The Interest You Left Behind

We all have subjects that particularly interest us, that capture our attention. It could be a skill, a hobby or just a topic you follow very closely. Try taking note of the articles that attract you online or in the newspaper and you’ll have your answer. Have you incorporated that interest into the job you have today?

As much as we are told, to use a trite term, to “follow our passion”, many times life leads us down a different path and we leave that interest behind. It can be for all kinds of reasons, but they are almost always practical. Maybe you couldn’t figure out how to make a living using that particular focus, or most likely, you reacted to market conditions and something else came along and you took it. No matter how it happened, it’s worth considering whether you want to attempt to integrate it into your work going forward.

We know that market conditions change all the time, and if like me you’ve been in the workforce for 15+ years, during that time the pace of change has sped up more than during any period in history since the Industrial Revolution. Impediments that existed when you first entered the job market may no longer exist. It’s also likely that your goals have changed as you’ve gained experience. Maybe this is the right time to design a new career that favors that neglected area of interest, or at least partially incorporates it into your current path.

In my own life and career, I was an early adopter of romance languages and spent my teens and twenties learning French, Italian and Portuguese while I lived. and later worked, abroad. During years spent in marketing and branding I sought out jobs that would utilize my language and cross-cultural skills. While I love the work I do today and know it uses many of my talents, it is the only time in my career when being able to communicate in a foreign language has not been a specific asset.

Do you have an example from your own life? While I’m working on finding the right intersection between my language skills and my work as a career advisor, I’d love to hear your stories. To get in touch, contact me here.

Photo by Nina Matthews Photography

Caroline Kennedy as Role Model

A story in the New York Times today really caught my eye. Entitled “Coming Up Short as a Role Model for the Mommy Track”, it compares Caroline Kennedy’s unceremonious exit from senate candidacy to the story of the first woman to attend Citadel in 1993 (she dropped out after just one week). Here’s the link, it’s a good read: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/nyregion/23bigcity.html?ref=nyregion

The piece successfully pinpoints the often giant gap between how smart, educated women who haven’t worked for years perceive themselves as potential employees and how the workplace itself actually judges them.

First of all, Kennedy’s celebrity status obviously enabled her candidacy and as the author points out, women who haven’t worked in years should not look to her as a role model for returning to work. But her sense of entitlement and, if you read between the lines, sense of distaste for the grittier parts of the job, are not at all different from that of other privileged women. The truth is: There’s a reason they call it work, and while it brings with it many positive things like an improved sense of self-worth, growth opportunities and positive modeling for our daughters, not to mention a paycheck, there are, invariably, tough days to be borne with the good.

When I talk with women who are trying to return to the workforce, I am often struck by how entitled they feel based on their socioeconomic status, personal connections and lack of touch with the “real world”. Of course it goes without saying they are not interested in the more plebian parts of work.

These qualities will not help them make friends if they do get hired, and showing inflexibility and a lack of humility will surely not get them hired in the first place.

Especially in these times.

Now point two: Caroline Kennedy’s judgment at having named her uncle’s health as a (possible) reason for having revoked her candidacy is emblematic of the poor choices women can make in bringing their personal lives to the fore at work. This kind of family reason is damaging to working women in general; it would be virtually unthinkable for a man to use the same excuse unless it was completely unavoidable.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but women tend to be judged more harshly than men in the workplace (and probably everywhere else too). And women of privilege even more so. In today’s economy, employers are hiring more slowly, carefully and cheaply than at any time since the early ’80s. And they have their pick of the litter. So if you’ve been out of the workforce and are really serious about returning, don’t think you can rest on the laurels of an outdated career and pick up where you left off. You’ll need to prove currency, relevance, understanding and humility, assuming you have the skills and smarts to begin with. Not to mention a willingness to accept a lower salary than you’d planned.

Lunching Ladies

Yesterday I was the lead speaker at a seminar for women considering going back to work. This was the first in a seminar series called Mind Your Own Business Moms, started by two women I know through my kids’ school. It was held in a restaurant, and there were about 25 women there, prosperous and engaged in their lives but looking for a career to complete their fulfillment.

My presentation was entitled “Why Work?”, which I felt was apt considering these women are making a choice to work, and income is likely a secondary factor. I feel very passionate about women working as a protective measure. The truth is, 50% of us will get divorced and many of us will be widowed. Women outlive men by seven years, and that number is growing. A horrifying statistic: In the first year a woman is divorced her standard of living plummets by 73% on average. So one of the things I always stress to women is this: You never know.

If you start planning your career now, in a few years you’ll be making enough of a living to re-invigorate your earning power in the long-term. I shared many, many thoughts and tips with this group, and I will share a couple here:

-Figure out what you want to do, what companies interest you, and then find the right person to contact at those companies. Never go in blind.

-Don’t use the Internet to apply for jobs; unless you can prove that you fit the exact profile of what they are seeking in the ad, you will be ignored. Women who haven’t worked in years and/or are seeking part-time work do not qualify. Answering ads only makes you think you’re making progress when you’re not.

-You never know where you might find a job so be prepared. Have an elevator pitch, and use both old and new networks to talk with people. Anyway, there’s lots more in my presentation. If you’d like to view more of it, just email me and I’ll get it to you. Happy hunting!