Career Opportunities with Douglas E. Welch

A Year of Self Preservation from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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As I have done for the past several years, 2013 starts with a word or phrase that I will focus on throughout the year. It is always my hope that you will find this focus just as useful. For 2013, I am declaring A Year of Self Preservation. A year of taking care of yourself so that you can help take care of others.

When we had our son nearly 15 years ago, our pediatrician passed on an important piece of advice — one that I share with almost everyone I meet at some point. “Rested Parents are Good Parents!” It is so easy, as a new parent to dedicate yourself so completely to your child that everything else in your life suffers. Your sleep suffers, of course, but also your relationship with your spouse and family, your relationship with friends and even your relationship with yourself. Your work and career can suffer, as well.

Read A Year of Self Preservation from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

I’ve said much the same thing that Seth is saying here (see below) in past columns (Economic downturns makes career planning even more important
October 3rd, 2008) and I wanted to reinforce those words with his analysis here. Profit gained by extorting, abusing and defrauding others is anathema to our society and — I believe — not required for a decent (sometimes astronomical) profit. Still people will cut corners, lie, cheat and steal while all the while proclaiming “It’s not my fault! I did nothing wrong! It is all the company’s fault!”

Companies, by their very nature, cannot have consciences. They can’t distinguish between right and wrong. Only the employees of a company have that power, but they abdicate it in some false sense of righteousness that they were only “doing their job!” 

Avoid those whose only motive us profit. You will not be above their abuse. You’re only seen as another mark to be conned — another sheep to be fleeced.

Nearly fifty years ago, Milton Friedman published a polemic, an article that altered the way many people think about corporations and their role in society. Countless writers have explained why it’s poorly reasoned, dangerous and wrong. (Including business school deans, Harvard Business Review and Fortune).

The simple message of the simple article was: “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits…”

Friedman does add a parenthetical, “so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud,” but it’s clear that his emphasis is on the first part.

Read Off the hook with Milton Friedman via Seth Godin’s Blog

Start the New Year without a plan From the Career Opportunities Podcast

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In the past, I have written columns on starting the New Year off right in terms of your career. I have told you “Don’t make resolutions, make action items.” (2010) I have said “Get a plan” (2006) and encouraged you to “Start a Journal for the New Year.” This year, however, I have decided to do the opposite. I think 2013 is the year you just might want to begin WITHOUT a plan. After almost 30 years of creating a career, I have seen how plans, dreams and resolutions can often go awry — not because they were bad, but simply because they were inflexible. When the realities of life meet the complexities and chaos of your career, things can fly apart. Rather than fly apart with them, I’m urging you to build some flexibility into your New Year.

Read Start the New Year without a plan From the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Halfway out of the dark from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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“…wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact mid-point, everybody stops and turns and hugs. As if to say, “Well done. Well done, everyone! We’re halfway out of the dark.” — Doctor Who, A Christmas Carol

As in the quote above, we are very close to our own moment of the year where we are “halfway out of the dark.” The Winter Solstice has passed and the days get longer – second by second, minute by minute – with each passing day. In our careers, it is important to remember this endless cycles that has gone on for millions of years. The darkness comes, the darkness abates and then it all starts over again.

Of course the same cycle can be said to occur in our lives and in our careers. There are boom times, there are bust times and there is everything in between. No one knows exactly what life will bring, but I find myself more and more assured each day, that the cycles will continue to oscillate back and forth for as long as we – and the planet – exist. Cycles are a fundamental part of our world. Look to any science – physics, chemistry, biology – and you will see them represented. It only makes sense that cycles occur over and over in our lives as well.

Read Halfway out of the dark from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Tips for the long-term unemployed from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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Throughout my life, both offline and online, I meet many people who — for lack of a better term — find themselves among the long-term unemployed. They might be working in some capacity, as a freelancer, for example, but they would much rather re-join the ranks of full-time employees. They can find themselves in this situation due to a layoff, recovery from health problems or because they followed a career path that has not worked out. Regardless of the reasons, there are several tips that can help the long-term unemployed get back to work full-time.

Read Tips for the long-term unemployed from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

What You Need: Presenting Yourself Well from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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With this column I am starting an ongoing series entitled, “What You Need.” These columns will highlight what I consider the fundamental foundations of any career. These foundations often deal with the, so-called, “softer” side of jobs, work and careers, but I have always considered this the most important part of any career. These foundations are the underpinnings of everything else that you do in your career and without tending to them you put yourself at a severe disadvantage.

Read What You Need: Presenting Yourself Well from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Do your best work from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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In any given day at work, we are faced with a multitude of  — often conflicting — priorities. We are trying to keep everyone happy, from our boss to our customers, trying to be productive and sometimes most important, trying to make some money to support ourselves and perhaps our families. Amidst all these priorities, we can sometimes lose sight of the most important goal of any day at work — to do the best work possible. For me, doing the best work possible overrides nearly every other priority.

The more things change…the better! from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

The more things change…the better! from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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I was walking around a local store yesterday when I was struck with a bit of an epiphany. There, on the end of a shopping aisle, were some lightbulbs for sale. These lights were the, now ubiquitous, compact fluorescent bulbs, but there was something odd about them. These bulbs were manufactured with an outside enclosure to specifically make them look like the incandescent bulbs that most of us grew up with. A company had taken the time to do the research and create this product specifically for those people who were unwilling to give up their idea of what they thought a light bulb should look like.

The more things change…the better! from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Kickstart Your Creativity – 30 Tips! via Stage 32

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A recent poll of creatives found that 37% experience the greatest dip in their creativity on Saturday. But not you, right? You’re going to use today to start, continue or shore up that creative project.

Even if that’s not the case, or if you’ve lately found yourself in a creative lull, courtesy of our friends at lifehack.org, here are 30 inspiring and motivational tips to kickstart your creativity.

Enjoy!

1. Surround yourself with creative people.Hang out with writers, musicians, poets and artists. Often, just being in a creative environment will inspire you and refresh your creative mind.
2. Start somewhere.If you create a load of crap for a few pages, whether it’s creative writing in Word or sheet music, the brain loosens up and it’s easier to break through the barrier and come up with ideas.

Read Kickstart Your Creativity – 30 Tips! via Stage 32

Stop worshipping the obsessive from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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As a people, Americans love to worship the obsessives among us. Witness the near deification of Steve Jobs and other amazing business people. We are quick to forgive them their sins of anti-social, bullying and “ends justify the means” behavior since their accomplishments are so great. We begin to see their obsessive behaviors as the one true secret to business and life success. Unfortunately, business thought-leaders have tied onto this star, as well, and seem to think that this obsessive behavior is the ONLY way to achieve success in any business. While certainly there are some success stories of obsessive leaders leading a company to greatness, to expect everyone to be obsessive is a road to disaster.

Read Stop worshipping the obsessive from the Career Opportunities Podcast

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library