Pulling it all together

As the year comes to close, it's time to take an inventory of all that I've done for the year and go over the checklist to see what I've accomplished. Well okay, I don't really have a checklist.

This was a year that started off with a layoff, and then I ended up in outplacement and landed a contract with them! Not the usual path, but you have to look at opportunities when they come up.

I like to say that you need a path to follow to manage your career. Was this my plan? No way. But like any snowball thrown at you, you need to adapt. Sometimes I made quick changes and other times I took some time to map out the next step.

When you're thrown off the path and not by your my own choice, it can stall you or derail you. Maybe only for a little time, but then you have to get back on it and get going. I jumped onto the contract role; it was only part time, but it was related to where my path was taking me. I had been looking to move into a Human Resources type role, so career transition consulting was a good fit.

I thought at the time early this year that this would be a stop-gap measure. I would find that next great job and work happily ever after. Didn't quite work out that way. And I've loved it! The job, the people, the whole experience.

My immediate need was to ensure that the finances were covered, and the contract helped with that. Unfortunately the severance didn't last too long. It was done by the time I started working. It was part time and this gave me the time to continue my search for a full time role.

So now the seed was planted that perhaps I could manage working independently and just do contracts to keep me busy. I didn't really need the benefits, and I certainly should see by now that full time jobs are no more secure than anything else.

The year is coming to a close and I sit back to review how my year has played out. I took 3 courses in Life Skills Coaching at George Brown College, and I will get my certificate soon. I attained my Nutrition and Wellness certification, took a course on designing training and started the HR certificate program at Ryerson University.

It's been a busy a year. I see it as 'my year' to focus on me and doing all the courses added to my growth and, I was hoping, would put me back on my path.

I did note that there were many threads in common across all the classes I took. Each time I took a new class, the same topics kept coming up. It made me realize that everything somehow all comes together.

I grew my network, and met lots of amazing people this year. Many I would never have met if I hadn't been laid off and taken all these courses. The training was great, but the relationships and concepts were what really added to my path.

Perhaps all my various paths are coming together to lead me to some great new place. Maybe that full time job is around the corner. And all that I've gained this year and that's brought me to where I am right now, has all been part of my new converging path.

I still keep an eye open for the right opportunity to come along; with the right fit, growth potential, and all the great engagement values I'm looking for to start a long term investment. Until that happens, I'll keep adding to my path and looking for turns and twists that will add more to my travel.

I guess the journey is the important thing, but I still want to know what the destination is!

Crossroads

Are you at a crossroads? With your career, job search, life in general? We work and work madly to get somewhere, but when you put your head up to see where that is, it's not quite where you thought. How did that happen?

I'm sitting at a crossroads myself. I've been shooting in several directions and waiting for something to tell me that I'm on the right path.

I worked many years in IT and went into management and consulting. I think I was good at what I did. I seemed to be respected by my peers, staff and clients. But as I moved around (that's called job-hopping), because I could in the tech area I was an expert in, I found it eventually eroded my corporate climbing ability.

Now not everyone is a climber, and I don't profess to ever want to be the big cheese anywhere. But it would be nice to have earned that nice corner office.

So I have no one to blame, not even myself really. I didn't feel that I wanted to climb in any company I was in. But I have found in the last few jobs I have had, I was coming in at a level lower than my experience should have allowed me. I'm not getting egotistical here. I looked at my peers or those a level or two above me and compared experience.

What did they have that I didn't? They stuck around and rolled with the punches. Good for them. Staying power never seemed to be my strong suit. Now, I was the most loyal employee you could ever ask for. But slight me in the least, ignore my efforts, hold back recognition and I was brushing off my resume. Yeah, yeah, job hopper.

I have on several occasions tried to make it work. Hang in, talk to the boss or even HR in one case, to try and make the place work for me. I gave it my all. But the cards weren't in it. So I moved on before things changed. Part of it is I can bore easily.

So, here I find myself at a crossroads again. I like the part-time gig I have going doing career coaching. I find it rewarding and the people have been great. I have even adjusted to being a contractor/consultant and not being an on the payroll employee.

So why do I find my mind thinking about going back on the employee list? Well part of it is that the part-time gig doesn't quite meet the old salary level expectations. I have been searching for other part-time gigs to fill in the gaps. This would be ideal, if they were out there. But hey, you know what the job market is like, right?

I now have one foot down the consultant road looking for more work and the other starting back on the search for a full-time opportunity. Of course, it never hurts to have options. But I wish I knew which path was the one I wanted for the long run. Not just the one that helps pay the mortgage.

There really are a lot of things to consider when job hunting. Staying focused is one that gets harder the longer you're out looking. But try to keep the parameters of what you want in check. Just because you could do the job, doesn't mean you would want to again.

Keep driving forward in whatever direction seems the best. Or a couple if that's an option. I've found that my varied interests can actually compliment each other. They might seem at first glance to have no overlap at all, but they can if worked properly.

And sometimes you just need to let one path roll along on its own for a little while which could give me a little time to explore another one. The roads may eventually meet up again. I might need to force them somewhat.

But that's what makes us unique. Good hunting!

Do what you love, or at least what you like

Having been through 'restructuring' a couple of times now, my best advice is to take it slow, gather your thoughts, and figure out what it is you want to do.

Now the first thing that you usually do after being let go is to be angry or hurt. It's okay to feel this. But don't hang on to it. This is happening to lots of people - you aren't that special. The company needed to make changes and that happened to impact you and likely several others. Doesn't mean there was anything wrong with you. So dust yourself off and move on.

So the next thing you do is panic that you need to find a job right away. This does depend on your financial situation and whether you got a decent package from your company. Don't panic; take some time to get over the emotions of what has just happened. Talk to your friends and family; rely on your support groups now.

If you have the extra resources from a Career Transition company, like Knightsbridge, make sure you use them. Even if you feel that you can do it yourself! I felt that because I'd been through this before that I didn't really need to use the services. Everyone can learn from these services no matter what your level of experience is in finding a new job. I learned lots - you can too.

You can always look to independent career consultants to help you too, if this wasn't part of your package. Also, if you still have your EAP (Employee Assistance Program) available, they often have career services available along with lots of other programs to help you through this transition time.

So now you've dealt with the emotions, caught your breath, and taken some time to gather yourself. The obvious thing to do when you actually start your job search is to look for a similar job, right? Not always. Think about it - did you LOVE your job?

Better to take the time and determine what your skill set is and what types of jobs and companies would be of interest to you. You may find that you keep putting yourself into jobs that fit the old you. You've learned many things over the years, and you may have found yourself drawn or maybe pushed into new directions.

Often times, you hold yourself back because you feel you don't have the skills or education or certification. Don't downplay the power of on-the-job experience. Don't get me wrong; formal education and certification are great things too. My point is we don't try new things because we feel we're just not good enough or some other nonsense.

Start an inventory of what your skills are and the types of jobs that you've enjoyed. Instead of thinking of yourself as a project manager, software developer, tech support, marketing manager, etc, look at the skills you used in those roles and see what aspects stand out for you.

You may find that being a project manager isn't what interests you the most, but the interaction with people on the team and the client relationships are. So instead of thinking of yourself as just a project manager and looking only for PM jobs, you can now look for a job that has more people interaction.

This may still not tell you what you love to do. I wish there was a Magic 8 Ball to tell me the answers. You still need to do the work. Sorry. But hopefully you'll see other opportunities for yourself.

Also, make sure your network knows what you are looking for. Most of my network has been great at sending me leads for technology project management roles. Thank you. I obviously didn't do a good job telling people what I really do. A friend told me that I was like Chandler on Friends; no one knew what I really did for work. Eyes open now!

You can do all the navel gazing you want to determine your dream job. Your inventory of skills and experience may still show that you need some more education or experience to get there. But you should now have a better idea of the direction you want to go in.

I've managed over the past few years to change my direction from technology to human resources. I still have further to go, but my train is going the right way now.

I also appreciate the fact that it may be easier to find a job in a similar role or field than to wait for this new found direction to come through for you. You can make the change over the next few years; it won't likely be overnight. Hopefully it helps you keep an eye on where you could now go so that you start building experiences that will eventually take you to your new destination.

And what if you just don't know what you might love? Try lots of new things. New experiences in jobs or companies you wouldn't normally apply for may open up new ideas for you. Be open to new opportunities and they will come.

SHH