News From the Front We've moved to your TV! Our own Editorial Director Josh Glenn hosted an eight part series on CNNfn's IT'S ONLY MONEY. The Tripod segment was called "News From the Front."
"You Inc." is more than just an attitude, it is a way of life for some people. Can it work for you?
The Career is You: Thriving on an Attitude Want to start your own business? Get to the top of your chosen profession? Or just keep life interesting? Then forget about the whole "career" thing. Hey, there's no such thing as company loyalty any more, and besides, it's time to recognize that your career does NOT define you: It should be the other way around.
The smart way to work these days -- as high-flying corporate hotshots already know -- is to go from job to job, adding those skills that will enable you to get the next, more challenging, job. Sure, at the level at which most of us operate, job-hopping has a bad reputation, and you don't want to drift aimlessly just because you can't focus your attention long enough to stick around. But whether your ambition is to be a fat-cat CEO or to own your own bicycle shop, a career should be an art form: Work should always be a work in progress. Job-hopping doesn't have to reflect a LACK of focus, but rather a WIDER focus -- you're looking beyond your cubicle and into your future!
The driving force of the new career is the individual, not the company. No matter what job you're in, you should think like an independent contractor. Even better, you should think of yourself as a company (hence that "You, Inc." thing we keep hearing about). Companies are always doing market and business research, which for you means perpetual re-tooling: You want to learn as much as you can to make yourself as marketable as you can. Don't worry if you can't afford to attend expensive seminars or buy the latest self-help books. If you're in a job and you've learned as much as you can from it, you should be thinking about moving on: Experience from many types of jobs can add up in surprising ways that enable you to launch new careers. And if you're not ready (or able) to quit, there are all kinds of things you can do to educate yourself right now, on the job.
So if you want more than just money out of your career (e.g., satisfaction, accomplishment), then you should be seeking more than money from your jobs. Integrate your work with real-life interests. Job A may pay you less than Job B, but if it will teach you more, it's more valuable, because it's like you're getting free schooling along with your paycheck. And there's a bonus: If your job is always a learning experience, you're never bored, right? You're always exactly where you want to be at that moment.
One last point: It's hard to imagine much good work getting done in an environment where all of the employees are constantly networking and jockeying for positions with other companies. Not to mention the fact that many organizations will can your ass in a New York minute if they catch you looking for another job on company time. Remember: Hard work, innovation, and diligence may no longer guarantee the steady raises and promotions they once did, but they still speak for themselves. Trying to keep up-to-date on job skills and emerging technologies is a natural part of doing a good job anyway. So ix-nay on the soulless self-marketing achine-may: The last thing most employers want is to take a risk on some self-important weenie who thinks he or she is God's gift to their profession. Buying into the "You, Inc." concept too whole-heartedly may make you seem like an opportunistic jerk who is not worth a second look. You've got to keep walking the tightrope.
Got it? Good. Now try our patented 5-point plan.
Our 5-Point Plan for Building the Career You Want
(And Using the Net to Do It)1. Figure out where you're going and how to get there.
No idea what to do with your life? Well, you're not alone. But the Web can help with that. Why not try one of the many personality tests out there that help you figure out what career suits you best. They're not perfect, but they can point you in the right direction. If you already know what you want to do, but you're not sure what to do next, check out a few career profiles. They'll give you a better idea of what sort of paths people in those jobs followed to get where they are.2. Do your homework.
Now that you know where you want to go, you have to figure out how to get there, and that means legwork (there ain't no free lunch, pal). So you want to be a book publisher: You've checked out the profiles, so you know that a book publisher does a lot of things, from editing to marketing to accounting. Now it's time to figure out how to get these skills. Can you get them from the job you have now? If not, where are these jobs? What kind of salaries can you expect at these jobs? And look for answers from real people; network using conferences, Usenet groups, and services like About Work's networking center.3. Market yourself.
If you are You, Inc., then you're also You, Inc.'s entire marketing department. Talk to everyone you can about what you're trying to do. Hook yourself up with a crack team of headhunters who will search for jobs that fit your needs while you worry about other stuff (most headhunters worth their salt won't charge you, they charge the employers). Post your resume online. We already mentioned the conferences and Usenet groups; get on there and make your voice heard.4. Keep your resume sharp.
Don't let that thing get dusty. Dig it up once a month or so -- even if you're happily employed -- and see what you can add. Maybe you just finished a major sales project, or you learned to program in UNIX code; put it in there. Browse through some of the many online resumes in your field of interest. Does Jane Doe have something on her resume that you can do, but maybe you never thought of including it? Include it. (This is a good way to keep reminding yourself of any gaps in your career education plan, too.)5. Never stop learning.
Every day should be a new class for you. If all you do at work is pull levers and push buttons, you're just a half a step ahead of the monkeys. Look around, find out how the whole operation works, and how you fit in. Ask the boss to lunch and pick his or her brain about the industry you're in. Keep reading those newsgroups and conferences. And when you've gotten all you can out of the job you're in, get moving!
Handy Links to Help You Become You, Inc. Career Shift Indicator: Seven questions designed to tell you if you're ready for a significant career change. (Usually, you are!)
The Holland Game: An exercise based on Dr. John Holland's theory that people and work environments can be loosely classified into six different groups. Which group are you drawn to?
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter: A personality test which scores your results according to the famed Myers-Briggs system. (The Myers-Briggs test itself can only be administered by a licensed practitioner.)
The CareerPro Personal Profile: Play 20 Questions and develop a plan for life!
A Summary of Personality Typing: This is just what it sounds like. It's not an actual test, but a wealth of information about the tests, their history, and how (or whether) they work.Tripod's Career Gallery: From Biologist to Bookmobile Driver, this exhaustive list gives you everything you need to know about the jobs, the salaries, the necessary training, and more, all using information fleeced from the U.S. Department of Labor's own statistics. Search alphabetically or by job category.
Tripod's Career Profiles: An ever-expanding list of easily digestible glimpses into real-life jobs held by Tripod members and invited guests.
JobSmart's Job Search Guide: More links to information on planning a specific career. Included is info on necessary training and education, what you'll make, and what kind of environment you'd work in.
About Work's Career Database: This is another database of information on how to carve your place in a chosen career, and what life is really like once you're there. Search by profession, salary, or dream job.
So You Want To Be A...: Social worker? Ski bum? Sift through these informational interviews and save yourself a trip to Colorado to find out about life on the slopes. Monthly interviews date back to November, 1995.CareerBuilder: This jobs site includes a "personal search agent" feature which acts as a sort of online headhunter, notifying you when a job you'd want pops up in a region you'd want to live in. (Warning: You may get a LOT of e-mail.) CareerBuilder also has a section called "Location, Location, Location," which helps you find that ideal city to work in, helps you get a job in that city, and even helps you with the moving process.
CareerPath: The classified ads from 24 major daily newspapers nationwide. Plug in your job description and search away (and keep your fingers free from messy newsprint).
How Much Can I Expect to Make?
JobSmart: Profession-specific salary surveys let you find out how much an average librarian makes in, say, Laredo. Or a psychologist in San Antonio. Or, more importantly, a new media editor in Williamstown, Massachusetts...
The Salary Calculator: That salary sound like peanuts to you? Or maybe it sounds like a windfall. Calculate the difference in cost of living with this handy-dandy Web tool, but don't get caught dreaming.
Tripod's Career Gallery: Again, the information here -- straight from the Labor Department -- tells mountains about your chosen career, including salary ranges.
Links to Career-Related Conferences and Newsgroups
About Work: The various discussion groups here focus on jobs, career planning, and bitching about your work. You must be a member of About Work to participate (but it's free).
The CareerMosaic Usenet Search: Plow through CareerMosaic's index of over 60,000 daily postings from the top USENET newsgroups. The index is rebuilt every 24 hours on a rolling basis, so the postings are always current.
Monster Board Newsgroup Search: Enter search keywords (i.e "Nuclear Engineer") and find out who's discussing what in related newsgroups.
Monster Board: One of the biggest job-posting boards on the Net. Post your resume here for a year, and update it as often as you like -- for free.
CareerMosaic: Clearly among the best career sites on the Web. Company profiles, career resource center, a special College Connection section, and most of all: lots o' jobs.
HeadHunter.NET: Free service designed to help bring job seekers and employers together in a love connection (or something just as good).
CareerBuilder: This site incorporates a career advisor, information on relocation, and a personal search agent which automatically notifies you when new jobs that meet your criteria become available.