Quick Change Artists: Navigating Sudden Career Shifts
 |
Free Download - Sensory Overload By Judy Martin |
Creativity appeared to be an elusive goal for marketer and sales trainer Catherine Wright in her position at a building products company that suddenly downsized. “I think people immediately feel bad about themselves when they lose a job,” she says. But despite her concern, she wasn’t going to shoot herself in the foot. “I prayed, took action and trusted that there was a blessing on the other side of this. I decided I’d have to dive into networking and do some guerrilla marketing.” Making a conscious choice to brand herself, she designed her next position—at first only on paper. Wright wrote a description of her perfect job. She looked at what wasn’t working in her former position, and then assessed her individual strengths, skills and talents. “I realized I love making a difference for women and families.”
So Wright accepted a board position on the Long Island Women’s Business Council. After the first meeting she was directed to the Jericho-based National Association of Mothers’ Centers, which had two openings. As they were for a non-profit, neither job delivered the salary she was looking for, “so I got really creative and was able to merge the jobs into one,” stepping into a full-time job as a membership development director. “You have to put yourself out there. Just because a job doesn’t exist doesn’t mean someone won’t appreciate your skills and create one for you,” she says.
When Change Finds You
Career shifts come in many forms, but rarely are they as sudden as the one Aggie Geoghan experienced after her brother, Attila Hejja’s, tragic death. Hejja, an internationally recognized artist died unexpectedly at 52, leaving his prestigious Oyster Bay-based school, the Stevenson Academy of Fine Arts, without a leader. “There was no decision making. It was obvious what I had to do. Closing the school wasn’t even a thought,” says Geoghan, who was living in Florida. Moving back to Long Island within a few weeks of her beloved brother’s passing she took the helm at the school that Hejja had created just a few years ago.
“He had planned and orchestrated every nut and bolt for years before he opened,” says Geoghan of her brother, who grew the academy from 40 to 300 students in a few short years, sharing his own lessons learned as a noted painter for large corporations, the U.S. Air Force, the United Nations and NASA.
It was the passion to continue her brother’s legacy that fueled Geoghan’s courage in the move from health care consultant to director of a fine arts academy. “I’ve been exposed to the arts all my life, but always through Attila. Now I’ll have to learn step by step to fill in the gaps,” says Geoghan, who will take art classes to familiarize herself with the school’s programs. It’s probably what Hejja would have wanted. Just days before his death, he told his sister of a potential partnership with a local college and surprised her by asking her to move back and help with the school. “I told him I would seriously think about it,” she says, not knowing that within days he would be gone, leaving her a legacy of memories and a new creative career path. “Of course it’s going to be successful,” she says. “I can’t fill his shoes, but I look forward to following in his footsteps.”
As described in those two stories, life happenings can mean a dramatic shift to our working lives, kicking off a journey into unknown territory. Coping and succeeding with changes is not as tall an order as it used to be, according to Cali Yost, author of Work + Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead/Penguin Group 2005). “The biggest emerging trend is a shift from flexibility being a top-down, one-size-fits-all policy to a process where the flexibility is tailored to the person and the job,” says Yost. But Yost adds that making a dramatic shift can empower an individual to create his or her own new and improved standards of success and fulfillment
Find Meaningful Work
1. Identify the most and least enjoyable parts of your job. Can you enhance the positives without stretching your workload too much?
2. Evaluate your time in the office. How much is spent in fulfilling work?
3. What additional skills might you offer your employer to boost career growth?
4. Volunteer to do a project that you are passionate about. Doing an activity that we enjoy doesn’t seem like work.
5. Create your own path in your current position. Learn new skills and start using them to slowly augment your position.
6. Review your workplace relationships. Keep company with those who offer support. Who is energizing you and who is depleting you?
Quick Change Artists Navigating Sudden Career Shifts - To learn more about this author, visit Judy Martin's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| Article Tags: |
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Marcus ArkanMarcus Arkan currently serves as the President/Principle Broker of Syndicate Mortgages Inc. After working with a number of Canada's top financial institutions, the experience and knowledge he gained throughout his professional career combined with his drive and entrepreneurial spirit led him to develop his own company. The operation began in 2003 in the basement of his home and now has flourished into a successful corporation with a head office in one of Metropolitan Toronto's busiest sectors and 10 branch locations employing over 100 mortgage professionals. His organization is now one of Ontario's leading mortgage brokerages specializing in residential, commercial, and construction financing. He holds the designation of Accredited Mortgage Professional from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. This allows him to differentiate himself from other mortgage originators and demonstrates his commitment to the highest standards of industry performance. For more information on Mr. Arkan and his Syndicate Mortgages Inc., please visit www.syndicatemortgages.com. - Visit Marcus Arkan's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained 4000+ students worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular home staging guides made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide, Portfolio Guide and Twitter Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Judy's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Business Plan by Harlan A. Friedman, author of GET Your Loan Closed! 2009 Economic Outlook Using QuickBooks Sales Orders Closed Door Sales Intro to M&A |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009 | |
 |
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
 | ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
 | ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||