Employers in nearly every industry have cut payrolls. As of the end of 2009, a whopping 11.1 million Americans were reported to be unemployed. The situation for the past 18+ months has been as bleak as many of us have ever seen. You’d think it would add up to everyone deferring consideration of a career change, right? But that’s not the case.

According to recent data from the Center for Work-Life Policy, lots of folks are considering voluntary career changes and women are doing it at more than twice the pace of men. The Center’s data shows that twice as many women in top jobs (54%) as men (22%) are contemplating voluntarily leaving their positions. The Center’s data show that the majority of these women are leaving in order to recalibrate goals and shift to other sectors.

It seems that in this recession women in particular are taking a long hard look at what they value most and what they’re willing to endure in the workplace for a paycheck. Does a high salary offset a workplace with high time commitments, high stress, and low morale? It seems that many are answering that question “no” after years of being unable to create and/or sustain a satisfying work/life balance.

Study after study shows that women in particular want not only to be paid a fair wage, but also to do work that is meaningful to them; when this is missing, the money often doesn’t matter to them. According to Center for Work-Life Policy data, among women who are considering leaving jobs in the financial sector, a shift to the nonprofit sector is high on the wish list of many.

Life is short to be sure and we spend a lot of time at work. (As of 2007, the average American spent 8.7 hours a day working according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.) If your work is not aligned with your core values or isn’t making you happy, the situation simply isn’t sustainable in this economy or any other. Figuring out what you value most and pursuing it is time well spent; it can yield a lifetime of purpose and meaning. And, regardless of the state of the economy, if you set your intention to it, it is well within your power to create a worklife that provides you meaning and satisfaction.  

So as you think about your future, I leave you with the question I pondered in 2008 as I was contemplating whether to start this business. At that time, the recession was just heating up and no one in their right mind would have started a new business. At that time, the question that kept coming up for me was this: “If not now, when?” Can you answer that one?  If now is not the time to infuse your worklife with more meaning, when?

P.S. I have no regret. My work is filled with meaning and purpose. I have more work/life balance than ever before.

January 6, 2010

Every career coach and counselor will tell you that if you’re unemployed the key to getting back in the workforce is networking. But that begs the question. How do you network well? And what tools are the best?

These days you hear a lot about the use of social networking in the career development field. For strictly professional use, LinkedIn is no. 1. The size of its network expands daily as the unemployment rate rises. People post their photo, credentials and testimonials on their profile and search for others with whom to make a connection.

With over 175 million users, Facebook is also a tool utilized by those searching for a job. It enables you to easily and quickly build a network of long lost high school and college friends, as well as current day friends and family members who you can then keep informed about your employment status. With one posted note, you can tell your entire network that you’re unemployed, what kind of work you’re looking for and where, and how they might be of help to you. With this action, you can create a team of people expanded out across your geographic area helping you track down good leads for an interview or job. It’s as valuable as your friends are dedicated to helping you.

But here’s my concern. As the obsession with the new fangled social networking grows–as well as with text messaging and twittering–the use of the old-fashioned social networking tools seems to wane. If you’re looking for a job, you can’t twitter your way there. Facebook and LinkedIn are good resources and I recommend their use, but they are no substitute for a good old-fashioned phone call.  

Email is impersonal. It is safe. It is one way communication; it is not a dialogue. It tells the other person little or nothing about you and fails to give you an opportunity to distinguish yourself. When you email someone, all they do is read one more email in perhaps hundreds they’ve received that day. They don’t hear your voice and tone as they read the words.

On the other hand, when you call them, you give yourself a viable opportunity to make a personal connection with them. When you call, the other person hears the passion, sincerity, and eagerness in your voice.  Maybe you make them laugh.  Maybe in the course of the call you discover a common interest you share. These few seconds or minutes are priceless when you’re trying to make connections that might result in gainful employment. These opportunities must not be passed off to email.

Suggested Action Items

(n.b. As you explore these suggestions, try to connect with people via phone and in person, rather than via email, etc.)

• Identify your current network; the friends, family, and others who you are prepared to tell of your unemployment and whose help you are willing to enlist in your effort to regain employment. 1. Explore how you can expand this network. 2. Share with each member of your network what you’re looking for, where, and specifically what help you’d like from them. (e.g. Generate testimonial for LinkedIn; arrange a meeting with someone they know; keep an eye out for a particular kind of position) Some individuals on your list will warrant receiving this information in person, others via phone, and, if the list is large, you may need to resort to email for some. (Where a member of your network is also, for example, a well known member of the community, you might seek to meet the person for a coffee to discuss your needs.) I recommend the list be tiered according to how likely the person is going to be willing and able to help you with your search.  
• Expand your network by increasing your visibility. See Been Laid Off? Rebound With Networking.
• Have fun! Find something you like to do and get out and do it with other people. Create opportunities for your “true self” to shine where others can see you, even if these aren’t professional settings. In this way, you will connect with people who will become new members of your network, even if they can’t attest to your work.

You’ve just been laid off and you have to find another job. You turn to your contacts in Outlook and there aren’t many names of people besides those with whom you work. You look through your phone contacts and it’s just a list of your friends and family. You’ve lost touch with folks from prior jobs. You don’t have a mentor. Who’s going to help you get a new job?

Many folks this past year have faced this moment. It’s compounded by the fact that being laid off often comes with a stigma; the employees who retain their jobs either don’t know what to say to you or don’t want to talk with you for fear that they’ll be at risk of losing their job. The result: you quickly get cut off from the network you’ve invested the most in most recently.

When you find yourself in this place, it is tempting to feel defeated and to recoil from others out of shame. In fact, however, this is the worst thing you can do. The most important thing to do at this moment is to get out, to communicate, and to network. This is the only way to get a competitive edge when looking for a job.

Tell everyone you know that you have been laid off and are looking for a job. Be as specific as possible about the kind of job you are looking for.  Be as specific as possible about how each person might help you. Build your circle of friends, family, acquaintances, etc. who are willing to help you find new employment. This is your personal circle of influence. These are the people who will forward you job listings, mention your name to a prospective employer, discuss career interests with you, review your CV, role play a mock interview with you, etc.

I believe the single most important thing someone can do to find a job is to network. If you don’t have a network to “work,” then you need to build one. Build your personal network by considering the following sources:

• Family;
• Friends (including H.S. and College friends);
• College career center;
• Pastor or other person of faith;
• Neighbors;
• Former co-workers, including boss/supervisor;
• Lawyer/CPA/Other professionals you know;
• Chamber of Commerce staff/members;
• Professional association staff/members; and
• Be creative! 

One of the best ways to create a network is to identify a volunteer opportunity that closely aligns with your career goals. When I was transitioning from the for-profit to the nonprofit sector, I listed my volunteer experiences–all of which were in the nonprofit sector. I was able to not only list the volunteer experiences (a little citizen lobbying, grassroots organizing, grantwriting, and facilitating), but the names of the individuals with whom I had worked. These individuals had not only become part of my network, but also strong nonprofit references. In the end, these volunteer experiences were the difference between me getting my dream job and not.

Suggested Action Items

1. Become a volunteer: Contact VolunteerMatch.com and find a nonprofit near you that you’d enjoy helping and that might be a good fit for your career. (A good local organization is the Voluntary Action Center at vacmo.org.) Don’t go in expecting career advancement, but it might just happen! The boards of directors of nonprofit organizations are often stacked with the most influential and connected individuals in a city or community. Getting to know one or more of these individuals can be invaluable to your search. 
2. Stay active in your community: Stay visible. Go and be places where you will see people with whom you need to be connected. For example: Looking for a government job? Go to the League of Women Voter’s Legislative Town Hall Meeting or the Appreciation Lunch for the Mayor. The old “out of sight, out of mind” addage is deadly for someone who’s looking for a job. If you can’t afford to buy your way into an event, consider volunteering to help as a way to attend.
3. Conceptualize your search as a full-time job: Searching for a job is your job when you’re unemployed. Record the time you’re logging every week and what you’re doing. Include the time you spend volunteering and networking if that seems appropriate to you.   

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity -
An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty

~ Winston Churchill

So many of us are being tested these days. Hiring freezes. Layoffs. Careers interrupted. Salary reductions. Big belt tightening. Double income families down to single income. Plans changed. Stress. 

With all that’s going on today, it’s easy to have a negative, pessimistic, or fatalistic attitude. It’s easy to think that you just can’t get ahead until the economy turns around. Or until the hiring freeze lifts. Or until your husband gets a new job. Or…. The fact of the matter is that you can start moving forward with your life as soon as you determine to do so. And that’s regardless of the state of the economy. I don’t care what the stock market says or how high the unemployment rate is: if you set your intention on a particular goal, you will achieve it.

That’s because everything you do starts with your state of mind. Your greatest asset is your attitude, if it’s positive, that is. Positive thinking can even make you healthier, according to the Mayo Clinic. The health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

• Decreased negative stress
• Greater resistance to catching the common cold
• A sense of well-being and improved health
• Reduced risk of coronary artery disease
• Easier breathing if you have certain lung diseases, such as emphysema
• Improved coping ability for women with high-risk pregnancies
• Better coping skills during hardships

No one understood the power of positive thinking better than Christopher Reeve. He lived it. But we aren’t all models for the example of how Mr. Reeve lived his life. The majority of us wrestle with negative self-talk that sabotages our advancement and growth.

Below is a chart from the Mayo Clinic with (on the left) common negative self-talk and how you might apply a positive thinking twist.

If Mr. Reeve were still alive and were here, I’m rather confident he’d remind us that you don’t have to be Superman to rid yourself of the gremlins in your head! It does, however, take daily practice and lots of regular reinforcement. And, of course, a good coach can always help. Whether you’ve decided to stay the course or create change during these challenging times, doing so with your most positive attitude is a key to success!

Suggested Action Items

1. When a negative thought comes into your head, make a note of it, and send it on its way. The more aware of what you’re saying you are the more control you’ll have over stopping the talk. Tell yourself that you no longer have any use for such thoughts in your life. Remember that they are only thoughts. They are not facts. Repeat: They are only thoughts.
2. Make a record of your negative self-talk. Once written down, I have options for you. (Of course, you can identify others that feel right for you.) Having reduced the thought to writing, one option is to immediately discard it. In other words, file the negative thought where it belongs. See # 3 for a second option.
3. Analze the negative self-talk for patterns. After writing a week’s worth of negative self-talk in a special diary or notebook, review it for patterns that might be helpful to you. For example, are you more negative about yourself or others? Would your friends agree with what you’ve said about yourself? Is there objectively, any factual basis for what you’ve said? This process will help you further let go of the negative thoughts and hasten the process of ending the negative self-talk.

This past summer, Cindy McCain received a lot of press when she was injured by an apparent fan who shook her hand a bit too vigorously. The result was a sprain, putting Ms. McCain in a cast and sling and subjecting her to the ridicule of the press for being fragile. At the time, I confess to not giving the incident much thought. But in the past few weeks, as I’ve done more and more networking for my new business, I’ve developed some new thinking on the matter.

For some time, women have been encouraged to have firm handshakes. No one likes a dead fish; they need not apply. We knew that if someone had a firm hand shake it meant they were confident, assertive, and could make it in the dog-eat-dog world of, well, anything. Over time, every woman in business mastered the art of the firm handshake. She’s been extending that hand into circles of people for years to make her strong first impression.

What I’ve noticed of late, however, is that there’s a new trend among women in the business world. It seems that bone crunching handshakes are on the rise. I’m talking about the kind of handshake that might make Arnold’s knees buckle. The kind of handshake that makes one worry that she might end up in a sling just like Cindy McCain.

I have reduced my problems with these handshakes down to three points: 1) They hurt; 2) The fact that someone can perform them doesn’t impress me in any way that is helpful to them; and 3) They take my mind off the person I’m meeting and what they’re saying. In all these respects, these handshakes don’t achieve the presumed goals of the person shaking my hand.

You have no time at all to make a first impression. If you want to spend that precious time inflicting pain on the person you’re greeting, that’s your choice; however, for those of you out there who have taken up this practice, allow me to suggest another approach for making a strong first impression. 

Sure, shake the other person’s hand firmly (practice moderating your strength if “firm” is at all unclear),  but do so while making intentional, eye-to-eye contact that you hold for a second longer than you might otherwise. For those few seconds, be fully in that moment with that person and no one else. What will make you stand out from the crowd is how you make and hold that connection in the eyes of the person you’re greeting, and the extra second you do. This is–hands down!–the most important element of making a first impression, not the extra pressure you apply to their hand. Give it a try!

“The eye is the jewel of the body.” – Henry David Thoreau

Years ago when I was a trial attorney in a fast-paced Boston law firm, I was constantly moving at the speed of light. I scurried around the hallways of the firm. I worked late. I ate poorly. I was sure Minute Rice was somewhere on the food chart.  I was also sure I was, as they say, going somewhere.  

And then a dear friend suggested to me that my behavior reminded her of a “gerbil on a wheel”. “It seems like you’re running as fast as you can from something instead of towards something.” Though I adamantly denied it at the time, she was right. And despite the fact that it took me years and years to see and change my behavior, it remains one of the single most impactful comments anyone has ever made to me.

I’ve met lots of fellow wheel travelers over the years. Are you one of them? Do you feel like you have to move as fast as you can? Do you know why? Is it towards your goal? Or away from something you’d rather not confront? 

Suggested Action Items:

1. In the near future, give yourself permission to get off the wheel. Take time to reflect on where you’re really going. 
2. Once you know where you’re going, you’ll need a plan to help you reach your goal. Begin to identify the specific strategies you’ll need to implement in order to achieve your goal.

When I first came up with the idea of starting my own business, I knew I couldn’t launch it without the help of others with areas of expertise different than my own. What did I know about branding, developing a website, or creating a logo? I knew how to operate a phone, but web cameras, Skype and other technologies to enhance remote communications were a mystery to me.  I also knew that I would need a sounding board from time to time in order to create and build a first-rate business.    

This is where my friends and family came in. I call them my advisory team. They are my brain trust. Several of them are successful small business owners themselves and each of them is someone I respect and can trust to have my best interests at heart and to offer opinions without judgment.  

So here are my questions for you: Do you have an advisory team, be it of several folks or of one? If so, are the folks in it providing you the nonjudgmental support you need to learn and grow? If not, has something been holding you back from forming one? 

In today’s especially challenging economy, it is more appropriate than ever that each of us be in charge of our own professional futures. Even if we are an employee of someone else’s business, we are still the CEO of ourselves. With even one trusted advisor in your address book, when those times come along–and they always do–when you need a second, trusted opinion about a course of action to take, your friend, family member, co-worker, pastor, or professional coach will be there to provide you the support you need.  

Suggested Action Item:  In December, as President-Elect Obama names the individuals on his team, I hope you’ll think about who you’d like on yours.    

A recent survey by Civic Ventures revealed that as many as 3/4 of the nation’s 78 million baby boomers plan to work beyond the age of traditional retirement and that 50% of these baby boomers report they are interested in pursuing social change jobs. Boomers are leaving the corporate world because they are tired of the corporate treadmill and are in search of more personally rewarding and socially impactful work. More and more boomers are interested in charitable work just as not-for-profit agencies face a serious leadership deficit, as outlined in a report by Bridgespan Consulting.

This is wonderfully exciting news for the nonprofit sector. New blood with new energy and visions just when others are fading from hard fought battles and ready to pass the baton. A word of caution is appropriate here, however. 

All too often neither the nonprofit organization nor the individual desiring to make the transition from the for-profit world to the nonprofit world knows what’s involved in most effectively transitioning someone between these different business cultures. The individual needs to do some research about the differences between the two worlds. Talk with others in the nonprofit community or those who are knowledgeable about the organization in which you are interested. Go to the library and look through books on nonprofit management. Does that sound like what you’d like to do?

The nonprofit organization also has its work to do in order to make the pairing work. The organization needs to engage in appropriate vetting of the candidate through the interview process and, later, orientation and post-hire support. Whether or not the individual is a professional with corporate experience, the board’s work is not completed with the hire. The board makes a mistake when it hands the new executive the keys to the office, checks “done” off its list, and walks away breathing a sigh of relief. Post-hire support must be provided in order to ensure that your new hire blossoms into the effective leader you hired her/him to be. But with the appropriate self-reflection, honest communication, and proper planning, the union of someone transitioning from the corporate world can be powerful and can rocket a nonprofit organization to unprecedented success.

For more support, see New Chapter Coaching’s Life Transition Coaching Package.