Evaluating options- when is any job a good job?

When the year turned, I starting noticing more opportunities popping up again. Recently we were contacted by an old friend with a current job in a non-profit for a cause we care about. Grant Writing jobs are hard to come by in this climate. So seeing a actual grant position caused me to feel happiness. Then I saw the salary and needs of the position and I felt defeated again. This is a position that either Bill or I might consider, but neither of us was planning to hit an office again full time any time soon (we've hung on this long, after all) and the salary associated with the responsibilities involved is very low. It isn't an easy position to handle and it doesn't really pay what we need. Uh oh. There are other benefits to the position ( including health care which is exciting), but all of these things need to be weighed out now. We have some thinking to do. When do you say "when?"

One of my friends who had been unemployed for a while was recently hired at for half of what they earned before. The comment on the matter was "twice as much as unemployment."

So using that logic, it is twice as much as nothing which is where I'm at considering I didn't qualify for unemployment benefits because I had most recently been an independent contractor.

In theory any job is a good job right? I went back to my "Just say no" blog and reviewed my main criterion for decision making at that point. This fits one of my three main criterion because it is a good match for my skills. While the position is not from home, it isn't as far away from home as some non- profit jobs want to be and there may be flexibility to work from home at some point. My third criterion, however, is that my job needs to justify living in LA. This role definitely serves the people of Los Angeles and so that adds some emotional connection for me. But financially living in LA, I have to figure out how to make my own life work before I can help others right now. With Bill not working steadily either, a position that is full time plus at a low pay rate that doesn't help us keep our lifestyle now is scary.

But any job is a good job really, right? Maybe I'm being too picky? Maybe I should suck it up and take a job I would have been awesome at 15 years ago when I was more focused on my career? Maybe I should be happy to be getting a paycheck. I'm not sure how to feel here.

Much to consider here in clan Maxwell. The good news is that more little gigs and opportunities have been happening for us this week. I'm taking it as a good sign that the phone ( and inbox) are ringing. It does make me feel better to see things coming back again. Non profits are starting to think clearly again about planning and realizing where they fit in the new economy. The video game world where Bill often dwells is starting to lurch back into business after the great freeze on game development of 2008-2009.

Feel free to comment. I'm trying to sort through the choices and you are welcome to chime in. I'm sure it will be an interesting weekend of discussions here.

Changing Careers for Dummies- time to get bookish

I spent several years working in the Career Center at CSU, Northridge and more years beyond that counseling students about how volunteerism can impact career choices. I dispensed a lot of career guidance wisdom. My own career seemed pretty straight forward and was rolling out like good cookie dough. And then something went wrong with my recipe and now I find myself as a career changer at age 40 with 3 kids and a complicated lifestyle. Now I have to practice what I used to preach.

Armed with library books, websites, a white board with dry erase markers and lots of paper, I'm going to tackle my career changing dilemmas and look at some of my friends who seem to be in the same boat. In my case, I took a leap of faith when I left the stable state job and I'm still leaping away. What's hung me up was that my recipe went awry when I didn't count the economy tanking into my timeline. My husband's career took a huge hit in the last few years as well just when it looked like his plans were on track. I've had to face facts that my consulting career will need a little more time to get where I need it to be in order to support my family. Plus my niche market for the type of consulting I do in in a special place right now. Time for a new plan, new niches and broader approaches to what I do. Time to get busy.

My opinion of career exploration is that any process is a good one. I went to library and listened to friends and came up with a few books to get myself started. I'm looking for structure.
I want simple forms that help me understand how to fix the problem today. There are people who have formed their careers around career development and have figured out a thing or two.
I looked for systems that seemed easy to use. I would love to see the 2010 version of Parachute, but I don't want to invest in a hard cover at this time. Maybe after I wade into the 2006 library version, I'll be inspired to pay the $28 to buy the current book. There are chapters in the latest addition that talk about finding a job in hard times. Ironically, this version is not available yet at our libraries in LA. Whine. I'm having problems figuring out how to easily link into the library database, so I've found the books on Amazon just in case you want to make a purchase.

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2006 version- Richard Nelson Bolles. This is what I'm working from checked out at the library. I'll be referring to this book a lot in the coming blogs as I figure out what tools will help me.

Here's a link for the 2010 version I found on Amazon for a soft cover modern version at a great rate. YAY! I may have to buy it and then see where that gets us. http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2010/dp/1580089879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262555857&sr=8-1

For now, I'll be using the 2006 library option since I'm trying to go about this the low-budget way whenever possible. It would be handy if the library carried the version with the "hard times" section, eh?

I'm also reading and using book "Do What You Love For the Rest of Your Life- a practical guide to career change and personal renewal" by Bob Griffiths, also checked out from the LAPL.
I like the tone of this book and am finding many of the chapters and practically minded tools appealing. I think I'll be doing worksheets from various books as I progress. For now, I am enjoying reading this one and soaking up the positive perspective on gaining a sense of personal renewal with my career. Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Rest-Your-Life/dp/0345441397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262556343&sr=8-1, but I found it in the library on-line at http://www.lapl.org/.

My last book stack entry into the mix is "Changing Careers for Dummies" by Carol L. McClelland.
This book sums up my experience right now. I feel like a dummy being in my situation. I didn't expect to land in this position when I took my leap of faith, yet here I am. I have to do something and this book distills my next steps into bites I can handle. I also enjoy the humor and easy to read format. Here's the Amazon link for this one:http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Careers-Dummies-Carol-McClelland/dp/0764553763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262556489&sr=8-1

I'm looking forward to getting started with these books this week and getting myself back in action and focused on what I need to do next. I'll be blogging about what comes of all that and I hope you'll share your own career process stories here. Thanks!

On the hunt: 2010 and time to find my inner career cougar

I've been watching the show Cougartown a lot recently. Go ahead and laugh, but I am getting somewhere with this. While I'm not single and ready to mingle as a forty-something mom like the main character is, I am forty and facing big life changes. The lighthearted look at transition really appeals to me right now. I like thinking about how to be more empowered and bold. I'm ready to begin the actual hunt for the new career path. I've accepted that my past is over and now I have to be present in my circumstance and do my thing. I am a Career Changer in the worst economy of my lifetime, with three kids and a need to be mission centered in my career. Ruh-roh.

Here's my agenda for the next few weeks to getting myself aligned with where I am now (which can look very swirly sometimes) and returning back to the game of being an income earner.
I'm interested in income a lot these days, but I don't want to blow my ship totally off course either. I keep trying to play my circumstances smart and I can see myself in ten years saying "wow, that sucked and here's what worked for me to get through it." But this is one map that makes itself as you go along and the career landscape is changing fast in 2010.

Here's my self-help regimen for Winter 2010 to get my career hunt back on:

1. Books! The library has a pretty good selection of career related books. For best choice of titles, I suggest looking on-line and placing a hold to go to your local branch. I've been soaking up a lot of books lately. I'll be blogging soon about my process with the "What Color is Your Parachute" series and other books like "Changing Careers for Dummies." What matters, in my opinion, is that any process is probably good process. You need a plan to succeed and then if that plan fails, develop ( yet another) plan to work it out. Most career books offer practical steps to get answers. Since I'm just swirling around the questions, I need a way to get to the answers.
Writing things down and brainstorming work well for me. I also like to write some of my process and then burn it to let go of that intention. So I'm going to grill myself until the timer of my Easy Bake oven goes off. Lots of planning to do to get myself where I want to be. Books are a good place to start. Actually do the work they suggest and you'll probably be better for it.


2. Clothes! Having a plan is important with clothes and "the look."

This is where I wish I looked like Courtney Cox for my own hunting purposes.

I have shoes older than my children. My eldest is almost 10. I spent my professional office years at a university where I had event related polo shirts as a uniform most of the time. I worked at Habitat for Humanity before CSUN and so my wardrobe has never been well developed. I would wear jeans all the time if allowed. But jeans are not going to get be hired in this economy. At least not doing the types of jobs I need to be taking on in order to support my family.

My dad and his wife just bought me a bunch of clothes for professional use. I found stuff that really suits who I am now and also says "2010 modernly dressed woman" and not Oprah's "frumpelina." The shoes are an outstanding issue yet to be resolved. I'll be posting about my adventure in clothes later too. Having a plan is what is really important with clothes and "the look." I can't afford to go buy a lot of anything right now. So I have to shop smart, hunt for bargains and be open minded. But I also don't want to look crazy in the latest trends.
However I get to the goal, I need to design my look around the job I want and find a way to make that happen.

3. Connect and communicate! Since I'm working off-road with my career now, I need to keep talking and connecting with people in my life. You never know where opportunity may find you or how your past may connect to your future. It does get old to keep talking about my career woes at family functions and in social occasions. It's not a bright, fun topic. However, learning to frame the madness in my life around communicating with others has helped me understand where I am in the modern day, 2010. I've learned that sounding like an Eeyore gets you "ho hum" results while sounding like a Tigger gets you positive feedback ( and occasional confused looks.)

My plan is to keep talking about my career till somebody directs my time by making me an income earner again. The more I talk about it, the more clarity I gain about what may work for me. Trying to be positive while talking to others has taught me a lot about how I might steer my ship. I have to find a positive way to communicate to people when they ask "what kind of job are you looking for?" or "what do you do?" It's my role in this puzzle to be positive and open minded, but I also have to start naming my intentions to other people or I'll never get anywhere.

Whew. Welcome 2010~

Three is enough tips for me today. I'm gonna go get my career cougar on now. Time to get focused and find a way to make all of this work. Whoot!

A Year Without A Job- holiday edition

A year ago, I still felt pretty much like myself. I expected that an opportunity would come my way and my life would stay pretty much the way it was before. My lay-off was just a glitch to the plan. Right?

It was this time last year ( after my spate of press) that I started to face the music about what was coming in my career and also for my husband in his niche. My life was changing, my state ( CA) was changing, the world was changing. Uh-oh. I have three kids and it is holiday time. Crap.

I come from a retail background and I enjoyed the mall in my day, it is true. I do miss consumption sometimes. Finding myself without an income in the middle of a ginormous economic crisis was not what I had in mind for my life. At the holidays last year, I wanted so desperately to retain my normal. I felt in shock about how the heck I was going to keep going for my three kids and get this figured out.

In the year since then, I've realized a few things and I'm gonna share those now:

1. Presence, not presents, make the holidays. While having less income means less presents, it means my husband and I are available more often for our children. My kids want my attention and focus more than they really want that toy they'll play with five times and then discard.

2. Family togetherness is fun. I've noticed this year that we do more chores together as a family now and sing often while we do them. We all make up silly songs as part of our daily lives and we love to sing. So now that we are home more and at the mall/movies/activity less, we sing more. We also drum, play games, create shows, watch Youtube, etc. as a family. It's more enjoyable than I knew coming into this. Sometimes I feel stressed about the not-working thing and feel like an irresponsible parent. Then I go cook something with my kids and I feel better.

3. Traditions are what makes a family. My kids are coming up with all sorts of things we do "every year" now. It is awesome and fun. We like to spread cheer and joy as a family and I'm noticing that the kids are picking up on some of my habits like going to malls this time of year and just being cheery to stressed out shoppers. My daughters have favorite recipes now and various ideas about what happens when. These little traditions we make will be what they remember more than the absence of the latest toy.

4. Giving Back gives back to you, too. Last year we were getting food from a food bank and my kids, husband and I had to work through that for ourselves. We appreciated the joy in a can we got every time we got food there. The help we received gave us great joy when we needed it most. This year, my girls have been involved with making sure we donate toys and food when we can and we've enjoyed spreading joy in this way. Since we've had some funds this year, we make sure to buy an extra here and there. The girls feel strongly about these donations and so do I. It feels good to help others the way we have been helped. I have hold fast to the idea with my kids that there's always someone who needs our help in this world. This perspective has helped us all weather this crazy year of change.

5. Count your blessings. My family has a lot of resources that other families don't have. We are very fortunate in so many ways. I try to remember that when I want to feel whiny. But more than just realizing that it could be worse, I also have been trying to honor the many people in our lives that help us in ways large and small. This journey of not having an income has been rough, and I wouldn't have made it through without the support in my life that we do have. I've also had to learn to open my mouth and ask for help too. Blessings don't read minds.

I'm looking forward to a week of joy with my family and friends. We have a dear friend who found a new place and is moving this week and we'll be spending some time in the karmic moving continuum. We'll also be playing with our kids, spending time with extended family, working on our own writing careers and looking for ways to earn income so we can live to tell the tale.

Just saying no

During my own year without a regular job, I've have to learn a lot about holding my boundaries.
While feeling the punch of a financial crisis, it is easy to feel like you ought to take any job available.

After a while of hitting brick walls with my career plan this year, I started to feel very confused. Along with the changing economy, I'm not sure where to put my eggs. The "basket" is hard to understand right now. Will the basket in question hold water? You don't know till you pour your heart, soul and energy into the basket. And then the little sucker breaks onto your shoes.

My career path confuses other people too. I've stopped trying to define it and I'm trying to be open minded. But I still should have a better answer to the question than "something with a line item and a budget" as my career choice. I have had to learn to fake it till I make it and keep an open mind about opportunities.

Here's the thing about opportunities tho- not all of them are the right one. How the heck do you sort out where to put the eggs? If any job is a good job, where do you draw the line?

Here are some tools I've used this year to evaluate my options

Cost:benefit analysis- Is this worth my time right now? Can it lead to something else? Will this project help me with my network of allies? Are there actual costs associated with this role ( like childcare, wardrobe, transportation costs?) Is the benefit of the role worth it?

My own mission- Even in sucky economic times, I try to be true to myself and my goals for my career. In fact, it is probably more important now than ever. I don't want to let the economic winds force me too far off track. But I can't eat my values. Yay for balance!

Impact on my family- Another type of cost of work is how a role will impact my family. Taking a role that changes our lifestyle does impact them too. I brainstorm about how a role is going to fit into our lives and then use that evidence to help me evaluate.

Emotions versus logic- Sometimes my reasons for wanting to say no to an opportunity are logical and sometimes they are emotional. Both are valid, but it helps to understand which one is driving the bus. I trust my intuition and I trust evidence I can evaluate about a role.

Viability of an organization or business- I've been connecting with a lot of start ups and young organizations as a result of the work I do. I've had to take hard looks at these businesses and evaluate the long term impact for my career. It is hard to predict what will be economically viable these days, but I have to give it my best shot with the information I have available.

Making promises I can keep- Saying "yes" is easy to do. I want to help people. I want to work with motivated people and make rain happen. But I can't do it all, even if I was getting paid. I've had to learn my boundaries about what is reasonable on my end too.

Faith in the process- I took a leap of faith with my career that I could be balanced and healthy and happy and wise. I have to trust the process now and that is hard to do some days.

Learning to say "no" to offers has been hard for me this year. I don't want to make stupid choices and that includes not wanting to turn my back on opportunities. But I also have to look at what a position offers. Lots of people want me to work for free with the option of maybe possibly one day getting paid to do what I do. I've been calling it "pro bono" work lately rather than volunteerism. This makes me feel a little better and it may be how I have to carve my career path out now. I may not get a job as a programs person in non profits again until I write a grant and make it happen. But I still want my choices to be good ones.

My year without a job

I was officially let off contract/laid-off in fall of 2008. Since then, my life has been a series of questions and not a lot of answers. Every time I think I move forward, something has happened that messes with the latest plan. The good news is that I see signs of hope now that I didn't a year ago and now people are talking about it. When I was first in the free fall suck fest of no job and no clue what to do, most people in my life still had income. The scary part is how many people have joined me in this boat over the past year. People I didn't expect to see in the boat. While that made me feel better as an individual, it scared me for the implications to our future as a species. It has been a scary year to go through this process, but I'm still kickin a year later. I'm sure the day will come when I look back on these times and laugh. Right? "Remember the 2000's- that decade was a hoot, wasn't it?"

Here are some of my thoughts about not having a job this year:

1. Not having a title is scary. I've had a title (and a door and assistants) in my career. Now i don't even have a title. Who am I? Do I have worth anymore?

2. Not have an industry is scarier. When I was let go, I had to take a hard look at my chosen niche and my strategy for my career. My industry (grant writing for Charter schools in CA) has been in turmoil this year. I am pretty sure the education system will realize they need grant writers and program planners again, but it may take a few years to regain foresight. Meanwhile, my plan took a nose dive. My safe, logical plan. So sad.

3. Living my program with volunteering has been awesome. I've been a person who is paid to coordinate volunteers for a long time now. I counseled a lot of students to volunteer and get involved. Now I am doing it myself, I really see the value. I've learned a great deal about who I am in the present separate from the titles and plans. What I will do for free tells me a lot about who I am now, in 2009/2010. I have also been able to learn skills and modernize my resume.

4. Beyond the crystal ball. I've always been able to predict outcomes pretty well and spot trends in funding. But my crystal ball got messed up in the last couple of years. I get a lot of static when I try to evaluate the best plan for moving forward and what the future will hold. I've had to let go of the plan and accept the present and just be who I am. I'm not really sure where I'll find a paying role again and I'm not sure how to help others know where to put their eggs either. The new normal is an evolving beast now. I've had to accept that the plan needs to be really fluid.

5. I need less than I used to think I needed. I've learned to live cheaper and this part is cool. I plan to keep some lessons I've learned in scaling back spending.

6. Community is important. I've been more involved with community stuff this year and it has helped me in many ways. Help has come from surprising places for us this year and we've also been able to help others too. I feel fortunate to have great people in my life.

7. Politics are important. Ironically, I've had a lot of time this year to be involved with politics that are important to me. It has been gratifying to be involved with projects that mean something to me. I may not have a regular job, but I am involved in a lot of projects that need people like me with energy to get them done.

8. I am not my job. This is perhaps the most important lesson I've gotten this year. So much energy is spent figuring out out professional roles and we spend so much time at work and stressing about work. While I can feel like a strange duck sometimes since I don't have a career path and title right now, I also have a sense of freedom and connected-ness to who I am rather than the role I was in. I see work/life/family balance differently than I did a year ago and I take the lessons I've learned this year seriously.

It's all about who you know

I wrote a humorous post a couple days back about how some people can be annoying when you have no job. Well, other people can also be wonderful and I wanted to share that perspective as well.

I used to take a pretty safe approach to my job. It was a fairly clear path with one skill set neatly tucked into another. By all accounts, I've had a great career so far. I win awards, people write me and tell me I changed their lives. But I ended up trying to innovate my career during a really hard time in history to be brave and bold. As a result, what I expected to work has not worked and now I need to find some new options.

Last year when my contracts dried up, I started using www.helpareporter.com as a tool to learn a different type of writing, modernize my tool kit and deal with my depression over my life and career. I started answering queries from reporters all over on assorted subject related to the economy and being a modern mom. The process of writing these queries up and talking to reporters was validating. It was exciting that anyone was interested given that I felt sucky most of the time. Then I started getting quoted in all sorts of random places- New York Times.com, Wall Street Journal ( with a drawing!), Parents magazine, Good Housekeeping, So Cal Connected.com LA Times, Cnn.com, Good Morning America.

Here's the thing with being quoted about things like having a sucky life- it stirs up things for people in your life. I got random job offers and job leads from strangers and friends alike. People sent money and presents at the holidays. One long time friend took a collection at work for us.
Friends who live far away worked together and sent an anonymous gift of a check and a tricked out Trader Joe's basket and fresh eggnog from a farm. That was awesome and we were touched by the random acts of kindness we experienced as a result of our press junket talking about "boo hoo for us."

I learned through my press that you never know who you know and you can't talk enough about what you are going through. It gets hard to keep saying "our lives suck right now" over and over again, but sometimes saying it out loud is the first step in changing the circumstances.

I hope that this year you can reach out to someone in need in your life. I know we are in a variety of ways. My kids are all too aware what a stressful holiday season looks like and they are motivating us to give to toy and foods drives because they know what it means to the recipients.
It feels good to help people and there's always someone a little needier than us.

Last year when we did the KCET web piece, my daughter said she wanted pants for a gift. A year later and she still needs pants. Things have changed in our world and it is process to face that change daily. As a family, we are focused less on what we want and more on what we need.
But we're also focusing on the many blessings we have which includes all the great people who have helped us in small and large ways this year.