Take the thing.
Turn it round.
This way.
Then that.
Clear your mind.
See it.
Notice.
Breathe.
Allow it to transform before your eyes.
Into Something.
Something else.
Something new.
Something magical.
That changes everything
For the good.
Inventing Your Career
October 16, 2011 By 1 Comment
It started with the phone book.
My father was visiting this week and asked, “Do you have a phone book?”
A phone book? No, I don’t have a phone book. No white pages, no yellow pages. Not one phone book in the house, I realized.
We both laughed when, with sudden awareness, I blurted, “No. No, I don’t.”
And that’s the difference, isn’t it? My father’s generation relies on the familiarity of the phone book – you pick a real thing up, you find what you want, you put it down and if it’s not in there, well, it probably doesn’t exist. While my children’s generation relies on Google – which gives them nearly unlimited access to information and ideas from sources all around the world.
The phone book metaphor explains how differently people are managing careers today.
During this same visit, my 18-year old son was sharing the details of his job with his grandfather. “Basically,” he said, “I figured out what I wanted to do, and then got someone to pay me to do it.” With a smile, he added, “I invented my career, because it didn’t exist before.”
My son is the community manager for a large online community. How large? +900,000 unique members. He has 20 people around the world who report to him, and he’s never met one of them in person. (Ask him someday about who he hires, and why he fires – fascinating.) He also built the computer servers which support the community. And how did he get the job? He went to the founders of the community and said, “I can grow your fan base.” And they said, “Go ahead, kid.”
And he did. And they pay him for it.
Google way: Create a job out of thin air by recognizing a need and offering to fill it.
Phone book way: Expect the organization to recognize the need, craft a job description, post the job, read hundreds of resumes, interview a dozen candidates, craft an offer, negotiate the deal and fill the job.
Which is more agile?
We are at a real pivot point, friends, when it comes to employment.
What I’m seeing, after working with hundreds of people this year, is a shifting away from the idea of one job, one employer, one career, toward a variety of simultaneous efforts that leverage strengths and interests.
It’s the school teacher who works half-time teaching a specialty class like Latin, coaches an elite, competitive youth sports team, and contentedly throws pottery which she sells at a gallery downtown.
It’s the nurse who also leads a boot camp program and happily works as a personal trainer.
It’s the consultant, working on her own, who has five great clients and generates more income than she ever made on salary.
It’s me. I mean, 25 years ago could you imagine anyone having the job I have?
It’s the kid who creates his own job by making a powerful offer to solve the problem he’s observed.
Of course, if you are totally phone book oriented, this intangible Google-esque approach might make you feel rather queasy. I mean, isn’t it kind of weird to not have a job-job? Where’s the belongingness? The team? Where’s the stability?
I guess you could ask the same thing of the 30,000 folks Bank of America has announced it intends to lay off.
We’re at a pivot point when many of us – even those who are currently working for one employer – will, in the not too distant future, have to redefine what it means to work.
And it’s going to feel weird, and awkward.
Like when you realize you no longer limited to what’s in the phone book, but have all the resources of Google at your fingertips.
I’m going to tell you one thing. I know for certain that when you invent your own career, you consciously choose to leverage your own talents, your own skills, your own preferences – rather than contorting yourself to fit into a narrow job description of someone else’s design.
When you invent your own career, you offer your best self to solve the problems of people – whoever they may be and however many of them you happen to choose to serve, anywhere in the world.
That, my friend, is you as Google.
How To Get A Job – 3 Stories
October 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Three stories. All told last week. Three different people. Three job opportunities.
Only one gets the position.
Read on.
Sophie went into her interview full of confidence. Piece of cake. She was highly qualified, and met the job description perfectly. Her interviewer – an older woman. Another piece of cake. Sophie leaned back, relaxed and prepared to ace the interview.
Then a question came – a tough question – and Sophie wasn’t prepared. She assumed this older lady was going to be an easy touch. Sophie stammered. Sophie couldn’t find the right words. Sophie felt flummoxed.
She went from leaning back to leaning forward. Heart racing. Bombing it.
She did not get the job.
Janice went into her interview a little panicked. Panic that had started two and a half years ago when she lost her job. And immediately went on a large contract that ended up getting pulled. And then tried consulting. But couldn’t generate any work. She feels like the last couple of years have been all about failure after failure. Plus, she has the kids, and then there’s her husband, and they all have their demands on her time. She really thinks they would prefer her to stay home and take care of them all day. And, frankly, a part of her would like that, too.
But women who don’t work – who are they? And is it really reasonable to ask her husband to shoulder all the expenses? Especially in this economy.
So Janice went into the interview conflicted. And the energy she gave off to the interviewer was confusing. Did she want the job, or not? Because Janice asked few questions, and never really talked about her own strengths and capacity. She mostly sat there, looking nervous.
She did not get the job.
Kate didn’t have a job interview this week, but she got a new job.
How?
Kate had explored how she could be happier in her work. She analyzed who she enjoyed working with, and what kind of work energized her. Then, she identified people and organizations she’d like to work with, and developed a pitch about how she could specifically help them – how she could do what’s not getting done, and do it efficiently.
And then at a meeting already scheduled with one of her target companies – a client of hers – she said, “What if I joined your team and took care of this for you?” Eyes lit up. Hands were shaken.
And she had the job.
What do these stories tell you?
They tell me that not only has the economy changed, but so has hiring. No longer are organizations hiring warm bodies because the plan says there are six people in that department and we only have five. Today, organizations hire because they are in pain. Something’s not getting done. Something important, that affects the bottom line. And the maxed out people currently in the department are already doing the work of three people. Each.
So someone gets hired. One someone.
Someone who makes a good case for himself. Someone who has good energy. Someone who is not afraid to take a little risk to get what they want.
This is the way people are getting hired. These are the new rules.
If you are looking for work, check yourself. Are you playing by the old rules, or the new ones?
Planting Seeds
July 10, 2011 By 4 Comments
Take a seed.
Put it in some dirt. Maybe add some compost.
Now, water it.
Then, do the hardest part: walk away.
I mean it, walk away.
Because if you worry whether the seeds are germinating, doubt whether they’re growing – pull them up to check the progress? You’ll kill the plant.
Growing things calls for patience.
Even if it’s growing your career, your business, your practice, your network. Your love life, your family, your friendships. Whatever you’re growing, you need patience, baby.
And you need to plant seeds. Every single day.
Plant plenty, because we all know that some seeds will not grow. Too much water, too much sun, not enough water, not enough sun – there are many reasons seeds don’t take root.
But you can’t take it personally. Just plant so many seeds that a few duds won’t make any difference.
Just keep planting, even in the most unlikely places.
Because some seeds can thrive in an improbable inch of dirt in a random crack in the sidewalk.
Want a new job as a lawyer? Talk to your periodontist.
Want to meet a new person? Ask the yoga instructor.
Need to meet someone at XYZ, Inc.? You’d be surprised to know that the softball coach’s younger brother is the CEO there.
Plant those seeds and water them with generosity and genuine kindness.
Let them develop roots.
Let them flourish and grow.
And when it’s time to harvest, you will have a bumper crop.
Obsessed?
May 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Back in the ’80s, a synth-pop-spiky-hair kinda band released a song called “Obsession”. Watch the video – it’s a hoot. The refrain went like this:
You are an obsession, you’re my obsession
Who do you want me to be to make you sleep with me?
Sometimes I blurt out this lyric when working with clients about their career – hey, it makes sense in the moment! – and ask them, “Who are you trying to be so you’ll be accepted? How are you contorting yourself to get approval?”
Believe it or not, this is often a very fruitful discussion.
Because so many people are obsessed with their jobs, and will do anything – anything! – to stay in them. Especially, (I am going to use the dreaded phrase) “in this economy”.
But obsession is obsession and implies a certain single-minded focus which is not always healthy. Kinda stalker-ish, if you want to know the truth. And when you’re obsessed, your judgment might not be clear. You might make compromising decisions.
You might put your integrity on the shelf in pursuit of your preoccupation.
You might forget who you are as you bend yourself to someone else’s desires.
You lose yourself.
“Michele, it’s hard to get a job out there,” you say. And I know it is. But one of the central tenets of a real career strategy is to be yourself.
Hard as that may be.
And if you attract a job while not being yourself, it’s probably not going to be that satisfying. Like a meaningless hook-up at an ’80s dance club.
Know your strengths. Understand your values. Serve your priorities. Say “yes” when you mean “yes”, and “no” when you mean “no.” Honor your integrity.
And when you do, you will take the right job, and keep the right job.
You will excel. On your terms.
Which is the best possible outcome of a career strategy.
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