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Top 10 Googled Career Pivot Posts for 2017

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Top 10 Googled Career Pivot Posts

GoogledEvery year I like to highlight the top pages/posts that were found by people searching using Google. Check out last year’s list and you tell me what you see different.

The Career Pivot website was googled over 151,000 times in 2017 and that is up from 111,000 in 2016. Search traffic continues to grow at a healthy rate year over year.

Let’s look at the top 10 Googled posts to see what it tells us about what people want to know.

#1 Googled Post:  “What If You Are Not Passionate About Anything? [Updated]”

What If You Are Not Passionate About Anything?[Updated] was written back in 2012 but is still googled at a whopping rate of 140 times a day. I updated this post just last week. This has been the #1 Googled post two years in a row.

When I originally wrote this post, I received two kinds of comments:

Don’t you have a pulse? You have to be passionate about something!

Gosh, I am not alone! There are others like me.

I am a multipotentialite, which means I have so many interests that I am not overly passionate about any one thing. You will find a post on this list about being a multipotentialite.

Multipotentialites make up 10-15% of the population, but society wants to say we are broken. We are not.

#2 Googled Post:  “College Degree After 50 – Worth It?”

College Degree After 50 – Worth It? was written in March of 2015.

I wrote this post based on my observations of so many in the baby boomer generation who went back to college to re-invent themselves and who mostly gained nothing but student loan debt.

This post generates more comments and questions than any other on the website.

#3 Googled Post:  “Talents versus Skills – Do you know the difference?”

Talents versus Skills – Do you know the difference? was written back in 2013, but was googled over 40 times a day in 2017.

So many of us who are in the 2nd half of life have no idea what our talents are or are able to differentiate our skills from our talents. Just because we can do something does not mean we want or should to do it.

#4 Googled Post:  “3 Steps to Get the Hiring Manager or Recruiter to Respond”

3 Steps to Get the Hiring Manager or Recruiter to Respond was written back in 2015 and is new to the ‘Top 10’ list.

You are sitting around waiting to hear from a hiring manager or recruiter and it is nerve-racking.  This post discusses clear, concrete actions you can take to get them to respond and hopefully relieve some of your nerves.

#5 Googled Post:  “Are you a Multipotentialite?”

Are you a Multipotentialite? was written in August of 2015 and it dropped a notch from #4 to #5 in 2017.

Multipotentialites are people who have many interests, get bored easily and love to learn. I am one of these and, therefore, I have changed jobs or areas every 3-5 years throughout my career and took lots of lateral moves.

This article is directly related to the #1 post on this list, What If You Are Not Passionate About Anything?

#6 Googled Post:  “What is Your Current Salary? How to Answer! [Updated]”

What is Your Current Salary? How to Answer! [Updated] was originally written back in 2014 and was updated in 2017.

This post has climbed the list significantly because the economy is getting better and this has become a hot legal topic as it relates to the gender pay gap.

I suspect this will continue to climb the list in 2018.

#7 Googled Post:  “Perfect Fit for the Position? Expect to Lose! [Updated]”

Perfect Fit for the Position? Expect to Lose! [Updated] was written in 2014 and updated in 2018.  This post was written based on a presentation given by a well-respected recruiter at Launch Pad Job Club, where I serve on the board of directors.

The presenter said, “If you are a perfect fit, we ain’t going to hire you. We want to hire someone at a lower starting salary but who can grow into the job. If you are a perfect fit, we assume you will leave when you find something better.”

This is even more relevant today than ever before.

#8 Googled Post:  “Who is Really Making the Hiring Decision?”

Who is Really Making the Hiring Decision? was written in 2015 and is part of the Negotiators Job Search Series which is based on concepts from Jim Camp’s book, Start with NO…The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don’t Want You to Know.

I take the concepts and techniques that Camp describes and apply them to the job search. In this installment, I discuss how you determine who really is the decision maker.

This is the first year this post made the list.

#9 Googled Post:  “Re-entering the Workforce – Marketable Skills After 50 [Guest Post]”

Re-entering the Workforce – Marketable Skills After 50 was written in 2015. Along with the post, College Degree After 50 – Worth It? There must be a lot of baby boomers looking for information on how to prepare themselves.

#10 Googled Post:  “3 Signs You Are Institutionalized Like Brooks at Shawshank”

3 Signs You Are Institutionalized Like Brooks at Shawshank was written back in 2015 and is one of my personal favorites.

I still run into individuals who have spent 25, 30, 35 or more years at companies and are so surprised when they are offered early retirement packages, or more likely, laid off. They have no idea what a career would be like outside of the company where they worked for so many years.

What Does This Tell You?

Search traffic to Career Pivot continued to grow at a healthy pace in 2017.  The growth continues in 2018 but it appears to be slowing. Search traffic was up 35% in 2017 and it appears to be up half of that in 2018.

Those of us in the 2nd half of life continue to search for answers to our career questions. Most of us will not be retiring like our parents did anywhere in the near future. We want to continue to work -but on our terms.

What does this list tell you?

Marc Miller  

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How To Demonstrate Expertise When You Have No Experience

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Expertise but No Experience

expertise but no experienceI have been hearing the mantra, “I have a lot of expertise but no experience. How do I get people to give me a chance?”

You may be pivoting into a new area where you have a lot of expertise from that Masters degree you just attained, you have life skills or maybe you have studied the topic on the side and now you want to apply it. Your problem is you have not a lot of real-world experience.

Every job description you read says it requires 3 years experience in the topic area that you have expertise in but no experience.

So how do you demonstrate your expertise when you have no experience? How do you get hiring managers to take notice and give you a chance?

The idea for this post came from the Problogger Podcast episode #247 called 247: How To Create A Blog On A Topic You’re Not An Expert In.

The theme of this podcast aligns perfectly with how you demonstrate your expertise when you have no experience.

Show Me Don’t Tell Me You Know Your Stuff

When you have minimal or no experience you will need to demonstrate in some form that you know your stuff. In my post, How Do I Know That You Know Your Stuff? I show a number of ways for you to be able to do this but this post, I am going to focus on creating a blog.

Darren Rowse aka Problogger describes are eight different kinds of content you can create but I am going to discuss six of them:

  • Personal stories
  • Case studies
  • Interviews
  • News items
  • Curated content
  • Research results

Let me take you through each category and give you some examples.

Personal Stories

Darren asks “What can you witness to?”

For those of us in the 2nd half of life, we have a wealth of experience. Write about your personal experiences.

When I started Career Pivot I wrote a 31-part series on how I made my six career pivots. I had no credentials, formal education or training in a career change or pivoting.

I wrote about my personal experiences. By the way, I have deleted most of that series as with most bloggers, my early posts were not very good.

However, I have written a whole series of posts on my failures. Check out:

I take you on my career journey and it has not always been pleasant. My readers have told me they most relate to this kind of content.

Tell us about your journey to get to where you are today. Telling the world about your journey demonstrates your expertise.

Case Studies

What are other people doing? Case studies are a great way to demonstrate your expertise.

Find a topic in your area of expertise and write a critique. A gentleman in my Career Pivot online community (you can learn more about this project by clicking here), is working on making a pivot into virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) industry.  Just last week he contacted a VR podcaster and asked if he could help him with his podcast. Last week he was on an episode where he discussed with the podcast host the features of one of the hot new VR headsets. After I finished listening to the episode, my only reaction was “wow this guy knows his stuff.”

You could write a review of a book. Find a book in your area of expertise and write a thoughtful review. A good example of this is on this blog Prepare Now to be Healthy and Happy in Old Age [Book Review] where Pam Willenz reviewed the Joy Loverde’s book, “Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age”.

Interviews

I know, I know you are thinking who would let me interview them? You would be surprised at how many times I am approached for an interview of one kind or another and if it is easy enough, I usually will say ‘yes.’

Darren Rowse tells the story of Michael Stelzner who runs the mega conference Social Media Marketing World and created the website Social Media Examiner. In the beginning, Michael would just show up at conferences with a video camera and approach speakers for a short interview. He looked polished and professional so that speakers usually said ‘yes.’ In reality, Michael did not know a lot about social media. He was still learning but he was able to produce a lot of great material which gained him credibility.

I told the story of Daniel Elizalde in the post, Changing Industries to Smart Grid about how Daniel interviewed influencers in the smart grid industry to gain credibility. Daniel has since moved on but the visibility and the knowledge he gained have proved invaluable.

Another good example is my good friend Jim Peacock with Peak Careers. Jim regularly interviews career thought leaders via video conferencing. He records the interview, uploads it to his YouTube channel and creates blog posts with the videos embedded.

News

You can write about events, new products, technology innovations, or anything else that makes news in your area of expertise. Do not just write about what is happening but interject your opinions and thoughts. The point here is to demonstrate your expertise, so you will have to put yourself out there which can open you up for criticism.

Curated Content

Curate content from around the Internet on a regular basis and present it in a blog post. The best at this is my good friend Hannah Morgan aka the Career Sherpa. Hannah produces a Summary Sunday post every week where she curates career content.

Hannah has been doing this for years and has developed a lot of key relationships with others in the industry by sharing other people’s content. She creates good Karma and at the same time demonstrating expertise.

Darren suggests that you add your opinion or take the topic a little deeper.

Another option is adding embeddable content to a post. A classical example is to add a YouTube video to your material. I did this recently with my post Our Perceptions of Ourselves and Others and Their Impact where I used a video produced by Birkman International.

Research Results

Did you write a thesis to get your new Masters’ degree? If so use that to demonstrate expertise.

Is there a topic that you would like to research? Go ahead, research the topic, and write a comprehensive blog post. A good example of this is my post – Strategic Networking Playbook – Who, How and When! 

It was a topic that I wanted to research and then write a comprehensive article to demonstrate expertise.

Hard Work and Being Bold

This is going to be hard work and you will have to put yourself out there. You may get criticism but be willing to engage with your readers.

If you want to demonstrate your expertise you will have to be bold. Producing a blog to demonstrate your expertise is hard work.

Are there other ways to demonstrate your expertise? Sure!

You could produce videos like Alexander Buschek or create a podcast like my good friends Mark Anthony Dyson and Ryan Rhoten. 

All of these require hard work, being bold, and putting yourself out there.

Go ahead and demonstrate your expertise even if you have no experience.

Marc Miller  

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Fear is at the Heart of Our Problems in Making a Change

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Fear of Making a Change

fearI have had numerous conversations over the last several weeks and the common theme has been fear.

It is the fear of making a mistake, fear of not knowing what to do, fear of getting stuck or just the fear of making a change.

Fear has everyone paralyzed. Fear is the new 4 letter “F” word. I wrote last week about being bold, overcoming your fears and just get moving in some direction.

Multipotentialites and Fear

Multipotentialites have a lot of interests. They tend to get really interested in one topic, go deep, become an expert and then get bored. They then want to move on to the next thing.

I wrote a very popular post on Multipotentialism called Are you a Multipotentialite?

When multipotentialites reach the 2nd half of life and they have not been able to attain career success, fear sets in. Self-doubt sets in around whether they will ever be as successful as they had planned or hoped.

I was speaking with a gentleman last week who had attained so many diverse credentials from being a certified project manager to being a certified health nutritionist. He had spent most of his career trying to fit into roles that just did not fit him. He left his last job exhausted after playing a role that he just could no longer maintain.

Most of us become actors at work. Check out my post Are You Your Authentic Self or an Actor at Work? [Updated]. He could no longer continue playing many of the roles that had brought him some financial success.

Fear was setting in. He was not sure what direction to take and therefore, he just froze. He quit his job and was taking some time off.

The problem was he needed to be free to explore. He needed to understand this will not be a sprint but a marathon and he may head down a dead end. He may need to turn around and try something different.

It was the fear of making yet another change.

Fear of Failure

I grew up with the mantra, Failure is not an Option, which we now know is total and complete BS. Failure is a natural part of life. We learn when we fail but that was not an acceptable option for many of us.

I have been working with another gentleman who went to college and studied economics. Why may you ask? He thought he could get a job when he graduated which he did. It landed him in the finance and banking industries. Did he enjoy it?

Heck, no.

In the last ten years, what joy he got from working directly with customers has gone away to be almost a robot in processing loan applications.  The pressure to make decisions rapidly without enough information is driving him nuts. He does not want to change because he fears that he will make less money if he makes a pivot. More importantly… what if he fails?

Money has become a straight jacket. He feels he needs to pay for his child’s college education. If he can just hold on for another 5-10 years then he can do something different.

That fear of failure and money are freezing him right in place.

Change is Inevitable

We are experiencing creative destruction at an explosive rate. New technologies are destroying entire industries and job categories every year and at the same time creating new opportunities.

Change is not slowing down but accelerating. If you fear the change, then you will be left in the dust.

If you embrace the change and look for opportunities to explore new interests you may find lots of new opportunities to shed the actor’s clothes that you have been wearing.

You may need to simplify your life.

I have written multiple articles and produced multiple podcast episodes on our plans to move to Mexico. Check out the following page How to Move Abroad and Take Your Job With You Series where I am chronicling our experiences.

We are now working on getting rid of most of everything, scaling back our lives so that we can live on a third of what we used to live on and at the same time be happier and healthier.

I know, I know, you are probably saying that is crazy. You are saying to yourself, “You can do that but I cannot.” I will make a wager that is fear talking.

If fear of making a change is freezing you then if you wait long enough you will become the victim of change.

Marc Miller  

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BoomerJobTips Update-5 Things on Your Resume That Make You Sound Too Old

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BoomerJobTips Update

Welcome to the BoomerJobTips Update and the central point to get current career information for the Baby Boomer Generation!

boomerjobtips

This week’s popular post is  5 Things on Your Resume That Make You Sound Too Old . This is a great post about some of the sections and wording on resumes that may tell the age of the applicant submitting that resume. Definitely a good read!

 Most Popular

Podcast

  • Joe Harper on the Resources Available through the Small Business Development Centers [Podcast] – Career Pivot http://bit.ly/2HWQ2OB
  • “Career Mistakes: Failure is a Great Option” – A Chapter from “Repurpose Your Career” by Marc Miller [Podcast] – Career Pivot http://bit.ly/2xcVt66
  • Rebranding Yourself with Alexander Buschek [Podcast] – Career Pivot http://bit.ly/2Gz2NOM
  • Top Career Podcasts Guide – 2018 Edition | Mac’s List http://bit.ly/2qahhtu
  • Gary O’Neal on Looking for a Job in the 2nd Half of Life [Podcast] – Career Pivot http://bit.ly/2oO08sb

2nd Half of Life

Social Media

Career

Job Search

Another way to look at the same links AND MORE from BoomerJobTips.

Join us on the BoomerJobTips LinkedIn Group

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Joe Harper on the Resources Available through the Small Business Development Centers [Podcast]

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Episode 77 – Joe Harper, the Executive Director of The Texas State Small Business Development Center, joins Marc Miller to discuss the Texas State Small Business Development Center and its companion centers around the United States.

Description:

Joe Harper on the Resources Available through the Small Business Development Centers [Podcast]In this episode, Marc interviews Joe Harper during a webinar originally held for the CareerPivot community membership site. Listen in to learn how you can apply the resources of your field SBD Center in all stages of your business, but especially as you prepare to start and grow it.

Key Takeaways:

[1:00] Marc welcomes you to episode 77 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.

Download Link | iTunes | Stitcher Radio |Google Play

[1:18] Next week, Marc interviews Jonathan Rauch, author of The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, the Executive Director of The Texas State Small Business Development Center. The episode will address how people grow happier in the second half of life.

[1:51] Marc announces plans for another “Can You Repurpose Your Career?” series, similar to Episodes 48-51 from October 2017. If you would like to go through this process anonymously, with Marc on the podcast, please email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

[2:02] This week’s episode is the audio portion of a webinar Marc did with Joe Harper, the Executive Director of the Texas State Small Business Development Center. This webinar was given for the CareerPivot community membership site on how to utilize your Small Business Development Center, the hidden gem in almost every community.

[3:16] Marc introduces Joe Harper who directs the webinar.

[3:45] Joe gives the background of the Small Business Development Centers. There are over 1,100 centers in 64 states and U.S. territories starting in the early 1980s. There are 4,000 advisers in their team, nationwide.

[4:45] The SBD program provides technical assistance in the form of mentorship and training to businesses from the idea stage to the high-growth stage. Most of the focus is on businesses in the idea stage, from concept to credit.

[6:48] An adviser helps you design a strategy for executing the launch of your business, and the expansion and long-term growth of your business, up to a plan for exiting the business at the right time. Joe once tried to give his business to his son. His son declined the opportunity.

[8:03] Joe explains the mission and goals of the SBDCs. They track numbers of jobs they help create, help save and expand, the number of business they help create, and capital infusion. In the Austin area, their capital impact is about $75 million, annually.

[9:15] Joe talks about the SBDC’s role in matching a business’s financial projections and their business plan. There is planning where the money will come from, how you will use it, and how you will repay it. Sources for capital are discussed. Different programs exist for businesses at different stages.

[11:52] Joe introduces the program of the lean canvas or the nine building blocks of the business model developed by Dr. Osterwalder to predict accurately the success of your business plan and help you develop your pro forma or financial projections. Managing the cash is key.

[15:16] SBDC advisers look at three things in terms of a business’s ability to grow: 1. Do they have a willingness to grow? 2. Do they have experience in what growth looks like? 3. Do they have the capacity to grow internally and externally?

[16:24] The transition into a high-growth company usually comes with the realization that there will be awkward decisions about changing staff.

[18:01] In an online business, your digital footprint is your business. SBDC advisers spend a lot of time working with business owners on their social media strategy, websites, and tools to develop online customer relationships and understanding what customer needs and expectations are going to be. What is their value proposition?

[20:20] How do you find your nearest Small Business Development Center? Look at ASDBC.org. Find your lead center. They will direct you to your local field center. The local centers are also listed on the SBA.gov website. Different field centers will have different areas of technology or business expertise. One SBCD can refer you to another.

[22:46] The whole focus is on what’s best for the client.

[22:58] The businesses SBDC helps are for profit. Nonprofits can get help from SCORE.

[23:44] A new client of the SBDC is first advised about their business idea. There is help for every level, from ideation to exit. Some SBDCs have certified business valuators.

[28:10] Joe talks about taxes and regulations that are being pulled off the books. The new tax law allows certain assets to be expensed in the first year. Caution: an expense is not a depreciation. Joe talks about tax mitigation vs. growth and value.

[32:37] What about positioning yourself as a business as an author? It is difficult to measure the economic return on the taxpayer investment in an author or other one-person small businesses.

[30:42] Mark tells how he has researched optimum job titles through Google. Make it a relevant title for the future, not for today, or for the past. Don’t say MSDOS programmer.

[37:04] Marc invites you to check back next week to hear him interview Jonathan Rauch, author of The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Careerpivot.com

CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-49 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 2”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-50 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 3”

CareerPivot.com/Episode-51 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 4”

Austin Small Business Development Center

The Business Model Canvas developed by Dr. Alexander Osterwalder

ASBDC.org listing every SBDC in the country.

SCORE.org

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

James A. Michener

The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, by Jonathan Rauch

Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.

Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is alive and in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has three initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life and they are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the fourth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.

CareerPivot.com/Episode-77 Show Notes for this episode.

Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.

Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to

CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.

Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me

You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.

To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes

To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android

Careerpivot.com

Marc Miller  

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Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1 of 4 [Podcast]

Episode 83 - Marc works with “Juan” (not his real name) to pivot his career, in the first of four episodes featuring “Juan.” Description: In Part 1 of this series, Marc covers the first half of a feedback session with Juan about his personality assessment. … [Read More...]

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