A story in the New York Times today really caught my eye. Entitled “Coming Up Short as a Role Model for the Mommy Track”, it compares Caroline Kennedy’s unceremonious exit from senate candidacy to the story of the first woman to attend Citadel in 1993 (she dropped out after just one week). Here’s the link, it’s a good read:
Read MoreTomorrow, Wednesday, I’m going to be on the radio talking about careers in growth industries. Yes, believe it or not, even in the worst economy since the Depression, there are growing sectors!
Read MoreAt a bar mitzvah I attended yesterday, the boy spoke eloquently about the idea of serendipity. He described his favorite place in New York City to drink frozen hot chocolate (Serendipity, on E. 60th Street), and how he had just recently come to know the meaning of that word.
Read MoreI’m generally pretty good about maintaining a positive attitude and I know what to do to keep my equilibrium. But man, reading the paper these days makes you want to jump off the nearest bridge. There’s just endless bad news.
Read MoreYou don’t need me to tell you that the business climate is very uncertain, to say the least. So many industries are taking a hit, and everyone is asking you: “How’s your business?”
Read MoreI have a new client who sought me out to help her package her information for a position she’s very excited about. She is a highly accomplished non-profit professional with 25 years of experience, and has an extremely impressive resume. But damn is it long.
Read MoreToday’s New York Times features a piece called “Staying Healthy in a Sick Economy”. It caught my attention. This particular article talked about staying fit, a particular obsession of mine, but it got me thinking about other wellness issues that can crop up during times of stress.
Read MoreI received a comment on my last entry–about my friend who recently went back to work — which I believe deserves its own topic. Here is the question as posed: “It’s just intimidating that she was getting all these calls about jobs – didn’t she have to do SOMETHING to make that happen? Otherwise I am lost – my phone never rings with job offers!”
Read MoreIn the past month I’ve spent time planning something I never thought much about: my 30th high school reunion. While I went to a really good small high school where everyone knew each other, I never really felt like my high school years delivered the optimal experience. Call me a late bloomer, but I have always preferred my adult life to the years that came before. So I didn’t really keep in touch with people, even though I had some good friendships lasting throughout.
Read MoreA friend of mine just went back to work after having spent many years doing lots of other things: raising multiple children, consulting, contributing as a board member to her pet causes. She is a person of great energies and interests and always felt that when the time was right, she’d return to full-time work. Her main concern was that she had so many responsibilities outside of work that ultimately she would be derailed. Or go crazy.
Read MoreI had lunch with a colleague yesterday, a woman named Suzanne Zemke, whom I met through coaching. Having worked in big corporations for most of her career, Suzanne was given the “gift” of a layoff several months ago. Instead of going back to the same type of job with the requisite steady paycheck, she decided to take a risk.
Read MoreI am consulting with an organization called Nexxt Phase, for women in career transition. We are in the process of redefining the vision of the group and determining ways we can help women achieve their career goals. We put together a list of tips for job-seekers, with special focus on women returning the workforce. I thought I’d share them here.
Read MoreAs a consultant, I find it tough to get organized. I am not shy about mentioning this, since I talk to other consultants all the time, and they usually have the same problem. Not that being super organized about my work has ever been a great strength! My tendency is to work in a more stream of consciousness way, which means that I stay open to opportunities that present themselves, which can be good except…when the day ends and I scratch my head and think “What did I do today?” This is not a great feeling.
Read MoreYesterday I was the lead speaker at a seminar for women considering going back to work. This was the first in a seminar series called Mind Your Own Business Moms, started by two women I know through my kids’ school. It was held in a restaurant, and there were about 25 women there, prosperous and engaged in their lives but looking for a career to complete their fulfillment.
Read MoreToday I was interviewing a search consultant for a project I’m doing: a series of interviews about the current hiring climate in various sectors, for the career management website BlueSteps.com. We were talking about a common acquaintance who recently took a very senior job. It turns out that this particular search consultant had been considering this candidate for another very senior job, and at the very last minute the company withdrew their offer. Why? Because in conducting their due diligence, the search firm found that the candidate had inflated his graduate degree. He said he had an MBA, but it turns out he had something different.
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