Career Change

With the Easter holiday, I decided to take some time off and explore Oxford, London and Amsterdam.  (You can follow the highlights of my travels on Facebook and Twitter.)  On the plane ride across the pond, I picked up a copy of USA Today.  In the midst of NCAA Basketball March Madness (of which I am a fan), I was immediately immersed in an article about Brad Stevens head coach of the Cinderella team Butler.  

Butler, a mid-major school located near Indianapolis where the championship game (versus Duke) will be played tonight was not predicted to go this far.  In fact, many have likened them to the fictional team in the movie Hoosiers.  However, in reading about their coach and his mid-career change, I'm not surprised this team has exhibited so much courage and had so much success.  Here's his story...

Coach Stevens played college basketball but chose a career in Marketing and was on the fast track with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.  (I once interviewed with Eli Lilly for a pharmaceutical rep position and found the firm to be invested in employee career development.)  For Stevens, who had been an economics major at DePauw University, it seemed he had it all - a great career at a great company.  

But sometimes things are not what they seem.  

Despite his success, Stevens "chucked all that" and took a job as an assistant coach at Butler in 2000. For those of you not familiar, assistant coaches don't usually make the salary of corporate marketers. But he followed his dream and after the departure of his two successors (who went on to coach at even bigger programs), Coach Stevens had the head coaching job at Butler in just three years.  Not only that, in those three years, he racked up the most wins by a Division I coach.

When you follow your dreams, success follows you. 

According to his players, it's Coach Stevens who keeps his team from getting rattled in close games (Butler got into the championship game with a 2 point victory).  "He leads. We follow." says Veasley, a key leader for the team on the court.  

Tonight, the Butler team will follow their coach into arguably the biggest game in college basketball against one of the best teams.  Whether they win or lose, Coach Stevens and his players have already achieved more than anyone thought possible.  Well not anyone.  I've seen people go further and farther when following their passion.  I'm sure he would have reached great heights in Marketing but now the sky's the limit for Brad Stevens.  Good luck Bulldogs!

To what heights would you like to go?  Share your dreams by commenting here.  By writing down your goals and ideas, you increase your chances of achieving them by three times.  You increase your chances by ten times when you share your dreams and goals out loud --call into my radio show this Friday at 4pm ET at 866-675-6675 and I'll be ready to listen.

(Photos courtesy of Digital Sports Daily and The New York Daily News respectively.)

Brian Kurth joins me today 4pm ET/1pm PT on my radio show Making a Living.  I'm excited to hear his tips on how to find your perfect mentor and have asked him to write a guest post.  Enjoy and here's to you getting the mentoring you need to have your dream job!...

Changing careers can be scary.  The unknown always generates anxiety, and the “what if’s” can be terrifying.  But, what if you had some help from someone who “had been there, done that” to guide you in the right direction?  What if you had a chance to “test drive” a new career before you take the leap?

At any age or current career level, figuring out what ‘you want to be when you grow up’ is a lot easier with the help of a mentor. I’ve seen an architect become a baker; an engineer become a country music songwriter; a marketing executive become a corporate humorist and financial services executives become winemakers and the list of examples goes on and on. Mentorship played an invaluable role in helping these people reinvent themselves and make educated, experienced-based decisions in the choice of a new career.  

So where are these mentors?  They are everywhere.  They are people who are passionate about what they do and eager to share their experience and insights.  Do your research, learn as much as you can about your dream career and the organizations and businesses in that field.  Then make some contacts.  You will be surprised how many people are open to talking with you about what they do, how they do it, and why they do it.  

For example, Jeff Harvey, a recent client of mine, was a stockbroker who wanted to find an encore career that would allow him to “give back” as a social entrepreneur and angel investor.  Specifically, he wanted to help in finding a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disease from which his grandson suffers.  But where do you start with such a lofty goal? 

Jeff did the research to find expert mentors in the field.  He met with angel investors to pick their brains and also discovered Dr. Fred Sachs who was doing research in finding a cure for this disease by using tarantula venom (for real!) at The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. The two connected….Jeff found his mentor, who ultimately also became his business partner.  

Today, Jeff meets weekly with Dr. Sachs and his team.  Using his background in finance, he has helped the group form a company called Rose Pharmaceuticals, and they have started clinical trials.  His dream of becoming an angel investor in a social entrepreneurial firm has been realized.

In my opinion, mentorship is at the core to career transitioning.  It allows for an incremental, in-depth, hands-on, ‘test the water’ approach to first discovering what you want to do and then finding out if the water is too hot, too cold or just right. You probably wouldn’t buy something as important as a car without checking it out first….how does it drive, what are owners saying about their car?  Right?  

So, if you are looking to change careers, invest the time to check out what kind of features, both good and bad, a new career offers by test driving it with an expert behind the wheel to show you how to take the curves and arrive safely.   

Make 2010 the year of your personal and professional test-drive.  Get ready to be in the fast lane for career transition.

Brian Kurth is the author of Test-Drive Your Dream Job – A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding and Creating the Work You Love (Hachette 2008) and is the founder of the career consultancy and mentor recruitment firm, Brian Kurth + Company, and VocationVacations.

(Photo compliments of Inno'vision.) 

Do you crave more meaning in your career?  Is it time you had more control over your schedule?  Want to work in a growing industry? 

You are not alone.

According to a recent article in More magazine's November Issue, 98% of women over 40 surveyed wanted to feel as if they were contributing positively through their careers.  73% wanted a flexible schedule and 89% wanted to work in an industry with a bright future.

If you're not happy, perhaps its time you considered a career change.  Start by thinking about what you would do if you could easily make a change.  Are you interested in green careers, technology, philanthropy or another field?  Are you open to building new skills or leveraging the ones you have?  If money weren't an issue, what would motivate you to get out of bed in the morning - helping others, completing projects, improving the environment?

This kind of Soul Search is the first step in contemplating a career change.  Once you're clear on what you'd love to do with your skills and talents, you can research careers that fit.  The More article highlights 10 of the best jobs for women over forty including salary information, skill/education requirements and specific organizations looking to hire.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Community Service Coordinator/Program Director.  Make a living making a difference with this field expected to grow 48% by 2016.  The top 10% make over $96K/year.
• Environmental Scientist.  For those with a passion for protecting the planet's ecosystems, this career requires a master's degree and the chance to work both in the office and out in the field, literally.
• Small-Scale Niche Farmer.  If you prefer on-the-job training and working outside, being part of the healthy, local food movement may be for you.  Small farms are growing at a rate of 10,000 per year and most earn from $26K to $76K/year. 

"Career changers tend to shoot up the ladder, their passion turns quickly into promotions - and an increase in pay" according to Amelia Warren Tyagi, who places senior talent and was quoted for the article.  

I couldn't agree more (no pun intended).  I experienced just that when I changed careers from business consulting to career development and training.  Think you have to start over?  Think again.  Experienced workers have skills and experience that transfer and their passion shows in their performance.

Check out the November issue of More magazine and let me know which of the 10 Best Jobs For Women Over 40 appeals to you.  I'd love to hear where you're going next!  If you have career questions, call into my radio show, Making a Living with Maggie, this Wednesday at 4pm EST SIRIUS 112/XM 157. Listen in for FREE to financial expert Jean Chatzky (who also has a column in More) live on my show this week, sharing tips from her best-selling book, Pay It Down: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day!

Change always comes bearing gifts.  ~Price Pritchett

What's your reaction when you hear, "things are going to change"?  

Do you feel fear and anxiety? Or do you get a sense of excitement and optimism?  For many, change is viewed with concern and worry.  What will I lose? is often the first thought.  And yes, change does lead to some loss.  I should know. I lost my first job due to a massive change in the accounting industry when my employer Arthur Andersen went under with the Enron debacle.  

In the media at the time, we heard all about the loss - how 80,000 people in 90 countries lost their jobs and how the faith in one firm was lost forever.  There is another part to the story however that you didn't hear -how much was gained through this change.  

For me, the end of Andersen forced me to deal with a career I wasn't happy with.  It was a turning point for me, one that led me to the career coaching and radio hosting that I do (and love) today.  And I'm not alone in this experience.  Many of my Andersen colleagues have changed careers.  

It's not just Andersen either.  I've been working with a corporate client recently who wants their people to see the opportunities in an upcoming merger.  Over the last few months I've been coaching each team member to see how this change could be a blessing in disguise.  Yes, it's still a challenge to say goodbye to each other yet at the same time, it's exciting to explore new career paths and opportunities both within and outside the merged company.    

Change is the one constant we can count on in our careers.  The key is not to fear change but to leverage it to move your career forward.  Tomorrow, I'll be speaking to a group of Columbia University alumns about How to Successfully Navigate Corporate Change.  If you're in that group, sign up here! 

I'll also be sharing tips and ideas on leveraging change on my radio show "Making a Living with Maggie" today at 4pm EST/1pm PST on SIRIUS 112/XM 157.  Call in at 866-675-6675 and share your reactions to change and what concerns, fears are holding you back from moving forward.  Share your comments and career change successes here too.  I welcome your input and know that whatever change comes along together we can handle it!

 (Photo courtesy of Flickr)

When times are uncertain, it can feel safest to hunker down and wait out the storm. It's an approach many are taking, just being thankful for having a job at all. My concern with this approach are the missed opportunities. People who were never really happy in their careers to begin with, are now settling for a less than rewarding career path.

Perhaps its time to take a different approach. Perhaps it's time to see opportunity in change. In my webinar earlier this week, this was the central message and for my clients, many are now seeing this as the perfect time to reinvent themselves and their careers.