career

Many would have heard of the words “Vaastu” or “Feng Shui”, some may pass it off as a religious belief or ritualistic approach. Skeptics would call it faith following and an unscientific practice.

What is Vaastu and Feng Shui?

Bailouts for banks. Subsidies for chosen industries. Tax breaks for the rich.

During the past 10 years, as a career coach, I have worked with over 5,000 professionals globally. Many of those clients have stayed with me over time and have come back now and then to keep their careers growing and to share their successes. With enough such data points I have now codified the success pattern of these individuals, and this blog is about the most common behaviors—habits, actually—I see in those who have done well in their careers.

Branding is one of the most frequently visited, not to say hackneyed, topics. Although different segments of the economy approach this topic differently, when it comes to creating a brand in your career there are many invariants. If you do not pay attention to them you can suffer brand erosion, or even rejection in the eyes of your “customers.” You can also become irrelevant in the process. So, I am writing this blog to remind career professionals—the readers of this blog—of those invariants.

A large majority of my new clients come to me because they are facing a problem at work. In many cases it is their boss, sometimes it is their colleagues, it can even be their company and how it is being managed. Because I am also a life coach people sometimes bring to me their personal problems: spouse, relatives, and neighbors!

Why is it that one can look at a lion or a planet or an owl or at someone's finger as long as one pleases, but looking into the eyes of another person is, if prolonged past a second, a perilous affair? -Walker Percy, author (1916-1990)

A client recently landed at a well-known company with a strong “team culture.” He started his new job as program manager, taking on a large project that was already two years late and had gone through three other program managers before him. My assessment of the project was that it should not have taken more than about 20 months to complete with this level of resources available on it. The project team was large, matrixed organization with about 200 people from different functional areas, many working in offshore locations to boot!

In the past, people often called Boston career coach Randi Bussin because they were thinking about changing careers. In 2009, most of her clients had to change careers due to layoffs, cutbacks or company closures. With whole sectors shrinking, from financial to automotive, many workers couldn't find another job in their current field and had to tweak their resumes to support changing careers. 

Exciting job opportunities can arise when you least expect them, even during an economic downturn. But in a competitive job market waiting too long to respond could cost you the job of your dreams.

The search for work continues. Besides rubbing more polish on your resume, what can a work-hungry American do to get a job? If you know which career interests you, you could consider volunteering in your chosen field. From networking and skill building to resume improvement, the benefits of volunteering seem endless.