Career E-News: September 2010 

Monthly Newsletter for Executives, Managers, and Professionals in Career Transition / Written and Published by Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin, The Career Success Coach

In this issue:
September Brings Good News about The Economy and Job Creation
Career Lessons Learned from Actor Luke Wilson
One-on-One Coaching with Joellyn: Career Action Planning Session
About "The Career Success Coach"
Quote of the Month: On "Character"
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Greetings!                              Joellyn Headshot 2009 
 
Happy First Day of Autumn! I always enjoy this season, especially the cooler weather and the leaves turning into multiple shades of brown, gold, orange, and red. I've even noticed that retail stores are already starting to sell Halloween candy and it isn't even October yet!
 
With  this change in season, September brings good news about economic recovery and job creation. This evidence is supported by major thought leaders, such as Warren Buffet, a boost in retail sales/consumer spending, along with jobs added in manufacturing and the private sectors. Scroll down to read a perspective by Eldon Mast, The Good News Economist.  
 
For this month's featured article, I've shifted from writing my usual "how-to's" in favor of something slightly different: Career Lessons Learned from Actor Luke Wilson, based on the movie Tenure, which I saw last month. After watching this indie film, I was surprised and delighted with a key message it conveyed, about choosing right-fit career paths. 
 

Do you know if you're on the right career path? Is your job search stuck and is your career stalled? Is it time for you take a risk, a giant step to move forward and end the pain once and for all? You may be surprised; the problem might not be what you think. A Career Action Planning (CAP) Session  is guaranteed to get to the root of any career or job search issue and will give a plan to solve it. Learn more here:

 
In support of your career success,
 
;-) Joellyn 
 
P.S. A great big "Welcome" to my new subscribers!
GoodNewsSeptember Brings Good News about The Economy and Job Creation 
Jobs April 2010
According to Eldon Mast, aka The Good News Economist: "September saw good news flowing in many corners of the economy."  

Key point of his recent blog post include:    
  • The consumer made a comeback in July in both income and spending. Personal income in July posted a 0.2 % gain.
  • Retail chain-store sales improved in the August 28 week, according to Redbook's tally which shows a 3.0+% percent year-on-year pace vs. a 2.6+%  pace the prior week.
  • Jobs in manufacturing have now grown for 9 straight months and last month reflects hiring that is accelerating.
  • Initial jobless claims are now edging down, as they have for the past couple of weeks.
  • The private sector added 67,000 positions in August after a 70,000 boost in July. Read the entire post here:  
TenureCareer Lessons Learned from Actor Luke Wilson 
The Luck Factor

 


Even though I'm not much of a movie buff, my husband and I usually watch one together on the weekend. A recent pick was the indie film Tenure
, which at first I thought was a so-so, run-of-the-mill comedy. But the surprise ending carried a meaningful message about choosing an ideal career path, which really resonated for me as a career coach.
 

Tenure takes place at a fictitious New England college. Charlie Thurber (played by comic actor Luke Wilson) is the most popular English Literature professor on campus. He loves his job and his students love him. He even coaches a new professor (played by Gretchen Mol) to lighten up in the classroom and bond with her students.


Charlie longs for tenure, which would bring him job security and a sizeable pay raise. But he falls short in one of the most vital qualifications: writing and publishing literary articles in high-profile academic journals.  


When one of Charlie's literary articles is finally accepted for publication in an obscure online resource, the Dean and the academic committee grant him probationary tenure, with ONE condition: he works closely with a designated colleague to get more articles published; otherwise, his tenure would be revoked.

 

I wondered: Would he accept the conditional terms of his tenure? Is he going to become a prolific academic writer, while continuing to be a great teacher? 

 

The answer came to me in a surprise ending: Charlie is walking down a school corridor into a classroom, but not at the college: at a high school, as the new English Literature teacher. When he introduces himself to his students, his winning personality has them at "hello."

 

Clearly, Charlie took a leap of faith by rejecting the tenure track in favor of what he did best and enjoyed: teaching English Literature and making it meaningful for his students. He knew literary article writing was not his strong suit and that he would be fighting an uphill battle to get articles published. He would have exhausted himself in the process, compromised his teaching abilities and put himself at risk for losing tenure and his job.

 

The lesson learned is this: When the job you're doing is something you're good at and that you enjoy, you bring your professional best to your employer, coworkers and clients. No one wins when you struggle to be someone you're not, doing tasks that burn you out, in exchange for a paycheck and the lure of job security.  

 

Your assignment: Go through your career history and create a list of all the job tasks you've ever done. Put an X through your least enjoyable activities and put a circle around your favorites. Keep this list top of mind before accepting your next position, and you'll choose wisely like Charlie.

  
� 2010 Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin, The Career Success Coach.  All Rights Reserved.  
CAPSessionOne-on-One Career Coaching with Joellyn: Change in Direction
Career Action Planning (CAP) Session 
 
 Is your job search stuck and is your career stalled? Is it time to take a risk -- a giant step -- to move forward and end the pain once and for all? You may be surprised; the problem might not be what you think. A Career Action Plan (CAP) Session  gets to the root of any career or job search issue and gives a plan to solve it. Visit my website to learn more.. 
About The Career Success Coach 
 
Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin is a Certified Career Management Coach,
who works with executives, managers, and professionals who are ready to make a change in their employment situation -- but they don't know what that change looks like -- or what their next step should be. She helps clients establish a satisfying career path - not "just another job". Her proven, step-by-step career coaching program starts with a Career Action Planning (CAP) Session
, to help clients determine exactly where they are getting stuck, stalled, or confused in the process of making their desired job and career transition. She serves a national client base (not just people in Central Massachuetts) and can work with anyone in the US with a phone and computer access for web conferencing.
 
Following the CAP Sessionclients can opt to sign up for private coaching with Joellyn, using her 8-module Career Coaching Program. This program, combined with personal mentoring from Joellyn, has helped countless clients find their most ideal career path which offers them optimal levels of compensation, satisfaction and opportunities for advancement,  whether it's a different position within their current employer, a new position inside another company -- or starting /revamping their own business or consulting practice.  
 
 
Joellyn will be happy to discuss your situation on a fr*ee call, prior to scheduling a CAP Session.  Contact her at 508-459-2854, [email protected] or visit http://www.career-success-coach.com to learn more.
Quote of the Month: On "Character"
New Q
 
"How you do anything is how you do everything. Your 'character' or 'nature' just refers to how you handle all the day-to-day things in life, no matter how small." -- Derek Sivers, founder and former president of CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians.

� 2010 The Career Success Coach

 All rights reserved.