Zimmerman quotes David D. Corbett, founder of New Directions, a Boston firm that helps senior-level executives with career transitions saying, “People retiring lose their job and title, which are often tied up with their identity,” says . “It can also be isolating for many, not having work colleagues or a corporate infrastructure.” The article references Gary J. Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, who explains, “Traditional retirement may lead to a lack of intellectual engagement, which is crucial for good health…If you think of the brain as a computer, physical and mental activity are essentially upgrading its hardware and programming,” Dr. Kennedy explains, if we donâ€t stay engaged, cognitive processes slow down and depression often sets in.

Most people would want to avoid those unsavory fates. What can you do?

Marc Freedman, author of “The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife” and chief executive of Civic Ventures suggests planning ahead for a transition as early as your 50s. He recommends putting aside money to pay for additional education and to be prepared to take on unpaid work experiences to get the skills you need to land a new opportunity.

What else can you consider if you know you don’t want to relax and play golf?

This week, I’ve been suggesting ideas for people who want to plan a change, especially to an “encore career,” or a job combining purpose, passion and a paycheck. Have you considered transitioning to a non-profit career?

Think about Your Skills and How to Use Them

Laura Gassner Otting, author of Change Your Career, Transitioning to the Non-Profit Sector, and founder and president of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, an executive search firm helping identify candidates for the non-profit sector, is an experienced authority on hiring in the “mission-driven” space.  Her advice is useful for people considering an encore career, or for anyone thinking of making a change to meaningful work.

Laura offered the following advice to professionals hoping to transition to non-profit sector work:

•    Non-profits are looking for people who have a strong track record of leadership and the ability to influence their constituencies. She explained, non-profit leaders manage, “Up, down, and sideways.” They need to work with partners, funders, and friends in the community and manage those relationships well, even though most of these people are not their direct reports.

•    Itâ€s important to be able to show youâ€re able to keep people motivated and engaged. Non-profits seek employees who are good at delegating with kindness and empathy, while simultaneously demanding accountability. Recognize that people volunteer and serve with non-profit groups for different reasons. Strong leaders know how to bring out the best in everyone and how to leverage all available talents.

•    Demonstrating your ability to manage across a broad portfolio of responsibility is key to success in non-profit leadership. There are typically less people handling more jobs in non-profit organizations. For example, one person may be handling public relations and fundraising under an “external relations manager” title. Knowing how to encourage people managing a lot of responsibility is crucial.

•    Being able to show an impressive record of delivering a solid return on investment is not only for the “for-profit” community. Demonstrating a background showing how you can move the organizationâ€s mission forward is more and more important as non-profit organizations are attracting donors who see their roles as that of investors, not just check writers.

•    One thing that has not changed in non-profit hiring: They still expect people who bring a passionate interest in their work and mission. Itâ€s not good enough to say you want to “give back,” you need to demonstrate a track record of interest and engagement in the organizationâ€s work. Laura explains, “Your passion and commitment for the organization and cause is the thing that sets you apart from other candidates.” She suggests joining boards and getting involved by volunteering for the organization or other, similar non-profits serving the same community.

She notes, “Working for a non-profit is like starting a marathon. You have to be committed long-term, even when the finish line is out of sight.  The need of those served can be seemingly endless, and you will have to do more for them with less, while still satisfying your many, varied constituents. A track record of dedication to the cause or constituency demonstrates an authentic commitment, and this commitment shows your future nonprofit employer that you will take their marathon seriously.”

Laura suggests anyone with an interest in making a switch to non-profit work get active now in the causes that interest them. She reminds candidates, the non-profit world is a very large sector, and suggests you think about where you want to work by answering these questions:

•    What issues do you care about?

•    What are the appropriate skills you have to help transition into the sector? (E.g., legal, sales, financial management). Whatâ€s missing from your skills? Consider taking a course to fill in any gaps in your background.

•    What type of organization will help you thrive? Do you prefer working for an organization thatâ€s slow and steady? A fast-growing group? Maybe youâ€d love working with a startup, or working directly for a founder?

Once youâ€ve identified your skills and made a match, youâ€ll be ready to approach the non-profit market from a position of strength.

Be sure to read more tips from my previous posts.

photo by SHINEZ Photo

The post How to get a non-profit job appeared first on Keppie Careers.

As mentioned in my last post, Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose, reports 9 million people ages 44 to 70 are already in encore careers (careers AFTER doing something else for a number of years — or their whole lives) that combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact. Another 31 million people, ages 44 to 70, are interested in finding encore careers.

What about you? Are you thinking about what is next? The best advice — for anyone thinking about  a career change or shift, is to plan ahead. Ruth Wooden board chair of Civic Ventures and former president of Public Agenda, where she is now a senior adviser, offered ideas about how people (especially those of typical retirement age) may take the next, logical steps in their lives and careers.

She explained how a lot of people who want to engage in purposeful work, or to “give back,” default to starting their own ventures, because there are so many obstacles: age discrimination, learning how to make a transition after years of doing the same thing and just not having access to clear resources to decide how to fit into an existing organization.

Ruth noted, “This movement is about trying to find other pathways for these motivated professionals – pathways that are not necessarily entrepreneurial, since not everyone wants to go that route.” She noted that community colleges offering continuing education programs can be a wonderful entreé for someone who wants to make a career shift to an encore career. For example, in less than a year, many will be able to earn certificates for practical, worthwhile jobs in healthcare and the medical field, or even in education or teaching English as a second language.

What can you do now if you are planning your next step?

Ruth says, “If you have a vision that someday you are going to want to be working in social purpose, start thinking now about it being something you care about. Where do you give money, where do you volunteer – cultivate those aspects of your life now. Even if right now, your involvement is as simple as writing a check for an organization you are passionate about – do it. If possible, volunteer – find your way into the field. Distinguish yourself as different from anyone else based on the skills you know you want to use in your next career and because of your strong interest in the new field. Be on a board, if possible. Consider how you can help out at your church or local school. If youâ€re interested in education, educate yourself – work in after-school programs, or volunteer to help out at a nearby school. If you are interested in that kind of thing, you are going to have to get going.”

How to Get Going

No doubt, there’s no time like RIGHT NOW to start thinking about tomorrow. Do you have a new year’s resolution to make a change? Maybe your resolution is to start THINKING about your change?

With the right information and a planned approach, it is possible someone with corporate experience to transition to a job with one of the over 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the U.S. Youâ€ll want to plan and plot out your future moves in advance.

Marci Alboher is a vice president at Civic Ventures, An expert on career transitions and workplace trends, she is author of One Person/Multiple Careers. She also coined the term “slasher career” to refer to people who canâ€t answer the question “What do you do?” with a single word or phrase.

Marci offers the following suggestions, insights and resources to help you shift to a non-profit career:

Become a “slasher.” (e.g. sales rep/literacy mentor). This could play out in two ways. Slashing can help you transition from your current field into a non-profit job. If thatâ€s your target, Alboher suggests you hold onto your day job while you dip into the nonprofit world on the side (using the suggestions below). By taking the slash approach, youâ€ll be able to continue earning a living and simultaneously build skills and relationships to help you transition to the non-profit sector.

On the other hand, you may wish to create a permanent “slash” career, where you have one foot each planted in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. Either way, follow the advice below and carefully carve out time for each of the sides of your “slash.”

Volunteer in organizations where you have a strong interest and you can create real impact. Donâ€t just set aside a few days a year to work with Habitat for Humanity, for example. Incorporate high-level volunteer work and make a real effort to be involved in substantive projects that expose you to the field and introduce you to people doing the kind of work you want to do for a living.

Consult. Take on a consulting project for a nonprofit as a way to showcase your skills. If you choose to work for free, make sure youâ€re building relationships, knowledge, or something else to help you as you try to find a paying job. Non-profits appreciate and seek employees who are passionate about their missions, so it makes sense to identify issues and organizations you may want to work with for the long term.

Meet people. Leverage your social networks to help. Consider using Branchout or BeKnown (Facebook applications) or SimplyHired.comâ€s application to help you learn where your Facebook friends work. Add your volunteer interests and work experience to LinkedIn via the “add sections” tab when you update your profile. Search on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ for groups and people either working for or actively involved in non-profits that interest you.

Get involved in your target sector. Go to conferences or panel discussions. Look for Twitter “chats” about your interest area. Reach out on Facebook and LinkedIn to your friends. Update your Facebook status to let people know when and where you are volunteering. Share information and news about your favorite non-profit organizations and causes via your social media platforms. Subscribe to LinkedInâ€s newsfeed on nonprofit news. If youâ€re a good writer, consider authoring a blog highlighting those interests.

Show up. Once you identify organizations that interest you, go to their events and attend to conferences where you might be able to meet people who work in those organizations.

Dig in. Keep up-to-date on whatâ€s happening in your field. Use social media to identify leaders in the fields that interest you and follow them. In addition to exploring Encore.org, she suggests the following resources for non-profit career job seekers:

•    Job search: Idealist.org and Commongoodcareers.org

•    News in the non-profit sector: Dowser.org, Good Magazine, The Chronicle of Philanthropy

•    Volunteering: VolunteerMatch.org, catchafire.org, AllForGood.org, Idealist.org

Stay tuned for more advice about shifting to a non-profit job — no matter what stage career you are in!

(And, if you’re thinking about making a change — consider a gift for yourself or someone you love — some coaching to get you where you want to go! Once you know what you want to do, I can teach you what steps to take so you don’t have to go it alone!)

If you are in the Atlanta, area, get a taste of my expert advice about social media. I’ll be presenting at the Kennesaw State Universityâ€s College of Continuing and Professional Education for their Career Training Expo. The event, which will be January 12 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the KSU Center, is free and open to the public. To register, call 770-423-6765.

Stay tuned for even more advice about transitioning to the non-profit sector.

photo by orangeacid

The post How to make a change to a meaningful career? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Beyond the resume and typical job search materials, I believe using social media tools can really help build a career changerâ€s bridge to a new occupation or vocation. In my book, Social Networking for Career Success, I explain how social media may help career changers who naturally have a difficult time proving they have what they need to succeed in the next job: How? It solves several problems:

• It allows you to extend your network to meet people you otherwise would never encounter. Statistics show how important introductions and “warm leads” are to job seekers. Companies value referrals from within their organizations, and meeting new people you would not otherwise know via online interactions provides more potential for referrals. (Moving those social networking interactions to in-person or telephone conversations is a good next step.)
• You have easy access to information and resources about your targeted profession. I like to think of social networks as offering a constant opportunity to learn what people in the field and thinking, saying, writing and sharing. Twitter is particularly useful in this regard. In the book, I describe how itâ€s possible to follow content from conferences you donâ€t attend in person via hashtags, and share tips from Mark Stelzner, of Inflexion Advisors, for live tweeting a conference. If you find and follow people like Mark in your field, you may be able to grasp the key problems your new targeted industry is grappling with, without leaving your home and without spending a dime! (I elaborate on all the details in the book for HOW to find and follow the right community online.)
• Social media allows you to demonstrate your newfound expertise, engage in your targeted community, and make a name for yourself in your new industry. Social media canâ€t MAKE you an expert, but if you have what it takes to excel in your new field, you should be able to demonstrate it online. Show that you know whatâ€s going on, suggest solutions based on your expertise in other industries or fields and be someone who contributes to the conversation in your targeted field.
• Your lack of actual experience in the field may become less important once potential colleagues view you as an active contributor. If youâ€re good at sharing what you learn and know, the connections you gain and their willingness to promote you as a contributor will outweigh your actual lack of industry, paid work experience as a factor. (It wonâ€t totally erase it, but it goes a long way to helping you get where you want to go.)
• Being familiar with social media tools may be just the unique skill you need to help you land a job. Social media isnâ€t going away. Having an online profile, a Twitter feed and/or using LinkedIn to connect with prospective colleagues helps show you are staying ahead of the curve regarding technology. In and of itself, that may help you exceed another qualified candidateâ€s credentials.

In the book, I share career change success stories from several contributors, including:

• Alexis Grant (@alexisgrant), social media coach and owner of Socialexis, who is now Careers editor for U.S. News & World Report.
• Jessica Lewis, who transitioned to a non-profit career after 10 years in a different field.
• Kate-Madonna Hindes (known online as @girlmeetsgeek), who used blogging and Twitter to launch an entirely new career as a social marketer and career columnist. (She notes, “Social media changed my life.)

Don’t let the competitive market discourage you from making a change. Dive into social media — I hope you’ll take a look at my book to teach you how to get on the right path — and you may be surprised by the results! Be sure to learn more about my book, Social Networking for Career Success, as I teach you how to use all the social networks you know about — and some you haven’t even considered — and Amazon has it for a great price!

photo by vistavision

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A Reuter’s article quotes Starbucks‘  Chief Executive Howard Schultz as saying, “Even though we have been, and always will be, a coffee company and retailer, it’s possible we’ll have other products with our name on it and no coffee in it.”

It’s not unusual for brand loyalists to revolt when a company makes a major change like this (for example, GAP recently ditched its new logo due to pressure on social media channels). But a new logo without the company name? That is an interesting move.

The Reuters article quoted James Gregory, chief executive of brand consulting firm CoreBrand:

“I think it’s nuts,” he said.  “What’s it going to be — the coffee formerly known as Starbucks?”

The new logo probably will not hurt cafe sales in the near term because most Starbucks customers are enthusiasts, Gregory said. But, he said, a nameless logo was a bad fit for Starbucks products sold by grocery stores and other retailers.

“There you’re dealing with people who aren’t enthusiasts. You’re looking at something that’s almost generic, and it’s not shouting out as something that is Starbucks.”

THAT (bolded) is the quote that really grabbed me, and convinced me to jump on the bandwagon and write about this issue. (Which, admittedly, as many on Twitter have noted, is not a matter of life and death.)

If you’re a typical job seeker, you can’t do what Starbucks is doing — go generic. They are banking on the fact that enough people recognize their logo and brand that they do not even need a name to go with it. Is that what you are doing? Maybe your resume and job search materials are okay if you already know the person you need to meet. (Akin to a Starbucks loyalist shopping in a grocery store who sees a new product, with the nameless logo, but automatically makes the association that it is a trusted brand’s item.)

Going generic is a big gamble, as Gregory noted in his comments. It might work for current customers/people who already are “sold” on you, but, unfortunately, job hunting today is more about impressing the people who DON’T know you already. The people who are NOT already your fans. What are you doing with your materials (and your networking efforts) to impress them?

This situation is a great reminder to job seekers and everyone planning to manage a successful career: look at YOUR materials (they are, essentially, your logo). Look at your resume, LinkedIn profile, social networking bios — are you generic? If you have not already built a name for yourself to the point that employers are knocking on your door, you cannot afford the equivalent of a logo with no name. (It’s possible that it’s not even a good idea for an otherwise very established brand like Starbucks; only time will tell.)

Stay tuned to the blog for tips and tricks to help you stand out online and in person! (And maybe a blog about how Starbucks may be trying to do the equivalent of a career change — and what you can learn from that!)

The post What does Starbucks’ new logo have to do with your job search? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

For example, the article notes that “All of the healthcare jobs on last year’s list have made the cut again this year, plus two new positions: massage therapist and athletic trainer. While the field of athletic training doesn’t offer the sheer number of positions as nursing or dental hygiene, it outranks nearly all other healthcare occupations for expected job growth.”

It’s important to remember that jobs on this list are not necessarily easy to land! Although jobs are cut from the list if they have a higher-than average unemployment rate, the article notes that, with 9.6% unemployment, there are still (statistically) five unemployed people for every job, compared to an average of 1.7 people for every job in the three years before the recession.

Do Your Research

Every job seeker should keep an eye on his or her industry and make plans for the future with an informed outlook. I like to remind readers that itâ€s a good idea to set a Google alert for organizations and fields of interest to you so youâ€ll be aware when there are newsworthy ups and downs in your market. Clearly, there are trends in industries. While there are no guarantees, keeping an eye on these surveys and data should help direct those seeking career change make their plans.

Learn what you can about the number of job opportunities, salary expectations, educational requirements, job satisfaction — make a list of what is important to you and conduct a personal analysis to determine a good direction for your career.

Luckily, there are more and more resources every day to help you with your research.

You can go “old school” and talk to people you know or people they know via informational interviews. Or, expand your networking circle by using Twitter to research your job, LinkedIn to connect with new colleagues, Facebook (via BranchOut or Jibe) and Quora to meet new people who may have advice, information or recommendations for you.

Learn what blogs are popular and respected in your niche (I like to use Alltop.com as a great resource) and find out what your mentors are saying. Find them on Twitter (WeFollow.com is my favorite list for Twitter) and learn who they talk to, what conferences they attend (and what they think of the speakers).

Hop on a Twitter chat to connect with people in your targeted industry. Before you know it — with skill and persistence — you can become one of them! (Read this story of someone who has decided to lead the way in his industry, even if his colleagues are not already joining him on social media.)

Clearly, there are many, many ways to learn what everyone is saying and — most importantly — to insert yourself into the conversations (via participating in social media, meeting local colleagues, attending professional conferences, etc.) to really get to know about a field.

Here is U.S. News & World Reportâ€s list of top jobs for 2011, broken down by categories considered promising growth fields:

Science and Technology

– Biomedical engineer

– Civil engineer

– Computer software engineer

– Computer support specialist

– Computer systems analyst

– Environmental engineering technician

– Environmental science technician

– Hydrologist

– Meteorologist

– Network architect

Health care

– Athletic trainer

– Dental hygienist

– Lab technician

– Massage therapist

– Occupational therapist

– Optometrist

– Physician assistant

– Physical therapist

– Physical therapist assistant

– Radiologic technologist

– Registered nurse

– School psychologist

– Veterinarian

Social Service

– Clergy

– Court reporter

– Education administrator

– Emergency management specialist

– Firefighter

– Marriage and family therapist

– Mediator

– Medical and public health social worker

– Special-education teacher

– Urban planner

Business and Finance

– Accountant

– Actuary

– Financial adviser

– Financial analyst

– Logistician

– Meeting planner

– Public relations specialist

– Sales manager

– Training specialist

Creative and Service

– Commercial pilot

– Curator

– Film and video editor

– Gaming manager

– Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technician

– Interpreter/Translator

– Multimedia artist

– Technical writer

Be sure to review U.S. News†entire, informative article outlining the various opportunities and their methodology.

Please comment if you know anything about these professions! Would you recommend them? What are your experiences? Share in the comments!

Donâ€t forget that clear, concise, optimized job search materials AND a strong, well executed plan are key for job search success! I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching?  If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While youâ€re at it, donâ€t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…Iâ€d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since weâ€re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.

photo by Court reporter

The post Best Careers for 2011 appeared first on Keppie Careers.

My career background is as an analyst…My previous employers have been smaller firms, under 50 employees.  Social media isn’t used very much by advisory firms that I’ve targeted as a good fit.  Much of that is due to FINRA compliance constraints that keep them from engaging clients online.  I’m still tweeting, but relying more on networking in-person and making connections on LinkedIn where employees of these firms and their connections are likely to be.

The biggest challenge I’m having on the job search is that analytical roles in the personal (retail) side of the financial services industry have been slow to pick up. There are new demands for sales producers, operations and administrative staff, but very few new opportunities for analysts.  The institutional side of finance has also picked up, more so than the retail side.  It’s difficult to convince employers that skills can be transferable from retail to institutional, or from smaller firms to larger firms.

Some of the recent jobs I’ve interviewed for have been at a lower level of experience than I have, and the firms decided I was overqualified.  I would like to broaden the scope of the jobs that I’m looking at, because I think that my advanced skills.. could be applicable in many areas of corporate finance and planning. How can I best market my skills to other industries…so that employers will recognize the skills as transferable and qualified?

This is a tricky dilemma, and one that many job seekers today are facing. Specifically, these are the main issues:

– Social media isn’t widely adopted in your field.

– There are few (maybe no)  job opportunities calling for your expertise.

– You are hoping to find a job in the “other side” of your field (retail to institutional) and in a different type of organization (smaller to larger).

It may or may not help you to know that many share this dilemma of having previous experience in an industry or field that simply isn’t hiring or has become obsolete. Networking becomes even more important in this case. Even though you have not found a large group of your potential colleagues using social media, I would suggest you still mobilize all of the tools at your disposal to try to extend your networking circle.

If not many in your field are taking advantage of the tools to connect online, you have a chance to become a recognized online expert in your field. The regulations add a layer of complexity to making this work, but do some searches for others who ARE engaging online.

• Google {keywords relevant to your field}, blog and see what you find.
• Look in Alltop.com to find listings of blogs in your field.
• Use Google blog search to find some blogs of interest.
• Connect with the authors by commenting, sharing retweets (if they use Twitter) and make it clear that you have your finger on the pulse of your industry.
• Track information from news outlets that report data relevant to people in your field and be the one who disseminates what people need to know NOW. (Via Twitter, a blog and/or LinkedIn updates.)

Combine media and in-person meetings:

• Use LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise. Investigate the Answers section; see if there are any answers you may be able to provide, illustrating your expertise — ideally in your targeted field. (Find Answers in the toolbar on LinkedIn under the More tab.)
• While in-person meetings are great, be sure you are doing all you can to extend the number of people who may be able to connect you with the ONE person you need to meet and impress to land an opportunity. Don’t forget to talk to people who CAN’T help you.

The combination of these strategies could very easily lead to meeting contacts that will be able to help you overcome your experience gap efforts as you build a bridge to a new career.

Stay tuned for more advice to address the “you’re overqualified” issue.

The post 7 tools to help market your skills across industries when no one is hiring appeared first on Keppie Careers.

CareerBuilder’s ads really hit the nail on the head…If you need help, contact me.

photo by nzgabriel

The post Does this remind you – of you? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

As part of my new “Altruistic Tuesdays” series, today, I am pleased to highlight a story from Encore.org:

John Kostibas saw the problem in the educational pipeline. As a major player in the telecommunications revolution and an engineer himself, Kostibas noticed “a huge decline in American engineering students, all stemming from a math phobia they had in middle and high school.”

He was 54. “My thought was that if I can help them get over this phobia, I can direct more students into engineering and technology careers.” After years of start-ups and high stress business deals, Kostibas decided the time was right. “I was ready to do what I always wanted to do, which was teach math in high school.”

Even though he was an engineer, John still needed to pursue his certification in teaching. He was lucky to be able to find a program that was geared to career changers and fast-tracked his plans. Today, as a math teacher at a high school in Louisville, Texas, he is able to show students that math is relevant and useful as a result of his real-world work experiences.

The post Thinking about making a change for a career in teaching? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

As part of my new “Altruistic Tuesdays” series, today, I am pleased to highlight a story from Encore.org:

Terry Ramey started working on an assembly line at a Ford plant outside Ann Arbor, Mich., when he was in his 20s. “I’m third-generation auto,” he explains. Like his father and grandfather, he figured he would retire from the same job.

But after more than 13 years, the monotony of the line, the physical toll it took on his body, and the auto industry’s uncertain future started Ramey thinking about leaving. “The quality of life, even though I made a good living, was terrible.”

Not too long afterward, Ramey happened to be the first on the scene of a highway motorcycle accident. He was calm, able to help the injured man – and surprised that he got so much satisfaction from doing it.

When Ford offered an “education buyout package” – a chance to attend school for four years and receive up to $15,000 in annual tuition money and half his annual wages – Ramey jumped at the chance.

Even though he had never been to college and he was 40 years old, Terry enrolled in a four-year nursing program. He plans to become a nurse by age 44.

Have you ever thought of making a change – a big change – in your career? The healthcare industry consistently ranks in the top growth fields year after year. Is this a field of interest to you?

Andrea Santiago, about.com’s guide to health careers, reminds us, “There are lots of health care jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree, and some don’t even require an associate’s degree.” She cautions, “However, keep in mind that generally, the more education is required for the job, the higher it will pay, just as in any other industry.” (Stay tuned for much more advice from Andrea about transitioning to a health career tomorrow!)

The post Thinking about making a change for a career in healthcare? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Taking advantage of a layoff and turning a difficult situation into an opportunity is not always easy, and it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when making plans for the future. Let’s face it, if you have always done a certain type of work, it is easy to think that your “next” thing needs to be that same thing. If your field does not seem to have much of a future (or even a present!), making a change is obvious and necessary, but I hope my new series of posts will remind ALL job seekers that this may be a good time to take a different path!

I recently reviewed Alexandra Levit’s new book, New Job, New You – A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career,where she highlights stories of people who have made career changes for a variety of reasons, including:

• Family requirements
• Need for independence
• Desire to pursue additional learning
• Financial aspirations
• Pursuit of a passion
• Personal or health setbacks
• Honing a talent or skill

There is no doubt that layoffs can lead to a second career. (Take a look at this piece from NBC Nightly News that highlights people who made big jumps.) It is no surprise that Marci Alboher commented in this story. An authority on career changers, Marci is a senior fellow at Civic Ventures, the author of One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success and creator of the popular Shifting Careers blog and column for The New York Times. I’ve had a chance to talk to Marci about her work for Civic Ventures and the resources they offer via Encore.org. (Learn more about Civic Ventures and Encore.org HERE.)

My discussions with Marci and reading Alexandra’s book inspired me to create a new, ongoing feature here on my blog. I’m going to highlight stories of people who have made big career changes. To start off, I will share information and resources for and from those who have shifted to not-for-profit careers. I will call this feature “Altruistic Tuesdays” and highlight resources, many from the Encore.org site, aimed at smoothing the transition.

If you have a story to share, please contact me! In the meantime, think about how you can use your skills in a different setting…What have you always wanted to do, but never thought it was possible? You can translate your skills (maybe along with some new training) into a whole new career.

photo by pranav singh

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