Extended Job Search--Keeping the Spirits Up

In today's tough economy, many will encounter extended periods of unemployment. In fact, as a job seeker you must avoid the temptation of accepting the first crummy job offer that comes along. The two essential elements to a successful extended job search are a consistently positive attitude and a relaxed and quiet confidence based upon an unshakable belief in self and passion for a chosen career. So how can we remain calm and positive in the face of inevitable set-backs and frustrations.   Having experienced three extended job searches during my working career, I certainly don't have all the answers but can offer a few suggestions: *  Make the tough financing choices up front needed to "purchase" sufficient time for a successful job search or career transition. Always assume the best ultimate outcome but the worst in time and resources needed to get there.   *  Plan out the job search or career transition process in advance with clear target dates for completion of all phases which you can control. Of course, you can't target the precise date when you will find your next job, but you can target dates to complete and distribute resumes, contact prospective employers and complete necessary vocational training.   *  Throughout the process, visualize yourself performing the target position of your dreams--begin to think and communicate like an incumbent.  (I have spoken about thhe process of visualization in previous blogs.)   *  Develop one or more fallback contingency financing plans which You can implement in rapid succession should the job search take longer than anticipated.  Possibilities include accepting temporary or part-time work, renting out your house (if it can't be sold) or over the short run significantly curtailing discretionary family expenditures.    *  While not abandoning your dreams, be prepared to think outside the lines.  Instead of a steady paycheck, have you considered buying a business or multi-level marketing? How about recruiting as venture partners individuals with a passion similar to yours?   *  Ignore bad news. Any night of the week on national or local newscasts we hear stories about high unemployment and dim prospects for recovery. Don't watch these programs--they apply only in general and not to your specific situation. You can be miles ahead of your competition. The only news you should be tracking is specific developments in your targeted business or career area.   *  Take periodic "vacation" breaks from your job search but only long enough to refresh mind, soul and body.  Consider these breaks the same as you would vacation time off from a job. These breaks should never be long enough to destroy momentum or costly enough to significantly worsen family finances. I offer three closing thoughts:   1. Approach your job search or career transition as a "win/win" proposition. Your location and acceptance of the position of your dreams will benefit both you and potential employer as well as all of those you will serve.   2. Never forget that your worth as an individual can never be defined solely by your vocation. You must never let your job master you!   3. Once you locate your dream job, never cherish your career too much, certainly not at the expense of your health, relaxation, loved ones and service to others.   I would like to hear about your job search experience. Are there lessons you lhave learned which you would like to share with others. Please respond to this blog or email me at roy@middleagerenewal.com.

Looking for Work or Changing Careers?--Pre-program Success!

Are you unemployed and frustrated over lack of job prospects? Do you remain employed but are sick and tired of your present job? Let's assume that you have wisely taken time out to thoughtfully define the targeted position or entrepreneurial venture of your dreams. Before charging forward, your next task is to address five crucial issues:    1. Financing career change. How long do you anticipate to be out of work? Have you completed a workable family transition budeget, agreed to by all family members? Will you have interim sources of income? Are you prepared to make temporary lifestyle compromises? (Note: Always plan for a longer-than-anticipated transition--you will need to "buy" enough time to avoid panic and retain the option to say "no" to crummy job offers.)   2. Related economic issues. When you quit your job, how will you obtain health insurance for self and family? How will you pay for your children's education? Will you need to relocate? Might you need to tap into savings? (Note: It often makes sense to tap into "rainy day" funds to finance a positive career change.)   3. Cost and availability of job training. Can you afford the technical and occupational training needed to perform your dream job? Is training offered in your local area? How long will it take you to become qualified?   4. Testing the Waters. Can you launch your targeted venture or job search at night or on weekends while retaining you present day job or accepting temporary employment? Do you possess the stamina to perform two jobs while not neglecting your family?   5. Demonstrating qualifications. How will you attract prospective employers, investors or venture partners? Can you locate not-for-pay volunteer activities in a related field in your community? Without sacrificing integrity, could you volunteer for related projects on your current job?   Before plunging into job search or a new venture start-up, you will need to confront head-on two potential roadblocks: lack of a boss and time on your hands. No longer fully occupied with pre-assigned tasks, the mind will have ample opportunity to lose focus and to generate worries, real and imagined. Once on your own, it will be entirely up to you to calm any negative emotions and to fill in the gaps in your assignment calendar. You will need to scope out and implement a comprehensive, positive day-by-day transition plan complete with self-imposed accomplishment deadlines. You must never let temporary setbacks, obstacles or distractions (even a great day for golf) throw you off track. To keep the search process moving foward, always take action sooner rather than later refusing to waste time and effort agonizing over every next step.     Always keep in mind that your are CEO of your own job or career transition. Your "Board of Directors" is composed solely of self and loving family members; in the end you and you alone are responsible for a successful outcome. In closing, I  suggest you make yourself this solumn pleadge:   "I will not accept any position or invest time and money in any business venture unless I am 100% certain that this is how I wish to spend my remaining productive years and can realistically anticipate income sufficient to support our chosen family lifestyle, both now and in the future."    In next week's blog, I will recommend methods to sustain positive emotions during a sometimes long and difficult career transition process.

Extended Job Search--Take Charge!

If you have been out of work more than a few weeks, ask yourself this question: "Who is in emotional control of my job search today--others or me?" Like so many, are you riding a roller coaster of emotions from a wondrous high when a prime job prospect surfaces to an extreme low when that prospect falls through?  You will never eliminate all job-search peaks and valleys but no one can rob you of the unbending faith in an ultimate favorable outcome. Your challenge is to restore positive momentum in the face of inevitable short-term disappointments.   I've been there and done that. After losing my CFO position in 1986, I spent 15 months in a frustrating job search. During that period I was first or second runner-up for no less than five CFO positions--you can imagine how deflating it was when these jobs went to someone else! Following each set-back, I took several weeks to recover positive emotions and recharge my campaign. In hindsight, throughout my campaign I let advertised job postings dictate my job targets, lingered over lost opportunities and consistently failed to seek out and identify viable back-up possibilities.   There is a better way! First, you need to hire yourself as CEO of your own job search or career transition. As I suggested in last week's blog, you begin the process by preparing a detailed description of the position of your dreams. (Subsequently, you may need to modify the this target to fit reality.) Next, you will need a comprehensive job search or career transition strategy, the same as you would had you been hired as PR Agent or Career Counselor for someone else. If you need help, speak with qualified friends or colleagues or hire an outside service.   Once target position and strategy both have been defined, your ongoing task is to execute. This means daily searching out new opportunities, measuring potential jobs against your ideal and marketing yourself to prospects. At any point in the search process, I recommend you have at least three primary targets:   "Up to the plate"--your immediate target employer (preparing for interview, exhaustive research, follow-up, etc.) "On-deck"--your very next in line (scheduling interview, preliminary research, etc.) "In-the-hole"--identify and make contact (screening, networking within company, sending resume, etc.)    At all times visualize yourself performing your dream job functions. Before each interview, modify your dream to imagine working for your specific "up to the plate" employment prospect. Pre-interview, think and behave like an incumbent. In your mind, confront the challenges you and your prospective employer will face as you perform on the job. Once the interview is over and you've done all you can do, move on to imagine yourself working for the next, "on- deck" employer. Exept for identifying mistakes you made, refuse to linger over lost opportunities.   Under the universal law of attraction, so long as you genuinely expect to accomplish cherished carrer objectives you will remain on track and positively engaged.  The universe will provide; ultimately you will succeed! Next week, I will discuss upfront "financing" of career transition to buy peace of mind and the time needed to locate your dream career.   Tell me about your own mid-career job search experience. Please respond to this blog or send your comments to my e-mail address: roy@middleagerenewal.com. For more on the multitude of challenges of middle age, please visit our MART web site, www.middleagerenewal.com.

Middle Age, Out of Work?--Create your Ideal Job

Are you at mid-life and unemployed--perhaps for months, even years? Are you frustrated by traditional job search? Is no one hiring for a position like the job you lost? Take heart--you can first define, then seek out or create the position of your dreams. I know this because I have been through 2 extended job searches myself and today have the perfect job for me.   This is the second in my series of blogs on mid-life career transformation. This week's challenge is to prepare in detail a position description for the job of your dreams. So what do you really want to do over your remaining productive years? Once completed, we can concentrate on turning your ideal career vision into reality.   Take out a clean sheet of note paper or create a new word document on your laptop. At the top of the page, list a job title for your ideal position. On the next line, list your intended next employer which may be "you" if you intend to launch a new business, purchase a franchise or work from home. Targeted employer may be either a specific entity or a general category of business, government or non-profit enterprise.   As a third step, list anticipated primary job functions you wish to perform. Fourth, list required vocational qualifications and educational prerequisites. Fifth, identify the person(s) to whom you will report (this may be "no one" if your goal is self-employment) and those who will report to you. As a final entry, at the bottom of the page write down annual compensation you expect to receive.   Once completed, examine your dream position description as you would an attractive job posting in a newspaper or on the Internet:   1. Would my ideal position as defined provide significant value to others?   2. Am I qualified this very day to assume my dream position? Would a personnel manager     or executive recruiter consider hiring me?   3. If not fully qualified now, can I become so given a reasonable amount of time, effort and     money?   4. Will anticipated compensation along with spousal earnings and other resources be     enough to support targeted family lifestyle?   5. Do my spouse and offspring support my targeted career transition? Will they share in     necessary sacrifice?   As a final exercise, visualize yourself performing anticipated routine daily tasks and functions. Is this truly how you wish to spend the remainder of your productive years? In the past, have you enjoyed and excelled at similar tasks? Are you certain that the vocation of your dreams is not simply a passing fancy?    Should you conclude after examination that your dream position is not a realistic possibility, your secondary task is to define an alternative position which is. At age 50 with no previous medical training you cannot realistically target to become a physician. On the other hand, should you excel at business and desire to promote health, you might target hospital or clinic administration, opening a health food store or marketing health care products from home. Your goal is to identify a realistic secondary career option provides similar gratification. Once fully defined, this secondary position will become your primary transition target.   My primary advise for today is to place yourself squarely in charge of your own job search by first defining in precise detail the position you seek. Next, you continually imagine yourself occupying your targeted position which over time will cause you to think and act like an incumbent. You can measure actual future employment opportunities as they arise against your ideal. Next week I will demonstrate how to establish and maintain a positive mindset tharoughout your search which invariably leads to an ultimate favorable outcome. The following week, I will suggest a method of take-charge, up-front financing which can "buy" you all the time needed to ensure a rewarding career in life's second half.   Please comment on this blog or contact me with questions or suggestions at roy@middleagerenewal.com or call me at (515) 221-9902. I encourage you to visit our MART web site at www.middleagerenewal.com.

Over 40, Unemployed, No Prospects--Time to Renew!

With the US jobless rate hovering around 10% and extended job loss becoming the norm, is it time to panic? Not at all! Assuming you can achieve an optimistic outlook and an unwaivering belief in self, right now may be the ideal time to plan out and launch your second half.   This is the first in a series of blogs on career make-over. Rather than seeking a new job in a vacuum, take time out--days, even weeks, if needed--to define your very own "ideal vocation." As your own CEO, precisely how do you wish to spend the remainder of your productive years? How much emphasis will you place on earning a living? What is your targeted end-point and how much as you willing to sacrifice to get there?   Ignoring for the moment earnings potential and your qualifications, what would you most like to do? What did you like and dislike about prior positions? What do you enjoy when free to set your own agenda? What are your favorite sports, hobbies and leisure-time activities? What vocations do you most admire? Of all those you know, who has the best job? Where do friends and loved ones suggest you would excel?   Your next challenge is to apply a hard dose of reality: "Will anyone pay me to perform the activites I most admire? Will I contribute value? If the answer is no, you will need to follow-up by researching more realistic alternatives which might provide similar satisfaction.   Once a realistic vocation is targeted, your next task is to visualize in exquisite detail your performance of the desired position and to immediately begin thinking and behaving as though the desired position or career were already yours. Trust the universal law of attraction: a consistently positive mind-set invariably attracts a positive result!   In future blogs, I will share insights into choosing a target vocation, wresting positive emotional control and financing an extended career transition. In the interim, please visit our web site www.middleagerenewal.com or e-mail me with comments o questions at roy@middleagerenewal.com.   Good luck in remaking life's second half!

Send your Employees on Vacation

As we emerge from recession, does your company need a shot in the arm? Are your employees running on empty? If so, send them all on a 30-day vacation! Take a extended vacation yourself.   You say your can't afford long vacations for all. That's OK, I am not actually proposing 30 days away from the store, office or shop. Rather than granting traditional time off, I encourage you to sponsor a company-wide "mental vacation" initiative whereby you and employees at all levels will step aside from the daily routine to contemplate an ideal career and lifestyle objectives for the remaining productive years.   Actual time off would be limited to one or two days in rotating shifts at exercise initiation. Periodic additional time-outs would be granted for follow-up assignments and self-examination. Your ultimate goal is to match up on-board talents and desires with your company's strategic objectives. But how can you inventory available talents, interests and aspirations unless employees first define for themselves what they are good at and precisely what they want to do?   Employee mental vacation exercises can be a huge success or a dismal failure. To ensure success, you will need to adhere to the following guidelines:   The exercise must follow a structured agenda and be coordinated by expertly trained facilitators (never an employee's immediate boss.) The exercise must be 100% voluntary and non-threatening. It must be equally OK to propose readical changes or to express complete satisfaction with the status quo. Challenge employees to cast off all self-imposed boundries. Ask each participant: "In a world free of limitation, how would you choose to spend your remaining productive years? What track do you desire: fast, slow or somewhere in between?" As a leader, you must be willing to listen and to sincerely seek to accomdate employees poposing change.You also must be willing to assist (within reason) employee efforts to develop those new skills needed to progress. Do you think an extended mental vacation might benefit you and your employees? To learn more, please visit our website: www.middleagerenewal.com or email me: roy@middleagerenewal.com.

An IRS Audit?--Preventing Mid-Life Renewal Relapse

I recently received a friendly letter from the IRS asking for $10,000 in additional 2008 taxes. How do I respond? IRS audit notices present an ideal excuse for us renewed mid-lifers to revert back to prior negative thought patterns. Similar relapse excuses might include job loss, a doctor's unfavorable diagnosis, a sharp stock portfolio decline or simply unkind words from a friend.   I implore you: don't abandon renewal! Should you receive troubling news, I recommend response as follows:    1) Always remember, others can change your circumstances but they can't erase your strenght of character or positive outlook on life. You and you alone can alter that!   2) Research all the facts. Was the mistake yours? Did you truly relish the job you just lost? What are your health treatment options? Can you salvage your investments? Are hurtful friends really saying more about themselves than about you?   3) Target the best possible resolution then visualize that favorable outcome continuosly. Internalize a favorable target outcome before seeking outside help. Tell your doctor you visualize full recovery then work with him or her on a comprehensive treatment and recovery regimen.  Work with your outplacement counselor to define what you truly wish to accomplish over the rest of your career and how to have fun doing it. Contact a tax accountant only after you have researched the facts. Invest only after setting firm short-term and long-term goals.   Above all else, never let a temporary roadblock derail your progress to sustainable mid-life renewal. Don't surrender to procrastination and depression. Take action now! Whatever the outcome, every time you and I face up to a problem and attack it, we will feel good and become stronger, more confident individuals. Six months from now, we can look back with pride.   Now go for a solution! Need some help? Our sole objective is to assist with middle age renewal Please visit our web site at www.middleagerenewal.com.