Informational Interviews Are the New Networking
Hope my last column Re-inventing Your Career-Part 1, provided food for thought (and, of course, action) on jumping in and starting to design your re-careering strategy. I can think of no better time to combine your passion, natural talents and hard earned experience together with the current (and upcoming) market trends to create exciting new career directions and opportunities. During the process, you will re-invent your career, which will in turn revitalize your life for a fresh new beginning!

Case in point
Whether people come to me for one-on-one coaching and/or to my Success Teams, the number one project they come to work on, initially, is the reinvention of their career. Their goal is to design a career that really matters and to which they can bring their heart and soul. At 50 plus, many of us will still be working for as much as 10-20 years, so why not be doing something we really love. Heck, for most of us, we want to be doing what we love for the next 10-20 years paid or not, so let’s get started really discovering “work” that is uniquely meaningful!.

Let’s Get Started!
Last month’s column is all about the reinvention of our careers to bring ourselves fresh and new to the marketplace. This month’s column will include the nuts and bolts strategies for getting out and getting yourself a “good enough job” (thanks to Barbara Sher for coining that term) that will hold you over while you are going through the, often longer term, re-invention process.

Here are some tips to get you started or keep you moving on landing that “good enough” job:

1.    Be realistic about your salary requirements: Realize that just as you may not be able to list your house for the price you could have even one year ago, so it goes with what you may find you are worth in today’s competitive market. Do some research in your field and find out what the current going rate is for your experience and skills and adjust your expectations accordingly.

2.    Determine your living expenses: When I ask my clients what salary they require in order to pay their bills, they almost always answer by giving me their last salary. You will not know what you need to earn until you really analyze your expenses, determine what is most important, and what you can do without. You might be surprised where your priorities lay. Armed with your bottom line living expense, you are in a much better position to better determine the salary range you can live within.
3.    Tell everyone you know that you are looking:  Don’t be shy. Right now just about everyone I know is out looking. So, no shame, no blame. Carry business cards everywhere you go. I also highly recommend creating a call to action signature at the bottom of each of your emails with something to the effect of “contact me with fill in the blank opportunities or projects” along with a link to your contact info, LinkedIn profile/ resume.
4.    Speaking of Linkedin: If you haven’t already, go right away to http://www.linkedin.com and put your profile and resume on line. It is simple and it is absolutely imperative that professionals establish a social media presence and LinkedIn is a great place to start.
5.    Google Yourself: Google yourself and find out what is written out in cyberspace about you. You might as well; prospective employers will most likely be checking you out online. Also, many employers routinely do a search on keywords for positions they are looking to fill. The resumes that come up as a result of the keyword search are likely the only ones that will get reviewed. You will want to create your own on-line presence. If you have done your LinkedIn profile you have a start.

6.    Schedule informational interviews: Since approximately 80-90 percent of positions are filled through people we know, get to know who is in your field and who else they recommend you speak to. Set a goal to do at least three informational interviews a week.

7.    Offer to do projects/assignments for companies at a low fee or pro-bono: I put this strategy in practice, successfully, with many of my clients. It puts you and your work in front of an employer quickly and with no initial long term commitment. When a company is ready to add a new person, they will think of you first. They may even like you so much, as has often been the case with my clients, that a position is created just for you.
I hope that one or more of these ideas give you a fresh, new start. The good news is that there are so many job search ideas, an entire article could be written on each of these topics and much more. So stay tuned!

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 http://www.susanwhipple.com