{"id":984,"date":"2010-11-29T10:17:43","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T17:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/?p=984"},"modified":"2012-06-01T14:56:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-01T21:56:54","slug":"the-where-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/career\/the-where-questions","title":{"rendered":"The “where” questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nI thought I’d continue on from the previous newsletter which discussed the “who” questions<\/a> in managing your career.\u00a0 You just might see a theme emerging here.<\/p>\n

There are a wide range of pertinent “where” questions, so let’s start off with the obvious ones.<\/p>\n

Where do you want to work?<\/strong> Having targets helps to focus your energy and your message.\u00a0 Sure, at this stage perhaps you’re desperate to work anywhere that will pay you, but there are limitations.\u00a0 Why spend your valuable energy on jobs that you’d never be qualified for, would require an unacceptable move, or are with people you’d never want to spend time with?\u00a0 Sure, if a total surprise falls in your lap, check it out – but spend your valuable time where you’ll get the most bang for the buck.<\/p>\n

Where do you want to live?<\/strong> For many people, this is a driving factor in their career decisions.\u00a0 It’s quite OK to be attached to your family and friends – you get to decide.\u00a0 You also have the right to want to move elsewhere, if you like that sense of adventure and getting away from your past.<\/p>\n

Now let’s take on some of the less obvious questions.<\/p>\n

Where are the influencers?<\/strong> These are people who are connected to people you’d like to know, who affect decisions, or who have useful information.\u00a0 And notice that the question is where<\/em> they are.\u00a0 Many times you don’t know exactly who you’re targeting, so the first question is to find where these kinds of people tend to hang out.\u00a0 That might be a physical place such as networking meetings or even a particular restaurant, but more often these days it’s in virtual meeting spaces and social media sites.\u00a0 Watch, and then engage in the discussions.<\/p>\n

Where is my career headed?<\/strong> This is a totally different kind of question, because it’s 99% about where you WANT to be headed.\u00a0 But do take a minute to think about this objectively – What is the trajectory you’re on?\u00a0 What’s the easiest path?\u00a0 What do other people assume your next career steps would be?\u00a0 Then, of course, don’t be constrained by these answers – where would you LIKE it to head?<\/p>\n

Where are other people focusing?<\/strong> Then take this information and do something innovative.\u00a0 Even do the exact opposite.\u00a0 If you’re feeling frustrated by a lack of progress, if you’re uninspired by the advice you’re hearing from others, then mix it up.\u00a0 Do something different.\u00a0 Often you’ll find that this can help give you energy to dig into the hard tasks, especially if you’re feeling like you’re up against a brick wall right now.<\/p>\n

If you’re feeling a bit burned out right now – in your job, or looking for a job – find a friend who can be your confidant and supporter.\u00a0 Focus on sparking some creativity and energy to get yourself moving again.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

An important resource<\/h2>\n

Here’s a strange one.\u00a0 But since this is my newsletter, I get to be honest.<\/p>\n

Some of the most important resources I have are on the spiritual side – my faith, my friends at church, and the contribution I make to others’ spiritual development.\u00a0 Many people would enforce a wide division between spirituality and their work life, but I don’t tend to do that.<\/p>\n

In fact, my spiritual side was one reason why I got into coaching in the first place.\u00a0 This profession is one of the ways that I help my clients to find fulfillment in their lives, even if we never use religious language or images.\u00a0 It helps me to pursue my deeper purpose.<\/p>\n

So I’d ask you:\u00a0 Would development of your spiritual side help you to find more happiness in your career?\u00a0 It has for me.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Carl Dierschow is a Certified Small Fish Business Coach<\/a> and author of the career management guide, Mondays Stink! 23 Secrets to Rediscover Delight and Fulfillment in Your Work<\/em>. He is a career coach for those going through interesting transitions, and works with small business owners who need to create breakthroughs in achieving their business goals. Find out more at www.Dierschow.com<\/a> and www.SmallFish.us<\/a>.If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Connect with Carl on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and LinkedIn<\/a> to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com<\/a>\u00a9 2010 Possibilities Partnership LLC<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I thought I’d continue on from the previous newsletter which discussed the “who” questions in managing your career.\u00a0 You just might see a theme emerging here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,42],"tags":[15,76,7,10],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-carl","4":"has-more-link","5":"post-984","7":"format-standard","8":"category-career","9":"category-newsletter","10":"post_tag-career-coaching","11":"post_tag-career","12":"post_tag-job-change","13":"post_tag-networking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=984"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions\/987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dierschow.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}