How does this sound?
Imagine that I invite you over and serve franks and beans. Sounds dull as could be, and hardly inviting, huh? Well, I beg to differ. While I had lunch this afternoon, I watched Rachel Ray. I was fascinated by how she was able to take such basic ingredients as hot dogs and beans and turn them into something mouth watering, even for someone like me (ever particular, doesn’t eat mammals and very few beans.)
I went on line to print out her recipe for frank and beans…go figure.
So how did Rachel do it?
Rachel started with the everyday basics that she has loved since childhood; for her it was Ballpark hot dogs and beans. She got creative with these essential ingredients by brainstorming all the ways that hot dogs and beans can be spiced up. Rachel thought about what the market needs: fast, healthy and delicious. Rachel used her natural strengths, (creative and upbeat) to create a whole new delicious, grown up version of franks and beans. Here’s her menu:
- Chicago Dog Salad – romaine/cabbage/tomato salad topped with franks (with tofu and turkey sausage versions)
- Spicy Not-Baked Beans –butterbeans with red peppers and cucumber
- Root Beer Bomb-root beer, spiced rum and frozen yogurt float
So how can you spice up your everyday “franks and beans” career essentials to make an all new recipe for career success?
Here is my 6 Step Recipe for Re-Career Success:
- Start with your essential everyday basics: These are your acquired skills/experiences- your “frank and beans” skills. Mine are management, recruitment, and training. One of my client’s “frank and beans” skills is web technology and tech writing. Another client’s is parenting and non-profit volunteering.
- Combine them with your top life passions—my top passions are a fascination with the psychology of what makes people successful in career and life, a voracious appetite for learning and innovation, and a compulsion to transform the best innovative ideas into immediate action. What are your passions?.
- Stir in your natural talents- as Emeril says “kick it up a notch” with what you do best naturally. We are always most successful when we build on our natural strengths rather than turn ourselves inside out to go to work. I learned that one of my top strengths involved “drawing out the best in people and then to energize them to activate their greatest potential fast”. (Talk to a career coach to discover resources for assessing your natural strengths).
- Top with new versions of your old career classics. This is a lot like updating your old favorite recipes to make a new twist on an old classic. Take your building block talents, your acquired skills/experience, your passions, and the market trends, to create all new and updated re-career ideas.
- Create a recipe for success with a re-career action plan, determine your natural talents, add your passions, the market trends, and “kick it up a notch” a la Emeril by adding the following “success” ingredients: creativity, clarity, resources, accountability, focus, motivation and a healthy dose of determination and moxie to design an action and follow-through plan for re-career success.
- Invest in quality re-career resources/ingredients: Just as professional chefs choose quality cooking ingredients and cookware, you should also invest in the highest quality career resources. When people ask me how they can afford to get professional career support in this tough economy, my answer is how can you afford not to?
Whether you are out of work or currently employed, you must update your re-career skills. You don’t want to be caught serving yesteryear’s “frank and beans” do you?
You Can Work with Susan Whipple!
Susan Whipple, MA, CPCC, certified career and life coach, offers a complimentary telephone coaching session so that you can get energized and into motion on a specific career or life issue. You will also learn more about how to custom design a coaching relationship, with Susan, that brings the best results for you. Schedule your complimentary coaching session with Susan by email at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 415-332-3640. You can also learn more about Susan at www.susanwhipple.com
