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Your #Career : This Is How To #ChangeCareer Without Spiraling Into The Unknown…Visionary Designer Albert Lee has a Method he calls “Flooring the Downside” to help him Navigate the Uncertainty of making Big Changes.

January 4, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Our careers have a momentum to them that is self-perpetuating. But what happens when we take dramatically different paths? How do you do it without risking it all or starting from zero?

The ability to make these dramatic nonlinear moves is a defining characteristic of many careers of Fast Company‘s Most Creative People In Business, from Genevieve Bell (Most Creative 2009), an anthropologist in a room full of technologists, to Albert Lee (Most Creative 2014), an architect and designer in a room full of investors.

The career paths of these individuals can seem out of reach to most of us because when we read about them, we don’t hear the practical not-talked-about ways people deal with the fears of failing, losing security, and spiraling into the unknown when making nonlinear moves–until now.

Lee is a soft-spoken individual who has become a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser for some of the fastest growing startups in Silicon Valley. His nonlinear career has taken him from summers working at Alice Waters’s restaurant Chez Panisse to apprenticing as an architect at Frank Gehry’s Studio. Early in his career, a mentor told him to “always do the other thing in the room,” and he has taken that to heart.

When Lee reached a moment of stasis, he would shift. He left the architecture world to become an art director at a design agency, and from there, to business school, where he was the sole designer in a room full of executives. Lee’s actions seem to have a sense of gravity, but he wasn’t always like this. To feel comfortable going against the grain, he uses a technique he calls “flooring his downside.”

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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“Flooring the downside” means writing a story that explains failing and returning to what you were doing before you even consider making the transition. These stories prevent you from imagining the bottomless failure that awaits if the transition doesn’t go smoothly.

There are three specific types of stories that you can craft that will not only put a “floor underneath your risk,” but will help propel you forward in your career, even if you return from a nonlinear transition within the first few months.

FIGURE OUT WHAT QUESTION YOU NEED TO ANSWER

Before you take a new path, ask yourself, What question you are trying to answer by taking this new path? In your story, explain how you were able to answer that question as a result of your nonlinear experience. How are those new answers going to help you do your old job in a better way? Answering and pursuing a question expresses a directionality to your career trajectory that people respect, envy, and see as a marker of success, regardless of now nonlinear it may be.

IMAGINE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE LOOKING BACK

The learning story grounds your career in a continual pursuit instead of a series of endpoints that can be compared to each other. Imagine yourself in the future looking back on your experience—what has changed? What have you learned? People spend tens of thousands of dollars on formal educational opportunities and thus understand the value of being paid to learn will be easy to understand. Regrounding your story in terms of learning gives you more power when coming back to renegotiate in your old industry in the same way a person who gets a graduate degree returns to a promotion.

EMBRACE BEING THE OTHER

It takes a certain level of mastery in both fields to confidently embrace being the Other. If your nonlinear stint was too short, don’t fake it; instead, concentrate on telling the other types of stories above. As the Other in the room, you have the opportunity to either be a translator or a synthesizer of ideas.

A translator is responsible for sharing perspectives and views that are a given in one world in a way that is accessible to another, while a synthesizer’s primary goal is to combine perspectives in fresh ways informed by different bodies of knowledge. Being aware of which way of thinking is needed will help you find a unique voice you can confidently own.

Dev Aujla is the creator of 50waystogetajob.com and author of the upcoming book 50 Ways to Get a Job: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Work on Your Terms due out in April. He is the director of talent for Juxtapose, an early-stage venture fund based in New York City.

FastCompany.com | January 4, 2018 | Dev Aujla

Your #Career : 7 Things That Will Destroy Your Career… Most People Kill their Careers in Subtle, Decidedly Undramatic Ways. And It’s a Shame Because it Happens All the Time.

December 7, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

There are so many things that can kill the careers of good, hard-working people. Honest mistakes often carry hard-hitting consequences.

Most people kill their careers in subtle, decidedly undramatic ways. And it’s a shame because it happens all the time.

A recent survey by VitalSmarts found that 83% of people had seen someone make a blunder that had catastrophic results for their career, reputation, or business, and 69% admitted that they themselves had done something that had damaged their careers:

• 31% said it cost them a promotion, a raise, or even a job

• 27% said it damaged a working relationship

• 11% said it destroyed their reputation

These numbers show how damaging you can be to your own career if you’re not careful. There doesn’t have to be a single, sickening moment when you realize that you just shoved your foot firmly in your mouth, either. Little things can add up over time and undermine your career just as much as (or more than) one huge lapse in judgment. The good news is that if you stay aware of them, these are all things that you can control before they creep up on you and kill your career.

1. Playing politics. Working hard to build strong work relationships is very different from instigating conflict, choosing sides, undermining colleagues, spreading rumors, and all of the other things that fall under the umbrella of “playing politics.” Again, it comes down to authenticity. If you find yourself sneaking around or if you’re embarrassed if some of your behind-the-scenes manipulations come to light, that’s politics. Stick to strategies you’d be proud to discuss in front of your colleagues.

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2. Over-promising and under-delivering. It’s tempting to promise the moon to your colleagues and your clients, especially when you’re honest and hardworking and believe that you can do it. The problem is that there’s no point in creating additional pressure that can make you look bad. If you promise to do something ridiculously fast and you miss the deadline by a little bit, you’ll likely think that you did a good job because you still delivered quickly.

But the moment you promise something to someone, they expect nothing less. You end up looking terrible when you fall short, which is a shame, because you could have done the same quality work in the same amount of time with great results if you’d just set up realistic expectations from the beginning. This is one of those situations where perception matters more than reality. Don’t deliberately undershoot your goals; just be realistic about the results you can deliver so that you’re certain to create expectations that you will blow out of the water.

3. Complacency. How long has it been since you proactively learned a new skill, reached out to your networking contacts, or even polished up your resume? If you can’t remember, you might have become a bit complacent, and complacency is a real career killer. It’s what happens when you’re just along for the ride and assume that nothing will ever change. But we’ve seen enough disruption—technological and otherwise—over the last few years to realize that change is inevitable. If you’re always too busy to learn something new or to expand your network, you’ve got your priorities mixed up. However, if you make continuous growth and development a priority, you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way.

4. Fear of change. Fear of change is complacency’s evil twin. It actively works to keep things the same. I’m sure you’ve seen this one first hand at work when someone uttered the dreaded words, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Things are changing too fast these days to latch on so tightly to the status quo, and the costs of doing so can be huge.

In one survey, 91% of respondents said that the most successful employees are the ones who can adapt to the changing workplace. Change is a constant part of our lives, both personally and professionally. It doesn’t matter whether you think things should change or whether you prefer the old ways—change just is. You don’t have to learn to love it, but you do have to learn to stop resisting it and to start adapting to it.

5. Having an inflatable ego. Did you ever work with someone who had a string of successes and started thinking that they were the be-all and end-all of superstardom? Success is great. It definitely boosts your career, and it feels really, really good. The problems start once you let it go to your head. You start thinking that success is going to last forever and that you’re entitled to it. Never, ever be content with resting on your laurels. Once you start thinking that you’re the cat’s meow, you’re setting yourself up for very painful failure.

6. Low emotional intelligence (EQ). Everyone knows that you can get fired for being unable or unwilling to play nicely with others, but what trips up a lot of people is having a poorly developed poker face. If everyone can tell when you’re bored or irritated or that you think something a colleague says is stupid, this will catch up with you. Emotional outbursts, belittling others, shutting co-workers down when they speak, low self-awareness, and just generally being difficult are other ways that a lack of emotional intelligence will do great harm to your career.

7. Sucking up to your boss. Some people suck up to their boss and call it managing up, but that isn’t the case at all. Sucking up has nothing to do with a real relationship built on respect; it is sneaky and underhanded. Suck-ups try to get ahead by stroking the boss’s ego instead of earning his or her favor. That doesn’t go over well with colleagues who are trying to make it on merit. Yes, you want to bolster your relationship with your boss, but not by undermining your colleagues. That’s the key distinction here. For a boss-employee relationship to work, it has to be based on authenticity. There’s no substitute for merit.

Bringing It All Together

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can only damage their careers by making one huge misstep, but the reality is that it’s usually not that dramatic.

Have you seen people killing their careers? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

Forbes.com | December 6, 2016 | Travis Bradberry

Your #Career : 20 Signs That You Should Quit Your Job (Infographic)..If You can Relate to Many of These Signs, It’s Time to Rethink Your 9 to 5.

October 25, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

For most of us, we spend at least 40 hours a week at our jobs. That’s a lot of time. So if you’re not feeling passionate about the work you’re doing or notice you’re not growing professional, maybe it’s time to rethink your nine to five.

Your career should be a path to success, so sharing the same goals andvalues of your employer is vital. Being bored, overly stressed and/or burnt out are clear indicators that it’s time to say bye-bye to your current job.

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To truly tell if it’s time to resign, listen to your gut. That instinctive feeling will let you know if you should be looking for other opportunities.

Entrepreneur.com | October 23, 2016 | Rose Leadem

Your #Career : This Is How to Manage Your Career Like a CEO…The Best Way to Keep your Career Moving Forward on your Own Terms is to Be Self-Aware, Know your Limitations, and Don’t Be your Own Worst Enemy. Come to Think of It, those are Good Words to Live By.

August 31, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Remember why you groom your own career in the first place: so you’re never the victim of an incompetent boss or a dysfunctional company. Becoming incompetent yourself would be the ultimate irony. Don’t succumb to the Peter Principle.

One of the most visible signs of a failing business is a talent exodus. We’ve seen it at Yahoo, Twitter, HP, Blackberry and a host of other embattled companies. But attrition among top performers is not just a harbinger of pending disaster; it can also be an early sign of dysfunctional leadership.

Rising stars who really push the envelope, and their careers, are usually the first to notice that their herculean efforts are neither being rewarded nor benefitting the company as they should. Since they’re on a fast track to the top, they’re the first to jump ship.

The unfortunate result is that mediocre employees are left behind, accelerating the company’s deterioration and ultimate demise. I’ve seen it happen time and again in companies big and small, but after the first time, I learned my lesson.

I was once an up-and-comer myself — a promising young engineer at a technology giant that had become overly bureaucratic under a dysfunctional chairman and CEO duo that, left unchecked, would eventually have run the age-old company into the ground.

One day Hal, a friend and coworker, told me he was quitting. I was floored. Hal was one of the best, a real talent. I wasn’t as surprised that he was leaving as I was that the company was letting him go. When I asked him about it, Hal said they wouldn’t promote him fast enough, so he was going somewhere that would.

That hit me hard. Like Hal, I had been identified as a candidate for management. If the company’s bureaucratic HR processes were holding him back, they would hold me back too. That’s exactly what happened. The following year, I was out the door, vowing never to let incompetent bosses stand between me and the top.

Jumping around from company to company was sort of frowned upon back-in-the-day, but I didn’t care. I made risky bets on high-flying startups and took flyers on high-growth tech companies. I never jumped the gun before the writing was on the wall, with one exception we’ll get to in a minute.

That methodology paid off big-time. Less than a decade after leaving that first company, I was the marketing VP at a mid-sized public company with an IPO under my belt and a bright future ahead of me. Thirteen years ago, I co-founded a Silicon Valley-based management consulting firm and that’s where I’ve been ever since.

Today, ruling your own destiny and making every opportunity count is the norm for career-minded individuals, as it should be. But there are some lessons I learned along the way that I’m sure will enhance your journey, as they did mine.

Think of every job as a business.

Jobs are like product businesses. When a product is hot, you want to maximize profit margins and return-on-investment. But before it goes south, you want to make sure you’ve got the next one ready in the pipeline. Think of companies you work for the same way. Before it was popular, I was always networking and interviewing.

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Be professional about it.

The most important asset you have is your reputation. Remember, it’s always in your and your company’s best interest to give it your all and do great work while you’re there. And be discrete. No boss ever had a clue that I was leaving until I was ready to go on good terms. And there was never a drop-off in performance, either.

Don’t let mistakes get you down.

I once got antsy and left a sweet SVP position to be CEO of an ill-fated startup. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but I left too soon and it cost me seven figures when the former company went public. I think my wife’s still a little PO’ed, but I made peace with it years ago. You’re going to make some bad calls; it comes with the territory. Learn from them and don’t make them twice.

Beware the Peter Principle.

Remember why you groom your own career in the first place: so you’re never the victim of an incompetent boss or a dysfunctional company. Becoming incompetent yourself would be the ultimate irony. Don’t succumb to the Peter Principle.

The best way to keep your career moving forward on your own terms is to be self-aware, know your limitations, and don’t be your own worst enemy. Come to think of it, those are good words to live by.

Entrepreneur.com | August 31, 2016 | Steve Tobak – Author and Managing Partner, Invisor Consulting

Your #Career : 7 Jobs Paying $100k/Year That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of…As Jobs have Become Scarcer and Harder to Find, People are Getting More and More Creative in their Career Pursuits.

July 23, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Everyone’s trying to figure out how to make a living. Often, that means working awful, low-paying jobs (or two, or three) in order to put a roof over your head, and food on the table. But jobs come in all shapes and sizes, and if you’re willing to do the gross, the difficult, or the downright stupefying, there are high paying jobs out there, ripe for the picking.

As jobs have become scarcer and harder to find, people are getting more and more creative in their career pursuits. That means jobs are being created where none or few existed before, and many people are eschewing traditional employment arrangements to make a career freelancing or starting their own small businesses. Thesecan be high paying jobs in their own right, but there are still ways people are making upward of six figures doing things that very few people realize were even out there.

Unusual, but high paying jobs

As for those strange, unorthodox jobs, there are plenty out there. You just need to know where to look, and perhaps to be willing to do some things that other people aren’t. Perhaps you’d be willing to get some close, personal contact with lonely people? Or put your life on the line as a human bomb detector? Hell, you can even make a decent living diving in and out of ponds on golf courses. There are a lot of opportunities out there if you know where to look.

Here are a handful of high paying jobs that you may not have even realized existed.

1. Professional snugglers

Happy couple snuggling on a bed

Happy couple snuggling on a bed | Source: iStock

Willing to sell your body, but not willing to go for all-out prostitution? Well, you can get into the professional snuggling game and pull a pretty good salary. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll make six-figures, but there are apparently an awful lot of lonely people out there who will shell out big bucks for a little human contact. As far as high paying jobs go, it can get a lot more difficult.

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2. Personal shopper

A personal shopper at work

personal shopper at work | Source: iStock

Perhaps you’ve heard of personal shoppers, but in all likelihood, you probably haven’t spent any time actually considering hiring one. But it’s an actual profession, and some personal shoppers can pull in more than $100,000 annually from their clients. Essentially, you’re paid to shop — tracking down and finding anything and everything your client needs, so they don’t have to.

3. Hand model

Hands on display at a Hairdressing Exhibition held at Olympia, London

Hands on display at a Hairdressing Exhibition held at Olympia, London | Fox Photos/Getty Images

George Costanza had “exquisite hands,” and if you yourself have some exquisite body part, you can put them to use as a model. The world needs body part models, in the same way it needs bikini models. Wrist watches and shoes don’t sell themselves, after all. In fashion hot spots like London, New York, and Los Angeles, you can make a decent living if you’ve got the parts.

4. Golf ball retrieval

Couple preparing for another round of golf

Couple preparing for another round of golf | Source: iStock

Golf is expensive, and running a golf course isn’t cheap either. So, how do you get all those golf balls back from the driving range and fairways that end up in the water? You’ve got to pay someone to go after them, and if you’re up to do the job, you can actually make a very good living. Check with your local course to inquire about their needs for ball retrievers.

5. Bomb detector

Metro Transit Police Special Response Team member patrols the Metro Center station with Sabre, an explosives detection dog

Metro Transit Police Special Response Team member patrols the Metro Center station with Sabre, an explosives detection dog | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Someone has to sniff out potential threats in public places or conflict zones — like bombs. And if you’re willing to do it, you can make upwards of six-figures. If you’re serious about becoming a bomb detection specialist, you can look at opportunities with local police departments (typically in bigger cities), the military, and government agencies like the FBI.

6. Ufologist

Amateur ufologists point out a UFO's flight path

Amateur ufologists point out a UFO’s flight path | Hector Mata/AFP/Getty Images

Nobody’s going to pay you to go out and stare at the sky, looking for flying saucers. But if you can manage to make a serious career in other areas — engineering, aerospace technologies, astrophysics, etc. — people may start listening to your theories, and you will be able to command speaking fees, or sell some books. There are famous scientists out there who have done it, and have become some of the world’s foremost ufologists.

7. Adventurer

Indiana Jones | Paramount

Indiana Jones | Source: Paramount

Want to be a real-life adventurer, in the vein of Indiana Jones? People manage to turn their passions for exploration and archaeology into careers, many earning quite a bit of money. A common way to become a professional adventurer is to start leading expeditions, or work as an academic with access to grant money to get out and explore the world. It’s not easy, but people do it.

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CheatSheet.com | July 23, 2016 | Sam Becker

Your #Career : 5 Signs That Your Job is Wrong for You…You were Excited to Get the Job but Now you’re Miserable & Dread Monday Mornings. What Happened?

July 3, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It’s possible you could simply be working at a job that’s a bad fit. Maybe you didn’t realize this was the wrong job for you, or maybe you didn’t care because you were desperate for work, but there comes a time when you need to decide whether it makes sense to stay.

Here are five ways to know you’re in the wrong job.

1. You’re undervalued

If you haven’t received a merit raise or promotion (or at the very least, acknowledgement of your hard work) and you’ve been with the company for a while, you should evaluate whether it is time to take your skills and talent elsewhere. If you feel undervalued by your employer, you’re not alone. Roughly half of employees say they feel undervalued at work, according to the American Psychological Association. Good work should be acknowledged and rewarded. You can start by having a discussion with your boss to see if there are any areas that need to be improved. However, if you have already had this meeting and you have successfully met your target, you may want to consider moving on.

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2. There’s a values clash

If you don’t agree with the mission of the company or there are ethical issues, it’s time to reevaluate your work situation. If there are practices at your company that don’t align with your moral values, it’s time to go. KateWendleton, founder of The Five O’Clock Club, says when your values are not symmetrical with your co-workers or managers (for example, there is illegal activity occurring on a regular basis), this is a clear sign you need to leave.

“[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][You should leave if] your values don’t match. The people you work with are uncouth, dishonest, focused on getting ahead regardless of legal or moral barriers. They win by cheating,” said Wendleton.

3. You’re not good at your job

Are you doing a job that’s not a good match for your skills simply because you’re trying to pay the bills? One way to tell your job is a poor fit is if it takes you a very long time to complete tasks and you dread every assignment. The job just doesn’t come naturally to you and takes significant effort. Perhaps you were promoted too soon or you were hired for a position you knew was a bad match. Regardless of how you got where you are, it will only be a matter of time before you make a mistake that’s impossible to recover from. Get out now before the decision to leave is made for you.

“Perhaps you’ll realize [your boss] pointing out things in your work that you can/should change, and you can work on changing them. If this happens, let [your boss] know. Otherwise, you’ll realize [he or she] is pointing out things you can’t easily change (or don’t particularly want to change). If this is the case, the best thing you can do is to start looking for other work,” said Alison Green, management expert and author of the Ask a Manager blog.

4. Your career has stalled

If you have reached a point where there is nowhere else to move but out, you should start dusting off that resume. Perhaps your colleagues plan to stay in their current roles until they die or your company is structured in such a way that there are very few opportunities to be promoted. Either way, time to start looking.

“Careers can stall when your company does not have a position for you to grow into. There’s a ‘blocker’ above you—usually your boss—who’s doing a fine job and has no plans to retire, change industries, or move to Toledo…The main culprit is lack of growth; your company, industry, or the economy overall is in a hard place, standing still, or even contracting. In such situations, opportunities for upward mobility are necessarily hard to come by…. If you’re in a blocker situation, you really only have one choice, and it’s to decide how long you’re willing to endure stasis, and we mean, decide. Put an expiration date on your patience. ‘If something doesn’t change within a year, I’m putting out feelers, and within two years, I’m out of here,’ you might conclude,” said Jack Welch, executive chairman of Jack Welch Management Institute.

5. Your work-life balance is nonexistent

If all you do is work, go home, shower, and then do it all over again, it’s time to make a change. Jobs require a certain amount of dedication, but things are out of hand if you’re constantly working and rarely take a vacation despite efforts to bring some balance to your life.

“When your entire life revolves around your job and your work troubles start to follow you home, you have a problem. If you’re overdoing it, you might lose yourself along the way,” said career expert Arthur Joyce.

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CheatSheet.com | July 3, 2016 | Sheiresa Ngo

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Your #Career : Job Stability? 5 Types of Employees That Companies Don’t Want Anymore…Are you a Hard Worker? Are you Loyal? That’s Great, But those Attributes Don’t Necessarily Mean you’ll Stay Employed (or Even Get a New Job).

May 4, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

In the modern work world, it takes more than just proving you’ll stay put; you have to actually prove your worth to your employer. Know that there are certain types of employees companies don’t value as much as before. If you’re one of these types of workers, beware, you may have a hard time getting ahead.

Here are five types of employees companies don’t want anymore.

1. The flat liner

When you first started working for your company you had plenty of goals and fresh ideas. Now, all you want to do is get your check and go home. You’re either suffering from burnout, tired, or just don’t care anymore. It’s time to start caring. If you don’t get some motivation and develop ways to contribute to the company, your employer may eventually show you the door. Management expert Jeff Schmitt said this type of employee has simply stopped trying to learn. “We’ve all worked with them. They’re just there, biding their time and collecting a check. No goals. No plan. No purpose. Years ago, they were among the young Turks who begged for more responsibility. Now, they’ve mentally checked out…No, they’re not introverts who mask their passions. They’re simply employees who quit learning and getting better,” said Schmitt.

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2. The martyr

This is the opposite of the flat liner. You would do anything for the benefit of your employer. No request is too much. The word “no” never leaves your lips. Work every weekend for the next five weeks? No problem. Miss the birth of your first child? You got it. Years ago employers loved this level of dedication, but that’s not the case anymore. That’s because the martyr is a potential liability. You’re just one sleepless night away from making a critical error. This is why cloud communication company GetVOIP said this type of employee is actually toxic to the work environment. “The polar opposite of the slacker may seem like an employer’s dream, but a worker who insists on doing everything themselves can cause their own serious set of problems … They may have control issues, or may be working too hard to prove themselves, but they bring an imbalance to the team, foster unrest in the ranks, and are at risk of burnout,” said GetVOIP contributor Reuben Yonatan.

3. The ghost

You lack visibility and you like it that way. Your goal is to fly under the radar: Come to work, finish your projects, and go home. Your desire is to avoid conflict so you can hang on another day. The problem is, being invisible doesn’t work for very long. Being a ghost won’t protect you, it may actually hurt you in the long-run because no one will know what skills you bring to the table. Don’t let your fears of getting let go cause you to hide. Your employer won’t have the time to figure out your value when it’s time for layoffs. What’s even worse is you may be confused for a slacker. Management expert Patty Azzarello said avoiding visibility is a bad idea.

I find that very often when people take this position, they believe that they are on the high ground—that they are somehow morally superior to those who are more visible. And that being visible is, by definition, a shallow, self-serving endeavor. There are three issues with this:
1. If you choose to “fly under the radar,” don’t be confused or upset when you get passed over for raises and promotions. This was your strategy— to make sure no one knows you are there!
2. You are missing the opportunity to do better, more effective, more valuable work, if you don’t connect with others to increase your access to knowledge, experience and learning from others.
3. You are withholding value from the company by not sharing what you have learned with others. There is nothing political about communicating things of value and sharing knowledge. And when you do this, guess what?—you are no longer invisible!

4. The lifer

This type of employee is rare, but they still exist. If you’re one of them, it’s time to change up your plan. Staying with a company for a while can be good, but not if your career has stalled and you don’t have any plans to make a significant contribution. Companies want more than dedication, they want results. Years ago, loyalty was rewarded, but things have changed. So if you’re looking for a pat on the back for coming to work every day, you’ll be waiting for a very long time. So stop counting your perfect attendance for the last 10 years as major accomplishment.

Andrew G. Rosen, founder of career site Jobacle, said being a lifer can lead to complacency. “This can sneak up on you like the flu in the summer … Every season, you should reflect on your job and think about how a hiring agent will perceive your tenure. Are you becoming the lifer you promised you’d never be? If the work no longer excites you and the company is not willing to invest in you, it’s time to find an organization that will,” said Rosen. So if you’re a lifer who is making significant contributions and you’re learning new skills, good for you. But if you’re a lifer just sitting around until it’s time to retire, you may find yourself out of a job sooner rather than later.

5. The trainee

Sure, everyone needs a bit of training every now and then, but if you don’t have the basic skills required to do your job, you’ve got a problem. Employers just don’t have the time to hold your hand. “The Washington Post has a great piece from Peter Cappelli about how the ‘skills shortage’ that people like to blame on schools (and on college students’ choice of focus in their studies) is BS … and that the real issue is that employers just don’t want to train people anymore,” said Alison Green, founder of the website Ask a Manager.

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CheatSheet.com | May 4, 2016 | Sheiresa Ngo

Your #Career : 5 Essential Tips To Reinvent Your Career…Create an Action Plan to Reach your Job-Change Goal. The Plan Should be Tailored to your Particular Situation

May 1, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

At 50+, you’re less likely to make an extreme career change — from doctor to chef, for example — than to build on your existing skill set. Most career moves are subtle, Jansen says, and can be as simple as transferring from one department of your company to another.

Jansen, who started off as a radio and TV broadcaster, says she’s been fired, had her job eliminated and dealt with her share of “nasty bosses” and corporate cultures that were a “bad fit.” She tried recruiting and sales management before finding her niche as a career coach, author and speaker. “I was navigating to roles that were a great fit for my personality,” Jansen says.

The lessons Jansen gleaned from her own career steps helped shape the new, third edition of her book, which reflects the tectonic shift of the job hunt to digital and social platforms.

(More: The Big Financial Asset You’re Ignoring: Your Career)

Here, Jansen shares five tips to reinvent your career after 50 and findgratifying work:

1. Assess Yourself and Make a Plan

For anyone over 50 eager to change careers, either for full-time work or part-time work in retirement, Jansen suggests following this three-step process:

First, assess yourself. In her book, Jansen offers a series of quizzes and exercises to determine the source of your job dissatisfaction; identify your core values, personality preferences and skills and determine your ability to change.

To understand your values and apply them to your career search, Jansen offers a list of some 40 values from “Achievement/Accomplishment,” “Advancement” and “Autonomy” through “Status,” “Teamwork” and “Wealth,” urging readers to check off the ones that apply and rank their Top 10. The most important ones will help you decide whether to stay in your position or field or look for something new.

Next, she says, identify “opportunities” and “obstacles” towards making a job change. “People either get hung up unrealistically on an obstacle — ‘I’m too old to change, I don’t have a degree, I won’t make enough money,’ or they get hung up on an opportunity that’s not realistic,” Jansen says.

Finally, create an action plan to reach your job-change goal. The plan should be tailored to your particular situation, whether have, what she calls, “One Toe in the Retirement Pool,” are “Yearning to Be on Your Own” or you’re “Bored and Plateaued” with your career.,

For someone in the latter category, Jansen offers an 11-step plan that calls for asking yourself a series of questions, including why you’re bored, how you can re-activate interest in your job and whether you want to stay in your industry.

(More: Career Advice for the Freelance Economy)

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2. Decide Between Making a Big or Small Change

“If you’re in a bad marriage, the whole marriage isn’t necessarily bad. You have to focus on the things that are good,” Jansen notes. “Maybe you love your company, but want to move to a different area. I had a client who worked in finance at ESPN. He wanted to move into talent management. It took him a few years, but he was able to do it.”

3. Network for an Employers’ Job Market

If you’ve worked at the same employer for quite awhile and want out, networking with people who don’t work there is key, says Jansen. And the sooner the better.

“People are very disposable at companies,” Jansen says. “It’s an employers’ market right now. It means most employers can treat people however they want. Companies don’t have as much of a moral compass when it comes to laying people off.”

That harsh reality underscores the importance of networking, whether in the real or virtual worlds.

Jansen says: Start by creating a list of everyone you know who could possibly be of use (even your dentist). Prepare a “script” for your email or telephone networking pitches. View any event — from a baseball game to a block party — as a networking opportunity. And, whether your networking meeting is online or at an event, always ask the person if there’s anything you can do to helpthem, Jansen writes.

4. Prepare for Today’s Interview Process

The job interview process has become an even higher hurdle towards getting an offer these days, says Jansen. If you clear the initial online screening, expect to have multiple phone interviews and in-person interviews, take personality and psychological tests and possibly be tasked with an on-site drill, such as being given a 15-minute deadline to assemble a PowerPoint presentation.

Prepare for this reality with friends or family by having them ask you the kinds of questions that often stump interviewees, Jansen advises. Examples: “Tell me about yourself,” “What are your weaknesses or areas of development” and “Tell me about a time when you failed at something.”

Whether you wind up speaking with one interviewer or eight, Jansen says, always write individual thank-you notes. “Be sure to customize each note based on your specific conversation,” Jansen writes.

5. Make Social Media Work for You

Whether you’re a LinkedIn dynamo with 500-plus connections, a 24/7 Twitter presence and your own blog or someone who maintains a minimal digital profile, Jansen says, ensure that your virtual self reflects and promotes your real-world accomplishments.

For anyone with little or no social media profile on places like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Jansen recommends starting out by responding to other people’s blog posts; posting and answering questions on LinkedIn and tweeting “meaningful” comments on Twitter.

“You have to carefully monitor what you’re posting — visually or otherwise — because the first thing prospective employers are doing is Googling you,” Jansen says. “If you have any controversial or inappropriate information anywhere, that’s not a good thing. Or if you have no presence at all, that’s not a good thing, either.”

By Robert DiGiacomo, Next Avenue Contributor

Career coach Julie Jansen, who’s all about reinventing your career for the better, walks the walk with her advice. The author of the newly revised I Don’t Know What I Want, But I Know It’s Not This: A Step by Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work, has herself made several fulfilling career changes over the past few decades.

Forbes.com | April 25, 2016

Your #Career : 7 Smart Ways to Be Amazingly Professional & Look the Part…What Brings You the Extra Mile is In the Details.

April 26, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It’s all in the details. Once you’ve got your basic professional attire mastered* (for whatever your line of work/dress requires), what brings you the extra mile is in the details.

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business people shaking hands make deal and sign contract

What are some simple tips that can help people look more professional?

These are two-pronged: attitude and accessories.

Attitude:

Projecting confidence will make you look more professional. Some things you can do to help with this are maintaining good (but not uncomfortable) eye contact, smiling, nodding occasionally, and being both an active listener and a clear and thoughtful speaker.
Being approachable and open to discussions of all kinds helps, especially when paired with confidence (you’re not a doormat, but you’re also not standing on a high pedestal unable to be reached). The best professionals I know in any line of work, whether it’s at a coffee shop, an investment firm, or a startup, are approachable (when appropriate). The least professional are unapproachable, albeit for a variety of reasons (whether it’s simply that they have an air of being too important or it’s just clear that they’re hostile and not open for discussions).
Composure. Maintaining your composure at work is critical to looking more professional. When you do it a majority of the time, you can then use the small occasions to emote more than normal to great effect — whether it’s to celebrate a really big win (oh man, Alecia’s REALLY happy about that, and she’s usually pretty calm, though positive, this must be huge!) or a pretty critical miss (Oh wow, she looks pretty intense and serious about what happened with X, this must be a pretty big lost opportunity in her eyes). And the rest of the time, composure inspires trust from those around you and helps establish you as a professional in all situations, good, bad, and everyday.

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Accessories. This is where it’s a little debatable, and we could say that you should be able to be professional without X, Y, or Z. That’s true. But on the other hand, if you’re looking for the small signals to just help with your overall big picture, these are some tips. It’s not even about just looking a certain way to outsiders, it’s about how these small things may help you feel more “ready” for anything. There are jokes about war paint, etc, but the basic idea was to get them in a mind spot for something, and that’s why it’s an idea used across the world throughout history.

Over your basic attire, anything “extra” that you don to go the extra mile just makes you look that much more put together. As a manager whose professional wardrobe consisted of all black, this meant a range (depending on where I worked) of accessory options like a splash of color at the ears, a statement necklace, a tasteful bracelet, or a really nice pair of shoes. For my husband, who wears a dress shirt and slacks to work every day under his white coat, this means that I buy him a wide array of colorful, fun statement socks. He gets remarks daily — they really make the entire thing look that much more thoughtful and appealing. I worked with a young man once who over his black attire would always wear a colorful bow-tie. People loved this. They assumed that he was a leader in our team — and he wasn’t, at least, not at first! But he saw himself as one eventually, and so did we, and he became a part of the leadership team. As a mom, I can throw a whimsical scarf on over a sweatshirt and yoga leggings and suddenly look 10x more put together than I did before. This is great for the days when I maybe didn’t even get to comb my hair before putting it up!
The varnish. That coat you put over paint or wood to make it just seem a little more eye-catching and finished? People can get that too. Depending on your line of work, you’ll know how much is appropriate or not (and it’s always up to you whether you decide to do it or not), but if you do decide to polish up, those details help. A coat of tasteful nail polish, a dusting of some powder blush, etc. Sometimes it’s as little as a simple, eye-catching pop of lip gloss or a little extra beeswax to get a perfect pompadour. Just a little statement to say that you put in that extra moment will project to people that you’re that much more together – and also likely make you feel more confident as well. A wise friend told me that whatever you do to look/feel good is great, but when people show a little more effort or creativity, it instills a sense of confidence and interest that they are also going to show a little extra effort or creativity in other situations.
The grooming. Whatever you’re doing, be thoughtful about it. If you’re culturing a look of deliberate scruff, great, just make sure it’s neat around the edges so it looks purposeful and not just lazy. Even if you never paint your nails, you should make sure they’re clean, trimmed to a good length (whatever you decide that is), and generally neat-looking (unless you work hard with your hands, and then maybe the dirt or scars, etc, lend to that air of professionalism, too!). Hair that looks deliberately cared for is nice, whether that’s simply having it clean and neat or you like a more styled option.
The smell. Although in many fields, wearing a perfume or scented lotion is eschewed (for anyone in most service industries, etc), if it’s not, smell good. But do not overdo it! Being lightly scented, whether it’s cologne, perfume, lotion, or just freshly soaped, generally is more appealing than not. When people are standing near you, it should be mostly a pleasant experience, without any real reason to feel put off.

*Regarding mastering basics, I’d say stick to these things when building your wardrobe: fit, function, quality, and classics.

This question originally appeared on Quora – the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions:

PUBLISHED ON: APR 26, 2016| Inc.com

What are some simple tips that can help people look more professional? originally appeared on Quora – the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Alecia Li Morgan on Quora:

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Your #Career : The 7 Most Common Mistakes We Make Promoting Ourselves…Self-Promotion is a Struggle for Many of Us (Women Particularly). We Know we Should Do It & Do It More Often if we are to Gain the Visibility/Credibility we Need to Advance our Careers. But it’s Not a Simple Task.

April 21, 2016/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Although women seem to agonize more about self-promotion, the challenges transcend gender and status.

In general, people fall into three different categories relative to promoting themselves. Those who promote often in a flamboyant, ego-driven manner. (This may or may not be well-received.) Those who attempt it with ambivalence and are challenged to do it effectively. And lastly, those who don’t even try.

Regardless, of the category you may identify with, there are some common mistakes we make promoting ourselves.

Here are the top 7 mistakes:

We allow our limiting beliefs about self-promotion to hold us back.

Many of us have heard and absorbed the message that self-promotion is bragging, and if you brag no one will like you. This is especially true for women who were taught to be humble and wait to be recognized. When you permit these beliefs to control your behavior, you feel ambivalent about promoting yourself even though you know it’s important. The result is that you avoid it or don’t take the time to learn how to do it effectively.

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We rely on an elevator pitch.

I’ve sat in on countless workshops about self-promotion that teach how to create an elevator pitch. We are instructed to memorize the pitch and look for opportunities to tell others what we do. This very stylized pitch is challenging and stressful to deliver because it never seems authentic. It doesn’t resonate with your audience and consequently, it either flops or backfires. The danger is that key stakeholders don’t get it, aren’t interested, and won’t remember your pitch.

We don’t understand our value.

If you don’t get how you contribute to positive business outcomes, how can you possibly promote yourself effectively? Any attempt will seem inauthentic. You need to know your value proposition and believe in the strength of your contribution. That allows you to position yourself as someone who can help others in the organization reach their goals; help the business reach its objectives. Understanding your value proposition helps you to build visibility and credibility as well as trust and influence.

We talk about past accomplishments.

It’s important to keep track of your achievements but reciting a list of your successes is not always effective. You want to position yourself as part of theongoing future business solutions; as someone who can help the company move forward to reach its objectives. Your value proposition helps you see opportunities to do this with key stakeholders and decision makers. It’s the foundation of savvy self-promotion.

We don’t understand our audience.

Communicating your value proposition is essential but you need to understand what others want and need or your message won’t resonate. It’s a three step process. Understand your value. Understand what others want and need, and then identify how you can help them based on your value proposition. How can you add value? It’s a powerful way to create visibility and credibility.

We don’t have allies and champions across the organization.

A supportive network is willing and able to advocate for you. These people understand your contribution and speak up for you when appropriate and/or when you’re not present. Your network will also alert you to possible opportunities for additional exposure with key stakeholders.

We still believe that our work speaks for itself.

This is the most dangerous mistake of all. Great performance is a given for career advancement, but you need to communicate and demonstrate to others the value it brings to the organization. The belief that your work alone will help you get ahead results in your hesitancy to take the time to advocate for yourself. You remain under the radar and potentially invisible.

Want to learn more about how to promote yourself effectively? Check out my book, The Politics of Promotion: How High Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead (Wiley 2015) and my website for additional resources including an online course based on the book.

Forbes.com | April 21, 2016 | Bonnie Marcus