Assessment can be as informal as going to the top of the mountain for some quiet time to focus your thoughts and goals.  Or, it can mean completing a battery of formal assessment tools which are interpreted by a professional counselor.

Community colleges are great resources for the formal tools.  For free, or very low cost, you can complete several well-chosen instruments and have them evaluated and interpreted for you.  And, you don’t have to be a current student or alum.

I tell clients not to expect a great epiphany from assessments.  That only happens once in a hundred cases.  But it is reasonable to expect several good things to emerge: 1) confirmation about what makes you tick and how you operate, 2) concise, accurate words to describe yourself to others, and 3) some clarification as to the job content and work environment that will maximize your chances of success.

For most of my clients I use a simple tool that evaluates passions, interests and abilities.  The passion portion asks them to think about the various constituents in their lives–self, family, friends, employer, community, state, nation and the world–and consider what they want to achieve vis-à-vis each.  Then they prioritize and, finally, consider what the findings imply about the job they should be seeking.

The interests and abilities section first identifies the abilities they have used to achieve important goals in the past–things they are good at.  And, it looks separately at their interest in using each ability in a long list.  Where we see matches between high interest in using an ability that has also been instrumental in achieving goals, we have a list of job components we want to find in our next job–a job that will make our tails wag when we go to work.  We also develop a list of low-interest abilities that we want to avoid using in our new job, or at least minimize.

All of this information helps crystallize their vision and focuses their efforts in the job search.  It also helps them explain their vision to others,  which invariably optimizes the help offered.  All in all these are good outcomes for a few hours of effort.

Being in a job search, whether currently employed or not, is an ideal time to consider re-balancing your life.  It all begins by identifying the  constituents in your life that are truly important to you.  These could include a spouse, children, expanded family, employer, friends, neighborhood, community, state, nation, or the world–the definition is yours.

Once you decide who is important, you then decide what you want to accomplish with that constituent.  Do you want to be a better father?  What does that mean–attending important events, participating in homework, coaching a team, going to the museum or on a camping trip?  Do you want to be a better citizen in your town?  Does that mean you will–be a better informed voter, run for office, join a civic organization?

Pretty quickly you will see you can’t serve all of these constituents.  You have to make hard choices.  And, if you are going to change your behavior, you have to have passion behind the change or it won’t happen.  And, like most things in life where you really achieve something notable you have to plan what steps you will take, and be able to measure your progress.

Now, it’s easy to think that success with the non-work constituents comes at the expense of your career.  Not necessarily so.  If you used to work for an employer that required you to be in the office from 8 to 5 each day, perhaps a new employer will be more flexible, expecting you to work as many hours, but open to a different schedule.  Or perhaps a new employer will allow you to work at home on certain days, saving commuting time which could then be applied to a different purpose.  Think about what you want to accomplish and be creative about ways to do it.  Look for an employer who will support you.

Better balance might come through simply adjusting the way you spend your time with a particular constituent–the same amount of time, just applied differently.  This could mean deciding to have a weekly date night with your spouse instead of other less intimate time during the week.  Or, it could mean finding a management job that allows you to use those technical skills you’ve missed using so much.  Better balance might also mean moving your time from one activity to another, or one constituent to another.

So, use this job change for more than just changing where you go to work and who signs the check.  Do some structured soul-searching and you’ll be rewarded with a richer life in more ways than a mere paycheck.

At the end of their search they all say they have learned their lesson about nurturing their networks and all vow to work at it faithfully in the future.  But, of course the majority of the time this vow is found in the trash heap with all the unfulfilled New Year’s Resolutions.  And the primary reason is building a personal network as an insurance policy against the next time you are unemployed is a flawed concept that is destined to fail.  When it comes to juggling all the priorities in day-to-day life, working your network on the if-come of possible job loss is an easy thing to let slide every time.  Successful network building has to be part of a larger , more tangible purpose.

Here is my advice: join a professional or avocational association, or volunteer your time at a not-for-profit organization–just one.  Not just any organization.  Do some research online, talk to friends and colleagues, and attend meetings.  Find an organization that is aligned with your goals [in business, or personal life].  Join the organization and then immediately join a committee that needs help–maybe organizing an upcoming event.  Be on at least one committee at all times, be reliable and do your share of the lifting.  Later, agree to lead a committee.  Ultimately, make yourself available to become an officer or board member of the organization.

If your employer will sponsor your membership, that’s great.  But, don’t make this a pre-condition to joining a group.  Join because you want to, because it’s important to be involved in what the organization is doing.

If you do a good job on the up-front research you will find great fulfillment in what you do and you will build an extensive network, without even knowing you’re doing it.  The momentum that comes from being aligned with the group’s goals and involved in its activities has the inevitable and concurrent effect of building and nurturing your network–with no special separate effort, with no self-serving motive.

Now, when the time comes for you to call on your network for help–whatever the need–there will be no guilt.

Lisa’s book and Dondi’s book are both featured on the widget in our Books we Recommend blog post.  It’s a quick and easy way to order a copy through Amazon.com.

Want to know more about the authors?  Click on Dondi Scumaci’s Website and Lisa Mininni’s Website

I envied them in a lot of respects, but I recognize now that most of us aren’t like them.  So, how much control does a person have over how a career unfolds?  Can you really manage it, or for the most part does it just happen? 

 This is the way I see it.  You have the power to accept or reject job offers.  You have the power to pursue an education, attend seminars, achieve certifications, join associations, volunteer for special assignments, attend business-social functions, decide to give the presentation for a team project, do a great job each day or skate by.  You can decide to stay with your present company or leave.  You can read, explore, and learn.  You can build a network or keep to yourself. 

ALL of these are actions you can decide to do or not do–that’s power.  Each time you make one of these decisions you are managing your career especially if, before you make the decisions, you look to the future and do your best to evaluate the effect of your decision on your career–in the near term and down the line.

For decades corporate America did a lot to manage their employee’s careers, but no one will do this for you today.  Will you use the power you have or just be carried along by the current?

The obvious approaches aren’t likely to produce great results.  Responding to postings on the Internet isn’t highly productive.  They are easy to do, but the competition is always fierce, and almost always overwhelming when you’re trying to compete with a local pool of candidates which is currently at high tide for most jobs .

How about recruiters?  Are they likely to be the answer?  Maybe, but the probability is pretty low.  All hires considered, recruiters account for only about 15% of placements.  Unless you are in the unique position of having a profession that is in high demand relative to supply, recruiters are looking locally first too.

So, what’s the best answer?  Two words: plan, network.  If the first response that comes to mind is, “Yeah, but…”, suck it up.  This is hard, but it isn’t it worth it to be able to move to the place of your dreams?

Plan.  What do I mean by plan?  Let’s say you want to relocate to Phoenix AZ.  First, list all the things you know about Phoenix, then all the things you need to know, but don’t.  Where would you want to live in the area?  What are the industries and businesses in the area for which you might work?  Where are they relative to the place you want to live?  Which ones are showing the best signs of hiring folks like you?  Use the Internet.  Use your local library–the reference section in particular.  Go there to Phoenix and do some on-the-ground research.  And, talk to friends you know in the area.

Once you have all this information, organize it and crystallize it into a page or two–a strategy document.  [See other posts in the Strategy category in this blog on for more information on this document.]  This will be your guide for action you take, and the elements of it become the agenda for a discussion with members of your network–both where you live now and in Phoenix.

Network.  This means use the connections you have now, however limited the list may be, and build on it strategically.  If you know people in the Phoenix area, great.  Start there.  But even if you don’t know a soul in Phoenix, think about what we all say so often, “It’s a small world.”  Tell your connections where you live now what you are trying to do for yourself.  Share your strategy document.  Find out what they know, and, more important, who they know in the Phoenix area or who are connected to the Phoenix area in some way.  Get introduced.  Repeat the above.

Remember, networking as I use the term is all about learning information, getting advice and expanding your network.  Stay clear of doing the traditional networking: asking for jobs or interviews, requesting ears be kept earthward.  It’s a conversation stopper.  Believe it, they will tell you if something is cookin’.  You don’t have to ask.

You will do yourself a BIG favor by stopping yourself every time you catch yourself finding a reason to not include someone on your network list.  I have learned after 18 years in the career consulting business, people in job search are very poor at predicting who will be the person to provide the initial connection to the eventual offer.  Put a list together of EVERYONE YOU KNOW and network your brains out!

Ads and Internet postings are plentiful too.  So most soon-to-be grads can find interviews and get offers.  Job opportunities are plentiful, life is good.

But now…now is a different matter.  College placement offices have an eerie silence about them.  Ads and Internet postings are few and far between.   So, what’s a student body to do?

I’ll mention this first, but it’s not my first recommendation.  You can stay in school and get a graduate degree.  For a lot of people this isn’t a practical option because money is short and they have to earn a living.  And, I’m a believer you get more out of a graduate degree program if you have some real-world experience before you do it.  But, for those who can afford it, it is a way to outlast the economic downturn and return to the market when it’s on the uptick.  And, you’ll be far more competitive than classmates who have languished unemployed or underemployed in the meantime.

But, even now, when no jobs are visible anywhere, there are good jobs available.  So, how can you find them?  Well, if jobs aren’t visible you have to search for the invisible–the hidden job market. 

In tough times employers pull in their horns and cut way back on using some of the traditional hiring channels.  So, they invest little or nothing in ads and campus recruiting specialists.  Instead they focus almost entirely on hiring through referrals–from current and past employees, and other friends of the company.  This is the hidden market.  Hidden because very few people ever know about it before the job is filled.  There are no ads, no Internet postings.

So, the key to finding these jobs is to tap into your network and strategically expand it as much as you can, i.e. get introduced to new people.  It is in this way you can make your network overlap with the company’s network [employees, alums and friends] that they use to identify candidates for jobs. 

And, don’t forget to do your homework before you start networking.  Identify industries and specific companies within those industries that are logical targets for you.  Discuss your written strategy with them; get their advice and introductions to others who can help.  You can find out more about this by reading other related posts in this blog.

When this happens, you may feel tempted to do some radical things.  You will hear people telling you to “reinvent yourself.”  This could mean investing time and money in re-education or certification in new areas.  Or, it could simply mean trying to rework your resume in an attempt to become a candidate for something new.

But, before doing radical surgery on your career, shine some light on your job search strategy, tactics and results so far.  Evaluate what you have done and what you have learned during the course of your search. 

If you have learned your profession has gone the way of the buggy whip, it’s clearly a time to reinvent yourself.  But, if you have evidence the opportunities will return as the economy rebounds, it doesn’t make sense to reinvent yourself unless you have been an unhappy camper in your current profession.

If it looks like the opportunities will rebound, first make sure you are following a sound search process, and doing all the elements well.  Ask yourself if you are working all the marketing channels, not just some.  Ask yourself if you are getting the results you should [tempered by the realities of a tough market].  Is your resume accomplishment-based and does it represent you well?  Have you gotten some interviews?  Have you gotten beyond a telephone screen?  Have you developed a comprehensive list of targeted companies that employ peope like you?  Have you worked diligently to post your resume on their websites?  Have you worked diligently to make network connections into those companies?  Are you constantly building your network?  Are you circling back to recruiters and your network to get / give updates?  Etc.

If you have evaluated the fundamentals and found yourself lacking, it’s time to suck it up, quit whining and do the work, even though it’s uncomfortable.  Alternatively, if you give yourself high marks but you are getting no measurable results, it’s probably time to rethink your strategy.  Ask, is it time to widen your geographical limitations?  Should you consider bigger or smaller companies?  Are you limiting yourself too much by looking only at public companies vs. privately owned companies?  Changes to any of these parameters will give you access to more opportunities with no change to the type or level of job you are seeking.

Resist the panicky feeling you get from time to time in the search and take the time to analyze your approach and results.  Chances are you are on the right path and only need to do some tweaking, adding a measure of persistence and patience.

Ride 2 Recovery is produced by the Fitness Challenge Foundation, (501C3) in partnership with the Military and VA Volunteer Service Office, to benefit Mental and Physical Rehabilitation Programs for wounded warriors that feature bicycling as the core activity.  So far, my wife and I raised about $6,000 and rode the 390-mile bicycling event from Tampa to Jacksonville with veterans and many wounded warriors.  Each day for 6 days we all rode 50 – 80 miles.

These young men and women benefit both physically and mentally through this program.  Working with the VA hospitals, the Ride2Recovery progam provides stationary bikes, training for VA staff, street bikes [nice road bikes], helmets, shoes and apparel.  It also runs events like the Florida Challenge all over the country–Texas, California, Colorado, Virginia to name a few.

We witnessed first hand how this program is making an astounding difference in the lives of our warriors who have sacrificed so much for the rest of us.  We rode beside many multi-amputees [including Noah pictured below] who learned they could do things they wouldn’t have believed they could do as a whole-bodied person. 

We rode beside PTSD victims who find bicycling is a therapy which enables them to move forward in their lives and reconnect with their families and society.  Nick [a vet] and his son, Brandon, [pictured below] were reunited through this event and it was the motivating force that got Nick off the couch to get the help he needed to reclaim his life and his son.  And, there are so many PTSD victims coming from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Far more than the Pentagon predicted and planned for.

If you’ve managed to read this far, thanks.  The quid pro quo I have in mind is this: if you feel you have benefited from the advice offered in CareerWizard, give something back by donating to Ride2Recovery in my name. 

Credit Card:
Go to www.ride2recovery.com and click on “Sponsor a Rider”; then enter “David Hahn” and give whatever amount you can. 

Or, you can send a check to:
Fitness Challenge Foundation
23679 Calabasas Rd, #420
Calabasas CA 91302 [please enter "David Hahn" in the memo space on your check]

You will be helping a veteran who needs and deserves your help.  Your contribution is TAX DEDUCTABLE to you. Thanks!

So, this is a fair and good interview question you need to think about.  What is your plan and what have you done about it?  Did you go to a seminar?  Did you take a college class?  Did you do some volunteer work that gave you leadership experience?  Have you done some reading?  Did you achieve a certification in your field? Did you volunteer to take on a new responsibility at work?  Were you assigned a project which stretched your abilities?  Have you worked with a mentor?

And think about it from an employee’s point of view [i.e. your own point of view].  We all can see how the world is shifting and changing at an increasing pace.  We all have heard we will change jobs and careers many times in our work lives.  Doesn’t it make sense that you need to be growing and adapting all the time?   Improving yourself and learning has to be a life-long pursuit; and you can’t sit back and wait for your employer to do it for you.  Invest in yourself–both with time and money.

So, this question is both a good interview question, and a good career management question.  Prepare to be asked by prospective employers, persistently ask it of yourself.