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Life change? Suggestions on getting back in the groove.
After 15 years as an at-home mom, her husband announced he wanted a divorce, and she’d need to fend for herself after a few years of financial transition support. This is a scenario I’ve heard many times, as displaced homemakers (DHs for short) tell me their situations. In a conversation with a DH last week, this is what we discussed: She was feeling overwhelmed at having to choose a career focus that she’d a) enjoy, and b) be able to do, and c) would support her desired lifestyle. As she described, “I’ve been out of the workforce for 18 years. I don’t know what I like or what the market...
read moreDefining Your Niche.
With a New Year comes new career hopes. Along this line, one of my closest friends is considering launching a sideline meal prep business; she loves to cook, raves about the value of meal prepping, and would like to earn some extra income. Often, as people like her toy with the idea of starting an entity, their thoughts first turn to what to call it, and how to promote it. Yet northern Colorado business coach Teena Barnett with Team Building Dynamics recommends clearly defining your niche before making any major marketing decisions. She then described her work with a client who’d created a...
read moreShould you accept that job?
Not long ago, I got this question from a client about how to respond to a job opportunity: “I just received an offer for a position. I have some concerns however. They are looking for long-term employees and I am not sure it’s the kind of work I want to do. Also, the commute would be far so I would probably need to move. How do I differentiate not being excited about the job from the reluctance of all the other changes I would have to make in my life for it?” I suggested that he answer these questions to help with his decision making: – “Is this a role and industry that are of high...
read moreThe 80% Approach.
Last Monday I put together my monthly business newsletter. In it, I had an inspiring client success story to share, as well as details about an upcoming free webinar on creating effective cover letters. I love writing, and organizing the newsletter is mostly fun for me. “How can I present this in a motivating, helpful way?” I asked myself as I happily put it together. But then, as usual, I ran into a wall. Some of the hotlinks weren’t working properly, and the setup it takes to get it launched to my email lists and social media accounts is a bit too detailed for me. Plus I dislike...
read morePay It Forward! Benefits to you and others for helping out.
Last Monday, I overheard my husband Pete as he had a conversation with a recruiter. Pete works as a firmware engineer, a specialty that lately has been in strong demand. Because he maintains a complete profile on LinkedIn and has strong experience, he frequently gets calls from headhunters. Yet he’s happy in his current position, so I was curious about how he’d handle the call. Would he say, “Thanks for reaching out, but I’m all set for now”, or something different? What he did raised my already-high opinion of him. First, he listened patiently to what the recruiter was seeking, including...
read moreYour 2017 Goals
Last Sunday my husband and I hunted down an open coffee shop (not easy to do on New Year’s Day) and spent 90 minutes talking through the goals we set for 2016, and then created new ones for 2017. We go through this exercise every year—sometimes right at the start of January, other times not until March or so. But at some point, it happens. Part of me loves this exercise because I get to sit with my significant other and talk about our life together, from our deepest hopes to our most frustrating challenges to our most rewarding accomplishments. Another part of me digs it because writing down...
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