Over the past several weeks I’ve had the opportunity to connect with some former colleagues who were recently let go from their employer, along with a couple of friends who are anticipating leaving their employer in the near future. The top-of-mind question for all of them was, “What should I do first?” Of course, they’re all experienced adults who can figure …
In over 30 years of working with human resources and people in transition, I’ve not met many people who have told me that they’ve found their “dream job!” However, I’ve encountered many people who, upon reflection, have identified attributes of former positions they’ve held which they loved, and I’ve found even more who are in search of that “dream job!” …
The famous poem, “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost ends with this stanza: I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I think most people who have been through a job transition can easily relate to these …
What’s Worse Than Being Unemployed?
July 11, 2023
Written by: Dave Sparkman |
Reading Time: 3 minutes
If I asked you to describe the emotions you experience or associate with unemployment, what would your response be? If you’re like most people (myself included), words like frustrating, overwhelming, anxious, fearful, angry, exasperated, confused, stressful, tiring, and debilitating may come to mind. Some optimistic folks may include hopeful, optimistic, and even ‘exciting’ (yep, there are those crazy ones among …
Have you ever done work, on a sustained basis, that you didn’t like or perhaps at which you weren’t that skilled? Or maybe even you didn’t mind it, but you knew it wasn’t what you were built to do? Perhaps you had to do the work to provide for your family? Or you had to do it as the job was …
Let’s play the simple word association game of naming the first word that comes to your mind when another word is given: for example, I say sun, you say moon. I say light, you say dark. I say up, you say down. Got it? As you can see in the examples, many times the first word we say is the …
Calling versus Career: What’s the difference and does it matter?
June 06, 2023
Written by: Dave Sparkman |
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Along with many of the people I’ve encountered going through job transition, after Arthur Andersen imploded years ago, I was praying earnestly to find a job where I could: You see, I had been in a job at Arthur Andersen that hit all the bullets listed. I thought Arthur Andersen would be the last employer I’d ever work for. My career …
Top Tips: Tip #5 – Unique Distinctions
February 28, 2023
Written by: Elise Hartmann |
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Describe Yourself As we wrap up our Crossroads Career Top Tips, I’ll conclude with what’s become a significant favorite for me. As I share it with people, almost 100% of the time, the individual looking to create their Unique Distinctions doesn’t quite get it the first time, but once they get it, they are completely sold on the value of the exercise. Think …
Top tips: Tip #3 -Loving Yourself Correctly
February 14, 2023
Written by: Elise Hartmann |
Reading Time: 3 minutes
See Yourself Through God’s Lens One of the concepts we discuss in our You are Created for Good Works workbook is loving yourself correctly. But what does this mean and what exactly does that have to do with your job transition? Everything, actually. Going through a job transition can be one of the most challenging seasons in one’s life. During …
Have you ever visited a new city, state, or country and had the benefit of being led by a Guide? I’ve enjoyed that benefit…and particularly when contrasted to my past self-exploration mistakes, the Guide not only saved me a significant amount of time, my experience with them increased my appreciation for the location I was visiting! Getting Advice Your …