We may want to turn our head the other way when we hear job seekers talk about “age discrimination” but the message I see here is that it is absolutely necessary for everyone to proactively managing their own career, regardless of your age or employment status!

• When you think about your career do you feel stuck or confused?
• Do you want to make a change in your job or personal life and don’t know where to start?
• Have you ever thought about coaching and whether it could really support you to define and move forward in a new career or start a small business?

I wanted to let you know that I presently have slots available for scholarship coaching clients. As a scholarship coaching client, you would receive the same services I am offering to all clients.

Before you ask, I’ll tell you why I am doing this.

I want to support the development and advancement of other colleagues in this challenging economy. I have decided to offer a limited number of scholarships for professionals like YOU who are ready to get out of overwhelm, create a plan for achieving your goals and are willing to do whatever it takes to move forward.

I am willing to offer three months of coaching, twice a month, to help you to get clear, to get focused and to get ahead.

If you would like more information about coaching, please feel free to contact me at JoniLiebel @ JoniLiebel.com.

If you are ready and want to apply for a scholarship please express in 1,000 works or less how coaching will help you attain your goals if you receive this scholarship. Please insure that all your contact information is provided in your application.

Send your application to JoniLiebel @ JoniLiebel.com.

Today I had the pleasure of being contacted by a local reporter who writes a weekly column called the Job Hunt.  He asked if I would be interested in helping out from time to time to address some questions from readers.

This week, he received a question about whether it’s okay to take notes in a job interview and asked if I could share some advice.

Since I have a hard time passing up an opportunity to give advice (yes, I was a former “Know it All” until life took a few swats at me), I responded to his request.  I thought I’d share some of my thoughts here.

Since interviews are business meetings, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to take notes.

The first thing I would write is the interviewer’s name, as it may not be the same person who called you.  I’d clarify the correct spelling of the name, since you will need this later when you write your “thank you” note.

You can take notes regarding some of the key requirements of the job.  Using these notes, you can later reiterate and review this information to clarify your understanding of the responsibilities and expectations.  These notes can also be used to review and highlight some key points when you write your “Thank you” note after the interview.

However, don’t let note taking distract you from staying engaged and focused during the interview.  Take light notes during the interview.  After you leave the interview you will have a chance to make some more detailed notes for yourself.

Well, those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

Many people I talk to these days are at some crossroad in their life – whether it is related to their career, family or health. The discussion often includes a reflection past dreams, present circumstances and questions of meaning. I know those questions, and I also know the search for answers.

While I want support others toward finding more meaningful work, I realized I hadn’t taken the time to define what that means for me.

I thought about career coaching and my “message”.

I believe that career paths are not straight. I want to support others who are interested in organically explore their careers, passions, synchronicities and themselves – to be open to how it might fit together, and hold that space for them to find what answers have “meaning” for them.

I believe that you can’t figure out your career or a career transition without first looking inward.

Well, I realized that I hadn’t yet publically professed to myself or to anyone else what I believed was of ultimate importance and meaningful to me. Maybe I was afraid to admit that I am still figuring a lot of things out. What did I want people to know about me and my career services?

Recently one of my mentors and I talked about a manifesto. A manifesto is a public declaration of intentions. It is a pronouncement of principles and policies. It can be famously political (as in Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto) or personal.

Maybe I don’t have it all figured out. But I believe a manifesto provides the framework to define what is most important and meaningful to me at this point in my life. I also want to declare my commitment to myself and to you to honor and practice a meaningful life.

Join me in writing a manifesto! Let’s support one another to declare we are living and making decisions that are in line with our values, vision and meaning.

And, like me, it’s a work in progress!

Joni’s Manifesto:
1. Progress not perfection.
2. Faith not fear.
3. This too shall pass (thanks Mom!)
4. Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks.
5. Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.
6. Stress is related to 99% of all illness.
7. The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to make that change will leave you behind.
8. Spend more time with creative engaged people who are able to laugh and appreciate the perfection in every situation.
9. Practice yoga, breathe deeply and appreciate the moment.
10. Dance, sing, and play every day.
11. I will bring all of me into whatever I do.
12. I honor my right brain intuition and spirit as much as I honor my linear left brain. And always check in with my heart!
13. I will allow myself to be financially, emotionally and publicly rewarded and recognized for my contributions,
14. I will be as loud as I want, or as quiet as I want depending on my mood.
15. I will not apologize for thinking too much, crying too easily, being too loud.
16. I am self-employed and my own boss. If I ever decide to do some work for a corporation, I will still be a self-employed person having a corporate experience. I will still be my own boss.
17. I am allowed to modify this list at any time, with or without reason.

Now it’s your turn!

Welcome to the second half of 2010. How are you doing with those changes you wanted to make in 2010? Are you on track?

Or have you forgotten some of those dreams?

Or decided it was all just too hard to figure out?

Or is there a small voice in your head telling you it’s just too scary to do something you’ve never done before?

YET … maybe … sometimes you wonder about “what if ..”

Here is a technique to play with to look at your career and your life, and to set some goals to get what you want by New Year’s 2011 and beyond!

1. With paper and pencil look back over the last six months and ask yourself these questions:
   1. What happened that I never want to happen again?
   2. What did I learn from those happenings that can support me in making different decisions in the future?
   3. What did I enjoy about my life?
   4. What were my major accomplishments?
   5. For whom and what am I grateful?
   6. What can I appreciate about myself?
2. Print out the Life Balance Wheel below and plot your current level of fulfillment and happiness (however you define it in each area of your life. The center point represents “0″, that you are not satisfied at all. The outer point represents “10″ which means you couldn’t be happier, more pleased or fulfilled. If there is a particular characteristic that is not important to you, go ahead and plot the point at “10″. After plotting all the points, draw a line to connect them.

   By connecting the dots, you now have a visual representation of what your life looks like. If you life is in balance, the dots will form a circle indicating a smooth ride through life. Take a look at your diagram and see what shape you made when you connected the dots. Do you have a smooth ride, or are there potholes and bumps in some areas? Whatever it looks like, please remember to be kind to yourself and do not judge it or yourself. It isn’t good or bad – it just “is what it is”. By gently accepting where you are in your life, you now have the opportunity to make some changes!

3. Notice which aspects of your life have the biggest gaps between where you are and where you want to be. Choose to focus on up to three of those aspects and make a heartfelt commitment to do what it takes to create what you want.

4. Focus on each aspect one at a time and ask yourself:
   1. What do I want this area of my life to look like?
   2. What would have to be different in this area for me to create the happiness I am looking for?
   3. What stands in the way of my getting what I want? (a situation, another person, myself, etc.)
      
   4. If I had magical powers and could transform this area overnight this is what I would see …
5. After you have identified what you want, set a goal to create it. And remind yourself how you will feel when you begin moving toward achieving this goal.
6. Begin taking small steps toward your goal. Appreciate yourself all along the path, have fun and celebrate each step of your progress. By taking these steps you are on your way to creating the career and life you would most like to have.

I’m celebrating and doing a happy dance for the Dynamic Powerful Creative You!

Are you looking for a career coach or need a career counselor?

While there are overlaps between career coaching and career counseling, I want to mention that there are definite differences.

A career counselor is someone who usually is licensed and has a Masters Degree in counseling or psychology.   Counselors are often designated as a LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). Your medical or mental health insurance benefits may pay for some or all of the costs of a career counselor.

A career counselor usually has advanced training in aptitude or psychometric assessments and may use them in the career counseling process.

However, in career counseling and counseling in general, there is an assumption that someone (the counselor) is an expert and has expertise and advice to offer.  The process can be more direct in that the career counselor would gather information about an individual’s skills, aptitudes, personality style, likes/dislikes etc. and then direct them to a career that the career counselor thinks will satisfy them. A career counselor would be more likely to have a list of careers and to resources where an individual could get more information for different professions.

A career coach can have a varied background in terms of education and degrees held.  Many do have advanced degrees, which may not be related to coaching, careers or counseling.  Usually a coach would have completed coach training in a program that is certified by the International Coach Federation. The International Coach Federation “defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” (From website http://www.coachfederation.org/)

A career coach comes from the perspective that you are the expert in your life and it is the job of the career coach to support you to grow, develop and make powerful choices for yourself, including career choices.  So, in the career coaching model it would likely be more about self-discovery, finding what career will really light you up, have you excited to go to work each day. Your career coach would work with you to make sure you put together a plan that will have you investigating different career choices and pursuing them so that you can come to your own answers.  The idea and the key distinction is that if the client comes to the answers on their own, it is potentially more powerful than if they are told by the career counselor a recommendation or prescribed course.

Regardless of whether you decide you need a career coach or a career counselor, the most important factor is whether you feel chemistry and trust this person to support you through this very important time of your life. You may want to interview a career coach and a career counselor. I would recommend interviewing several of each.

Tell them about your situation, a bit about yourself, and maybe what you are looking to achieve from a coach or a counselor. At the end of the call think about how you felt after speaking with this person. Do you have confidence that this person can empower you to maximize your professional potential? Speaking with several coaches or counselors will take some time, but can be so valuable if you find the right professional to guide you to making the best career choices for you.

I recently had the pleasure of attending two teleclasses with Mark Guterman and Dan King from MeaningfulCareers.com.

They describe themselves as “two guys with a shared commitment to the power of meaningful work.”.  They “believe that every person can have a meaningful career, guided by his or her own alignment of purpose, commitments and competence. People who have meaningful careers do better, feel better, and add lasting value through their work.”

Their philosophy includes the belief that:

• Every person can have a meaningful career.
• Each person creates their own definition of a meaningful career.
• Meaningful careers are created through the alignment of competence, intention, and purpose connected to the world of work.
• People who have meaningful careers do better, feel better, and add lasting value through their work.

Competence:

• Performing: Doing the tasks at hand as well as possible and recognizing that current actions impact the future
• Designing: Picturing and creating a future built from one’s strengths, interests, and aspirations
• Changing: Adapting to changing conditions and transforming oneself as needed

Committments:

• Intentionality: Taking responsibility for one’s choices and being mindful of opportunities
• Attitude: Believing and trusting in a future filled with unlimited possibilities yet to be created
• Perspective: Seeing and appreciating the context from which one moves into the future

Purpose:

• Pragmatism: Work as making a living and means to an end
• Integration: Work as balancing various aspects of one’s life
• Connection: Work as contribution and creating a legacy
• Transcendence: Work as spiritual endeavor

I’m fascinated by the concept and their model of  meaningful careers, especially how we each define what is meaningful to us, at any particular time in our life.  Also, our definition of a meaningful career often changes based on external factors such as our particular stage of life, and how well we might be balancing and meeting some of our other basic needs.

Have you thought about your career and what might be meaningful to you at this time in your life?

]]> http://www.joniliebel.com/model-of-meaningful-careers/feed/ 0 http://www.joniliebel.com/are-you-still-asking-yourself-what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up/ http://www.joniliebel.com/are-you-still-asking-yourself-what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 16:42:42 +0000 Joni http://www.joniliebel.com/are-you-still-asking-yourself-what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up/

We ask children what they want to be when they grow up. High school seniors asked to narrow their career choices as they transition into college. Well meaning adults ask college freshmen “What are you going to major in?” Silently many college students ponder the same question again and again over the next few years.

In the United States we are encouraged to make decisions about our careers. Those who are undecided about their future careers often are made to believe there is something “wrong” with them.

Typical career-planning often examines matching interests, skills, and abilities to a particular job and designing a plan for one’s life for the next 5, 10, 30 or 70 years. This can be very helpful in planning and deciding upon a career. But sometimes, this single minded focus to find the one right decision about our careers, fails to recognize the importance of chance.

According to John Krumboltz, a leading career theorist, chance or unplanned events have a place in the career-planning process. Planned happenstance (see K. A. Mitchell, A. S. Levin, & J. D. Krumboltz [1999] Planned happenstance: constructing unexpected career opportunities, Journal of Counseling and Development, vol 77:115-124) explores creating and benefitting from unanticipated opportunities throughout your career.

Planning is valuable. However, enhancing the frequency of chance encounters can positively influence your career.

Just like you might never get a date with that special person if you don’t ask, you can place yourself in situations where chance events can happen. Planned happenstance theory suggests that you can create chance events by using the five skills of curiosity, persistence, optimism, flexibility, and risk-taking.

Curiosity: Curiosity keeps your mind active. By becoming more observant to new ideas, you will be able to see new world and possibilities which are normally not visible. Plus it brings excitement to your life!

Persistence: Many people give up on their dreams or goals at the first sign of disappointment. Disappointments are simply opportunities for learning. Persistence directs you to explore other strategies to reach your goal.

Optimism: An optimistic attitude helps you remain persistent when you experience setbacks. Optimism keeps you moving forward with the belief that there are new realistic opportunities available.

Flexibility: Remaining open-minded with a positive attitude allows you to recognize and take advantage of a chance event when it does occur.

Risk Taking: Each of us has an individual risk tolerance level. If you have low risk tolerance and find yourself not exploring new opportunities, you might want to explore taking some strategic intelligent risks. If you are considering a new profession, you might want to explore volunteer activities to expand your knowledge and possibly open yourself up to happenstance.

Regardless of your employment status today, I encourage you to stop and think about your own career.

Who knows what you will discover about yourself and possible career opportunities when you feed your curiosity and explore.

I have been spending time trying to perfect my “message” and small business “brand” about meaningful careers, work-life balance and the mind-body connection. Quotes floated through my brain such as Dr. Wayne Dyer’s

“Don’t die with your music still inside you. Listen to your intuitive
inner voice and find what passion stirs your soul.”

But I let time pass while I tried to get my message “perfect”

Friday afternoon my husband went outside to do some yard work. After about an hour of pulling kudzu vines, he came in and said he wasn’t feeling well. A couple of minutes later, from the other room, he said he thought he was having a heart attack and I should call 911. “NO” he didn’t have chest pains, but he didn’t feel well. Since we live about ¼ mile from the hospital, and I try to be cognizant of healthcare costs, I suggested that I drive him there.

When he couldn’t rise from his chair, I realized this was REAL, and called the paramedics. He didn’t have chest pains, but was feeling nauseous and weak. The paramedics connected him to monitoring equipment. Hubby said he was feeling a bit better and didn’t think he needed to go to the ER. After some mumbling between the paramedics while they viewed the screen of the monitor, they very calmly said “Ready to go to the Emergency Room?” Hubby responded “Well, if that’s what you suggest”. They responded “Not sure but we think you are having a heart attack”.

They told me to stay calm, and drive slowly. I still arrived before the ambulance. After a few minutes a nice lady escorted me into a lovely room, with beautifully polished floors (I was thinking about how my husband planned to sand and re-finish ours that weekend). She told me not to worry. I wasn’t.

A couple of minutes later the ER doctor came in, blurted a lot of words very quickly. I could pick out “Cardiac Cath Lab” and “heart attack” and “stent, maybe bypass surgery”. “WHOA” I told him. “I don’t speak this language. You have got to break this down to me slower.” He paused and asked “Don’t you watch TV?”. “NO!” I said (but failed to add that I do enjoy American Idol from time to time).

He very kindly explained that my husband was having a heart attack, and explained what would happen next. Within one hour and 45 minutes after I dialed 911, my husband was resting comfortably in the critical care unit after having a heart attack and a stent inserted. Doctors said that the heart is strong, and there was minimal damage.

Later that evening the paramedics came into his room, to check on him. One paramedic told me that they actually SAW the heart attack occur when he was being monitored in our home. That explains why hubby said he didn’t have chest pains until he was in the ER.

So there Mr. ER Doctor. If I did related this all to TV, I wouldn’t have called 911 until I saw him falling back, clutching his chest like Fred Sanford, and shouting “Elizabeth, it’s the big one” (then I would have still wasted precious time asking questions about who was Elizabeth).

So here are a few things I’d like to share:

1. Maybe it’s not a bad thing that I haven’t watched much television since the 70′s (ok, except for American Idol). Heart attacks don’t always cause chest pain. As a matter of fact, because we called the paramedics early, he was in great hands when the actual heart attack occurred.
2. The next time someone tells me to call “911″, I will call the first time they ask.
3. Although I have many opinions about how to reform healthcare, Cabarrus County EMS, Carolinas Medical Center Northeast, the Emergency Room/Chest Pain Center, and the Heart Group of the Carolinas appear to be able to handle things quite well without my help.

I don’t plan to spend more time discussing my husband and his rehabilitation. But while wrestled with using the “perfect” words to share my message about “meaningful careers” and “work-life balance”, I faced some real life “meaningful” questions about my own “work-life balance”.

Did you know that “High blood pressure continues to be the most prevalent chronic condition in the United States, with 30.6% of adults reporting having been diagnosed with it in 2009, up 1.2 points from 2008.” (Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index March 30, 2010)

People who are uninsured or have concerns about the cost of medical care are more likely to postpone seeking emergency care for a heart attack. A study, reported in the April 14, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that, even among people with private health insurance, money worries are associated with delays in getting to the hospital for treatment.

The article continues “National health-reform legislation will expand access to coverage, experts say, but it’s no panacea for Americans’ concerns about paying their share of the health-care tab, including deductibles and co-insurance for hospital admissions. ”

Sure I am a career coach, but I also want to help you look at and balance all areas of your life. Most of us are relatively competent in the work that we do. But here are a few questions to consider:

1. Are you taking responsibility for choices you make in your career and life and being alert to opportunities around you?
2. Are you engaged and believing and trusting in a future filled with unlimited possibilities yet to be created?
3. Do you have clarity about your purpose and values that resonates with what’s really important to you?

Now excuse me while I watch American Idol

“Don’t die with your music still inside you.”

Let me begin with the end, and share my higher learning first:

1. I don’t need (or want to THINK I need) any more “stuff” to enhance my life.
2. Focusing on fluctuating household income distracts me from listening to my intuition and doing authentic and inspired work.
3. I care less about new technology and more about connecting with genuine, creative, like-minded people who enjoy exploring the opportunity in any challenge.

Before you think I am way enlightened, let me share where I started and began contracting:

1. I don’t want to talk about anything unless it doesn’t cost me one more penny.
2. When are we going to re-assess the household expenses I assumed during the time that my income grew more than my husband’s.
3. Since my husband transitioned twice last year from salary + expenses + benefits to 100% commission with no expenses paid and no benefits, I decided it was better for my mental health to remember the Serenity Prayer, and have the wisdom to know what was and was not in my control. This detachment, taken to the extreme, now has me unclear about some of the finer details of my husband’s present career adventure.

So my husband’s simple comment about new technology triggered in me a cascade of repressed fears about financial security and a subsequent knot in my stomach. As a recovering pessimist (emphasis on the recovering) I decided to step back, breath and journal. I realized I hadn’t been honoring myself and my message to others – that while being overly focused on work issues or things you need to FIX, you may lose sight of the power and beauty of the panoramic view.

So my thought for the day (and to share with you) is that while focusing on one area of your life that may be demanding more of your attention, don’t forget to step back and check in and assess how this all fits with YOU and the life you want to create. And if it feels overwhelming to figure this out on your own, you might want to consider exploring possibilities and a new plan of action with a coach. My coach and mastermind group keep me grounded and hold that larger vision for me when I lose mine.

Now excuse me while I go apologize to my husband.