Podcasts Archives - Career Pivot

Dr. Lynn Marie Morski Tells Us How to Quit [Podcast]

December 11, 2018 by Stephanie Brodt Leave a Comment

Episode #107 – Marc interviews quitting evangelist, Dr. Lynn Marie Morski on quitting strategies

Description

In this episode, Marc and Lynn discuss her book, Quitting by Design and discuss the advantages of quitting a job you don’t fit, some of the fears associated with quitting, how to prepare logically to meet the fears and move beyond them, and what you can learn from a job you hate and from leaving that job. Listen in for more ideas for your next career pivot or ‘quit.’

Key Takeaways:

[:58] Marc welcomes you to Episode 107 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:11] CareerPivot.com brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of lives and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources that are delivered to you, free of charge.

[1:30] If you are enjoying this podcast, Marc asks you to share it with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or just tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[1:51] We are coming to the end of the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Over 40 people have taken the survey. Marc will probably leave it up for another week.

[2:05] In order to improve the show, Marc needs to know something about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorites.

[2:15] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results very likely in January. As Marc records this in Matehuala, Mexico, on the way back to Ajijic, he has surpassed 40 survey participants. He thanks you in advance for doing this.

[2:49] Next week, Marc will share an encore episode where he interviewed Elizabeth Rabaey. Elizabeth has made multiple pivots to go from an air and water environmental permitting specialist, to be a creative marketing type.

[3:05] This week, Marc interviews Dr. Lynn Marie Morski, who is a quitting evangelist. She helps people quit strategically, through her book, Quitting by Design, and her podcast, Quit Happens.

Now on to the podcast…

[3:23] Marc welcomes Dr. Lynn Marie Morski to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[4:04] Lynn explains the differences between quitting and failing.

[4:41] Quitting strategically puts you in an empowered position. It is better than hoping for the best in a job where you are not performing until suddenly you get fired without any plans for what comes next.

[5:11] Unless you are independently wealthy, plan your next move. Marc has quit jobs. Once he was laid off, at his request. One of Marc’s favorite books is Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud. In order for new things to start, we have to end things.

[6:04] Your body will tell you when it’s time to quit. When your body starts giving you signals, such as anxiety, insomnia, or a discontented feeling, you start to have chronic pain, or you start getting really irritable with your co-workers, loved ones, or friends, those are all signs that something is out of alignment and needs to be changed.

[6:49] Sometimes when people feel this way, they start adding things. It may be that you need to subtract something that isn’t working for you, not add something else.

[6:56] A therapist may point out to you the things that are not working for you. Sometimes another view can help us see what is not obvious to ourselves.

[8:11] Marc tells of times a therapist has helped him make a career change. It comes down to finding out what is creating the situation that is not working for you.

[8:32] There are fears around quitting. Lynn separates them into esoteric and logistical fears. If you wonder what about all the time and money you’ve wasted pursuing your career, overcome your fear by seeing the ‘sunk cost fallacy.’ Having put money into something is no reason to stay in it.

[9:37] If you were willing to spend time and money pursuing something you don’t want, the money you spent is gone, anyway. Don’t you owe it to yourself to find something you enjoy doing? Lynn talks about her medical school loans. She invested a lot in herself to follow a specific path.

[10:29] Lynn finished her Sports Medicine fellowship in 2009 and realized during that year that she didn’t love it. She decided what she did not want in her career. She chose to quit having a pager, quit prescribing, and quit working nights and weekends, sitting on the sidelines. She chose to do VA compensation and pension exams.

[13:24] Going through this process helped Lynn realize how to help other people who can’t make a dramatic ‘quit.’ To completely quit medicine is a lot bigger deal than to quit having specific aspects in a medical job.

[13:40] Marc notes that quitting is only bad if you haven’t learned something. He shares an experience from his IBM days. He quit from one position he hated in less than a year but he still uses what he learned from that year in his current practice. He’s glad he did it but enough of it was enough.

[14:50] People may fear that they have wasted whatever time they spent in a job they quit. The only way you can find out what you want to do is by experimenting. Not all those experiments are going to be slam-dunks. If you learn from it, it was not wasted.

[15:23] If Marc hated his IBM job and then took the same job at a competitor, yes, he would have wasted that time because he wouldn’t have learned from it. If you take an experience and learn what you do like, and what you don’t like, then it’s not a waste.

[15:40] Marc admits that multiple times in his career he has relapsed by going back to something he had done earlier, and not learning from the first time what he wanted to avoid. He says you have to learn from your mistakes, and not forget what you’ve learned!

[16:20] Besides the fears of sunk costs and wasted jobs, people may fear what other people may think. That is the least problem because nothing of what people think about you is nearly as important as what you think about yourself. What you experience is more real to you than what someone else may or may not be thinking.

[18:37] Marc recalls the episode with Jennifer Winter, who was head of sponsorship for Turner Broadcasting Sports. She did not like sports. People told her she had the greatest job ever, but it was not for her. Quitting is OK even if others don’t understand or support your decision.

[19:53] When somebody says something disapproving, it takes five seconds of your day. Contrast that with the 40 hours a week you have to put into the job. How does that balance out?

[20:45] If a person can’t quit and needs the money coming in. Strategically quitting is the answer. You want to up-level your life, not end up on the street. Lynn says to save up a nest egg or emergency fund, start a side hustle and work at it until it can take over as your main job, or start interviewing while you are still at the job you’re quitting.

[22:00] If you have to leave the job and you haven’t found a replacement job, find ways to live on half of your income and cut back on expenses so you can prepare for some time between jobs or finding a job with less earning potential than you had before.

[22:28] Marc recommends listeners to go back two episodes to listen to Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org. Susan talks about proactive vs. reactive job search. Marc reminds listeners he is moving to Mexico to be able to live on a third of the cost of living in Austin. This reduction in his cost of living allows Marc a huge amount of freedom.

[23:03] Marc also recommends you not to listen to what others tell you. Get the facts for yourself.

[23:14] You can find Lynn’s book or reach Lynn for coaching at QuittingByDesign.com. Also, you can contact Lynn on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at QuittingByDesign.

[23:44] Marc thanks Dr. Lynn Marie Morski for being on the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode — it might inspire you to be a quitter!

[23:56] Susan Lahey and Marc are working on the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, and Marc is looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers who will get access to pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback. You can be part of this team by going to CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam where you can sign up.

[24:19] When you sign up, you’ll receive the pre-release version of chapters when they become available. What Marc asks in return is for you to provide feedback and be prepared to write a review on Amazon.com when the book is released.

[24:34] Marc and Susan are adding around eight new chapters to the book and re-writing several others. Marc’s goal is to have a chapter on the podcast and to the team every four to six weeks in the coming months. Marc may start a private Facebook group for the team to discuss their thoughts.

[24:58] Please go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career podcast survey on SurveyMonkey.com. Marc thanks the listeners who have already participated and taken the survey.

[25:19] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for almost 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc will start recruiting soon for the next cohort.

[25:33] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you’ll receive information about the community as it evolves. Those in the initial cohorts will get to set the direction for this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with special content.

[26:13] Check back next week, when Marc interviews Elizabeth Rabaey, in an encore episode.

[26:32] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates of this podcast and all the other happenings at CareerPivot. You can also subscribe on podcast sites.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship

The Millers Move to Mexico [Podcast]

December 4, 2018 by Stephanie Brodt 2 Comments

Episode #106 – Marc wraps up — for now — the chronicles of moving the Millers to Mexico

Description

In this episode, Marc recounts the details of traveling back to the U.S. from Mexico without a guide other than Google Maps. They clean out the condo and prepare it for rental. They sell what they don’t want to keep, store what they do, and give the remainder to the Salvation Army. Marc shares the health benefits he and his wife have experienced through walking more and eating healthier and the financial benefits of a more affordable healthcare system including health insurance at a fraction of the cost of the ACA programs. Marc describes the trip back to Austin and why you don’t drive at night in Mexico!

Key Takeaways

[1:11] Marc welcomes you to Episode 106 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:22] CareerPivot.com brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of lives and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources that are delivered to you, free of charge.

[1:40] If you are enjoying this podcast, Marc asks you to share it with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or just tell your neighbors and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more he can help.

[2:07] Marc has released the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Marc thanks listeners who have already taken the survey.

[2:15] In order to improve the show, Marc needs to know something about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorites.

[2:25] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. In the last week of November, Marc has 35 survey participants, so far. He thanks you in advance for doing this survey for the podcast.

[2:50] Next week, Marc will interview Dr. Lynn Marie Morski, who is a quitting evangelist. She helps people quit strategically, through her book, Quitting by Design, and her podcast, Quit Happens.

[3:06] This week, Marc takes you on the next steps in becoming an expat in Mexico. Marc and his wife have returned to Austin for six weeks, where they are cleaning out their condo and preparing for their return trip to become semi-permanent residents of Mexico.

Now on to the podcast…

[3:24] Marc tells of their plan to clean out the condo, apply for visas at the Mexican Embassy in Laredo, get route advice from Juan Pablo (J.P.), get a new car battery, bring cats to the vet, get inn reservations, and use Google Maps for their first solo trip back.

[5:15] Mexican highways include several roads in various directions with the same number. Google Maps was invaluable for directions.

[5:37] The Millers left on a Tuesday, to avoid trucks that are usually released on Mondays. Going North is very different from going South, primarily because of security checkpoints.

[6:04] The Mexican countryside is “drop-dead gorgeous.” Marc wants to take a lot more pictures on their way back down. As they started toward Matehuala there was fairly minimal truck traffic for a good distance.

[6:32] Once the truck traffic picked up, there were stretches with one car for every 10 trucks. Marc found a truck going the speed they wanted and followed it for hundreds of miles, as J.P. had suggested.

[7:08] On Day One, the Millers ran into one security checkpoint but they were not stopping anyone. The first day was pretty uneventful. They had brought all the food they needed to eat on the trip, so their only stops were for bathroom breaks.

[7:33] At the end of Day One, the Millers stayed at the Las Palmas Midway Inn in Matehuala. It is a 1950s style motor inn. Many expats stay there because it is pet-friendly. It was almost full when Marc made the reservation, a week ahead of the trip. This is when all the snowbirds start coming down.

[8:11] This time, the cats were a whole lot more comfortable traveling. They were fine at the inn and in the car. The first day was easy. The Millers stopped at the Matehuala Walmart and bought a few things. The hotel restaurant was actually very, very good.

[8:46] On Day Two Marc and his wife started out at 7:30, and boy, did they see trucks! Trucks and more trucks. They went through multiple security checkpoints. One of the major ones actually backed up things for an hour. They were in bumper-to-bumper traffic for an hour as they diverted all trucks off to be searched.

[9:16] When the Millers got up to the checkpoint, cars were funneled to the left and were waved through. The car in front of the Millers was a high-powered car driven by a Mexican, and the security officers pulled it over to inspect.

[9:37] There was also a fruta stop to check for fruit. Marc knew enough Spanish to be able to answer no when the officer asked if they had any fruit in the car.

[9:53] Marc and his wife drove all the way up to Nuevo Laredo, to cross at the Laredo border crossing. First, they had to stop at the Banjercito where they surrendered the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for their car and received back the $400 deposit they paid for their car. If you miss this, you will be barred from bringing a car back to Mexico.

[10:55] Marc pulled into the wrong side of the Banjercito booth, and they directed him to turn around and approach on the correct side. They peeled the sticker off and informed the Millers the deposit would be refunded to the Millers’ credit card in three or four days.

[11:14] Next was the Immigration (IMM) Office where they took the Millers’ tourist visa (FMM) card. Next would be the U.S. Customs on the other side of the border.

[11:37] The Millers had all the paperwork for the cats, as they were supposed to have. That was good because Customs did check their cats.

[11:49] These are highly-crossed borders, and closing them is a huge inconvenience for business and locals who go across the borders to work. The Millers crossed at about 5:00 p.m. after a 45-minute wait. They made it to a La Quinta in Laredo, where they stayed the night.

[12:37] The next morning, the Millers drove the nice, easy three-to-four trip home.

[12:53] The Millers discovered when they got back to Austin that Marc had lost 15 pounds and his wife had lost 20. In Mexico, other than drives to Guadalajara, they hadn’t put 20 miles on the car. They walked everywhere. If they had something big to bring back, like a sack of kitty litter, they brought a little hand truck to carry it.

[12:38] Another reason for the weight loss is that Mexican food has no added sugar and salt. Every kind of food the Millers ate tasted better. Local fruits and vegetables, and local baked goods tasted so good.

[14:36] Marc’s blood pressure is back to normal and still improving. Marc is now back at his college graduation weight at age 62 — 170 pounds at just under 6’4″. He hasn’t been this healthy in years.

[15:05] Marc also noticed how much constant noise there is in Austin from machinery and traffic, contrasted with Ajijic. The pace of life is booming in Austin, and Marc finds he doesn’t like it anymore. Austin has changed dramatically in the 40 years the Millers have lived there.

[15:38] It used to be a sleepy little university town with state government. “It ain’t that no more.”

[15:44] Marc is healthier than he has been in years. His wife has more stamina than she’s had in years. Marc cannot say what the last four months have done for their health. They are looking forward to going back.

[15:58] The Miller’s first concern in Austin was what to do with all their stuff. They rented a 5’x10′ room at a small storage facility for about $70 per month. Their goal had been to get rid of everything but — not quite everything. They’re storing a few things they are not sure they want to discard and things they will bring down to Ajijic on their next trip.

[16:33] The Millers will leave their bikes for now and bring them down on their next trip. They also have a really nice king-sized bed they will store, just in case they come back to stay. Items they wanted no more, they put up on their local condo Facebook group and on Marc’s regular Facebook page, saying no reasonable offer will be turned down.

[17:16] The Millers started selling things for $30 to $50. Whatever is leftover that the Millers do not want, the Salvation Army Austin will have come and picked up by the time this episode is released.

[17:35] Marc lists the repairs that were needed before renting the condo — new dishwasher, new seals in the toilet, new knobs for the range, some painting, and general maintenance.

[18:31] The Millers went through all their paper photos. They got rid of a lot of them and took the rest to a camera shop to be scanned. They will still keep the scanned photos in paper form as well.

[18:48] One of their biggest problems was moving George, their 45-year-old ponytail palm. George is nearly 10 feet tall and 500 pounds and was on the third floor. The condo manager found three guys to move the tree and it was an ordeal. They had to take it out of the pot, which was heavy in itself. They gave the tree to a former neighbor.

[19:55] They changed their correspondence address to that of an old family friend they’ve known for over 40 years. They are applying for health insurance. Marc has been approved and Lotus Miller is waiting for approval. Marc tells the premium and deductible for his own policy for a year, which will be much less than his monthly ACA premium.

[20:55] Lotus’s policy will be a little more than Marc’s and is going through the approval process, now.

[21:05] The Millers have just prepared their 2015 Subaru Outback with new tires and a full-size spare. They had to install a lockable Yakima roof rack for the spare, for about $500.

[22:15] Marc tells of going through a fog thicker than any he had driven through in his life. The temperature dropped 30°F immediately, and the low-pressure gauge for the tires popped on. Now Marc is getting an electric tire pump to keep in the vehicle.

[23:21] Within 10 days of crossing the border, the cats must go to the vet with all the paperwork needed.

[23:36] Marc will get a temporary resident visa for himself. Lotus will get a permanent resident visa for herself. You can’t bring a car in on a permanent visa! The car is in Marc’s name. Their marriage certificate shows a different name for Lotus.

[24:18] Lotus changed her first name about 10 years ago. The name on their wedding license needs to be certified by the Mexican government. After The Millers get their marriage license certified by the Mexican government, Marc will get a permanent visa and they will get rid of the car. The Mexican government does not like American cars.

[25:01] By the time this episode is released on Monday, the Millers will have stopped at the Mexican Embassy in Laredo to process the visa applications. They will cross the border, go to the IMM office very early and leave for Ajijic on Tuesday morning, making it a two-day trip.

[25:36] The key piece is — you do not drive at night in Mexico! You do not! There is livestock on the road, even the toll roads. There are also speed bumps that come up fast that you don’t see at night. Marc will leave Laredo with a full tank of gas. Gas is well over $4.00 in Mexico. The only stops will be for bathroom breaks.

[27:01] The Millers are excited to go back. Marc is happy to leave Austin. The stress of getting everything ready and turning it over to the property manager has been really difficult.

[27:33] Marc and his wife will be coming back to Austin in early March, as Marc has a speaking gig then in Central Texas. The car is also due for registration in April and a car inspection. Marc shares some travel plans for that time.

[28:12] Marc hopes you get a feel for this being an amazing experience and a healthy experience. Having spent five months in Mexico, their 2018 spending expenses are way, way down, probably 60% to two-thirds of 2017’s expenses. They have not lived a frugal lifestyle in Ajijic, Mexico.

[29:04] Marc hopes you learned something from this episode! If you have any questions, please go to the Show Notes at CareerPivot.com/Episode-106 and put some comments. Marc will be happy to answer your questions. A lot of people have been following the Millers on this journey, including some visits to see them in Ajijic!

[29:36] Susan Lahey and Marc are working on the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, and they are looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers who will get access to pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback. You can be part of this team by going to CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam where you can sign up.

[29:58] When you sign up, you’ll receive the pre-release version of chapters when they become available. What Marc asks in return is for you to provide feedback and be prepared to write a review on Amazon when the book is released.

[30:17] Marc and Susan are adding around eight new chapters to the book and re-writing several others. Marc’s goal is to have a chapter on the podcast and to the team every four to six weeks in the coming months. Marc may start a private Facebook group for the team to discuss their thoughts. A PDF of Chapter 1 will be released soon.

[31:03] Please go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career podcast survey on SurveyMonkey.com. Marc thanks the listeners who have already participated and taken the survey.

[31:21] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for around 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc will start recruiting in mid-December for the next cohort to begin in early January.

[31:38] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you’ll receive information about the community as it evolves. Those in the initial cohorts will get to set the direction for this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with special content.

[41:51] Marc will do a session, probably in early January, where he will be interviewing some of the members of the community about what they’re getting out of it. This is an evolving community ranging in age from the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties.

[32:14] Check back next week, when Marc interviews Dr. Lynn Marie Morski, author of Quitting by Design.

[32:48] If you would like to connect with Marc on LinkedIn, please go to LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller and just say you were listening to this podcast and you would like to connect.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship

Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org on Searching Proactively for a Job [Podcast]

November 27, 2018 by Stephanie Brodt Leave a Comment

Episode #105 – Marc Miller interviews Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org fame for proactive advice.

Description

In this episode, Marc interviews Susan Joyce to discuss the difference between a reactive and a proactive job search. Job-Hunt.org and Susan have been helping people find jobs since 1998. Susan P. Joyce holds a BS in Education and an MBA in Information Systems. She is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and two corporate layoffs. Susan worked in HR at Harvard University and recently finished an appointment as the Visiting Scholar at MIT Sloan. Since 1998, She’s been the Publisher, Editor, Webmaster, and Chief Writer for Job-Hunt.org. Susan has been studying, writing, and speaking about online job search since 1995, building on her own unique background in Military Intelligence, technology, and human resources. A LinkedIn member since 2004, Susan has been teaching about the effective use of LinkedIn for job search for many years.

Key Takeaways

[1:33] Marc welcomes you to Episode 105 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:45] CareerPivot.com brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life in our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources that are delivered to you, free of charge.

[2:02] If you are enjoying this podcast, Marc asks you to share it with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or just tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[2:22] Marc has released the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Marc thanks listeners who have already taken the survey. So far, as of November 14, the number of surveys exceeds the number from last year, so thank you!

[2:40] To improve the show, Marc needs to know something about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorites.

[2:50] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. Marc will probably keep the survey open through mid-to-late December. He thanks you in advance for doing this survey for the podcast.

[3:15] Next week, Marc will be taking you on the next steps on becoming an expat in Mexico. Marc and his wife have returned to Austin for six weeks, where they are cleaning out their condo and preparing for their return trip to become semi-permanent residents of Mexico.

[3:31] Marc and his wife are coming to the end of their journey, and he wants to close things out, at least, for a little while.

[3:39] This week, Marc is interviewing Susan Joyce, of Job-Hunt.org fame. Marc reads Susan’s bio and welcomes her to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

Now on to the podcast…

[5:13] Susan says she has been very fortunate in her career. In her last semester in college, she learned teaching would not be a good path for her. So, she joined the Marine Corps. It was the best job she ever had. Unfortunately, that was her first layoff.

[6:25] Susan next came to Massachusetts where there were lots of opportunities.

[6:29] Marc and Susan both feel that in their careers they’ve been more lucky than good. Marc only had one layoff, which was voluntary; otherwise, he chose to move.

[7:12] Susan explains the difference between a reactive and a proactive job search. Waiting for job postings and applying to them is being reactive. You are limited to the postings that you find. The reactive market is really random and the most competitive job market.

[7:55] In the proactive job market you leverage your network, make yourself visible, and give employers opportunities to find you. When you’re found by an employer, the shoe’s on the other foot. They’re pleading with you to work for them. It’s a stronger position for the job searcher, especially regarding salary and the choice of where you want to work.

[8:43] The proactive job searcher is not competing with everybody sitting at their computer applying through for jobs. There are a lot of advantages in being proactive rather than reactive.

[8:58] Someone asked Marc why recruiters weren’t finding them for jobs that they wanted. Marc advised them to make their LinkedIn profile state what they were looking for. You have to make yourself “look pretty” to be found for the job you want. If you look like a mechanic instead of an architect they will find you for mechanic jobs.

[9:42] The proactive approach is best. You avoid competition; you present what you want; you focus on where you want to work. Don’t call yourself a marketing professional. No recruiter is searching for the term “marketing professional.” They search for job titles like “social media marketing manager,” or “B2B marketing analyst.”

[11:02] In a proactive job search, use the exact job title of the role you want. Know the employers you want to work for and know what they call the job you want next. Use those terms in your LinkedIn profile, both in the professional headline and also in the description of your work. Including these keywords lets employers find you.

[11:48] Use the right keywords in the right places. Today’s search engines do not fall for using the same keywords over and over in white letters on white space. Use them in the text where they make sense.

[12:40] Think like a recruiter and how they search. Keep current with job titles as they change. Marc used to be a training manager. In today’s usage that would be learning and development. The old term MIS is replaced by IT. Using old terms stamps “old” on your forehead. Don’t refer to obsolete job skills, like MS-DOS Control Programmer.

[13:59] To start your proactive job search, first target employers and jobs at those employers. Don’t target two or three, but as many as are local to you. Ask for an informational interview to build your network. Find potential good places to work and then use your network to find out if they really are good places to work.

[14:43] Research the job title. Admin wizard might your current title. Most companies would call it a senior administrative assistant, so list it as admin wizard/sr. administrative assistant. That gives you the right keywords for the rest of the world.

[15:56] Use these job title keywords on LinkedIn, resume, your business card, and networking card (without your employer information.) If you are not employed you do need a networking card, with a Gmail address on it, because Gmail is the most widely respected email name. Get a free Google Voice phone number to forward to your cell.

[17:27] Marc tells people who wear many hats to put all the job titles that are applicable to what they do. Marc suggests using a vertical bar to separate them, but a slash also works. Always make sure you have the job titles for the job you want.

[18:14] Susan explains why you need to be specific in your LinkedIn profile about your location or your planned location.

[19:18] One of the best ways to use a proactive job search is to try to connect with an employee referral. Less than 20% of jobs are filled using job boards. More than 30% of jobs are filled using employee referrals. LinkedIn can find people who work for specific employers and can find connections you might have in common to reach out to them.

[21:25] Marc also recommends finding people who have left the company and finding out how long they were there and why they left. They can give you an authentic view of what the culture really is. If you don’t ask, you won’t find out.

[23:17] If you are unemployed, you can be really open and public about your proactive job search on and off LinkedIn. Go to the local Chamber of Commerce meeting or a local professional association. Introduce yourself in terms of the job you are seeking. Don’t represent that “you can do anything.” Take the opportunity for personal branding.

[24:42] If you say you are good at everything, no one will believe you, or know what your strengths are or what you want to do.

[26:20] If you are employed, you will be much more subtle. You can’t be open about a job search. You can be fired for that. Leave out anything about “seeking new opportunities” in every public discussion you are in on LinkedIn. Keep it low-profile.

[28:00] This is where having the right keywords in the right places and being visible in LinkedIn groups associated with your work is helpful. Share more information about what your company does. Fill out your LinkedIn profile with lots of detail without violating corporate confidentiality rules. It will increase your marketability and help your company.

[29:01] When you increase your visibility in a proactive way, you will be noticed, and hopefully, by the right people. You can also join groups that aren’t particularly related to your job, but which are interesting to you, and that you can explain easily if anybody asks. You increase your visibility and your knowledge base.

[29:43] There are so many opportunities for personal marketing on LinkedIn. Follow people who work for your target employers, if they share on LinkedIn. Who you follow isn’t something that people can normally check on LinkedIn. Make yourself visible, without drawing your employer’s attention to yourself.

[31:11] Recruiters are getting so desperate. There used to be 250 applications for a job. Now there are 25 applications for a job. This may mean an increase in salary for your next job. Being out there, visible and intelligent and not ranting about politics or the Red Sox, or really, ranting about anything, unless ranting is the job you want next!

[31:44] Being seen out there as a professional in your field will bring attention to you. It’s not bragging to share a good article from a technical journal. Marc advises people to curate good content and then go share it, being sure to tag people that you want to see it. The idea is you are trying to be helpful and be a resource.

[33:06] If you’re providing them with useful information, it’s not being a pest.

[33:15] Asking people for advice is a whole lot more effective than asking them for a job. “What do you think about this? Does this strike you as a good idea?” Ask those kinds of questions when you’re tagging someone by sharing something. Or ask them for advice on how to make something happen for a particular situation, even technical questions.

[33:56] When you ask for advice it’s a compliment. Ask for AIR (Advice, Insights, and Recommendations). Always ask for the recommendation or the next step. It’s your close.

[34:55] The numbers associated with reactive job search vs. proactive job search should convince you to try the proactive approach. Susan estimates that 80% of the people she talks to have only tried reactive searching. As you keep track of how many jobs you apply for and how many times you hear back from a recruiter, you see it is bad.

[35:41] Applying for a job, to be successful, you need to thread the needle. You need to respond very specifically to the requirements of the job. Some of those job descriptions aren’t particularly realistic. If you’re applying well, you’re investing a lot of time. Instead, spend three hours a day interacting, curating and sharing good content, or networking.

[37:15] For the unemployed, job clubs are fabulous. Go to them and expand your network. Most of the people in the job club will end up with jobs. And you’ll stay in touch with those people on LinkedIn for the next job search. The lifetime job is gone.

[37:56] Marc refers to the Repurpose Your Career episode with Bob McIntosh where Bob talked about activity vs. engagement. Go engage!

[38:08] You can reach Susan Joyce through her contact information on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/in/SusanJoyce or email her at Susan@Job-Hunt.org. Don’t forget that hyphen! Marc thanks Susan for being on the podcast.

[38:59] Susan Lahey and Marc are working on the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, and they are looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers who will get access to pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback. You can be part of this team by going to CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam where you can sign up.

[39:35] When you sign up, you’ll receive the pre-release version of chapters when they become available. Last week, Marc read the opening chapter, and that will be available in several weeks. What Marc asks in return is for you to provide feedback and be prepared to write a review on Amazon when the book is released.

[40:00] Marc and Susan are adding about eight chapters to the book and re-writing several others. Marc’s goal is to have a chapter on the podcast and to the team every four to six weeks in the coming months. Marc may start a private Facebook group for the team to discuss their thoughts.

[40:39] Please go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career podcast survey on SurveyMonkey.com. Marc would be most appreciative for your help. Marc needs to know something about you so he can improve this podcast for you. Marc is getting a good response and would like to get as many as 100.

[40:53] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for almost 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Probably by the time this airs, Marc will have on-boarded the latest cohort. Marc will start recruiting for the next cohort by early January.

[41:16] If you’re interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you’ll receive information about the community as it evolves. Those in the initial cohorts will get to set the direction for this endeavor. This is a paid membership community with special content.

[42:34] Check back next week, when Marc will take you on the next steps to becoming an ex-pat in Mexico.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship

Marc Announces the New Edition of Repurpose Your Career [Podcast]

November 13, 2018 by Stephanie Brodt 1 Comment

Episode #104 – Marc Miller Announces the 2018 RYC Survey and the new Book Release Team and reads from the new edition of Repurpose Your Career.

Description

In this episode, Marc invites listeners to take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Survey, to help him make this podcast better with your feedback. He invites you to join pre-release readers of the new edition of Repurpose Your Career to read chapters of the book, give feedback, and review the book on Amazon when it is released. Marc reads Chapter 1 of the new edition.

Key Takeaways:

[1:12] Marc welcomes you to Episode 104 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast.

[1:25] CareerPivot.com brings you this podcast. CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life in our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and other resources that are delivered to you, free of charge.

[1:43] If you are enjoying this podcast, Marc asks you to share it with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or just tell your neighbors and colleagues.

[2:05] Marc has released the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Marc thanks listeners who have already taken the survey. Last year, there were about 30 responses. Marc is hoping for 60 to 100 responses this year, with his larger audience.

[2:22] To improve the show, Marc needs to know something about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorites.

[2:34] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. Marc thanks you in advance for doing this survey for the podcast.

Now on to the podcast…

[2:57] The Repurpose Your Career podcast will skip a week for Thanksgiving. There will be no podcast next week, to give some folks — including Marc — a break. The following week, Marc will be interviewing Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org fame.

[3:20] Job-Hunt.org and Susan have been helping people find jobs since 1998. Marc and Susan will discuss the differences between a reactive and a proactive job search.

[3:36] This week, Marc starts the promotion of the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, with a planned release date in the first half of 2019. Marc has been working on the next edition with Susan Lahey, and he will be looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers to read pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback.

[4:00] You can be part of this pre-release team by going to CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam, where you can sign up. When you sign up, you’ll receive pre-release versions of the chapter Marc is reading today, and additional chapters when they become available.

[4:22] Marc asks in return that you provide feedback and be prepared to write an Amazon.com book review when the book is released. Marc is not asking you to write a five-star review but your honest review.

[4:40] Marc begins reading the opening chapter of the next edition of Repurpose Your Career.

[4:48] Finally, we’re at full employment. Unemployment rates are below 4%. Everybody who wants a job, has one, right? Not exactly! That’s what most of the data says, but the data seems to be leaving something out.

[5:10] According to the AARP Public Policies Employment Data Digest, most people over 55 who want to be employed are. In fact, the unemployment rate for this age group was only 3% as of April 2018.

[5:25] Unemployment numbers are based on how many civilians not employed by an institution, are either working or looking for work. Marc goes to a fair number of jobs clubs for job seekers. The faces he sees there tend to be — well, old. Some of that is because these people are part of the long-term unemployed.

[5:49] Being unemployed for more than 26 weeks is a real drag on your health and can make you look old. And 22% of unemployed people have been unemployed that long, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). But more than a third of long-term unemployed are over 55.

[6:09] In Austin (where I live part of the time), the unemployment rate is under 3% — unless you happen to be over 50. If you’re over 50, it’s higher than 12%.

[6:21] In 2015, The Atlantic published the article “Where not to be Old and Jobless,” which listed Austin as the number four worst place to be old and unemployed, behind San Jose, Cal., El Paso, Tex., and New Haven, Conn.

[6:39] Research by AARP shows that there’s a real danger that unemployed people over 50 — especially women — could become impoverished. So the organization has funded a program at Austin Community College, called Back to Work 50+. It’s a great thing that AARP has funded this program; if we’re at full employment, why is it needed?

[7:04] Why are so many people in this age group unsuccessfully looking for work? The statistics they collected don’t include retired people, by the way. While I do know some people who have successfully retired before age 65, most of them are government employees or they retired because either their health or their spouse’s health was poor.

[7:30] I know people who gave up looking and just started taking Social Security early. 40% of the people who initiate Social Security do so at age 62. Only 7% wait to take Social Security until the maximum age of 70. This is a real problem. If you take Social Security before your full retirement, you lose a lot.

[8:02] If you were born in 1960 and take retirement at 62, you lose 30%. If you were born in 1960 and wait and take your full benefit until 70, you gain 24%. Some people take benefits early and work, too. If you’re doing that and you are under full retirement age for the full year, you lose $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over the annual limit.

[8:33] In 2018, the limit is $17,040. So if you earn $40,000, They’ll take $11,480 out of your retirement benefits. Things have to be pretty rough if you’re willing to lose that much money for the rest of your life.

[8:51] Why are so many people over 55 unemployed and looking, compared to the rest of the population? Is it ageism? Is it they don’t have skills for today’s workplace? Or something else? The answer is: Yes.

[9:09] Ageism is thriving in places like Austin, where the economy revolves around tech startups. If your skills are up-to-date, you have a solid work history, you’re physically fit, you dress like you know what year it is, you’re not looking or acting old, except for some wrinkles and gray hair, and they don’t hire you, that’s age discrimination.

[9:42] I have lots of examples from the CareerPivot Online Community where the members have acquired skills in the latest programming technologies and data science, and still can’t get hiring managers to speak to them.

[9:55] Hiring managers don’t want to invest in the careers of people in the second half of life. The reasoning is, they don’t have enough career runway. Considering that most people change jobs every four-and-a-half years, should they be worried about career runway?

[10:13] When we are at full employment, should we be worried about having enough career runway? That is an example of ageism.

[10:23] However, ageism isn’t always the culprit. If you let yourself and your skills go, it’s something different. A lot of older people try to get by without learning new skills, hoping to coast toward retirement. But in this rapidly-changing environment of creative destruction, their career track may evaporate long before they’re ready to retire.

[10:46] In such cases, your experience may not help you get the next job. Think of it like trading in a car. When I traded in my 2003 Honda Element, it didn’t have GPS or Bluetooth. It didn’t have heated seats or any kind of hybrid engine. Plus, it had some wear and tear. It looked like a car that had been on some road trips.

[11:10] The dealership offered me a lower price than they charged me for my new car. They discriminated against my Honda Element! If you’re acting like an old curmudgeon, if you’re griping about learning new-fangled technologies, or about the behavior of Millennials, you’re keeping yourself out of the workforce.

[11:31] There is no question that we have a skills mismatch in the market. We are seeing creative destruction accelerate through so many industries, eliminating positions of people who’ve honed their skills over decades. I’ve had clients whose whole career worlds disappear in under five years.

[11:52] Keeping your skills up is crucial but it’s not enough to keep you employed. You need to be creative. You need to be agile. You need to be ready to reinvent yourself after a few years to match what the market needs. Forget about cruise control It’s time to get a manual transmission and learn how to use it.

[12:16] Marti Konstant, author of Activate Your Agile Career: How Responding to Change Will Inspire Your Life’s Work, said it best. “Adapt or be left behind.” You can plan for a future that will be significantly different from today or be left behind. It’s your choice.

[12:39] Many of us want or need to work into our 70s. Working in our 70s will not look like working in our 50s. It will, most likely, be a combination of different types of jobs. You’re looking at multiple part-time jobs; starting a side gig; finding different ways to make money. Many of us don’t think like that. We were raised to be employees.

[13:04] We believed that finding a job was the quickest, surest way to security. We’d get in there and stay until we got our gold watch. Today, that ain’t happening! For one thing, it’s tough to get anyone to hire someone in their 60s. Beyond that, these days, even companies can’t promise they’ll be around in five years! Your employer won’t save you.

[13:29] You have to get creative. More and more people prefer the self-service options to dealing with a human. And more and more jobs can be done by technology. Among the professions the BLS predicts are on the way out are respiratory therapy techs, computer operators, legal secretaries, and everybody at the Post Office.

[13:55] Consider how Uber transformed the taxi industry. How Airbnb transformed the hotel industry. And, how the iPhone has transformed everything since it was invented in 2007.

[14:11] Among the things we can now do on our smartphones: banking, sending messages, watching videos, making videos, learning languages, listening to music, scheduling, budgeting, shopping, booking a hotel, booking a flight, finding a date, joining a meeting, getting directions, paying for things — and that’s just for starters.

[14:35] Because many of these menial tasks have been taken off the table, what remains is often more meaningful. ‘Meaning’ is a key guide to finding your happy place when it comes to ‘work.’ Whatever path you take might disappear in the future, so don’t get hung up on the path. You have to think in terms of constant evolution.

[14:59] Several members of the CareerPivot Online Community have taken bold actions to get ready for ‘change.’ One is Mike Martin, a drone pilot instructor, whose story you will learn about later in this book. When Mike started his journey, there was no such thing as drone pilot instructor.

[15:18] Camille Knight is a logical creative. She grew up as a dancer and singer. Her first degree was in music and then she went back and got a degree in business. She worked in HR; got spit out of Whole Foods; and reinvented herself as a business analyst.

[15:35] She discovered Tableau software that lets her build beautiful dashboards that tell stories. For the first time in her life, she gets to marry both sides of her brain.

[15:47] I had a client who said he wanted to be a data scientist and I said, “No, you want to go into a manufacturing site and do scrap analysis.” It’s not enough, just to have a skill; you have to find a company’s pain point; you have to solve a problem.

[16:04] We are at an inflection point. You can no longer acquire a skill and be fitted into a job. Things change too fast. If you want to keep on being relevant, you must adapt to the speed of change. You have to find tasks and skills that are meaningful to you and adaptable to new technologies and cultural paradigms — or be left behind.

[16:30] Be the mentor you want to see in the world. Betty White said Facebook wouldn’t do her any good in terms of helping her to reconnect with old friends; “At my age, if I want to reconnect with old friends, I need a Ouija board.”

[16:47] We used to have mentors who could tell us what to do. Chances are, those mentors are retired. There are no coattails for us to ride anymore at this stage. We are the coattails. Much of our network may be gone. We have to forge the path, ourselves. Part of that is taking up the mantle and becoming mentors to younger people.

[17:09] Millennials and the generation behind them want mentors. They want help to know how they’re doing. As one Millennial wrote in The Muse, they’ve been conditioned to seek feedback and advice. So, yeah, they want that in their careers, preferably from someone who won’t tell them that they’re entitled, lazy snowflakes.

[17:35] In turn, they can help you tap into areas of the work world that might seem foreign to you. In fact, like the fact that there’s a publication called The Muse or, about how to use Instagram to grow your business.

[17:52] I know one freelance writer who meets with her mentees frequently for happy hour. Her mentees have introduced her to new markets and gotten her work in places where she would never have thought to have looked.

[18:06] In turn, she helps them with strategies for dealing with difficult clients, insights, networking, tactics for time management, and reassurance that being an adult isn’t so scary.

[18:17] We’ve entered a new dimension when it comes to ‘work.’ It’s more focused on developing yourself, ongoing, than on sliding into the position as a cog. The idea of getting old, tired, and set in your ways is a recipe for obsolescence. And that’s a good thing.

[18:36] Scientists have found if we treat our brain right, our brains can learn and adapt, right up to death. Now, we just have to rethink the second half of life to stay vibrant, connected, and contributing. This should be fun!

[18:53] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. The world is changing and it’s your responsibility to change with it if you want to stay relevant.

[19:04] To get a PDF version of this chapter and to be on the review team, to help Marc with this book, please go to CareerPivot.com/RYCteam to sign up. Marc and Susan will be adding about eight chapters to the book and rewriting
several others.

[19:25] Marc will release a new chapter on the podcast and to the review team every four to six weeks in the coming months. Marc is considering starting a private Facebook group to discuss this effort.

[19:46] Please go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career podcast survey on SurveyMonkey.com. (Marc thanks the listeners who have already taken the survey.) Marc needs to know something about you so he can improve this podcast for you.

[20:01] How do you listen to the show? The big question is if you read the Show Notes! (Marc is finding that more than half the listeners taking the survey read the Show Notes.) What kinds of episodes are your favorite? Marc will publish the results of the survey in several months.

[20:29] Marc invites you to pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd half of Life, and when you complete reading the book, Marc would appreciate your writing an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version is available on iTunes, Audible, and Amazon.

[20:52] Marc’s plan for the next edition of the book is to release the print, ebook and Audible versions of it at the same time.

[21:03] The CareerPivot.com/Community website has become a valuable resource for almost 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project. Marc hopes to exit the Beta phase in the middle of 2019. It is growing slowly. Remember, you are not alone.

[21:17] Marc is soliciting members for the next cohort of the CareerPivot.com Online Community. For information, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. Those in the initial cohorts in the Beta phase get to set the direction for this endeavor. Every two to three months, Marc holds a mastermind group that discusses what to do next.

[30:16] Check back in two weeks (after the Thanksgiving break), when Marc will interview Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org fame to discuss the difference between a reactive and a proactive job search.
Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship

Marc & Mark Answer Your Job Search Questions [Podcast]

November 6, 2018 by Stephanie Brodt Leave a Comment

Episode #103 – Marc Miller welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast to help answer job search questions from listeners in the 2nd half of life.

Description

In this episode, Marc and Mark address questions about video interviewing, starting a job search, and spreading the news about your new certification or degree. Listen in for great tips.

Key Takeaways:

[1:38] Marc welcomes you to Episode 103 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. This podcast is brought to you by CareerPivot.com, one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Take a moment to check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge.

[2:07] If you’re enjoying this podcast, Marc invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, Google Play and the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, Overcast app, TuneIn, Spotify app, or Stitcher. Share it on social media, or tell your neighbors and colleagues so Marc can help more people.

[2:28] Marc is launching The 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. To improve the show, Marc needs to know more about you — how you listen to the show; if you read the show notes; what kinds of episodes are your favorite.

[2:44] Marc asks if you would kindly go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey (where you will be redirected to SurveyMonkey) to take the survey. Marc will publish the results in a couple of months. Marc thanks you in advance for doing this survey for the podcast.

Now on to the podcast…

[3:07] Next week, Marc will be announcing the next edition of Repurpose Your Career, with a planned release date of the first half of 2019. Marc has been working on the next edition with Susan Lahey, and he will be looking for your help. Marc is forming a release team of readers to read pre-release chapters of the book to provide feedback.

[3:32] Look for signup instructions to be on the release team in next week’s episode. Marc will also be reading the opening chapter of the next edition in next week’s episode.

[3:43] This week, Marc is answering listener questions, along with his trusty sidekick, Mark Anthony Dyson.

[3:53] Marc welcomes you to the regular Q&A episode and introduces the ‘world-famous Mark Anthony Dyson. Marc is back in Austin and Mark is in Chicago.

[4:32] Marc and Mark note that they’ve both received copies of books from publishers recently. Mark received Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count, by Karen Wickre and Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workplace of the Future, by Alexandra Levit.

[5:52] Simon & Schuster just told Marc they were sending him Fifty-Five, Unemployed, and Faking Normal, by Elizabeth White, due out in January. Marc would like her on the show in January. She is a Harvard graduate who couldn’t get a job.

[7:00] Q1: I’ve been asked to be interviewed over video. I’ve never done this. Can you give me any hints or tips so I can do my best?

[7:11] A1: First pick the right room, with carpeting and drapes; hard surfaces are bad for audio. Put fabric up, at least.

[8:10] Second, make sure you have good light on your face. Get some inexpensive desk lamps and install full-spectrum light bulbs. Third, make sure you are using a microphone and headphones. The audio is more important than anything else. Fourth, dress for video. Stay away from patterns. Fifth, interview standing up, without squeaky shoes.

[9:43] The top of the camera should be about the top of your forehead. Look at the camera (not at the screen). A little picture just above the camera can help you. You need to practice it. Get some friends to interview you on Skype or Zoom. Mark agrees, that standing gives you energy, which is really crucial to impress in an interview.

[10:40] You don’t want to be boring. The person interviewing you won’t be as enthusiastic. They might muddle through, but you’re the one being judged. Mark suggests Skype with someone you don’t know well.

[11:54] Marc always recommends standing for phone interviews, because it opens the diaphragm. Mark says find a place without surrounding noise. Mark adds, have some personality when you interview. It is not an interrogation, but a time to impress. In many cases, the video interview is one of the first times you will be vetted.

[14:21] Q2: I received an unacceptable feedback from HR and my contract will be terminated by the end of October, rather than April or May. Although the workplace is toxic, I want to leave and not sign a new contract. Your feedback is appreciated.

[14:47] A2: This question came to Mark through LinkedIn messaging from an older gentleman. There was a fair amount of back and forth that Mark summarizes. Mark helped the man figure out what he wants to do and what company he wants to do it with. If you can answer those questions completely, they accelerate your goals.

[15:32] Then, work to get a referral from someone that works in the company that you want to work with who can possibly lead you to the interview with the right person. Mark also asked the man, who was not a coaching client, to report back how it goes. After an exchange, it took Mark only about two minutes to give that advice.

[16:13] The man got interviews. One was for his passion as a software engineer.

[17:04] On a tangent, Mark says you know you’re with the right coach if you can get back a direct answer, without haggling over dollars and minutes.

[18:18] A woman with cancer she is being treated for called Marc and she wondered if she should tell her next employer if she has cancer. He advised not to mention it until she has a job offer and then bringing it up with the assurance that she can perform the job. They will probably not withdraw the offer. Marc will not charge for the 10-minute call.

[19:41] If people are stuck and they require a deeper dive, then a coach can start the process with them. Sometimes all people want is just one answer for something simple. For the people listening: don’t be afraid to ask questions of the right people, Mark says. The people will give you straight answers and maybe even some how-tos.

[20:33] Q3: I recently passed the PMP exam and I’m a Certified Project Manager. How can I leverage this new certification?

[20:44] A3: This question came from Marc’s CareerPivot.com online community. Marc has been promoting is for people to turn on the broadcast setting in LinkedIn when they update their credentials. People will get the message and you will get a lot of congratulations.

[21:31] Always respond with a customized response: Thank you for the congratulations. Here’s what you can do for me. I’m looking for a job, I just got my PMP. Do you have 15 minutes for a short phone call so I can get some advice from you?

[22:02] When Marc does this, he puts a link from ScheduleOnce for appointments. (Marc has no relationship with them but loves their service. Other scheduling systems are available.) Marc put in a link to iTunes when he reached his one-year podcast mark.

[22:27] Marc also asked people to listen to and review a podcast. He got a spike of downloads that week because people listened to an episode from his request.

[22:39] When you update your LinkedIn profile you want people to notice. When people notice, a few may be able to help you. Marc learned a long time ago, “If you don’t ask, you usually don’t get.”

[23:18] Mark suggests when you get a new certification or degree, you become part of their association, industry, or trade membership group. You want to get the newsletter and participate so you can start to be familiar to the group. You can’t sit on the sidelines and try to scoop up the benefits. Contribute a lot to get to know a lot of people fast.

[24:08] Networking and the job search are more about people than the process. People have made it about the process, but the process is not always the best approach. Industry organizations make a huge difference in becoming familiar. It is the long-tailed benefit that will serve your career for a long time.

[24:54] Connect with people first, care about the person, and then, eventually, that will help you. You’ll learn a lot more than you think by just watching for a while before saying something.

[25:06] Marc agrees, that when we reach our age, over 60, getting a job is about a relationship. Focus on the relationships. You have no control over the timing of job openings. All you can do is keep building the relationships.

[26:31] That’s why everybody needs to read How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, Mark believes. The essence of the book is how to win over people, not how to look for shortcuts. Relationships over time lead to different points that will benefit your career as a whole and bring other people with you.

[27:15] In the ’30s and ’40s, Dale Carnegie had a radio show and he interviewed people. You can find some episodes from Dale Carnegie on Spotify. They are all about relationships.

[28:07] Marc thanks Mark for being on this Repurpose Your Career podcast episode.

[28:26] Marc invites you to pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd half of Life, and write an honest review of the book on iTunes.com.

[28:51] Please take the 2018 Repurpose Your Career Podcast Survey. Marc needs to know something about you so he can make this podcast to meet your needs. Go to CareerPivot.com/podcast-survey and take the SurveyMonkey.com survey.

[29:25] Marc is soliciting members for the next cohort of the CareerPivot.com Online Community. For information, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community.

[30:16] Check back next week when Marc will announce the next edition of Repurpose Your Career and read the opening chapter as a preview to the book.

Marc Miller

Be sure to check out the Career Pivot Client Testimonials Page

Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above.

Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast

When you subscribe to this blog you get full access to Career Pivot’s Whitepaper Library

Do You Need Help With ...

Job Search	Career Pivot/Change	Career Success	Careers in the 2nd Half of Life
Social Media	Multi-Generational Workplace	Networking	Entrepreneurship

Dr. Lynn Marie Morski Tells Us How to Quit [Podcast]

Episode #107 – Marc interviews quitting evangelist, Dr. Lynn Marie Morski on quitting strategies

Description

Key Takeaways:

Now on to the podcast…

Do You Need Help With ...

The Millers Move to Mexico [Podcast]

Episode #106 – Marc wraps up — for now — the chronicles of moving the Millers to Mexico

Description

Key Takeaways

Now on to the podcast…

Do You Need Help With ...

Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org on Searching Proactively for a Job [Podcast]

Episode #105 – Marc Miller interviews Susan Joyce of Job-Hunt.org fame for proactive advice.

Description

Key Takeaways

Now on to the podcast…

Do You Need Help With ...

Marc Announces the New Edition of Repurpose Your Career [Podcast]

Episode #104 – Marc Miller Announces the 2018 RYC Survey and the new Book Release Team and reads from the new edition of Repurpose Your Career.

Description

Key Takeaways:

Now on to the podcast…

Do You Need Help With ...

Marc & Mark Answer Your Job Search Questions [Podcast]

Episode #103 – Marc Miller welcomes Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast to help answer job search questions from listeners in the 2nd half of life.

Description

Key Takeaways:

Now on to the podcast…

Do You Need Help With ...

COACHING PACKAGES

FROM OUR BLOG

Dr. Lynn Marie Morski Tells Us How to Quit [Podcast]

RESOURCES

CONTACT ME

Career Pivot

512-693-7132