How do you use internet networking if you have a job and just want to see what is out there, but don’t want to risk your job?

A question from a participant in our webinar: “Discover Your Ideal Job and How to Get It”

The first rule of networking is – feed your network before you ask it to feed you.

The great part about getting into internet networking before you’re really looking for something is that you can invest in developing your network.  Of course, you can keep you’re eyes and ears open at the same time.

I don’t see any threat in that, do you?

Rooting for your success!

Michelle Randall

Job-Right.com

Dear Michelle,

What are some things I need to think about in order to start the process of potentially needing a “new” career? I’m not in a position to take a salary cut and I can’t relocate. Help.

A Senior Recruiter via LinkedIn.com

I really applaud the clear eyed optimism in your message, recognizing the shifting sands in your career and approaching it as an opportunity – as much as possible.

What I also hear loud and clear is what you don’t want, instead of what you do.  In a lot of ways it’s more natural to look at the future through the perspective of our current, and past – and when we do, we set limits on our possibilities going forward.  And the beauty of a “new” career is that if you’re deliberate about it you can reshuffle the deck significantly in your favor this time.

To accomplish this I advocate a life-first approach to career identification – where work serves life and not the other way around.  (Read the Job-Right manifesto at our blog!)

To begin the process I help clients identify their ideal life in as much detail as possible.  Then we build desired career, job and employer characteristics on top of this foundation.

If you’re interested, my Job-Right program is very comprehensive and helps people get very clear on their vision, package themselves effectively for a tough job market, and take the actions needed to turn their ideal job into a reality.  You can find out more at job-right.com

Rooting for your success!

Michelle

The Job-Right Manifesto

Simple rules for career development that improve everything…

• Work serves life when it is a natural part of your existence that is a professional expression of your values, passions and interests.

• Life comes first. Who you are, what you care about, your most important relationships and the values, passions and interests that make you uniquely you.

• Create clarity about what you want your life to look like now. Capture your vision and hold it gentle ferocity. Firm flexibility is key since there are plenty of surprises and you want to enjoy them!

• Work is a tool. The more aligned it is with your vision of your life the more fulfillment and enjoyment you will experience. Lesser alignment of work and vision sap your energy, foster frustration and encourage other self-defeating behaviors that lead further away from the vision.

• Everybody wins when work serves life. Working with passion and engagement is the desire of every worthwhile employee and employer.

• Transition is an opportunity – making work serve life is a fresh paradigm. To make it happen you cannot simply live by default letting others make decisions on your behalf. Take action, seek differently and put life first everyday.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
- Albert Einstein

• It’s your job to believe in you. Whiners, victims, doubters and experts in self-limitation need not apply.

By Michelle Randall
Career Coach and Creator of Job-Right.com

Analysts said government data on Friday showing the economy shed a mere 11,000 jobs last month, the fewest since the start of the recession, was the strongest indication yet that the battered job market was starting to turn around. (Reuters, December 7, 2009)

Everyday there are a lot of people on Twitter talking about how much they hate their jobs and that they’re only staying in them for the safety of having anything in this job market.  If the job market is beginning to recover, its high time to start asking yourself, “Am I going to just complain about my job or am I going to take advantage of the uptrend when the new waves of hiring occur?”

Many of us with jobs have been holding onto them for dear life over the last couple of years.  It was better to have something than to be looking for work in this job market.  Now that it looks like the tide is gradually ready to turn, there’s a growing opportunity to make a move to a better and more suitable career.

You don’t have to stay in a job you don’t like.  Especially now, with the economy poised to improve, you have more options.  The jobs are coming, and so is the opportunity to answer your true calling.  It’s up to you to take the opportunity to figure out what it is.

Changing careers takes developing new skills, relationships and experience and these don’t happen overnight.  It’s a big commitment that is worth it in order to do work that you love and gives you life everyday.

Here are some key questions you to ask yourself to prime you for a career upgrade:

• Am I truly happy in my current position, and do I see a real future in it?
• Do I work for an organization I believe in?
• What work could I really put my heart into?
• What work would enable me to better utilize my core skills and strengths?
• What are my innate characteristics, beyond my acquired professional skills, that I can leverage moving forward?
• How can I tie my core traits to my genuine passions to create a professional situation that I would be happier in?

By doing the work to identify the professional situation that would make you happier your eyes will open to many new opportunities. The surprising news is that some of these may be with your current employer.  You may find that there could be a better fit or a new path for you where you are that would make you more satisfied in an organization you already believe in.

Your analysis may have you believing that it’s time to change employers or careers to be satisfied.  If that’s the case then now is the time to begin the process of identifying your ideal job and ideal employers, and begin building a bridge to them so that when the job market recovers you are primed for takeoff.

For further guidance on your career journey, please explore our site at www.Job-Right.com.