Blog

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph.D.

The processes and tools for career planning are time tested and proven.  What is needed is the personal conviction and discipline to work the process.  Conviction and discipline is reinforced by a set of Career Club International’s eight personal principles or beliefs that are central to the entire effort.

Effective Career Planning:

1. Is my responsibility. We owe it to ourselves and our families to make the most of our strengths. It’s not our employers responsibility or the government’s or a school’s or anybody else’s job to plan our careers.
2. Is an on-going process. Developing options, setting and reaching goals and building networks of contacts is not done well in a crisis mode.
3. Builds on strengths. We will typically earn the most doing what we do best and we need to know what those strengths are and be able to communicate them effectively.
4. Delivers employer value. Employers hire and pay the most for people who can help them the most; we need to be able to persuade them that we’re the ones who can provide that help.
5. Is group-powered. Groups provide the widest insight into developing and evaluating career options; they also provide a supportive setting to practice job skills – no man is an island!
6. Builds networks of contacts. Most jobs are found through people we know – it only makes sense to develop a network of people who can help us.
7. Accommodates my preferences. Career planning is not a cookie-cutter process; we need to be aware of our personal preferences in a variety of areas and find ways to accommodate them.
8. Requires flexibility and adaptability. With changes in technology and global competition, entire industries or jobs can go away; there are no career guarantees, we need to be flexible and adaptable.

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph.D.

According to Peter Drucker, noted Management Consultant—Most Americans do not know what their strengths are.  When you ask, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer.

Our own experience conducting career workshops confirms his view.  People have a hard time identifying and articulating their unique strengths.  They often refer to educational degrees, certificates, or positions held.  Your strengths are what you can do to achieve superior performance in these arenas. The main culprit is that we don’t see in ourselves what others do and we take our strength either for granted or assume that everyone can do what you do—no big deal!

Your strengths are transferable skills that make you unique—they are why others want to hire you. Can you put in writing or articulate these in an interview with instances to support each strength? Most people have 5-8 unique strengths that set them apart from others. The best way to define your strengths is through 360° feedback. Ask others who know you well to complete an email survey to identify the times they saw you performing at your best.

Career Clubs International uses this process then shares the responses in a group where your peers can help you interpret the responses and possibly validate what is being said with their own observations. Through this process you will be way ahead of the curve—you will know your own strengths!

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
We’re all familiar with networking either through social networking sites like Linkedin or through people we know on a local level. Developing and managing your contacts is best when it is part of a daily routine, not when it is used all at once and must carry the burden of [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
One study concluded that, “Mutual support groups are just as effective as meeting one-on-one with a trained counselor.”* Richard Nelson Bolles in the 2009 What Color is Your Parachute assert that working in a group with other job-hunters has a 84% success rate.  All this at a fraction of the [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
The NPR June 17, 2009 Morning Edition segment asserts that the paper resume is laughably passé, at least in some circles. Not having a profile on the social networking site LinkedIn is, for some employers, not only a major liability but a sign that the candidate is horribly out of [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
“A sense of belonging,” writes Dr. Kenneth Pelletier of the Stanford Center for Research and Disease Prevention, “appears to be a basic human need—as basic as food and shelter. In fact, social support may be one of the critical elements distinguishing those who remain healthy from those who become ill.”
We [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D. 
If there is any doubt about the value of your contacts in identifying and putting you in touch with the hiring person at your targeted organization, consider:
Researchers analyzed 30 billion Microsoft Messenger instant messages sent among 180 million people from around the world.  They concluded that any two people are, [...]

 By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph.D.
In these rough economic times many find themselves facing a new experience—unemployed and at a loss for what to do.  Three books were written during the Great Depression of the 30’s to address this very problem*. All three are summarized at http://www.careerclubsinternational.com/freeresources.html
The central solution for the unemployed is being able to [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
 
With the increase in the number of people seeking re-employment the press and media have spot lighted a number of personal stories.  Inevitability when asked by the reporter, “What are you doing to find a job?” The response is sending our resumes and searching on-line job sites. With our Texting, [...]

By Matt M. Starcevich, Ph. D.
 
Older workers and retirees are changing careers and finding less stress and greater satisfaction.  AARP followed workers over-50 for more than a decade to study career changes and find out how they fared. In all, 91 percent of the study group said they enjoyed their new jobs, a significant bump [...]