The day has arrived. I can no longer pretend I am 25 anymore, even if my mental age seems stuck around that time. This weekend I turned 50 and while it certainly wasn’t unexpected, it can be a little challenging sometimes. This is especially true when you notice that some people begin to treat you differently. Knowing only your age, they think you might not be hip and cool (like I ever was) and very, very set in your ways. They might expect you to be conservative, careful and overly critical of the changes around you. Those of you who know me though , through these podcasts and elsewhere, know that I constantly fight against such issues, I try to keep my mind open, my thinking fresh and my curiosity turned way, way up. This is what I think it means to be 50.
As a long time career writer, I read a lot about careers. I follow career advisors and HR professionals on social media, read their blogs, browse magazines and other sources. One common source of career advice are human resources (HR) professionals. They are often consulted for inside information on what it takes to get hired, how to approach the hiring process and more. Unfortunately, I find that a lot of guidance and advice they give is often designed to make their life and work easier, not build the career you deserve.
Even in this year of 2014, I still meet lots of people, either just entering college or just finishing, who think that their time in college was intended to just get them a job. Like following some class rubric, they put in the time, check the checkboxes and expect to be hired within weeks. While I don’t think a college degree ever necessarily worked this way in the past, I think it is even less true to today. You don’t go to college to get a job. You go to college to learn facts and skills that you can apply to any number of jobs when the time comes. You never can tell what curves you will be thrown in your life and trying to learn just those items you need to a specific job could leave you unemployed once you graduate.
If you are like most people, you are constantly researching, reading and watching to find ways to make your career and life better. You read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch videos to see how others have achieved success — more importantly — how you might achieve success, too.
While it is certainly important to learn as much as you can, you should hold one, fundamental thought in the back of your mind. No matter how much success someone else has achieved, what worked for them might not work for you. Each of us is unique, with our own set of wants, needs and desires. Therefore our methods can and must be different, too. Sure we can take advice from others, adapt their behaviors, try on their methods and tactics, but there will times when we simply can’t use their information, simply because of our own unique differences.
In today’s connected world, video interviews are becoming quite typical when you are looking for a job. Whether the position is near or far geographically, the realities of gathering a hiring committee in one office at one time can be quite daunting, so many companies are turning to video interviews to allow the most flexibility possible, especially early in the hiring process.
First, all the typical rules about interview dress, preparation and demeanor apply to a video interview as much as a face-to-face interview. Dress appropriately and neatly. Dress completely, even if they will only see you from the waist up. You never know when you might need to move away from the computer to get paperwork or something else. Telephones and cell phones should be off and out of sight unless needed for something like noting a future appointment.
…or tell your Echo, “Alexa, play the podcast Career Opportunities”
Douglas talks with Jennifer Oliver O’Connell, founder and leader of Tuesdays with Transitioners, a job group in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. We talk about career transition, some misconceptions about transition and even how employers can work with transitioners to find great employees
Douglas sits down with Bill Farmer, voice actor for Disney’s Goofy and many other well-known animated characters. We talk about a career in voiceover, how to build it, how to sustain it and career potential of becoming a voice actor today.
As I have done nearly every year for the last 5 years here on Career Opportunities, I have chosen a theme for the coming year. This year is no exception and, in fact, this year’s theme is a very personal one for me. I see 2014 as a Year of Opportunity. As I emerge from my own year of transition, I see the great importance of attracting, recognizing and accepting opportunity in my life and career and I believe it is dramatically important for you, too. Everything we do, from the smallest actions to the largest goals should take opportunity into mind and use it as a way to focus our energy and attention.
It is Christmastime again and many people’s thoughts turn to shopping and presents and consuming in all its forms. As the years have passed, though, I have found myself thinking less about presents that come from the corner store (or Amazon) and more about presents that only I can give. After 27 years of marriage, my wife and I have basically agreed to give nothing more than token gifts on Christmas — something to enjoy opening with our family and something that is, hopefully, useful in our lives. These small presents are more than enough for one very special reason. Throughout the year, we give each other — and those around us — four very special gifts that are unique to us. These gifts include our time, our energy, our passion and our love. Even better, these are gifts that we have been able to give regardless of whether we have been rich or poor, ill or well, together or physically apart. We can give them to family, to friends, and even complete strangers. For me, these are the true gifts of Christmas and the entire year.
![Career Conversation: George Krueger and Mary-Lynn Foster of Bigg Success.com [Audio]](http://welchwrite.com/career/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/cc-bigg-success.jpg)
