Look back over your career. How did you land where you are? Chances are you’ll be able to identify a random meeting, an unplanned collaboration, or chance event that represents a critical moment that helped you on your way to where you are right now.

Pooneh Mohajer, founder of Hard Candy and two other startups, talks about career serendipity:

It’s funny, we have these plans for ourselves, these well-laid plans, and then you meet someone or are influenced by something or exposed to something; and we end up going in another direction, which is great.

Read the full Inc.com article here.

Notice serendipitous events. Be mindful enough to sense your gut reaction to them. Be brave enough to act on them. That’s how to create a brilliantly fulfilling career.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

What Do These Four Successful Career Shifters Have in Common?

April 9, 2016

SHIFT HAPPENS!

It may not happen as fast as you want it to happen. It may not be easy. But it does happen.

Take a look at the following examples:
Recent Grad: Executed shift from retail to professional role in logistics/distribution
(Networking & Recruiter)
Early Career: PhD transitioned to new field and landed industry dream job
(Networking & Job Board)
Middle Career: Finance professional successfully re-entered workforce (Networking)
Late Career: Seasoned sales professional refused to take company restructure as an off-ramp to retirement – landed major sales position in high-volume market (Networking)

What do they have in common?
1. Yes, they are all recent clients, but the next two points are where I want you to pay attention.
2. They all incorporated some form of networking, some way of making new connections, into their job search strategy. (Note that only one in four landed their new gig by applying on a job board – supporting the popular job search statistic that 80% of positions are filled though networking.) Use job boards. Definitely. But not as your only approach.
3. All of these shifters took ownership of their career wellness. They created their next steps. They didn’t lead with fear. They worked hard. They didn’t listen to the naysayers. They had the guts to take action and the stamina to keep going when they felt like quitting.

From creating a strong brand on LinkedIn to attract the attention of recruiters, to learning the art of the informational interview, these shifters made it happen.

Kudos to them for showing the rest of us how to do it right.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Women in Transition

Can’t Find Your One True Calling?

March 30, 2016

A client just shared this TED Talk with me. If you have 12 minutes and have experienced anxiety with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” you must watch this video. I’m now an official bSI6ImhvbWUtZmVlZDpkZXNrdG9wIiwibiI6IjAifQ
” data-miniprofile-element-key=”eyJzIjoiT1JHQU5JQyIsInUiOiJ1cm46bGk6bWVtYmVyIiwiZyI6Ik9USEVSIn0
” data-trk=”member-mention-name” data-li-miniprofile-id=”LI-9859263″ rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Emilie Wapnick fan. Enjoy!

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Enough with 5 Tips, 3 Tricks, 10 Ways….Gimme Just One Thing!

November 13, 2014

You want one thing? You already have it. Question is…are you using it?

I was having coffee with a friend a few weeks ago. This friend happens to be a millennial. She also happens to be a gifted writer who, instead of flexing her award-winning literary muscles, is flexing her biceps and triceps doing backbreaking work in the fields of her organic farm in Eastern PA. She’s also getting an intense workout in the business world as she is building her “Lady-Run, Earth-Friendly Vegetable Farm” brand as well as her strategic partnerships in Philadelphia. She works harder than anyone I know. She still writes when she has time, and you can read her story in her own words at her Farmer Liz blog.

We were talking about how it can appear that people who have successfully changed careers or started a business had something in their corner that made it easier for them to get a leg up; a spouse to cover expenses for a year, a key contact at a dream company, a mentor who seems to appear and take the person under their wing. Farmer Liz said, “But everyone has one thing. My one thing is that my relationship with my parents is great and I can be a transient there when I need to be.” This allows her to be mobile between Philly, and her farm and her part time gig as she grows her full-time business. She went on to talk about a few of her friends and their respective ‘one things.’ She was right; they all had something. And they used it.

Sometimes the thing is easy to see – the trust fund, the free ride to college, the friend who knows a friend, etc. Sometimes, sheer determination, courage, desire or intuition are not as tangible and, therefore, more difficult to recognize as a competitive advantage. And, believe it or not, sometimes we see it, but we don’t use it.

So, in the world of formulated how-to posts, the obligatory bullet point for career shifters, industry jumpers, new grads, business starters or dream builders is:

Identify your one thing and leverage it.

There are people who don’t understand why you wouldn’t use something (ethically, of course) if it helps your career along. But, in another corner, are folks who are wired to turn a blind eye to a helping hand or to exercising an advantage; believing it will devalue any achievement. They don’t even need their peers to resent them for it; they are more than happy to discredit their own progress. It sounds like this: “It’s only working out well because…, People will think I only succeeded because…, It won’t really count because…” So, as Farmer Liz would say:

Give freely, and accept graciously and with gratitude. If you really want it, you’ll swallow your ego and go for it.

Stop feeling guilty about your one thing and stop apologizing for it. Your peers had something in their corner, too, and maybe they didn’t use it or never took a helping hand when it was offered; and maybe they are all still stuck. Success doesn’t only count when you work tooth and nail to earn it. It counts just the same when you acknowledge and leverage your one thing and work hard too. Because, to launch in a new direction, there will always be plenty of hard work. Just ask my farmer friend.

Go ahead and feel free to walk uphill, in the snow, for 20 miles, with no shoes, carrying a 100 lb. backpack every day for 10 years until you make it to your destination. Or water, care for and cultivate the one thing that just may make the trip a bit easier. And then use it.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Faking It, Loving the One You’re With, and Other Temporary Fixes

October 27, 2014

You know you’ve done it. Somewhere along the line we’ve all done it. You faked it. You just wanted to get it over with – the day, the meeting, the week – so you delivered an Oscar-worthy performance and, surprised by how easily others can be fooled, you did what you needed to do and then got on with the rest of your world.

And then you did it again. And again. Until one day you admit that deep down you know you should be getting more out of this than a paycheck…which you desperately need. But don’t you deserve to enjoy it a little?

Yes, you deserve to enjoy what you do for a living. And, your employer deserves an engaged employee. So what happens when you know that you aren’t happy where you’re planted but, for whatever reason, you aren’t ready to make a move?

First, ask yourself this revealing question that I ask all of my career coaching clients:

Are you being a (designer, teacher, sales manager), or are you a (designer, teacher, sales manager)?

If you ARE what you’re doing from 9-5 you probably answered with certainty and a feeling of, “Duhh, how could I possibly be anything else? It’s what I am.”

Clients who answer like this typically seek tactical guidance to get them back on course. We may work on their resume, focus on job search strategy or pump some new energy into their LinkedIn profile to get them to the next step of what they already know they are. The feeling of faking it often dissipates as they begin to make some strategic adjustments.

If you are BEING your title from 9- 5, you probably answered with a sigh of frustration and something like “I’m BEING a _____, it’s not what I am.” (a.k.a. “I’m pretending. I’m faking it.”)

Clients who answer this way usually want to find work that is aligned with what they know about themselves, or a way to bring more of themselves into their current situation. Many times they aren’t even sure where they belong. It’s a different level of faking and they are drained and uninspired for most of their work day. Even though they may be good at their job, there is no communion between who they are and what they do.

First of all, it’s important to note that probably at some point in your life you’ll find yourself being something in order to cover the bills. It may be during your early career as you are paying your dues or during a financial or family situation that takes priority. When that’s the case, you have to try even harder to are it in other areas of your life to make sure you aren’t depleted. So, if you know that you’re being it (faking it) from 9 –5, begin to notice when you are it outside of your day job. Who says you have to define yourself by your 9 -5 title anyway? Oh, that’s right…the world. Don’t listen.

I’m not saying that passion can’t equal a paycheck. It certainly can. But it doesn’t always. And, rarely at every stage of life are you getting paid for doing what feels perfectly right.

Sometimes there is a little faking involved as you put in your time, try things on and discard titles that don’t fit. But you don’t want to be placed on a performance improvement plan, and you don’t want to look like a slacker, and you don’t want your reputation to be affected just because you’re putting the puzzle together. You also don’t want to feel this level of detachment from your work forever.

Try these mind tricks to help sustain you and keep you as engaged as possible:

Start telling yourself (and others if you want) your story in a new way: “I’m an organic gardener and I work as an accountant from 9 to 5.” I’m a musician but I work as an office manager during the week.”
Begin to subtly infuse value into what you’re being by seeing how it contributes to your ability to are outside of a paycheck. (The money you make being it affords you the resources you need to are it in your private life.)
Love the one you’re with. Seek other areas in your organization that might sound interesting. The more you experiment, the more you learn. Sitting still is like dying a slow death.
Find ways to try to bring some of your are into the daily being.
If you have ideas of what you really want to get paid to do, start taking meaningful action steps to determine what it will take to make that a reality. Doing is the bridge from BEING to AREing.

I really don’t believe that we were born to fake it through life. Even at work. If you find yourself in that pattern, it’s a signal for you to pay attention and make some adjustments. Play some mind tricks to create a subtle shift in perspective and to help you get unstuck. And then, when you feel a pull that can’t be ignored, start building a little bridge….you may find what you are on the other side.

Image: Pi from Leiden, Holland via http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lab_coats.jpg

by Barbara Berger

Women in Transition

Coaching Women in Career Transition

October 7, 2014

5 Biggest Lessons From Year One

In the spring of 2013, I initiated my own mid-career transition when I resigned from the most amazing company ever, MyHR Partner, to become certified as a Career Coach and start my own career consulting practice, Career Wellness Partners. I expected the first year to be a year of learning about running my own business – and it certainly was. But, there was one thing for which I wasn’t prepared at all:

I wasn’t prepared for how much I would learn from my clients.

I work with women in all kinds of transition; women who are recently divorced and re-entering the workforce before they planned, mid-career women who are suddenly unemployed and determined to make their second act one that matters, and women whose career dreams took a back seat while caring for ailing parents. I work with women who have experienced such loss they don’t even know where to begin to build their lives (let alone their careers) to some state of “normalcy.” And, I work with women who are trying to find a way to infuse meaning and joy into their current work situation.

My background as a Hiring Manger provided me with the skills to assist clients with the mechanics of the job search; resume writing, interview prep, LinkedIn profiles, applicant tracking systems (ATS), etc. Through education and training, along with plenty of pro-bono work prior to launch, I discovered my own coaching style. That’s when the learning really began.

Here are the top five lessons from my first year as a Career Coach for women in transition:

1. Work heals – Work pays the bills. It also can be a place of refuge, rebuilding and recovery. It can be experimental or monumental. It can be a primary or parallel endeavor. Work can help free us from debilitating introspection, spiraling depression and loss of connection. Work sucks sometimes. And sometimes, it saves.

2. “Way leads on to way” – My favorite line from Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is “Yet knowing how way leads on to way…” My favorite because it speaks to endless possibilities resulting from one small step. And I’ve learned that getting beyond lesson #3, so that women feel worthy to take that first step, is the most important part.

3. Fear & Lack of Confidence Cause Paralysis – These are big saboteurs for most women and we feed them by the negative way we talk to ourselves and frame our circumstances. They keep us stuck. Watching women learn and practice strategies to combat those obstacles leads to lesson #4.

4. Strength. Resilience. Persistence. Spirit. – Wow. Remarkable. Awe-inspiring. Humbling. I am blessed to witness such personal transformation and rebirth.

5. The Power of Women Helping Women – Transitions expose our vulnerable spots. I work with men too. But something genuinely magical happens when women work together in the spirit of owning, and then honoring, their talents and desires.

By combining my insatiable curiosity of career discovery, industry-specific skills, and an innate drive to help and inspire others, I have found my “work worth doing.” I send heartfelt gratitude to the inspiring women who have trusted me to help them find theirs.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Career Wellness Partners, LLC, Named Resource for Divorce Mediation Center

March 12, 2014

ALLENTOWN, PA – Career Wellness Partners, LLC, a Lehigh Valley Career Consulting Company, has been named as a Professional Service Provider by Doylestown-based Alpha Center for Divorce Mediation. The Alpha Center, founded in 1995 by Keila Gilbert, Esq., is dedicated to “providing families with excellent legal, financial and parenting guidance; thereby, empowering them to intelligently navigate their divorce transition and establish the best quality of life possible after divorce.”

The Alpha Resource Center, LLC, a sister company, was formed in 2006 and is dedicated to providing programs for saving marriages and assisting with divorce recovery. It is here, where Alpha partners with professional service providers including family therapists, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, health and wellness professionals and career advisors who can be helpful during the transition of divorce.

Barbara Berger, Certified Career Coach and owner of Career Wellness Partners, works with individuals in career transition. “Divorce is one of life’s most difficult transitions and, as if the pain of separation itself isn’t bad enough, often one or both parties find themselves in a career crisis as well. They may have to change jobs or re-enter the work force. Sometimes a divorce is a wake-up call and a spouse decides it’s time to switch industries, relocate, or re-focus their career goals. Other times, divorce proceedings have a negative impact on an existing position and one of the parties finds themselves out of work and needing to take a transition job. My company works with these individuals to help them find a way through the overwhelming career decisions and helps them find focus. Many times, people just need a place to begin.” Berger said, “I look forward to the partnership with the Alpha Center as we have a mutual desire to help people find their way during a very difficult and emotionally-challenging time.”

Since its inception, the Alpha Center has grown to 10 locations in Eastern PA and is continuing to expand. “The key to Alpha’s long history of success is the quality and dedication of the professionals who are a part of our program and resources. We believe that Career Wellness Partners will be a wonderful resource for our clients since many of them face career transitions as direct result of their divorce transitions. Life after divorce can be richly rewarding and Career Wellness Partners will be there to ensure that it is all that it can be.”

Career Wellness Partners is not a search firm or headhunter, but provides resume writing, mock interviewing, and job search strategies in addition to Career Consulting and Coaching.

For more information about Career Wellness please contact Barbara Berger at 484-862-9523, Barbara@CareerWellnessPartners.com or http://careerwellnesspartners.com/ For the Alpha Center please contact Arielle Krause at 800-310-9085, alphaoutreach@alpharesourcecenter.com, or http://www.alpharesourcecenter.com/

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

How Saying “Yes” Moves Careers

February 11, 2014

Check out these 3 scenarios where saying “yes” moved real people to the next leg of their careers. None are over-the-top-non-relatable-stories where someone with a few million in savings chucked it all to find their bliss as a scuba instructor. These are examples of how saying “yes” to occurrences which, in hindsight, we call “serendipitous events,” can re-chart your career course. They may seem inconsequential at the time, but when we connect the dots and see how staying open can influence our career path, it’s worth a serious look.

1. “Have you ever done any bookkeeping?” L’s aunt asked. “Some, but I’m not a fan;” L replied. “Well,” her aunt continued, “your kids are getting older and I need to find someone to manage my part-time bookkeeping job while I head to Florida for three months this winter. Wanna do it?” In her head, L thought, “Why not, I can do anything for 3 months, even bookkeeping, and I’ll get paid, and I’ll see what it feels like to work part time after being home with kids for five years.” After taking a few days to consider what she would do for child care, L agreed, not knowing that this “yes” began her re-entry into the workforce. (When her aunt returned in the spring, L was asked to join the organization in a role more suited to her past experience and skill set.)

2. “I heard that you do some freelancing on the side. Do you want to work on some marketing materials for my business?” Already balancing work, freelance, family and more, the “Yes!” that S heard coming from his mouth surprised him. It eventually led to a significant freelance gig and ultimately to being signed on as an employee of the company where he stayed for the next 6 years. This new assignment allowed him to relinquish some of his more time-consuming (and stressful) freelance jobs and build on a specific product area of expertise. His “yes” resulted in a total industry change (even though he wasn’t looking for one) and propelled his career in a new direction while achieving a level of work-life balance he never even expected.

3. The voice on the phone said, “E, we want you to work here, in the poorest school district in the area. With your experience, we’d love to have you.” She thought; “Out of the burbs and into the bowels of the city? Hmmmmm? I’ve been teaching students in a district where bedtime stories are expected, where pantries full of food are taken for granted and test scores are highest in the state. Why would I go teach where the school feeds their students three meals a day, where resources are scarce, and where turnover is ridiculously high?” The answer came quietly, but with clarity; “Because I’m needed there. There are a ton of teachers waiting to take my place at this school; they don’t need me here. But those kids…they need me there.” “Yes, I’ll take, it;” she answered.” (E is now on the road to making a difference in lives of disadvantaged youth and, she says, evolving as a human in ways she could have never imagined.)

Note that each person above dealt with a fear of saying yes. Fear of becoming a working mom and all that goes with that, fear of taking on more work and upsetting family balance, fear of going from a cushy-comfortable routine to something unpredictable. In each case, the gut instinct, the unexplained pull to say yes, trumped fear.

I’m calling for guest bloggers who are willing to share how an unplanned YES moved them in an unexpected career direction. Click for submission guidelines.

Photo credit: Flickr via renaissancechambara

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Slider, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Call for Guest Bloggers

February 10, 2014

Career Confidence – How Saying YES Makes All the Difference

Flickr credit: greeblie

SEEKING GUEST BLOGGERS to share YES stories….opportunities that made no sense to your career “plan” but you said YES and it took you in a new direction. Maybe you accepted a random project, agreed to a networking event, was lured by a different industry recruiter, volunteered somewhere that led to a valuable new connection, etc. Click here for three mini-examples.

When you can look back and identify times when saying YES changed your career trajectory, you become more mindful of how opening yourself to “random” events can hold career potential. Sometimes YES results in a perceived “failure” but the “failure” holds value too.

From students who have options outside of their selected college majors, to women re-entering the workforce after divorce (or empty-nest or staying home with kids), to mid-lifers longing for a career change but not knowing where to start, I work with people in all stages of career development who can benefit from personal accounts of how YES breeds career confidence.

Things you may want to include in your post:

Give a brief overview of the situation.
When in your life did this happen? In college/early career/laid off/after divorce/empty nest/staying home with kids/mid-career job change/ retirement?
Why did you say yes?
Did a gut feeling or intuition play a part in your decision?
Did you know with 100% certainly it was the right decision?
Did saying yes to that decision breed new opportunities?
Did you have all of the skills you needed to say yes or did you believe that you could learn what you needed to know?
How did it feel when you said yes?
In retrospect, how did that decision affect your career?
What form of career confidence came from that yes?

What things below might have stopped you saying yes?

Financial concerns.
People will think I’m stupid.
People will think this is below me.
People will think I can’t do this.
I’ve wasted all my schooling/degree/work in another industry.
My work schedule will change.
What else?

Nitty-Gritty Guidelines

Word Count: Roughly 400 – 800 words, 1000 tops. But use what you need to tell your story and share your point efficiently and effectively.

Content: Original unique content – not published on your blog or any other blog in original or any modified form.

Editing: All submissions will be edited for correct grammar and formatted before publication. Keep titles short and simple, preferably no more than eight words.

Author bio: Please include a brief author bio, name, title, company (if you want included). One link in your bio is encouraged.

Audience: Ranges from college students, to young professionals to women in the middle of transition, to mid-career job changers.

Images: We welcome image submissions with your blog along with appropriate photo credit.

Submissions: Please submit all entries to barbara@careerwellnesspartners.com

Payment: We do not pay for guest blogs but we’re happy to promote your website, business or blog on our social media in return.

Exclusivity & Promotion: The same article cannot be modified and published elsewhere. You can link back to the article from your own blog and promote on social media to let your readers know about your post.

Notification: Notification of when your post will appear will be sent one week before publishing.

Deadline: Right now there is no deadline for submission on this topic.

Photo credit: Flickr via Greeblie

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

The Squiggle Phenomena

January 27, 2014

How to DRAW Mindful Career Squiggles

You’ve seen these images depicting the difference between what we are taught and the reality of success or achieving our goals. It’s the same for career evolution. For most of us, we draw squiggly career lines without even being aware of it. Squiggles happen because that’s just the way life works. They happen when we connect with a new networking contact, get laid off, agree to a new ”short-term” project, or have a conversation with a total stranger in a coffee shop.

Squiggles are the unpredictable events in a world of things that we try to predict and control.

Knowing about the squiggle phenomena isn’t enough. You could decide that since “random stuff happens” you’ll sit back and put pen to paper to connect the dots after the fact. It is true that with hindsight you can link defining events more clearly; however, you can choose a more active role if you are first open to the curves, and then mindful of things that appear to have squiggle potential. This way, you fully participate in moving the pen across the paper.

Remember these DRAWing tips when contemplating the art of your career:

Define and acknowledge your interests when they arise. Notice long-standing themes.
Refine these interests and choose one or two on which to initially focus. (It may make no sense to anyone around you that you would attend a conference on pet rocks, but, for some reason you’re really curious about pet rocks. So, go. New career opportunities unveil themselves when you boldly follow your curiosity.)
Act! Create situations in which an opportunity for a squiggle could present itself. (Say yes when a friend in a different industry asks for your help on a project, accept a board nomination, agree to be a guest blogger, etc.)
Watch for “serendipitous” events and align next actions with opportunities that show up. (A Partner in XYZ firm invites you to an event. Go if your gut says you should go, even though your brain doesn’t know exactly why.) Pay attention to intuitive reactions.

While you’re DRAWing, don’t forget that:

Uncomfortable situations, the ones where you are forced to stretch sideways from your straight line goals, hold treasure.
“Failure” is often a most valuable curve! Sometimes more important things are on the other side.

Look back from where you are now and consider the unexpected connection or chance meeting that led you to your current position. Accept squiggly lines as career reality and you’ll be free to get out of your own way!

by Barbara Berger

Why Trust Career Serendipity?

What Do These Four Successful Career Shifters Have in Common?

Can’t Find Your One True Calling?

Enough with 5 Tips, 3 Tricks, 10 Ways….Gimme Just One Thing!

You want one thing? You already have it. Question is…are you using it?

Faking It, Loving the One You’re With, and Other Temporary Fixes

Coaching Women in Career Transition

5 Biggest Lessons From Year One

Career Wellness Partners, LLC, Named Resource for Divorce Mediation Center

How Saying “Yes” Moves Careers

Call for Guest Bloggers

Career Confidence – How Saying YES Makes All the Difference

Nitty-Gritty Guidelines

The Squiggle Phenomena

How to DRAW Mindful Career Squiggles

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