to master each to ensure the most positive outcome possible.

Step #5:  Staying Motivated, Organized and Troubleshooting Your Job Search:  Job searches have tremendous highs and impactful lows so it’s vital to reach that middleground which keeps you moving forward, no matter what.  And after every interaction, you must assess what went well and what did not.  Strengthen what didn’t work well and replicate your successes.

Step 6:  Negotiation and Closing the Offer:  Negotiate for the best possible compensation by doing your research well in advance.  And keep that energy up until that offer is in your hands because it could easily slip away in the last moment.

So the process works for anyone who wants to work it:  those that are extroverts and those that are introverts.  As long as you make a plan and work that plan, the results will come, and you’ll be the better for it!

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching , extroverts, interviewing, introverts, job search, networking, researching a job

SixFigureStart on Passions and Possibilities Radio Show

Caroline talked to Sue Oliver last Friday, August 14, on the Passions and Possibilities radio show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/passionsandpossibilities/2009/08/14/The-Passions-and-Possibilities-Project-Special-Guest

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching, resource recommendation , blogtalkradio interview, Passions and Possibilities, Sue Oliver

Book Review: The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander

This is a feel good, motivational book but also with substantive advice, illustrative examples, and actionable tips.  I am keeping The Art of Possibility in the front of my reference shelf.  I may be biased as a former classical musician because the Zanders are artists (Benjamin conducts the Boston Philharmonic) so the creative and music stories really resonate with me.  But I think their easygoing and fun storytelling will hook anyone.

With 12 memorable frameworks to help the reader embrace Possibility as way of approaching life, The Art of Possibility is practical as well as motivational.  There are many gems:  Rule Number 6 for not taking yourself too seriously; Giving Way to Passion memorably encapsulated in Benjamin Zander’s story of the one-buttocked pianist (you have to read the anecdote to get the full flavor); and Being the Board about taking responsibility are just a few of my favorites.  I love the index of anecdotes at the end of the book so you know exactly where to find the one-buttocked pianist (page 118 in my edition) and all of your favorites. 

This is a must read.  I read a lot of business, self-help, non-fiction books and this is at the top of the list.  In this down market where anxiety and doom and gloom rule, this is an even more important and transformational read now.

Filed under: book review, life coaching , Benjamin Zander, book review, Rosamund Stone Zander, The Art of Possibility

Crazy Times Demand Crazy Thinking

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command.  Very often, that individual is crazy – Dave Barry

That quote makes me laugh out loud.  The cynical me finds it funny to think that the only person available to help in a hopeless situation is hopeless themselves.  But I’ve started liking this quote even more lately because of these times.  It is a bad job market, and I am a career coach.  I work with people day in and day out to keep them motivated on their job search or proactively managing their career despite seemingly unmanageable circumstances.  When I remind people that the real opportunity is in rocky times such as these, very often, my clients look at me like I’m crazy.  I have become the crazy person in Dave Barry’s quote.  But that’s okay with me because crazy times demand crazy thinking.

You want to start a business in the middle of a recession?  Of course you can!

You want to change careers from accounting to media?  The best time is now!

You want to ask for a raise and promotion while your industry descends into flames?  Let’s ask for even more.

These are all examples of what real clients are going through.  And while our conversations are much deeper than the short answer that I share above, the context is similar.  Yes, you can make scary moves in a scary economy if you are ready to commit and to do the work.  It would be nice to have been ready to go for it during a boom market, but sometimes you are not.  And I would bet on the person who is 100% committed to an audacious goal in the worst market than the person who is unsure about a lesser goal in the best market.  Emotional readiness trumps market conditions anytime.

I decided to finally leave corporate and pursue acting in the middle of a personal crisis.  I bought my first house when I was unemployed.  I made a big financial commitment at the same time I launched a new business.  These were some of the best decisions that I made, though even now as I write them I feel like I am describing a crazy person.  Why would I choose to make these big decisions during inopportune times?

Because emotional readiness trumps market conditions.  How you feel internally will dictate your success more than any external condition.  When you’re so sure what you want that you’re willing to work at whatever obstacles come after, then you are ready to go for it.  If it seems crazy to the outside world but sound to you, then you are onto something.  These are crazy times.  We may not have good external conditions for awhile, and we can’t control when things will get better.  So get to work on the internal conditions, and when they’re right, go crazy.

Filed under: life coaching, philosophy , Bad economy, crazy thinking, dave barry, down market, job search, life coaching, motivational

The Job Search and a Bad Credit History

You can control almost every aspect of your job search.  We have a six step job search process that works for anyone who is committed to following each step.  During this or any process, there are bumps in the road that you must deal with effectively:  you leave on a bad note with your boss or your coworkers, you were downsized and then you had a health issue to deal with and sometimes you have bad credit. 

I was recently interviewed about what to do when a future employer conducts a background check which can include a credit review.   Some clients have declared bankruptcy and wonder how to deal with such issues.  I have a good friend who is a bankruptcy attorney (Kevin B. Zazzara, kzazz007@gmail.com) and he reminds people that two of our past presidents actually went bankrupt:  Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant and other famous people that include Walt Disney, Francis Ford Coppola and others.  So bad things do happen to good people … they just need to find their way out.  I hope you find these tips helpful!

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/9-tips-for-job-seekers-with-bad-credit-1265.php

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching , bad credit, bankruptcy, job search

Diary of a New Hire: My First Day….

Most of our coaching advice goes to job seekers but we also coach individuals on how to be successful from day one on their new jobs.  The smart candidates want this guidance because first impressions mean so much. 

Kevin was an exceptional college student (Engineering Master’s Degree with a 3.8 GPA)  and took his job search very seriously.  The night of his first interview, he made sure to send a thank you note to his interviewer, mentioning why he really wanted the job and why he thought he would be a great hire. 

He kept in touch with the manager, and ultimately, he was given the job.  He tried to negotiate for a higher salary, and before doing that, he did his research.  He found out that although the $53,000 per year was solid, most Master’s Degree candidates in Chemical Engineering were making $60,000.  He spoke to his placement director, to other candidates that were hired, and he did some research on line.  Although he didn’t win his negotiation (you don’t always get what you ask for), his manager said he would do everything he could to raise his salary as soon as he could. 

So all was set for Kevin’s first day.   Again, Kevin did everything right.  He dressed up a bit just in case he looked too casual.  He got there early.  He kept himself busy even though he didn’t have a formal assignment.  Here is his own description of that first day on the job….

My first day at work started when I decided what to wear.  Although I was told that the dress code is lax I chose to wear a dress shirt and tie for two reasons: 1st, I wanted to show that I care about making a good impression; 2nd, dressing up generally makes me feel more confident and capable.

I showed up to work about 20 minutes early. At orientation there were about 20 new hires in an auditorium. I made it a point to make some friends during this time just in case I needed help with something! In the auditorium there were two managers who would call new hires to the front to review their security clearance forms before final submittal.

When this was finished we collectively made our oaths to the constitution (fyi, Kevin works for the Federal Government). Finally, our human resource specialists escorted us to our offices.

The first thing that my department did was to take me out to the Olive Garden to get acquainted without the pressures of the office. Next, we returned to the base where my supervisor discussed the goals and visions of our team. I made sure to ask questions regarding my place in the group.

I finished up my day by starting some of the many trainings that are required of me; I don’t exactly have an assignment so I decided I would remain busy with training at least. Also, it would be good to get this done early so as not to have to crunch it in when I do get busy.

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching , College graduate, First Day On The Job, gen y, new job, starting salary