12.31.2005:
I wish everybody visiting this site and blog a Happy New Year! I'll be back soon with a more detailed entry about my journey through adulthood and my plans to return to the workforce (with a focus on the communications field).
12.24.2005:
It's Christmas Eve, and I'm preparing to go spend some time with my family. I will return with a new blog. I will continue discussing the positive steps I am taking to get back in the workforce. There is a lot I know I am thankful for, like having friends and family, good neighbours, a place to live, a faith I can turn to, and personal support workers who assist me with my daily needs. I'm also grateful for having a sense of humour and a renewed zest for life!
Until the next time I write, enjoy the holidays!
12.20.2005:
For nearly two months, I've been watching an excellent series on job-hunting and employment-related advice. Workopolis TV features interviews and educational segments from career counsellors, experts and strategists helping viewers like me learn practical tips on career planning, job etiquette, interview preparation, resume writing and networking tips. It is the first nationally broadcast, interactive TV match-making service for employers and employees.
A recent segment I saw featured an interview with Stephen R. Covey, author of the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." He talked about an 8th habit that has emerged. This 8th habit, according to Covey, involves finding your voice, and inspiring others to find theirs. Covey explains that after finding your own voice, you can inspire others and create a workplace where people feel engaged. Examples include establishing trust, searching for third alternatives, and developing a shared vision.
I interpret this 8th habit as being able to respond well as an active (and proactive) team player. It involves being able to help others the way you would help yourself. Given what I know about this concept, it stresses the importance of interdependency. I have always strived to live my life with integrity, and I am eager to help others do the same.
Speaking from personal experience, this 8th habit can be applied in the workplace or in the relations you have in your own inner circle. Applying this 8th habit, whether at work or at home, can stimulate open communcation, and a transferable that can help you in any environment or situation. Most importantly, it can stimulate personal and professional growth!
This is just one example of what you can learn by watching this program. Workopolis TV airs on Report on Business Television (Cable 57 in Toronto) every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:30 PM ET.
12.19.2005:
Every morning when I wake up, I ask myself, 'What positive steps can I make today?'. Adjusting to a career transition can be both challenging and exciting. But it is not impossible! It was a dramatic year where I experienced my share of joy and pain, but I am looking forward to the arrival of 2006 because it is going to be filled with exciting things!
One of the positive steps I am taking towards re-entering the workforce is upgrading my computer skills. I am also keeping up my writing skills and my specialized training in information and referral. Producing this blog is one of the many activities I am engaged in. I am also volunteering for an office environment and sharpening my skills with Excel and PowerPoint software.
An acquaintance of mine recommended I read a book called "Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow" when I was having a bad day. This book is very powerful, and therapeutic. Marsha Sinetar must be commended for writing such a motivational and spiritually-empowering guide to both living and career fulfillment! Another book called "10 Insider Secrets to a Winning Job Search" by Todd Bermont has also been extremely useful to me. I recommend picking up both of these books, especially if you're going through the same journey as I am.
Attitude is everything. That's one of the secrets I have learned on this journey of self-discovery. Now that I've managed to maintain a positive and healthier attitude as we all enter the New Year, I am ready to take on the world!
What positive steps can you take in your life today?
11.21.2005:
Today I want to share with you employment tips a friend of mine forwarded to me. It may be especially useful for those of you presently in a situation similar to mine.
Marty's 6 most important career tips
6. Don't focus on finding a so-called dream career.
Focus on getting your career non-negotiable met. It's extraordinarily competitive to land a well-paying job in most so-called dream careers -- for example, law, investment banking, acting, art, sports, nonprofit work, fashion or TV. And once in, dream careers so often turn out to be disappointing. Because so many people want to be in those careers, bosses can demand absurd work hours, be unkind, etc.
Sure, if you're brilliant, driven, winsome and/or well connected, all options may be open to you, but let's say you're a mere mortal. In a less-competitive career, you're more likely to find the things that lead to true career contentment: a kind boss, nice co-workers, opportunities to keep learning, a reasonable commute and a middle-class living.
As long as the compensation is middle-class, your contentment won't be impeded by a lack of income. Study after study shows that wealth doesn't increase contentment. Yes, the extra income may enable you to buy that new suit or new car, but the happiness derived usually fades quickly. After that, you'll seek another material fix and that too will soon wear off, whereupon you'll need yet another fix. Dan Pink, author of the new book, "A Whole New Mind," calls this, "The Hedonism Treadmill." Ultimately, contentment comes mainly from love and from good work.
5. Work hard.
My clients who had been sad or even depressed found that working hard turned out to be their greatest antidepressant. Even if you're unemployed, you can and should work hard. Yes, work hard in looking for a job, but also fill your day to the rafters with constructive projects: volunteer to tutor someone, clean your cluttered apartment, and help a friend or relative.
4. Be aware of the moment of truth.
There is a moment when you -- usually unconsciously -- decide; "I'm going to do that task later." Stay alert for that moment of truth, and each time, ask yourself, "Would I be wiser to procrastinate on this task or to do it now?" You'll procrastinate less. Then break the task down into baby steps and, when stuck, get help.
3. Be nice.
Look for opportunities to brighten the day of every person you encounter, even if it's just to flick a piece of lint off their jacket. If a co-worker is less capable than you, repress your impatience and offer to help. If you're a boss, be generous with deserved praise. Many people crave praise more than money. Feeling worthy is a primal need. If you have hired someone, don't ignore the unsuccessful applicants. Afford them the dignity of a kind rejection letter, if at all possible, a personal one mentioning their strengths.
2. Integrity is key.
My mouse pad is imprinted with the statement, "Integrity is key." Yes, cheaters often win -- in the material sense. Many, maybe even most, deceptive salespeople, plagiarizing students and cook-the-books accountants get away with it, but they still lose. They lose in the bigger game of making their life meaningful. If you -- especially when it's to your selfish detriment -- do the ethical thing, you will be loved and respected on this earth and, if there's a hereafter, honored in that one. And you will go through life with your head high, knowing you are making the world a better, not a worse, place.
1. Never look back.
Always look forward. I learned that lesson from my dad. I asked him, a Holocaust survivor, why he never complained about having lost his teenage years and his entire family. He replied, "The Nazis took five years from my life. I won't give them one minute more. Martin, never look back; always look forward." We've all had bad things happen to us, but my successful clients rarely wallow. They ask themselves, "What's the next positive little step I can take." I can offer you no better advice.
11.18.2005:
An 'extreme makover' of my website is currently taking place, and some sections will be closed off for an indefinite period. My portfolio and resume sections remain active. I am still in 'career transition' process. More to come.
08.19.2005:
Greetings, and welcome to my Homestead. I'm a 32-year-old communications graduate and writer living in Toronto, a city situated at the centre of the universe :-).
This has been a summer of change and growth for me, as I am in the process of exploring new opportunities and possibilities for my career. If you have just lost your job, why not take advantage of programs and workshops that are provided by your community's employment resource centre? It might help you to develop new skills for your job search, and for the working world itself. It might even help you get better acquainted with yourself, and the type of personality you have that could determine what line of work you might be best suited for.
That's all the news from here right now. Enjoy my Homestead.
