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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When things don’t go as planned, there’s a tendency to back off and let opportunities fade away, or let others handle things while you stand on the sideline.  While a sharing of expertise on projects can be worthwhile, other times not stepping up and leaving things to others can become a negative pattern.  Are you feeling reluctant to try new things because you don’t want to fail or you feel you’re in uncharted territory? 

In our careers we’re often confronted with new challenges and it’s this reluctance to sail ahead that makes the difference between successful business people and those less successful.

“He’ll get the offer, so there’s no sense positioning myself for it.”  “No matter how much I market, it won’t change my client return ratio.”  “There are so many others that do what I do, regardless of my speciality or branding, the client can’t tell us apart and I probably won’t get the business.”  “I can do it, but if they can’t see that, I’m not going to bother asking.”  If any of this sounds like you – or some similar version of career reluctance - then it’s time to revamp your career commitment and relook your strategies to turn your results around.

The first step will be to make a new commitment to your work.  Without that willingness and belief in the possibility of new results and your deserving of them, along with your belief in your capabilities, then this list below won’t apply.  (Hint:  If you weren’t willing to revamp things or work towards improving your career outlook, then you probably wouldn’t be reading this).

1.  Make a list of successes you’ve caused within the last 6 months to a year. 
2.  Examine the list and circle any similarities (noting dissimilarities) in how those came about.
3.  Recognize specific actions you took that led to positive results to decide if you’re willing and able to replicate them.
4.  Make a list of anyone who was your ambassador or a beneficial contact then to retap them if needed.
5.  Decide your most important current objectives for your business or projects now and what resources you’ll need.
6.  Let go of any projects you honestly don’t feel ready or able to head up and don’t fault your decision to do so.
7.  Notice if your reluctance has to do with stronger personalities that surround you and practice being assertive, while never exhibiting any feelings of distrust or jealousy in what they do.
8.  You can delegate by empowering others and demonstrating appreciation, while remaining in control of a project.

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