Great Occupations

In his book, Release Your Brilliance, Simon T. Bailey speaks about his belief that you have what he calls a Universal Assignment. He adds, “And you are the only person on this planet of 6.5 billion people that can fulfill that assignment. You are here on Earth for a very specific reason. There is a void in the world that needs your touch, your insight, your wisdom you magic. You are here to be different and to make a difference.” Ah, making a difference... that intrinsic quality we find so elusive in our careers. I once read a survey in which employees were asked what they want most from their jobs. Choosing from a list of options such as... Read the rest of this entry »

On Monday, in one of the career transition networking groups that I sometimes facilitate, we discussed our favorite ways to network and shared what seemed to benefit us the most.

Many of us in the room talked about the networking we do with others in our professional areas, as well as the personal causes we volunteered for. Those of us who network at professional events and through associations agreed that, as a whole, this kind of networking yielded the best results for job search and career development. It is also relatively easy to do since hanging out with our own kind makes it easier to break the ice with strangers who obviously have something in common with us… our trade or profession.

Then concept of “giving back” came up.

One gentleman in the group said that he likes giving back by volunteering with his professional organization because he loves the prestige he gains and the visibility it gives him. He’s gearing up to attend the annual conference in California. He’ll be paying for this trip out of his own pocket since he doesn’t have an employer to cover his expenses. However, he sees a tremendous value in giving of his time and energy, creating visibility for himself, maintaining his reputation as a global expert in his field and meeting up with other attendees who might just have the power to hire him. It makes him feel useful while he’s staying abreast of what’s going on his field.

Those of us who network for personal causes talked about how we get motivated by the good feelings we get from our efforts – from knowing we are making a difference. One person in the room talked about how he likes giving back by volunteering for an organization that feeds homeless people in our local community. He says that he gets two main things out of doing this during his job search: 1) It boosts his self-esteem. He’s spent months in a tough job search, and he likes feeling that he has done something worthy during a time in which it’s sometimes very hard to feel good about himself. 2) When he sees others who are struggling – who are in a more difficult situation than he is – he gains a sense of gratitude for what he does have even though he hasn’t gotten a job yet.

Giving back is a great way to maintain a positive attitude whether it’s professionally giving back or giving back to a social or spiritual cause. Remember, a positive attitude is vital to your success. When you feel bad, your body language will give you away – that negative attitude will ultimately sabotage you.

Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses and 2×1 individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.