Career & Life 2.0: Change It Up …

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”. – Charles Darwin

There are times in life and in your career search that you may reach for the familiar and same-old – what you have done in the past, and what is comfortable. In many cases, it won’t work for you anymore, and in many cases; it just should not work for you!

Case in point: I was working with an individual who was very qualified in his field. He was at and against the wall with his job. He began his job search by reaching out to what he was comfortable with -- what he had always done before.  Why?  Because he was “very qualified” for the job he had always done – and he was a bit stuck in his own way. He was getting no results from his search activity, his creativity was stifled. His confidence was eroding. He was going nowhere in record speed.

What he realized he needed to do was to look at his situation, plan and action from another angle – another perspective. We needed to look at what he brought to job market, not how suited he was for this one type of job.  In this case and in many others (probably your case too), what he brought was a skill set.  That skill set -- when we broke it down -- was transferable to many other more lucrative jobs and frankly a career path that was finally going somewhere.

The Result: Accounting, procurement and management of an accounting team can transfer to many industries not just the one he was in which happened to be in, which was manufacturing.  We redesigned his resume and cover letter and practiced how to interview to stress his transferrable skills and accomplishments. The world opened up for him.  He landed a job in a healthcare -- worlds away from manufacturing. The skill set did not change, his accomplishments and great attitude and work ethic went with him and if his career turns upside down again because of the economy, he is poised now with a new vision for what he can do!

Insanity may be doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results (I believe Einstein said that). But I say -- it is ok to do the same thing (your job skills) but look differently at how and who can use them.

The key is to be more resourceful – try new things, don’t be stuck in your familiar thinking. In searching for a job, if what you are doing isn’t working, you need to change the path & plan – change it up. Begin by looking at yourself differently. Evaluate your skills, strengths, qualifications and weaknesses and be open minded – don’t “attach to an industry”; don’t “attach” to the same type of job if you really do not want to. Again shake it up – change it up.

Clear out the obstacles that preclude open thought and thinking.  Be and look fresh. Make yourself different. Stop repeating what hasn’t worked. How your mind will open – how opportunities will open.

The mind and soul are the most powerful tools – if you let it be and allow it to work.

Dan Moran

President & Founder

Next-Act

Career Management & Transition Specialists

Celebrating 24 years providing career management services in 2012!

125 Wolf Road, Suite #128

Albany, NY 12205

Office: 518-261-4212

Cell: 518-641-8968

eFax: 586-279-4212

dmoran@next-act.com

Pay attention to what Mamma told you …

“If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings”. - Brian Tracy

I attended the Times Union Job Fair this past Monday and hats off to the TU team for an excellent production. The panel of experts on high tech jobs in the region was very well done as well and very interesting.

I only had a few minutes so I took a quick tour – it was packed – some may say that is good; some may not. Many of the attendees were so well prepared – dressed to impress with a plan of who they wanted to see. Others, sadly, looked like they just climbed out of bed – poorly dressed, in sneakers, jeans, flip flops (it’s January!), baseball caps and generally non-impressive and as we know, first impressions count huge.

I was relating the experience to my wife Vikki who has hired hundreds in her career (Vikki is the Publisher of Capital Region Living Magazine www.crlmag.com)

and she said, “… Guess they did heed what their mamma told them as kids ….”. How true,  so I thought – let’s look back what we learned from our elders and heed their advice when interviewing or even applying for a job.

Remember hearing:

·         “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything” – My mom told me this all the time. It is a reminder to keep mum and don’t trash your current or former employer, anyone you worked with or other situation that can cause the interviewer to label you as a whiner, lacking decorum or class, difficult to get along with or work with, hard to please or tough to manage. There is nothing good that can come out of badmouthing; take the high road.

·         “Wear clean underwear” -  Or shine your shoes as your Dad or other elder may have said. Always – always – always dress to impress, look and act professional and sweat the small stuff – shined shoes, clean fingernails, “appropriate” dress.  You mom may have told you to get a good night’s rest before a test – but don’t show up like you just rolled out of bed.

·         “You can’t hide from a lie” -  Speaking falsehoods will come back to bite you. Fudging your resume or an application, stating that you have experience in something you do not, just lying about your education and the list can go on will get you in dutch and perhaps fired and that will be so tough to explain. Remember – nothing is secret with employers utilizing assessments and background checks to verify the information you present – so make it factual.

·         “Good deeds make the world go around” -  If you are in an interview or looking at a position and it isn’t for you for some reason, do a good deed – share it with someone else and tell the hiring employer what you did. You will score points – and you help another – that is a win.

·         “Smile grumpy head – no one wants to look at that puss” – A smile can warm most any situation. People want to work with others who are motivated, fun to be around and who make a warm impression. We all have worked with someone from hell – grumpy, never smiling, miserable and remember what you thought about that person?  Wear a smile – it competes the “outfit”.

·         “Remember to say thank you” – The thank you at the end of the interview, phone call or even first contact is very important. After an interview, follow-up – not the next day of next week, but the day of your interview and make it unique and personal like  handwritten  note mailed by snail mail.

·         “Keep it up and I’ll whack you with this frying pan” – I know, not socially acceptable. But at times in life, we do need a whack to get out of a funk or kicked into action. That extra jolt of motivation or fear. That offhanded comment from someone you love to tell you to get off your butt or out of the fog and move forward. It works.

Lessons from life  learned in the kitchen or on the street can define your life. Remember what you learned; put it in practice and soar.

And thank you for reading this. - Dan

If job isn’t for you, remember Cousin Johnny – or

Dan Moran

President & Founder

Next-Act

Career Management & Transition Specialists

Celebrating 24 years providing career management services in 2012!

125 Wolf Road, Suite #128

Albany, NY 12205

Office: 518-261-4212

Cell: 518-641-8968

eFax: 586-279-4212

dmoran@next-act.com

Follow my blog: http://careerandgrowing.blogspot.com

Is 2012 Your Transformational Year?

I do solemnly promise as I write this today:

•          I will not wish anyone else Happy New Year – it’s over

•          I will not ask anyone else how their holidays were – that’s over too

 I will, however, begin to ask:

•  How are you planning to make 2012 your year of transformation?

The quote below states it clearly:

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer”. – Zora Neale Hurston

Over the past 2-3 years, people have been asking themselves questions given the most difficult of times we have experienced. “Where am I going?’ … “Will we ever see our money again” … “What is happening in our country” … What is happening to our jobs and careers?”. The questions have been many; but the answers few.

This is the year of the answers.

Many I have talked to most recently feel strongly that 2012 is the year to  discover and commit to  one’s   true hopes and goals – not resolutions – but rather  aspirations – private, personal and professional. It is the year to make changes and not be afraid to do so. It is the year to put fear in the closet and move forward boldly.

What it takes is trust in yourself and giving yourself permission to make the bold changes you have desired to do.  It is taking a  leap of faith and beginning this new year by believing in yourself and that you can achieve whatever you set your mind too.

A few inspiring examples …

I’d like to present a few stories --- and they are inspiring – of those who trusted in themselves to make a significant change in the direction they were going.:

The story of Pat …

Hopeless caught in layoff after layoff – to no fault of her own but certainly just tired of it. Pat was so ingrained in one industry (she thought) that she didn’t give herself permission to think outside of her industry, which was contracting and not growing. Her family told her she could not go elsewhere; she was listening to those who thought “small”.

We worked together to get her mind unblocked and open to new ideas and opportunities but it was a real challenge for me, and I am certain, for her. Then a chance discussion with someone she hadn’t seen or talked to in years  – a wake-up discussion of sorts – happened.  The light went on – she opened her mind to possibilities and began to trust her actions and judgment .  I will never forget that phone call. Prior to this revelation, every action was vetted among family and friends and sadly went nowhere. Within just a few weeks, with new vigor, she was interviewing and then employed in a brand new industry  with significant growth opportunities. Her world changed – in just a few months. She made her year one of transformation.  She accepted.

The story of Bill …

Bill seemed to have it all. A great job with a notable company in the area and a great salary and well connected in the community. On the outside, all looked good but on the inside, he was miserable,  bored and unfulfilled. The money lost its enchantment; he found it to be a grind to go to work. But he had a special technical talent that was in demand and out of boredom, starting doing private client work “on the side” while working – a concept known as Employedpreneur – working in a business while working on a business. His clients were happy; they wanted more. But Bill continued to fell shackled by his responsibilities to family and his company.

Then it hit him – he knew it was time to break out on his own and he finally gave himself permission. He was tired of just dreaming. He needed to act. One day his boss treated him with disrespect – that was it, game over. He came to me in the fall and wanted to be out of his job on his own by the end of winter, a 6-month window.  He accepted the transformation he was about to make and we worked on a plan to achieve the same. Postscript – he quit his job two months later and his business launched like a rocket. Was it luck – no – it was accepting, believing in himself and going after his aspirations.

Can you achieve your aspirations and make 2012 your transformational year – you absolutely can. Believe in yourself, trust in yourself and give yourself permission.

And thank you for reading this. - Dan

Pool's Open - Jump In ...

"Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now. "

~ Jonathan Martensson 

2011 is behind us – thank goodness.

And 2012 is here. And that is good. We have shaken the holiday hangover as well … that drag to get back to work after the festivities and events of the holidays. Over now!

 Good also is the jobs outlook for 2012 in our Region (not yet nationally) which I wrote about a few blogs ago:

• ·         More employers planning to hire in 2012 …
• ·         None planning layoffs (that is a first) …
• ·         Growth in  many employment sectors providing new opportunities …
• ·         A decreasing unemployment rate …
• ·         One dark cloud – a continuing demise of public sector/govt jobs …

All in all, it is positive news.

But when does this all start Moran you ask? …

It has started – just this past week (see my weekly jobs report below). We have seen a significant rebound from the holiday lulls in the job market – and over 1100 new jobs hit the job board in one day alone. This usually would not be seen until the 3^rd – maybe 4^th – week of January.  It appears Capital Region employers are more optimistic and ready to invest . 

So if you have been waiting – wait no more. If you have been on the sidelines and not engaged in a search for a new job or career, wait no longer. The striking time is the best from now through early summer. Job hiring continues after the early summer, but most opportunities are posted in the first two quarters.

I have posted my most recent job report below … hope you find it interesting and motivating! 

And thank you for reading this. – Dan

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For Information: Dan Moran, 518-641-8968

January 4, 2012

Job Postings Begin to Increase after Holiday Period 

(Albany, NY,  January 4, 2012) – Job postings in the Region began to increase day by day over the past few days as many businesses returned from extended holidays vacation time which significantly impacts the Region’s job market for a few weeks. Postings made a nice rebound the past seven days to 2300 after a low of just 1850 the week before. “History has shown that when we enter the holiday week, postings slump considerable. What we look for is the rebound and how strong the rebound is as an indicator of the future. It appears that this rebound is much stronger than last year perhaps signaling that employers are more confident about early year hiring – and then is just good news for all”, stated Dan Moran, Founder & President of Next-Act (www.next-act.com), a career transition management firm located in Colonie.

Tuesday January 3^rd Big Day for Job Postings

“On this day, local employers posted close to 1100 new positions to various job boards in the Region. That is a very active day and not something I have seen for several months. Perhaps this is yet another sign of an improving market”, reported Moran.

The Syracuse NY market also had a strong rebound after the holiday week. Other markets remained at pre-holiday levels for new job opportunities. The Albany Region continues to outpace Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, which are larger markets, with more job opportunities.

Next-Act’s Tip of the Week to Job Seekers

“Take this time this week and not later to be sure your job search “tools” – resume, online profiles or any other manner in which you communicate your skills and abilities are in top-notch shape. Be sure your resume and profiles don’t just “tell” but “sell”  what you can do and the skills you can bring. It will make a world of difference in your results”, continued Moran.

About Next-Act

Next-Act, a division of DVG, Inc. is a career management & transition firm directed by Dan Moran, the Founder & President of the firm. Moran contributes over thirty years experience in career consulting, business and human resources management. In 2012, his firm will celebrate 24 years in business. Moran is noted for his expertise in helping today’s “boomers” move on to fulfilling second careers, while helping executives and professionals achieve their career goals. The firm also provides human resources consulting and corporate services to companies. Moran is also a certified facilitator for C.J. Hayden’s Get Clients Now! &  Get Hired Now! programs.

For further press information: http://www.next-act.com/press_room.

Dan Moran

President & Founder

Next-Act

Career Management & Transition Specialists

125 Wolf Road, Suite #128

Albany, NY 12205

Office: 518-261-4212

Cell: 518-641-8968

eFax: 586-279-4212

dmoran@next-act.com