Calling all career seekers! A while back, I delivered a program influenced by my book, Career Transition-make the shift: The 5 Steps to Successful Career Transition, to a small, dedicated, and brave group of baby boomers from very diverse backgrounds. They all had one thing in common: they were searching for the next career path they could get really excited about; something that made them feel like they were engaging in meaningful work for the first time in a long time - or ever. We spent two 3-hour sessions together going through their career story common threads, skills, intangibles, passions, and career possibilities they might now have thought of and creating a career action plan for themselves. We were all transformed by the end of session two. It was awesome to see them awaken to themselves and the possibilities they actually have. I have learned through my own career changes - especially the one I am continuing in now. They usually begin way before they actually happen. Career change is nothing new, people have changed careers five - sometimes ten - times in a lifetime. The difference is work and good job environments are much more difficult to find today. The ‘find a job cycle” is much, much longer. Becoming discouraged, losing motivation, fear, and lack of faith are surely the by-products of that long cycle. I say persevere and stay your course, but have a course. I opened and closed the two sessions with these four keys that have encouraged me and helped me to keep running the marathon:
