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Career Opportunities Podcasts for 2011

December 31st, 2011 Comments off

Here is a complete list of all the columns and podcasts for 2011, just in case you happened to miss any along the way. Please feel free to offer your questions and comments in each show. I’ll see those comments and chime in with my response.

 

 

January 14, 2011 What day is it?
January 31, 2011 Communication and your career
February 14, 2011 The care and feeding of your career
March 6, 2011 Those who take advantage
March 25, 2011 Your career is about YOU!
April 1, 2011 Hitting the bullseye
April 8, 2011 Taking responsibility for your own education
April 29, 2011 What I tell every new careerbuilder
May 27, 2011 It doesn’t take permission to do good work
June 10, 2011 Networking means connections, not just collecting business cards
July 1, 2011 Time for a review
July 9, 2011 Too much can’t
July 18, 2011 Most of us undervalue our knowledge
July 29, 2011 Work your rolodex like a pro
August 5, 2011 Make the extrinsic, intrinsic in your job search
August 12, 2011 Opting out of social media is no longer an option
August 27, 2011 The importance of the teachable moment
September 16, 2011 Look deeper to find hidden jobs
October 1, 2011 Networking is not about business cards
October 30, 2011 A college degree isn’t a license to a great career
November 6, 2011 Treat every career like an entertainment career
November 18, 2011 What you DON’T do is often more important than what you do
December 12, 2011 The pain of solving a problem today is always less than the pain of solving it tomorrow
December 30, 2011 Life isn’t about the ticking clock

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Life isn’t about the ticking clock – Podcast

December 30th, 2011 Comments off

Career Opportunities podcast logo

At the end of each year I see many articles that seek to remind people “the clock is ticking.” Many of us see the New Year’s countdown as another sign that another hour, day, week or month has slipped away.  I must admit, when I sat down to write this column, I too started thinking about the ticking clock and how it might effect what I do in the next year…or 20.
Once you reach a certain age (I am almost 50) that clock takes on a different importance in your life that is hard to ignore. Based on statistical probability, there are probably fewer years ahead of you than behind. As I started down this road of thought in my mind, though, I realized that the ticking clock really doesn’t matter.

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Time passes

For me, time’s passing is one of those things that is simply not worth worrying about. Time will pass regardless of what you do. It is truly something that we have no control over at all. I can’t slow down time, nor can I stop it in its path. It simply “is”. Worrying about it only darkens my days and takes attention from those things that truly matter. While I might not advise you to forget about important things like stopping smoking or losing a few pounds, as for time, I say forget about it. Take each day as it comes, because come it will without any help from you.

Instead of letting the ticking clock rattle around in your brain and rattle your nerves, focus on what really matters in your life…doing great work! The good we do with our time here on Earth is something we have in our direct control. Every action can work towards good or ill. Every movement can help ourselves and others live a better, brighter, more enjoyable life. You will be surprised how little the ticking clock matters when you are in the midst of life changing work. I know for myself that great work is a like a time machine. I might be growing older physically, but my spirit grows younger. I emerge from a great work session energized, excited and exalted. While I am so deeply involved, I can’t hear the ticking clock or even acknowledge its presence. This is where you need to be, too.

The here and now

The past is history. The future is yet to be decided, but the present is here and now. How you spend your time right now — the next minute or hour — is what truly matters. Too many of us allow ourselves to be swept away on future dreams or future horrors — ignoring the present that is all around us. I am sure you know people like this. Their worries carry them farther and farther from what truly needs their focus until they spend more time worrying about the future, or lamenting their past, than trying to make their present better.

Don’t be like them, please. Past and future take care of themselves, but the present needs your attention. What small actions can you take in the next 5 minutes that make you happier, smarter, richer? What small actions can you take for others that help them with the same? If you could do anything right now — and I believe you can — what would you do? What would do the most to drown out the ticking clock and allow you to forget it even exists? Start making a list. I can guarantee you that once you start thinking in these terms the ideas will begin to flow. Be prepared to capture them and work on them in the days to come.

“Time and tide wait for no man” has always been true and no more in our seemingly accelerated present. They need not wait, though, and you need not wait, nor pay attention to them. Your focus is on your good work, your accomplishments, your happiness, not some arbitrary tick of time from the mantle shelf. Don’t fall victim to the endless ticking. Stop your clocks, if it helps you to break free. Instead of 60 ticks around the face of a clock, see 60 accomplishments, 60 tasks, 60 individual actions that lead up to a great life for you and and those around you. In this way, it matters little when your clock stops ticking as you can be assured you made the best use of your time possible.

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Did you get a Kindle today? Check out my 3 books and their free samples!

December 25th, 2011 Comments off

If you got a Kindle today and are looking for something to put on it, please consider taking a look at my 3 books. You can download a free sample of each on the Amazon web site.

Social Media Self Preservation

7100 Words
Take advantage of social media without losing your mind…
Using social media as part or business or personal life can seem overwhelming and fraught with pitfalls. There is a way, though, to make the best use of social media without falling into the traps of lost privacy and social media burnout.
This guide explains what you need to know as you start your journey into social media and how to make social media productive for you.

 


Cultivating Your Career Reputations

11,000 Words

While we often talk about one, monolithic, Reputation – with a capital R — I believe that there are a series of reputations that make up the whole. This book will focus on the combination of reputations that make up your one, overarching, Reputation. By examining each of these reputations in detail, I hope you will find specific areas where you can improve your work, your actions and your thoughts so that your overall professional reputation grows.

Why break your Reputation down into its constituent parts? It is often said that you can’t “do” projects, you can only do the individual tasks that make up the project and achieve the desired result. The same can be said for reputation. You don’t build your reputation as a whole, you cultivate the smaller reputations that create it. Each individual action builds your reputation in unique ways and each requires some thought as to how they relate to the whole.

 

The High-Tech Career Handbook

30,000 Words

Navigating the special difficulties of a high-tech career can be troublesome for workers, young and old. Career Opportunities, a weekly column for ComputorEdge Magazine in San Diego, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado, has addressed these issues for almost 13 years.

While simultaneously developing his own high-tech career, author Douglas E. Welch has shared his insights, trials, setbacks and successes with his readers. The High-Tech Career Handbook collects the best columns from 1997-2003 into a book for all high-tech careerists, whether they are just starting out, building their career or looking for a new career in the high-tech world.

Topics covered in the columns include getting your career started, ethics, fairness and the benefits of doing honest business, personal development, professional development, and the tips and tricks for transitioning into a mature career.

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All About Douglas – Choosing what you want to see and hear

December 23rd, 2011 Comments off

I have a lot of interests, as most of you already know. Therefore, I have a lot of different blogs, events,  and groups in my portfolio of online engagements. I also try to make myself available wherever people want to converse. This means that each of my interests usually has multiple presences on the Internet.

Here is a list of almost all of the ways you can talk with me and learn about what is happening in my life and work. You don’t need to, nor should you, try to subscribe to all of them. That would only lead to you seeing multiple copies of the same information. Rather, pick and choose whatever ways you would like to consume my “content.”

If you are a heavy Facbeook user, you might want to join my pages there. Is Google+ catching your fancy? I have a home over there, too. Maybe email is your thing? No problem, almost all of my content can be emailed directly to your Inbox. My goal is to make my content available in whatever way makes the most sense to you. It also means you can contact me and converse with me on your favorite online services.

This list is also broken down by interest. If you want to see everything I post and share, the first section is where you can find it. This will contain information from all my areas of interest including events, careers, gardening, technology and my organizations. Maybe, though, you are only interested in my gardening information. You can narrow your reading to my gardening blog or Facebook page. The same applies for careers, technology and my organizations. Select whatever is most interesting, and valuable, to you.

Thank you for supporting me, my blogs and podcasts and my organization of the years! I look forward to talking with you — and sharing more with you — in 2012.

 

 

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The pain of solving a problem today is always less than the pain of solving it tomorrow – Podcast

December 12th, 2011 Comments off

Career Opportunities podcast logo

Human conflict can be troubling to all parties involved. For myself, being forced into conflict with others leaves me drained, even when the problems are small. That said, many of us put off important, if painful, discussions much longer than is healthy. We think that sparing ourselves and others the pain of a a difficult conversation today, is more important than solving the problem. Surely, we can talk about it later. The trouble being, though, the pain of solving a problem today is always less than the pain of solving it tomorrow. Conflict might be frightening, angering and depressing, but I can guarantee you it will only get worse the longer you procrastinate.

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Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

Humans are great at procrastination, especially if pain, either physical or mental, is involved. We can convince ourselves in any number of ways that we are better off ignoring the problem instead of facing it. You might think to yourself, “It isn’t the right time”, “They are already suffering”, “They’ll only get mad at me”, “They should just ‘know’ what the problem is”. The truth is, now is always the best time to discuss and act on a problem. Once a problem is discovered, each passing day makes it harder and harder to address. Our resistance builds up. Our courage falls away and we just tell ourselves we’ll talk about it…later.

I see this very often with parents. Instead of addressing a behavior issue immediately, they convince themselves that they will address it later…and later…and later. The problem is, of course, that addressing a problem immediately will usually quash it forever with very little emotional pain, but trying to resolve a long standing problem can be gut-wrenching. If you have allowed your son or daughter to engage in a behavior you dislike for years and years, their reaction to the conversation is going to be much more forceful and dramatic.

In some extreme cases, you might not be able to solve the problem at all. By allowing the problem to continue year after year, your tacit approval has shown that you don’t really think it is a problem at all. Children may even lash out at you for being unreasonable after so many years. The conversation quickly becomes about you and your behavior instead of the problem at hand.

In the worst cases, addressing a problem too late can even cause a split in the family, in the relationship or in a marriage. Imagine facing a painful problem that could have and should have been addressed years before. While you were trying to avoid a little pain, you eventually caused yourself a great amount.

What to do?

The most important action to take when faced with conflict or problems is to talk about it. If something bothers you, say so. Don’t let it fester inside of you. Get it out now, when it is a small problem. Start the conversation early. Yes, if you are like me, you might feel uncomfortable for a little while, but it is nothing like the discomfort you will feel if you leave the problem unresolved.

As a son from a somewhat reserved farm family in Ohio, I learned a great deal about conflict from my Sicilian-American wife. She doesn’t let a problem pass. If she is peeved, angry or upset about something, she will let you know immediately. We might even have a bit of loud discussion about it. That said, what’s over is over. Everyone says what needs to be said. Everyone gets heard. Changes are discussed and devised and life goes on. As my wife often said about her Sicilian Grandfather, “We might fight tooth and nail during the day, but every night we kissed each other on the cheek before we went to bed.”

It might look and sound volatile to some, but getting the problem out into the open and actively discussed and debated is the most healthy way of dealing with it. It is only when we sit and stew, harboring resentment for days, weeks or even years, that problems turn into hateful arguments, resentful families and broken marriages. 
Don’t let the fear of a little pain stop you from addressing important issues. Talk about them now. Deal with them now. Solve them now. If you don’t, they will only grow more scary, more intractable and more painful with each passing moment.

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What I’m Reading…Touchpoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments

December 3rd, 2011 Comments off

TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments

From Amazon.com…

A fresh, effective, and enduring way to lead—starting with your next interaction.

Most leaders feel the inevitable interruptions in their jam-packed days are troublesome. But in TouchPoints, Conant and Norgaard argue that these—and every point of contact with other people—are overlooked opportunities for leaders to increase their impact and promote their organization’s strategy and values. Through previously untold stories from Conant’s tenure as CEO of Campbell Soup Company and Norgaard’s vast consulting experience, the authors show that a leader’s impact and legacy are built through hundreds, even thousands, of interactive moments in time. The good news is that anyone can develop “TouchPoint” mastery by focusing on three essential components: head, heart, and hands.

TouchPoints speaks to the theory and craft of leadership, promoting a balanced presence of rational, authentic, active, and wise leadership practices. Leadership mastery in the smallest and otherwise ordinary moments can transform aimless activity in individuals and entropy in organizations into focused energy—one magical moment at a time.

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Cultivating Your Career Reputations eBook now available!

December 1st, 2011 3 comments

In case you haven’t heard it elsewhere  — on the Career Opportunities blog, in the Twitter Feed or Facebook Page — I am here to announce the release of my latest career ebook, Cultivating Your Career Reputations.

Listen to the audio promo

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This 11,000 word book is available for immediate download in the Amazon Kindle bookstore. Kindle books can be read on almost any device including Windows and Macintosh computers, iPhone, iPads and Android tablets and phones using the FREE Kindle Reader software.

Cultivating cover

Here is an example from the introduction of Cultivating Your Career Reputations.

“While we often talk about one, monolithic, Reputation – with a capital R — I believe that there are a series of reputations that make up the whole. This book will focus on the combination of reputations that make up your one, overarching, Reputation. By examining each of these reputations in detail, I hope you will find specific areas where you can improve your work, your actions and your thoughts so that your overall professional reputation grows.

Why break your Reputation down into its constituent parts? It is often said that you can’t “do” projects, you can only do the individual tasks that make up the project and achieve the desired result. The same can be said for reputation. You don’t build your reputation as a whole, you cultivate the smaller reputations that create it. Each individual action builds your reputation in unique ways and each requires some thought as to how they relate to the whole.”

 

Sections include:

  • A Reputation for Fairness
  • A Reputation for Honesty
  • A Reputation for Trustworthiness
  • A Reputation for Decision-making
  • A Reputation for Empathy
  • A Reputation for Helpfulness
  • A Reputation for Compromise
  • A Reputation for Clarity
  • A Reputation for the Big Picture…and the small
  • A Reputation for Balancing Work and Self
  • A Reputation for Creativity and Innovation

Buy the book, or download a sample, today!

 

Other Kindle Books by Douglas include:

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