3 Traits for Facing Weather, Employment and Chronic Illness
Posted Jan 03 2011 5:13pm
This month’s Career Collective Blog Posts topic is: Things job seekers should keep an eye on in 2011. My fellow bloggers (scroll down for those links) share insights into trends and forecasts and I’m focusing on basics.
We have an expression in New England: Don’t like the weather? Wait a minute and it’ll change. As the number of New Years pile on in my life, I’ve seen how that wisdom applies to more than just the weather. And that a wise person learns to stay flexible, resilient and prepared for the weather, bad job markets and chronic illness.
Speaking of employment, aren’t we all feeling desperate for good news? Many pundits say that this horrible job market seems finally to be loosening. I’ve seen it among my clients. A physician told me last week that in the past month, she’s gotten two phone calls due to networking she’d done over a year ago. Another client who has been unemployed for more than two years has three interviews lined up in January for administrative assistant positions. That’s one more than she’s had in the last 6 months!
Some say it’s only the white collar jobs that are expanding. Others say the opposite. I’m no job market expert and my perspective comes from a small sample. But a new year is a good time for optimism, so let’s consider what you can do while living with chronic illness and thinking about finding a job in 2011. This stuff isn’t based on any new information.
Nope — it’s just the basics that are always worth reviewing because they allow you to be flexible, resilient and prepared.
Create an “elevator” message – - a few sentences about what kind of job you’re looking for and where. With this, you’ve got a clear and memorable message when your best friend’s spouse or brother (who happens to have awesome job connections) asks what you’re looking for. With this you’ll be prepared.
Review your list of the chronic illness issues to think about when applying for that next job. Some examples might be scheduling needs, job redesign, disclosure. For more on this see the Keep Working With Chronic Illness Workbook . With this knowledge you can be more flexible in your decision making.
Dig deep into your network and reconnect to see what you might shake loose. Start with your advocates and then reach out to your prospects. For more details, The Keep Working With Chronic Illness Workbook. With these actions, you will increase your ability to respond with resilience.
I didn’t say anything here that I haven’t written many times before. Actually, the most important lesson I’ve learned after all these new years is that we need to hear the same things many times to create real change in our selves.
To read what my fellow bloggers have to share on the topic:
This month’s Career Collective Blog Posts topic is: Things job seekers should keep an eye on in 2011. My fellow bloggers (scroll down for those links) share insights into trends and forecasts and I’m focusing on basics.
We have an expression in New England: Don’t like the weather? Wait a minute and it’ll change. As the number of New Years pile on in my life, I’ve seen how that wisdom applies to more than just the weather. And that a wise person learns to stay flexible, resilient and prepared for the weather, bad job markets and chronic illness.
Speaking of employment, aren’t we all feeling desperate for good news? Many pundits say that this horrible job market seems finally to be loosening. I’ve seen it among my clients. A physician told me last week that in the past month, she’s gotten two phone calls due to networking she’d done over a year ago. Another client who has been unemployed for more than two years has three interviews lined up in January for administrative assistant positions. That’s one more than she’s had in the last 6 months!
Some say it’s only the white collar jobs that are expanding. Others say the opposite. I’m no job market expert and my perspective comes from a small sample. But a new year is a good time for optimism, so let’s consider what you can do while living with chronic illness and thinking about finding a job in 2011. This stuff isn’t based on any new information.
Nope — it’s just the basics that are always worth reviewing because they allow you to be flexible, resilient and prepared.
I didn’t say anything here that I haven’t written many times before. Actually, the most important lesson I’ve learned after all these new years is that we need to hear the same things many times to create real change in our selves.
To read what my fellow bloggers have to share on the topic: