Archive for career path
Chocolaty inspiration to help find your dream job
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Last night I had the opportunity to speak for Georgia Tech Alumni Association’s Waffle House Career Series. The topic was “Live and Work with Passion and Purpose“.
It was an exciting and well attended event. There was great interaction and participation. We discussed how to bring passion into both your personal life and your career. Thank you to all those who came out!
Inspiring example: A participant from last night, Michelle, said her dream job was to make chocolate. I talked to her more today, and I really believe she will make it happen. She is currently getting her MBA at GA Tech to learn how to run a business. She plans to open a retail or online store. She did an internship with a chocolate maker in Australia. I know she’ll make her dream a reality because she has a plan, has multiple options to make it happen in a practical way AND she has passion for it. This is something she really enjoys doing.
What’s your passion? How will you make it happen?
Hallie Crawford
Atlanta Career Coach
Make your career path pie today!
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When I’m working with career coaching clients on their career direction, one of the analogies I like to use with them is to think of their career path as a pie. Which pieces of the pie need to be bigger than others? What’s your main gig? What is the main thing you want to be doing all day every day; the thing that would be most rewarding and fulfilling for you? That’s your biggest piece of the pie. Then there will be other things you obviously need to do at work, projects, administrative items etc. You can include those as some of the smaller pieces.
When I was talkking to my career coaching client Ben recently, I mentioned this to him to help him figure out what else he would enjoy doing at work besides problem solving through logistics. No, we can’t enjoy every single element of our work. There will always be things we dislike or prefer not to do, but if you can have most of your pie filled with what you want, you’ll be that much more satisfied. I’ll use myself as an example. I enjoy marketing, but I had a job in the past that was primarily marketing and I hated it. I want marketing to be a smaller piece of my pie, and connecting with people (like I do through coaching) to be the biggest piece. So fortunately, by owning my own business, I get to do both. When push comes to shove though, coaching needs to be my primary task.
So remember, just because you enjoy something, doesn’t mean that should be your career path. It’s a much more complicated equation. So think about what you want to be your main gig and then build the rest of the picture around that.
Hallie Crawford
Ideal Career Coach
P.S. Find out if you are on the right track by taking our Free Ideal Career Quiz today.
Let your hobbies be your hobbies
Posted by: | CommentsWatch my latest video as I discuss the question, “How do you know the difference between a hobby and your career path?” This question was asked on a recent career teleclass and brings up a great point. What is the difference between your personal interests and what you want to pursue as a career? Sometimes when you choose your hobbies as your career it can take the fun out of it. You have to be careful when making this decision. Be sure to ask yourself if it is something that you would want to do all day, every day.
Too many career ideas? It’s time to piece them together!
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This came up in one of my group career coaching calls – One of the participants, Bonnie, was asking about different ways to identify possible career paths that not only would she be interested in, but also qualified for.
When most people come to me they have a list of different career ideas that on the surface look completely unrelated. But, once I start working with them and asking them why they have each idea on their list, themes start to emerge. It’s really cool. You really start to see why they’re interested in each idea, and how their ideas are related to each other.
One of the ways I told Bonnie and the coaching group to find new ideas is to take out their resume, get a highlighter, and start to look for themes in their resume. What similar things have you done in the past? I can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to identify at least two themes you can run with and start piecing your ideas together.
Good luck, if you need additional help with your dream job, check out our Free Resources Page for free tools and exercises you can download right away.
Hallie Crawford
Atlanta Career Coach
Get on your career path to success!
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In a recent career coaching group this week, my client Allison was talking about the Ideal Day visualization. I have career coaching clients do this exercise to help them identify their ideal career. I have also included this exercise in our Identify Your Ideal Career Path Home Study Program. Alison said that she really loved the exercise, and I was thrilled to hear that she got a brand new career idea from doing this.
Here’s the deal: This visualization helps you become completely relaxed and enables you to think creatively about your career ideas.
Here’s a suggestion for you: Take a moment to visualize your ideal day at work.
If you could create it from scratch, what would you be doing? What would it look like? If it helps, go ahead and try writing your ideas down instead of just visualizing, sometimes that works better for some people. You can also look for tangible clues in your current life instead of making things up from scratch. Another one of my career coaching clients, Tricia, did this and it was much easier for her to gather tangible examples from her current job and what she observed in other people’s jobs.
Think outside the box, and dream big. You can always compromise later. Go to town on this exercise – good luck!
P.S. Are you frustrated in your career? Find out if you are on the right track with our free Ideal Career Quiz!
When will your Ah-Ha! moment be?
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I had a career coaching call with my client Margaret a few weeks ago. When she got on the call she was on top of the moon! She had just conducted an informational interview with someone who owned his own law firm, which was one of the career paths she had been considering. The information she got from him, and what she learned validated her decision to move forward. He also gave her a lot of good things to consider in order to be successful in her career path.
She was thrilled needless to say! So much that afterwards she said she found herself singing as she was walking down the street! She said she was embarrassed at first, but then was so happy because she realized that her epiphany about her the career direction she wanted to take was her Ah-Ha! moment.
I’m curious how many others out there have had this kind of Ah-Ha! moment, and what it meant to them? I’ve had clients who have shared these moments with me, and others who have shared their experiences that lasted for several days. It can take more time for some people, but what’s important is that you get clarity. When will your your Ah-Ha! moment be about your career? Are you working towards making that happen? It doesn’t just fall from the sky usually. Most people need to do a little work to put the pieces together.
If you need help with your career direction, contact us to learn more about our services. We offer a complimentary consultation to help you decide if this should be the next step for you.
Hallie Crawford
Career Help Coach
Michelle Obama’s take on finding your dream job
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I really liked this quote from Michelle Obama’s commencement speech at Northern Iowa University. It reminds me of something I often tell my clients.
The path won’t always be laid out neatly for you. Sometimes you won’t be able to find that perfect job. Sometimes you might momentarily take a job just to stay afloat. –Michelle Obama
This could not be any truer. Just like life, your career path isn’t going to always be sunshine and roses. Nor is your career path always going to be laid out neatly for you. It’s up to you to find the path to your dream career. Make your plan, and make it happen. Take the reins and make your dream a reality. Your future starts with you!
Are you currently taking actions steps and moving towards your dream career? We’d love to hear your story in our comments section below.
If you’re interested in seeking help with your career path, please contact us today!
Hallie Crawford
Career Help Coach
Are you wasting your money on grad school?
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to a recent article in USA Today graduate school applications are commonplace when the economy is not doing well. A recent study showed that “the number of applications to U.S. graduate schools grew 8.3% from 2008 to 2009”.
More students are taking the GRE and it is estimated that this year might set record highs. Here’s an excerpt from the USA Today article discussing this trend. Read the full article: Considering Grad School? Advice In A Flat Job
Concern about the job market — and wanting to put off paying back student loans — were major factors for University of California-Davis senior Daniel Yeshiwas, who says he changed his plans to work for a few years before attending graduate school. He plans to apply for fall 2011.
“I don’t really know exactly what I want to do yet, but going to graduate school, it’s still moving me towards a career, and it’s something to further put off that question of what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life,” says Yeshiwas.
Grad school is a great investment in yourself. It does help you stand out and can also open up job opportunities that bachelor’s degrees don’t always provide. However a word of caution for current college students considering graduate school in the same viewpoint as Daniel. I have seen many people choose to go to graduate school for this reason. They don’t have any idea of what they want to do after four years of college. They don’t want that pressure of what are they going to do for the rest of their lives, and sometimes the are just intimated by the job market.
But here’s the problem… Read More→
