Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.
Now that you have dared to dream and STOPPED before starting, it’s time to find your compass, in other words, a new direction. Figuring out which way is up can definitely be helpful in your decision-making process. Wondering if that management job at Pfizer you were offered is a lateral move or a leap forward is a common dilemma and the answer depends on many factors.
Take a few minutes to answer the following questions, a mini career choice quiz. The answers may help you determine what you are looking for in your dream job.
You prefer working:
A) Standard business hours with weekends off
B) A more flexible schedule with some weekends or nights
You prefer working:
A) In a large prestigious company with plenty of room to advance
B) Smaller companies with more hands on opportunities
You prefer working:
A) In large teams or as part of teams that do national or prominent work
B) In smaller teams or alone
You prefer working:
A) For a determined salary with possible increases based on performance
B) For a bit less money in exchange for more freedom, flexibility or possible payoff at a later date
You prefer working:
A) Around similar people who understand and enjoy the same things as yourself
B) Around all sorts of people who may not always be like you
You prefer working:
A) Working in a job where you stay close to home
B) Working in a job where you travel as much as 20% of the time or more
You prefer working:
A) In a job where mainly use the skills you have
B) In a job where you may have to be re-trained
You prefer working:
A) In classic business attire or in a professional manner
B) In shorts and flip-flops if at all possible
You prefer working:
A) In a highly driven environment where people work until a job is finished
B) In a place where there is an understanding that family needs come first
You prefer working:
A) On long term projects that may take a year or more
B) On shorter-term projects where you see results quickly
You prefer working:
A) For a company that is highly successful
B) For a company that is successful and socially conscious
Now don’t worry, there is no score to this test. It just gets you thinking about what is important to you. This test shouldn’t decide the fate of your career, but it should tell you something about your direction.
Once you have all of these answers there’s one more important question you need to ask yourself: Would you like to work for someone else and be able to focus on your job description or would you prefer to work for yourself, wearing more hats but also being in total control of your own career destiny? Sound like an easy question? Think again. These days there are fewer opportunities to stay with the same company and move up in the hierarchy. That cushy life-long job that used to exist is about as common as a half-price sale at Tiffany’s. On the other hand nothing can prepare you for owning your own business. Think you work a lot now? So you see, like any journey, setting your compass in advance is a critical first step.
Jason Veduccio is a hard-working entrepreneur following his dreams, and he wants you to dream, too. Drawing on his experiences working with companies on marketing, technology, hiring, and workplace issues, his regular column will demystify the job search process and identify strategies for moving up the corporate ladder. Founder of In1Concepts, Jason also knows the ins and outs of launching a new business. He welcomes your questions and can be reached at jason@in1concepts.com.
Are you discouraged with the progress of your career? Perhaps what you are doing now is not the career path you had hoped you would follow. You’re not alone in your unhappiness. Some polls report that nearly three-quarters of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs. In these trying times, that percentage may be slightly higher. Studies show that people frustrated with their careers usually perform less well than those who are more satisfied, leading to even more discontent in the workplace.
If you love what you do, and make enough money doing it, you probably don’t want to change much, but if you are feeling “stuck” you may need to get “unstuck.”
Begin the road to a fulfilling career by going against your instinct to get going. Yes, it’s tempting to launch a full blown job search, going on job sites and sending out dozens of resumes. Before you can START—STOP! Take some time to evaluate your current situation. What about your job makes you unhappy? While you dislike your overall job, there may be pieces of it that you enjoy. Have you developed bad habits? If so, you may need to change before you move on.
What does your ideal job look like? Take 20 minutes each day to visualize where you would like to be. In other words, daydream! Yes, that’s right, I said daydream. Believe it or not, daydreaming is the first step on the path to a better job. If you don’t believe me, go see the offices at Google or 3M where people are encouraged to daydream and actually get paid to do it!
Stopping allows you to step back and view both the forest and the trees. You may see yourself as part of your company or part of a team. Even if your company’s stock is soaring and your team is winning awards, you may still be unhappy. Why? You may have lost sight of your own hopes and dreams, putting those aside in favor of serving a larger cause. “You Inc.” should be your focus. No matter where you work, in a large or small company, you are in business for yourself. Sound self-serving? Not at all. If you are happy in what you are doing, everyone benefits—you, your boss, your company, and your clients.
What will it take to make you happy and fulfilled in your job? A better boss? More travel? Taking on more responsibility? If these opportunities are not coming your way, ask yourself why. It may be as simple as asking for a transfer or new responsibilities. Or, it may mean you need to move on.
Feeling a little more clear headed by now? Great. This is usually when old fears start knocking on the door. Whatever you do don’t answer it. The “I can’t’s” and “Buts” will be addressed on a case by case basis, so don’t go looking for reasons to back down now. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of, and there are plenty of reasons to believe in yourself. Now you can start to think about what kind of work you should be doing and how to get on with doing it.
If you are ready to change your life, STOPPING can be the key to STARTING.
Jason Veduccio is a hard-working entrepreneur following his dreams, and he wants you to dream, too. Drawing on his experiences working with companies on marketing, technology, hiring, and workplace issues, his regular column will demystify the job search process and identify strategies for moving up the corporate ladder. Founder of In1Concepts, Jason also knows the ins and outs of launching a new business. He welcomes your questions and can be reached at jason@in1concepts.com.
When the Mega Million Jackpot hit more than $500 million recently, job-holders and job-seekers alike dared to dream. What would it be like to become a multi-multi-millionaire overnight, never having to worry about climbing that corporate ladder or looking for that next job?
Except for three lucky winners, all of us came crashing to earth the following morning. We could still chase our dreams, yet those dreams needed to be based in reality.
That’s what this column is all about, helping you, the New American Dreamer, reach your goals. If you are lucky enough to be working today (no small feat with so much of the population out of work), you may feel stalled. How do you rev up your career again? Your strategy may be simple, finding a new mentor, for example, or more complicated, actually switching careers.
If you are between jobs, then what do you need to do to stand out from the crowd? You may feel you have done everything possible, but there may be things you have overlooked. Together we will find out what those additional tactics might be and how you can employ them to your advantage.
Should you become an entrepreneur and start your own business? That depends on many factors and we will cover the topic in many different ways. Be warned: most new businesses fail in their first year. I’ll tell you why and come up with some ways you might avoid that fate.
Technology plays a huge roll in the workplace today, whether you want to work for an internet company or use the internet to advance your career and business. Everyone—let me repeat that, everyone—needs a presence on the web. You want to manage that image, not your employer, a friend, or someone who happens to snap your photo at a party. New instruments are now available to help you, but learning how to use sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and others takes some time and effort. Don’t worry. You don’t have to be 13. We will show you how.
Spring is here. What better time to get started on your new life, one that doesn’t depend on winning the lottery but in working hard to reach your goals. And isn’t that strategy really at the heart of reaching the American Dream?
Jason Veduccio is a hard-working entrepreneur following his dreams, and he wants you to dream, too. Drawing on his experiences working with companies on marketing, technology, hiring, and workplace issues, his regular column will demystify the job search process and identify strategies for moving up the corporate ladder. Founder of In1Concepts, Jason also knows the ins and outs of launching a new business. He welcomes your questions and can be reached at jason@in1concepts.com.
