William Bridges, in his book, Job Shift: How to Prosper in a Workplace Without Jobs, states that the lack of job security in today’s workplace means that we are all temporary workers and that “all jobs in today’s economy are temporary.”

Employment in our culture has changed dramatically over the past 50 years! Used to be a person would be hired young and stay with the company till retiring. The pendulum has shifted to companies using progressively more outsourcing. As a result, a trend of managing a portfolio career started in the early 1990’s and is increasing.

A portfolio career according to David B. Bohl one, “in which instead of working a traditional full-time job, you work multiple part-time jobs (including part-time employment, temporary jobs, freelancing, and self-employment) with different employers that when combined are the equivalent of a full-time position.”

In the early 1990’s, guru Charles Handy predicted that workers will be more actively in control of their careers by working lots of small jobs instead of one big one, practicing the concept of managing portfolio careers.

Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. wrote “Portfolio careers are usually built around a collection of skills and interests, though the only consistent theme is one of career self-management. With a portfolio career you no longer have one job, one employer, but multiple jobs and employers within one or more professions.”

Managing a portfolio career may fit well with your strengths, interests, core values, life purpose, identity, and personality trait.

Packages are offered on career exploration, job search strategy, effective communication, strengths identification, career branding, networking, résumé & cover letter expertise, interview preparation and jump-starting a new position.

Complimentary 20-minute complimentary coaching session are available with no pressure to sign up (I would ask to discuss after the complimentary session for about 5 minutes how coaching works. If you’d prefer not to receive coaching, let me know. No pressure given to sign up!) Email me at Terri@SummitViewCareerCoaching to schedule a meeting (via the phone).

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday morning!

“If you want to have a better performance than the crowd, you must do things differently from the crowd.” John Templeten

John Templeten , who died yesterday at age 95, knew his own passion and the legacy he wanted to leave behind. It was a legacy that stood through several tests and storms of time.

According to the Wall Street Journal, on the eve of World War II, John Templeton bought stock in 104 companies selling at $1 a share or less. Only a few turned out to be worthless, while in time the rest turned large profits. Templeton went on to become one of the world’s great fund managers by investing at what he called “points of maximum pessimism.”

Yet Templeton was never himself a pessimist. As an investor, he always had confidence his picks would improve over the long term. Appropriately, the same “enthusiasm for progress,” as he put it, also made him one of the world’s great philanthropists.

Life’s spiritual dimensions were John’s passion and foundation. To that end, he established the Templeton Foundation, which supports academic research in fields like cognitive science and evolutionary biology, as well as work related to the origin and nature of spirituality. Templeton also knew that many such modern philanthropies tend to begin with good intentions and then slide away from donor intent, so he established multiple checks to ensure that his financial legacy will stay true to his vision long after he was gone.

The Templeton Foundation now has a $1.5 billion endowment and awards some $70 million every year. He was indeed an optimistic investor for the long term.

At 92, John said in an interview with NewsMax and Financial Intelligence Report, “At age 27, I formed my own investment firm, working with just five wealthy people. Eventually, when I sold out, we were helping over a million people with some part of their investments. And I felt that was a ministry, that I was doing a useful job, that I was not wasting the life God gave me. But all during that time, over 50 years, I felt that my benefit to people was not as great as if I were trying to help them get spiritual wealth.”

What is the legacy you want to leave behind? What is it you want to be remembered for? In career coaching, the legacy one wants to leave behind is a critical piece in career management and discovering career direction.

A coaching session is offered to focus in on your legacy and passions, to move these forward to benefit not only you, but others for years to come.

I work with professionals and mid-level managers who on Sunday night dread Monday morning…and would love to enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon! Email me at Terri@SummitViewCareerCoaching.com or see my website for further information.

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

Networking is, as most of us know, one of the few keys to success if you are searching for a job you enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon! There is traditional job search (4-6% success rate, DBM) and target job search (70%+ success rate, DBM).

Below are some Tips for Networking:

• Networking is about developing relationships and what you can give to the other person.

• When asked, be prepared with a short phrase or a couple sentences that invite someone to want to know more about what you excel in. I call this a branding statement.

• Know and practice saying your success stories (30 seconds long, some 2 minutes max). I wrote about how to write success stories in my Record Eagle blog.

• Consider every contact of equal importance

• Listen intently and ask thoughtful questions

• Send ‘thank you’ notes when appropriate, if possible within 24 hours

• Keep a record of your contacts and contact each 6 months

• Have your business cards or networking cards ready to give out at all times

I work with professionals and mid-level managers who on Sunday night dread Monday morning and would love to enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon.

Packages are offered on career exploration, job search strategy, effective communication, strengths identification, career branding, networking, résumé & cover letter expertise, interview preparation and jump-starting a new position.

For more information, go to my website at summitviewcareercoaching.com or email me at terri@summmitviewcareercoaching.com.

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

First of all, you may be wondering what social media is.

Social media is defined in Wikopedia as “Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.”

People who’ve attained jobs through social media:

A new grad, Andrew Cafourek, who initially responded to a blog is starting a new job at Outrider next week! Andrew’s story starts out with reading Jeremiah Owyang’s blog and seeing a post about people who were “on the move” in the social media industry. Andrew left a comment on Jeremiah’s blog basically saying “Hey, I haven’t been on the move but I would like to be!” As a result, Lisa Young from Outrider reached out to him with some information about the company and the industry as a whole. Then Andrew spent a day and a half pouring through Google and every other internet tool he could think of to absorb as much information as he could about the company. Andrew writes, “Well, over the past few weeks, about 97.4 emails, and dozens of hours spent researching different aspects of the company and industry, I decided that I really wanted to come on board with the firm and so here I go!”

In Lindsey Pollak’s blog, Lindsey Pollak cites the case of her own husband Evan, who accepted a dream job as Advertising Sales Director with Travel Zoo using LinkedIn! Evan shares that using LinkedIn was quite easy. Read about Evan’s story from Mario Sundar. Or, listen to Evan tell his story for a couple minutes at LinkedIn.

Several of my clients are starting to look at social online media such as LinkedIn and Facebook as valuable networking tools to connect with people who are in industries and companies are interested in working in.

I’m passionate about people enjoying Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

Packages are offered on strengths identification, career exploration, job search strategy, effective communication, career branding, networking, résumé & cover letter expertise, confidence-building interview preparation and jump-starting a new position.

You are invited to schedule a 20-minute complimentary coaching session with me and then 5-10 minutes for both of us to determine whether or not career coaching is what would best meet your goals. If at any point during the last 5-10 minutes you decide career coaching would not be a good fit, I’d value you letting me know since both of our time is valuable!

For more information, go to my website at Summit View Career Coaching or email me.

In the USA, coaching fees are typically tax deductible since they are considered an expense for continuing education undertaken to maintain and improve business and professional skills. (See Treas. Reg.1-162-5. Coughlin vs. Commissioner, 203F 2d 307) Your tax consultant can provide you with further information.

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

“40-Somethings” are the hot ticket for recruitment relocation according to Kennedy Recruiting Trend. “The primary targets for corporate relocations were the ‘30-somethings’ looking for career advancement. Nowadays, companies are asking the ‘40-somethings’ and seasoned veterans to relocate for the good of the company – a movement paralleling another workplace trend – the demand for higher skilled workers.”

For years I have been hearing about the War For Talent. Sainsbury’s has announced that it wants to take on 10,000 new people at its stores across the UK - but all applicants must be over 50. “Workers in this age bracket will help give customers a “quality, hassle-free festive shopping experience”, the retailer said.

The Los Angeles Times wrote that Home Depot will not divulge complete statistics on how many older workers stride the concrete floors of its huge home-improvement stores, but the number is on the rise. The company hooked up with AARP four years ago to woo a sales force that might otherwise be golfing and says it now has 5,000 employees over 70.

“They are loyal and dependable,” said Tim Crow, chief human resources officer for the Atlanta-based firm. “We look at the demographics, and everyone is getting older. This is the future workforce.”

The U.S. Department of Labor writes that, “Older Americans are staying in the labor force longer than prior trends would have predicted and many change jobs later in life. These job transitions are often within the same occupation or across occupations within wage-and-salary employment. The transition can also be out of wage-and-salary work and into self employment. Indeed, national statistics show that self employment becomes more prevalent with age, partly because self employment provides older workers with opportunities not found in traditional wage-and-salary jobs, such as flexibility in hours worked and independence.”

I’m passionate about people enjoying Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon. Packages are offered on career exploration, job search strategy, effective communication, strengths identification, career branding, networking, résumé & cover letter expertise, interview preparation and jump-starting a new position.

You are invited to schedule a 20-minute complimentary coaching session with me and then 5-10 minutes for both of us to determine whether or not career coaching is what would best meet your goals. If at any point during the last 5-10 minutes you or I decide career coaching would not be a good fit, I’ll let you know and I’d value you letting me know since both of our time is valuable!

For more information, go to my website at Summit View Career Coaching.

In the USA, coaching fees are typically tax deductible since they are considered an expense for continuing education undertaken to maintain and improve business and professional skills. (See Treas. Reg.1-162-5. Coughlin vs. Commissioner, 203F 2d 307) Your tax consultant can provide you with further information.

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

Welcome to the Careers Blog. I am Terri Ferrara, a Career Coach that is passionate about helping people enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon! I derive great pleasure in helping people understand who they are, the unique value they have to offer an employer and the steps in communicating that value to a current or potential employer so that a person targets and is offered a position that fits them well!

What questions do you have about career transition, networking, branding, resumes, interview preparation, jump-starting a new position or maximizing your current position?  I’d love to hear questions from you if you are thinking about a career/job transition, high school/college students searching for direction, retirees wanting to pursue a dream that has been put on their back burner and those returning back to work. Your identity will be kept confidential. This column will be a Q&A forum, so your questions are welcomed!

I have some questions for you. What dream is on your back burner? What kind of work is like play to you? What are you passionate about? Imagine all of us using our unique strengths and loving what we do (at least 90% of the time) in our career! We’d be so much happier, less stressed out, healthier, more productive…

Enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

For more information on Terri and Summit View Career Coaching or for a complimentary, confidential consultation, please contact her online at  www.summitviewcareercoaching. 

As a member of the Career Management Alliance, I receive some of the latest information that comes out. Today we were informed that AARP just released its selection of the top 50 from a list of 115 companies that embrace older workers.

Some reasons for top picks include company policies and practices for workers over 50, range of flexible work arrangements, available health benefits, number of senior employees in the total company workforce, alternative work arrangements, seasonal work programs, telecommuting, lifelong learning, financial benefits, on-site medical centers, retirement plans, job rotation, temporary work in other departments, and more. Top on the list for boomers is flexible work arrangements, since many of them care either for their grandchildren or for their aging parents.

1. SC Johnson, Racine, WI
2.  Mercy Heath Systems, Janesville, WI
3. First Horizon National Corporation, Memphis, TN
4.  Scripps Health, San Diego, CA
5.  Stanley Consultants, Muscatine, IA
6.  Lee Memorial Health Systems, Fort Meyers, FL
7.  Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital, Leesburg, VA
8.  George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
9. Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, IA
10. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

A Career Coach can give a person successful tools and guidance so that their career aligns well with their personality and strengths. If you or someone you know would like a complimentary initial consultation, contact us at Summit View Career Coaching.