Trapped!

Before I changed careers, I spent years feeling trapped by my circumstances. Friends told me: you have a great career, make a lot of money, why the #$*&!! are you thinking of changing careers? My former wife advised me that I needed to be thinking about retirement rather than thinking about starting a new career, and at my age, yet.

The prospect of changing careers was scary: what if I didn't make it? What if I was making a big mistake? I was comfortable, my career was a known quantity, and I was making a comfortable living at it. I felt my expertise was known and respected by my clients. Why rock the boat, and start out new in a career when I could stay where I was and have a warm and fuzzy comfortable life?

Because of passion: I wanted to make a difference in peoples' lives. I wanted to look back at my life from my deathbed and know that what I had done transformed others and helped them find their passion, too. So I did it: quit my job, went back to grad school, got an MA in clinical psych and began work at a counseling agency. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. The day I sold the house I loved was an important one: it felt like there was no turning back.

Now, I'm working on building my coaching practice. I have a long way to go. But I'm happy: I feel like I'm following my heart, that my work speaks to my authentic self. And that's what really makes a job into a vocation.

Mindfulness and joy

I have been thinking a lot about mindfulness recently: the awareness of now, of the current moment. Most of the time, we sleepwalk through life. How many times have I seen a glorious October go by like the one just past and thought, "My God, when did the leaves fall off the trees?" We're so wrapped up in resenting the past and fearing the future that we forget that this moment - right now - is all we really have: the past is a ghost, and the future a fantasy whether it be fearful or full of promise.

Kids get this, I think. Most of them lack sufficient past experiences to regret them, and anything past the next minute or two is in the far future. I believe the key to true happiness is savoring and appreciating the present moment, and being fully in it. But how, one might ask, does one plan for the future if one is living in the moment? How does one learn from the past?

It's fairly simple in concept, much more difficult in the execution: we learn from the past without being attached to its pain, we plan for the future without being attached to outcomes, whether good or bad. This fills the present moment with the possibility of true joy because the human being who has nothing to lose gains everything.

When you leave the house or work today, look around at the day: there is beauty in the worst weather, and a brightness in the darkest night. Wake in gratitude in the morning, knowing that you've been given a great gift: another day on this great planet, another day to live in its fullness, another opportunity for joy.

WSJ Tips for Online Job Hunting

Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal site posted an article with several good tips for those who are submitting resumes online:

1. Use keywords in your resume. Look for job-related words in the job description that are used two or more times.
2. Position yourself in your resume for future promotions. Include skills that will help you move up the ladder.
3. Catch their attention quickly; if you don't grab them in 30 seconds, your resume will likely be deep sixed.
4. Think career portfolio when you do and post things online; recruiters may google for your name.
5. Improve your chances by contacting and (if possible) getting to know someone in the organization.
6. Holiday lulls are great for job searches; recruiters and employers will have more time for your resume.
7. Be persistent - "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" as the saying goes.

Nothing earth shattering in the article, but some pretty good and solid suggestions.

Get this blog on your cellular phone!

You can now get the Metier Blog on your cell phone - click on the icon in the sidebar and enter your cell phone number. Alternatively, you can enter this URL in your phone's browser:

http://feedm8.com/metiercoaching

Path 101 and the Resume Genome Project

A new startup that's attempting to create a resource that will integrate resume data crawled from around the web with information about the user (personality, etc) with information about the career paths of the people who wrote the resumes (what jobs did they actually hold). They're going to provide APIs (Application Programmer Interfaces) and encourage other sites to link to them. How exactly this will work is rather confusing and unclear at this point to me, but hey, they're a startup.

They're also live blogging their startup efforts in a sort of blog reality show, so whether they succeed or fail at their entrepreneurial efforts, the results will be out there for all to see. I wish them well, and look forward to following their efforts over the coming months.

You can check out their blog here.

Career Forum

I've added a Career Forum to the Metier site; click on the link named "Metier Forum" to visit it. To return back to the Metier home page, click the button labeled "METIER HOME" on the forum page. Feel free to read the messages there, and post a comment or question (you have to create a login to post - this will hopefully reduce the amount of spam I have to deal with).

Free e-book Now Available!

I've completed my e-book - it's a Guide to career transitions for the career changer: new careerist, mid-life changer, and retiree. I originally developed it for a career transition group at a church, and decided to turn it into an "official" Metier e-book. It's absolutely free; download it now by clicking on the Downloads link in the menu!

(note - I ask that you not redistribute this document - if you know someone else who would benefit from this e-book, please refer them to the Metier site)