Happy New Year, Now What?

“A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”  Author Unknown

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: New Year’s Resolutions

Competency: self development

Who benefits: you

Consultant Usage: background material for career coaching

What’s it about? It’s the first week of a new year.  If you are like about 40% to 45% of American adults, you are in the first week of a New Year’s resolution.  And if you are one of those who made a resolution or six, please note that 25%-30% of all resolutions are broken in the first week.  The good news is that nearly 50% of you who made resolutions will still be keeping at least one after 6 months!

I thought I would dedicate my January postings to helping you keep your resolution(s), if you made any.  Today I would like to start with the gorilla of all resolutions, the job change.  Did you resolve to look for a new one?

Well if you are in the mood to look around, please consider the following:

1. Before you do anything rash, first consider “How to Survive in an Unhappy Workplace”.

2. A companion article that will at least act as a brain stimulus is “Why You Should Fire Yourself“.  While at first blush the article appears to be written for high level mucky-mucks, I truly believe that even those of us who are only mid-level mucks can benefit from thinking about what the author is saying.

3. Now if you are still determined to go look, there is a fascinating article about “How to Get a Job Without Experience”.  The author’s point is best made with those who are not currently employed or are working part time.  However, with a little creativity, even the fully employed can employ this tactic.

I am a big believer in getting a job without the “desired” experience.  My first job in the private sector was with a Fortune 25 company.  At the time the unit I interviewed with was top heavy with Ph.Ds (not that there is anything wrong with that).  I was one of eight finalists.  The other seven were Ph.Ds and had private sector experience.  I was an MA with only public sector experience.  I didn’t try to compete with them.  That would be futile.  I played against “type”.  I sold myself as practical with new and different ideas from my “different” experiences.  I was blunt: “You don’t need more of the same, you need difference.”  And, ta-da, I got the job. 

Moral of the article and my story: Don’t let lack of experience deter you.  Use it to your advantage.

4. Which brings me to this important concluding article “Five Ways to Bungle a Job Change“.  Like the AMX card, don’t leave home without (reading) it.

Well, if you resolve to make a job change, I hope these resources prove useful. 

Catch you later.

[tags]new year’s resolutions, careers, jobs, career development, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.