The Career You'll Love

There are some careers that are held up as the most attractive.  Those kinds of lists are often based on monetary reward, or power and influence, or popularity.  Sometimes they look at reputation, like the ones that used to put bankers at the top and have moved them near the bottom.

We don’t tend to talk much about those careers on the bottom of the list.  Presumably no sane person would want to do those, because they’ll never get rich, they won’t be popular, or they won’t get respect and recognition.

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In almost every company, there’s some really wonderful groups.  The manager has the right balance of knowledge and heart.  Employees are motivated, productive, and helpful.  That group gets stuff done.

Unfortunately, this seems to be a rarity in most companies.

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Many people would like to get a promotion at work, whether for recognition, change of job, or the additional pay.  These days such opportunities can be hard to come by, as companies generally aren’t growing, and layers of management are being eliminated.

Positioning yourself as the favored candidate for promotion takes time, though, so it’s good to get started well before a position opens up.

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Here’s a great resource I ran across today: The 20 Essential TED Talks for New Graduates.  As you might know, I’m a huge fan of the TED presentations, because they really do a great job of stretching your mind in new and interesting directions.

Emma over at the Accredited Online Colleges blog picked a great set of videos that would be useful for new graduates.  But in many ways these are applicable for even more experienced workers, especially those who are in career transition.

So go check it out!

You’re doing great work for your boss, delivering wonderful value for your employer. But you might be struggling to capture some kind words about your work. This might be useful for your résumé/CV, your LinkedIn profile, or as input for your next performance evaluation.

The secret is to capture the information while it’s still fresh.

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We like to separate work from life. Work is work, and life is … well, what you’re doing when you’re not working.

It’s a useful separation to make, but sometimes even more useful to break. One example is to use your non-work time to help your career.

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Back in 2009, I was pursuing two radically different career options, and I talked with a lot of others who were in similar situations.  It’s very common for someone who is making a career switch, where you have a foot in the old market as well as the new.

Part of this is relatively easy:

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The most important exercise I do with the clients I coach on career issues is simply this: Create a career plan B.

It’s a straightforward idea, but pays huge dividends in what you learn about yourself.

Ask yourself this question: If I were to lose my job tomorrow, which other paths would I pursue?

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I had the opportunity to work in Australia for a couple of years back in the mid-nineties, and subsequently I’ve worked with other people who had a desire to make these kinds of shifts in their careers.

It can take amazing amounts of courage even to consider a move of this magnitude, especially when it deeply affects your family and friends. But the personal experience and career development can be enormous, if you’re up to it.

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