My naivety in my twenties and my “can-do” attitude had me apply for positions that sounded interesting and I had a smattering of qualifications for, but in general they were jobs out of my league.  Some might say, “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” and while at times that can be true, my choices led me to experience embarrassing situations where I could chalk up additional rejections instead of focusing on pursuing those jobs I was most qualified for and interested in.

For example, after several classes in Japanese and prior to my living there for a year, I felt confident in my basic Japanese that I applied to be a pharmaceutical representative and liaison with the company’s Japan branch here in the U.S.  (Never mind that I had no pharmaceutical training or knowledge of this industry at all, not to mention that some of my values and my skill set didn’t align with this work.)   

I’ll bet you can imagine the evening our company president and I met with the Japan representative in an elegant hotel lobby and I exchanged a few basic introductory sentences with him and shortly after we both clearly got that I had no clue what he was saying.  What a disaster!

When I did finally travel tol Japan, I agreed to teach a company of men after their work hours how to speak English.  It didn’t occur to me that we’d have difficulty communicating, though none of them spoke any English.  After being let go of this position, I met someone who introduced me to a doctor.  He stuck me in a lab coat and had me speak my pidgeon Japanese to his patients to take their history.  How embarrassing for us both - particulary when they had to point to their aching body part and I was trying to figure out what they were saying and type up their information.  I was clearly a show piece only, as the doctor followed up with these same questions himself.  Why did I agreed to do it?  I was wooed by the satisfaction of landing work, earning some income and mistakenly assuming the job would lead to something better.  Sound familiar?  It actually took me several more awkward jobs before I realized to seek those that best matched my skill and aligned with my values.  So, what about you?

Are you telling long tales about yourself to get a job you aren’t qualified for or isn’t your best fit?  

I recently had a phone call with a woman who has become my client.  Her daughter will be leaving for college soon and, since she is divorced, she wants to begin to explore a new career that may involve traveling.  I am always so impressed by those who don’t wait till they feel the proddings of a long period of emptiness and restlessness before they get out ahead of the next phase in their life. 

This woman contacted me to help her revisit and assess her deepest interests, skills and talents at this time and seek the career she most wants to pursue.

She, like so many other clients I’ve been proud to work with, have had the foresight to make changes rather than wait for them.  American actress Lorna Luft said, “Life will force you to make changes you never wanted to make.”  Life is indeed like a moving river with many tributaries and if you know which one you want to head down, since you’ve got the paddles in hand, you can steer your boat in the direction of your choosing.

Recently I met a lovely woman who I overheard telling someone she was laid off from her job.  I introduced myself and told her I’m a coach.  She shared her business card with me and it said she was a “Personal Coach.”  I said, “Oh, that’s the work I do as well as career coaching.”  She told me she’s not really a coach.  She’d been in sales and is good with people and lots of friends ask her for advice, so she had the cards made up.   Hmmm.

Her background was in education and I suggested that she might want to seek the training to become a coach and work with clients in the education field.  I told her about another woman I know who successfully transitioned from being a teacher to coaching folks in education.   But this woman implied coaching isn’t a field she’d be interested in fulltime and said, “I really do it for fun.” 

Of course I didn’t tell her about the time and money I’ve put into becoming a master certified coach through The Hudson Institute and the International Coach Federation, or that I have a business administration degree.  I didn’t tell her about the continuing education seminars and conferences I attend and my extensive library of business books and self-growth readings.  I didn’t tell her I’m in my 16th year of coaching.  That would have appeared arrogant and been rude.  But I have to wonder…

Wouldn’t it be more ethical and more clear for her to be available to assist her friends without formality and not position herself as someone with the training and expertise she doesn’t have?  

It will be much better when this coaching industry is state regulated to make it easier for clients to know just who they’re getting – and even why they may get mixed results in working with different people.  In the meantime, buyer beware.

Cynthia launched into the room, all pumped with energy, her flyers in hand.  The meeting room was already crowded.  She immediately arranged her three flyers on the nearest promotion table, even though there was scarely any space.  She combined someone else’s flyers into another person’s pile to make room for her own to be splayed out. 

She’d made sure her wallet had plenty of business cards before she left the house and she added several to the table too.  Cynthia thought it was okay to place them on top of another person’s flyers.  “Afterall, he’s in carpet cleaning, so everyone can tell we’re two different businesses.  And, with my photo on my cards, I’ll stick out.” 

Looking ever the part of the consummate professional in her new pants outfit, even though she had few clients and no current prospects for more, she eagerly jumped into an existing conversation with a small group nearby.  She began with a long introduction of herself, not noticing the awkward looks on their faces since she’d interrupted someone mid-sentence who had been talking. 

When it was time to give her 30-second business introduction, she went over the alloted minute per person.  The meeting leader had to ring the bell twice on her, but she didn’t pay any attention, and kept on with a few more sentences before finishing and walking to her seat.  ”I pay for these meetings,” she thought, “and 30-seconds is no where enough time to tell everyone all I do.”

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If your finances dictate a need to go back to work after a time away, the window of time you have before relaunch makes a difference in the quality of your preparation and how you’ll spend that time.  In a challenging economy where several others are seeking the same job you need to be better prepared.  Here’s a couple of ways to do that with different scenarios:

You don’t know what kind of work you want to do, but have time to figure it out pull out the old classics: What Color Is Your Parachute? (go through it’s wealth of useful info and exercises, esp. the “Flower” exercise in the back of the book and consider getting the accompanying workbook) and 
I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was. Even work through Career Match: Connecting Who You Are With What You’ll Love To Do by Zichy and Bidou.  These are available at individual sites online as well as Amazon.  I usually pick them at my local library and any edition works well, then xerox the exercises I need to fill out.

Also take the assessment from the book, Now Discover Your Strengths, to learn more about your important leading edges and consider the Elevations Online Career Assessment  by Helen Scully (which I’ve been trained in to use with clients too).  There are many free, low-cost and useful online career assessments.  “Know thyself first.”

If you don’t know what kind of work you want to do and have little time  Hire a career coach to help you quickly clarify your direction and streamline your search.  You may still have to do some of the work above, but she/he can help you sort through it and only work on the information that’s needed to move quickly ahead.  See 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller, president of the Business Source.  This book helps you make successful job and career decisions.  If you go on the About.com website, you can compare pricing on this and other books from many store and online locations.

If you know what you want to do and are just trying to find the work  Get either of Alison Doyle’s books. She’s a job search expert who specializes in online searches.  Also, The Job Search Solution:  The Ultimate System for Finding a Great Job Now! by Tony Beshara, a top recruiter who has been on the Dr. Phil Show, has a step-by-step system to finding a job. 

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