In Part 2 of this series, Marc covers the second half of a feedback session with Juan about his personality assessment.
[1:12] Marc welcomes you to Episode 84 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with others. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:40] Last week’s episode was part one of a four-part series called “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Juan is in his mid-fifties, a former school teacher, technology trainer, adjunct professor, and multipotentialite. Juan is trying to figure out what is next.
[2:04] This episode covers the second half of the first feedback session Marc held with Juan. If you haven’t listened to the first half of the feedback session, please stop and listen to it on episode 83, presented last week, before listening to the rest of this episode.
[2:13] You will find all the reports used in this four-episode series at CareerPivot.com/Juan. You may pause the podcast now to download the reports.
[2:27] After today’s episode, Marc will take a two-week break in the “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” series, first, with an interview with Denise King and then a report on the Miller family’s pivot to Mexico. Then Marc will present Parts Three and Four of this series, “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?”
[3:00] Marc directs Juan to the organizational piece of the Birkman Assessment. First comes Juan’s attention to detail. Juan is systematic and process-driven. He likes an environment that’s predictable. He values policies and rules. Juan doesn’t do well in chaos. He is reassured by having a predictable income and stressed without one.
[5:52] Juan’s causes of stress are, pressure to change his plan of action, and too much attention to details. Juan’s stress reactions are a de-emphasis on systems and being over-controlling.
[6:34] Juan’s assertiveness score: positions of command and control appeal to Juan. Juan is satisfied by giving and carrying out definite, clear-cut directions. Juan organizes, initiates, and carries out his own activities and the activities of others. Juan is self-assertive, enjoys directing others, and seeks to influence and excel.
[7:46] Marc notes that Juan’s emotional side probably gives him a softer touch in dealing with people, even when being direct.
[8:24] Juan needs to know that authority is being exercised in a fair and effective manner. Both the dictator boss and the weak boss will drive Juan “crazy.”
[9:34] Juan responds adversely to people who are extreme in handling authority. He will either back off or become argumentative.
[10:10] Restlessness, or seeking varied activities, is the next trait discussed. Juan is always ready to start new things and enjoys handling a variety of task at the same time. Juan’s assets are adaptability, responsiveness, and attentiveness. Juan tends very much to be a catalyst to change. He is easy to stimulate, flexible, and attentive.
[11:33] Juan’s surroundings should provide a balance of variety and novelty with ample opportunity for him to change his activities. He left school because it was monotonous and devoid of anything creative.
[12:58] Juan may find it more and more difficult to discipline himself as changes are imposed upon him. His strengths are related to the extent to which he has control over his daily routine.
[14:33] Juan is resistant to abrupt change and annoyed at delays.
[15:08] The next topic is time management and decision-making. Juan is energetic, enthusiastic, and vigorous. His natural high energy level leads him to take on many activities and projects, making it easy to neglect rest and relaxation. For optimum performance, he needs time for re-energizing.
[16:55] In Juan’s career, he has found himself at full steam and going at high power until he was exhausted and needed to take a break now and then. His high incentive score leads him to compete for the reward. Marc asks him to read Quiet, by Susan Cain. Susan comes up with the idea for restorative niches. This is a tip for introverts.
[18:30] Juan should schedule in restorative niches, or ten-minute breaks he can take during the day to do a quick activity he enjoys.
[19:38] Marc talks about how, at conferences, he took breaks away from the group, and even went out for dinner by himself.
[21:05] In hurried situations where Juan does not have the opportunity to think through a process, he is likely to feel rushed and less-effective. He likes to consider all the possibilities. It took him a month to buy a laptop. He describes making the decision.
[24:50] Juan worries about his decision-making about big decisions.
[25:35] Situations that require quick and decisive action make Juan feel hurried and rushed. Making decisions when he is not ready is very stressful for him.
[26:42] Juan’s stress reactions are over-concern for consequences, postponing decisions, and anxiety. He can procrastinate.
[27:04] Marc gives Juan an assignment. Juan needs to remember events when he went into stress and analyze them. What was stressing him? Then he wants Juan to put these into 8-15 statements and distill them into a narrative about himself.
[28:24] Marc explains that Juan can perform this exercise with any of the assessments using the strengths finder.
[28:48] The next feedback session (in three weeks) will cover Juan’s preferred management workstyles, how he fits in the corporate workstyle, how he fits in society, and how he makes decisions.
[29:57] Juan is a global conceptual thinker. He is creative in his decision-making. The more you understand how you think, the more you will see how other people think differently. Marc talks about the next assignment. Juan needs to consider three problems he solved in his personal life and three problems he solved at work.
[31:21] Juan will do his homework and then schedule his next session with Marc. Marc wants Juan to be able to explain his decision-making process to potential employers. Meanwhile, he is learning classroom education is not for him.
[32:12] In a couple of months, we will do this again with Sarah. Sarah is a creative who has managed to stuff her creative streak in her career. She is a square peg.
[34:10] Check back next week, when Marc will air the interview when Denise King interviewed Marc during the “Escape the Corporate World, Now” summit.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-84 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 2”
Reports used in the Feedback Session with Juan Doe
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has four initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He will start recruiting members for the fifth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-84 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
In Part 1 of this series, Marc covers the first half of a feedback session with Juan about his personality assessment. The second half of the feedback session will be in next week’s episode.
[1:20] Marc welcomes you to Episode 83 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:48] This begins a four-part series called “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Juan is in his mid-fifties, a former school teacher, technology trainer, adjunct professor, and multipotentialite. Juan is trying to figure out what is next. This episode is the first half of the first feedback session Marc held with Juan. You will hear the second half next week.
[2:16] You will find all the reports used in this four-episode series at CareerPivot.com/Juan. You may pause the podcast now to download the reports. Or you could listen to the episode, download the reports, and listen to it again.
[2:36] Marc will take a two-week break after Episode Two of this series, then he will be back with an interview and then a report on the Miller family’s pivot to Mexico before the Parts Three and Four episodes of this series, “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Marc will later do a similar series with “Sarah.”
[3:02] Marc thanks Juan for being willing to share his Birkman Assessment with the audience. Juan talks about his background. He attended a community college, a state university, and then earned a Master’s degree. He saw education as an insurance policy that would make him lay-off proof. He has changed his mind about that.
[4:51] Juan has been an educator, a computer technology trainer, a financial education trainer, a public school teacher, and taught at a college and a university. He didn’t want to follow the rigid path of his father who worked 40 years at a steel mill.
[6:00] Marc points out that a school teacher has a rigid schedule. Juan does not want to return to teaching school if he has other options.
[6:44] Marc starts to go into the Birkman Assessment with Juan. Juan’s ego is fed externally. He needs people around him for support. He needs a tribe. He worries and thinks a lot before making big decisions.
[7:29] Juan gives his first reaction to reading the personality assessment. He had never taken an assessment and he found it to be insightful and revealing.
[8:27] Marc promises Juan more clarity as they explore the report. First comes the Signature Summary. At the top, there are Birkman Components. For each component there is a Usual Behavior number and a Needs number. The first number is how Juan describes his behavior. The second number is how Juan wants to be treated.
[8:55] Juan follows the normative pattern but has some big gaps. His Social Energy shows he is a closet introvert. His Self-Consciousness score shows he wants people to treat him with respect — more than he treats them. His Thought score shows he considers himself a quick thinker but big decisions are painful for him.
[9:39] In a number of areas, Juan throws off a false persona. In some areas it is real. Juan “looks like” a teacher.
[10:03] Next is Birkman Interests. Juan’s numbers indicate he has a wide variety of interests. The Birkman Map of his usual behavior shows that Juan wants to be treated differently than his behavior and interests indicate. He has learned to behave like an introvert. Marc relates to that.
[11:11] Next Marc covers the Birkman Interests page. Numbers above 90 refer to ‘must-haves.’ Juan has only one area above 90: Literary. He loves to read books on business, biographies, history, science, spiritual topics, sociology, nature. He reads at least an hour a day for enjoyment, relaxation, and education.
[12:21] Marc recommends taking a 15-minute book break when Juan gets stressed. Juan also likes writing on a blog or for a copy. He journals a few lines every day. Marc notes that you can’t always get paid for writing. The next highest area is Scientific. Juan likes figuring things out in research. He lists a few interests.
[15:02] Juan also has a high Musical number. He gives a few of his musical interests. Juan has a moderately high Technical number. He likes solving problems.
[15:57] Juan has a lot of categories in the middle: Administrative, Artistic, Persuasive, Outdoors, Social Service. Numerical is his lowest number. Most of Juan’s interest are in the middle range. Every few years in Juan’s career he has gotten bored and moved on.
[17:21] Marc describes Juan as a multipotentialite. Ten to fifteen percent of the population fits this category. They are generalists. Corporate America values specialists, not generalists.
[18:07] Marc goes to the Behavioral Matrix for three areas: Interpersonal, Organizational and Time Management/Planning (decision making). Marc compares Juan’s numbers with the median numbers.
[19:38] The first topic is Self-Consciousness and sensitivity when dealing with others. Juan’s usual behaviors are Frank, Direct, and Matter-of-Fact. His score is a six compared to the median score of 25. His Needs are to be treated with more respect than he treats others. If he is berated, it bothers him.
[22:21] Juan's needs are not obvious from his usual behavior. It is easy for others to mistakenly assume he needs to be treated in a frank and direct manner. His feelings may be hurt, on occasion. He wears his emotions.
[23:31] Juan’s Stress Reactions are Embarrassment, Shyness, and Oversensitivity. As a child he enjoyed being alone, reading, and working by himself.
[25:07] Juan’s Social Energy is that he is generally pleasant, outgoing, and at ease and comfortable in group activities. His warm manner helps him meet people easily, which is good in social situations. Juan’s Usual Behaviors are Sociable, Communicative, and At Ease in Groups. His Social number is 98 against the median of 75.
[25:30] Juan’s Needs: his high Social number conceals Juan's need to spend time alone or in the company of one or two significant individuals. He has learned how to behave socially but it consumes a lot of his energy. When he networks it has to be for a specific interest.
[27:38] Continuous pressure to be in social situations can upset his sense of well-being. Without sufficient time to himself, Juan is likely to become withdrawn, possible to a surprising extent.
[28:30] Marc recommends that Juan should bracket recharge time before and after a networking event to be alone. Marc gives an example from his own experience.
[30:36] Juan reads the Possible Stress Reactions: withdrawal, tendency to ignore groups, impatience. Juan agrees. That is one of the reasons Juan is looking at a career transition.
[31:07] Emotional Energy is the next area. Juan is open and comfortable with expressing emotion. Juan prefers not to get too involved in the emotional problems of other people and finds it important to keep the facts in sight. At the same time Juan has a genuine understanding and sympathy for people’s feelings.
[31:34] Juan’s Usual Behaviors are objective yet warm, sympathetic yet practical. Juan’s number is 51 against the median of 25. For a male, he is pretty emotional. He talks about how he relates in difficult emotional situations.
[32:26] Juan’s Needs number is 82. His Needs are that he functions best in surroundings that allow him and others to express and work out their emotional responses. He needs to feel that others are aware of his feelings and value them. He wants to feel significant and valued.
[33:11] As Juan looks back, he sees his career has tilted more toward female-dominated career areas. Marc says this is where men who are emotional will do better. Marc compared this to “Tim’s” experience. Tim and Juan both want people to outwardly care about them.
[35:59] Juan’s causes of stress: when Juan thinks others are overlooking his feelings, he tends to overemphasize the importance of his feelings and become dispirited. Juan’s Stress Reactions are becoming overly sensitive, loss of objectivity, and strong discouragement.
[36:48] Juan’s usual behaviors in Drive for Personal Rewards are being competitive and business-like and he values what will promote immediate purposes and objectives. Juan enjoys personal competition and finds bargaining stimulating and desirable.
[37:05] Juan is competitive, resourceful, and opportunity-minded. This behavior is not typical of an educator. Juan’s needs are very typical of an educator.
[38:10] Juan needs an environment that encourages individual performance and motivates people with individual incentives. It is important to Juan that personal efforts and achievements are continually recognized and rewarded. He wants people to notice his good work. The education system is not oriented around recognizing educators.
[39:18] Marc says that for people who have a high need to feel valued, there are six motivators for them, the mission (non-profits or military), public recognition, the bonus check, and the pat on the back from your boss, your team, or your client.
[39:57] Marc gives Juan an assignment to get clear about what he wants. He needs to reflect back on when he has been the happiest, when he has felt the most valued, and what they did to make him feel that way. People want to be rewarded in their own way. The only way to communicate that to your boss is to go ask for it.
[40:54] Marc shares when he received no client feedback, vs. ‘Wow!’ client feedback.
[42:02] Juan’s causes of stress: his basic attitudes cause him to put his own interests above the interests of others, without being fully aware of it. People who are too trusting and idealistic annoy Juan. He sees them as phony. Juan’s stress reactions are to act self-protectively, become materialistic, and be self-promoting.
[43:59] Non-profits and schools, which tend to be very idealistic, are not great long-term environments for Juan. Juan has just realized they are not a good match for his personality.
[43:25] Marc’s last thoughts: Juan, as a multipotentialite, bounced around in his career, doing something different, every few years. Now in his mid-fifties, with no obvious direction, Marc will attempt to steer Juan to the path to success.
[45:06] Check back next week, when Marc will finish the first feedback session with Juan.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-83 “Can Juan Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on the iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has four initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life. They are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the fifth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-83 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
Marti Konstant reviews core principles of agile thinking. She focuses on what she learned from her body of research and how it applies to people at any stage of their career and life but especially to those who are set in their ways and need a new way to see the world. Listen in for an exciting and purposeful conversation on agility!
[:56] Marc welcomes you to Episode 82 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:25] Several episodes back, Marc asked for volunteers for the “Can You Repurpose Your Career” series. Marc worked with Tim in episodes 48-51.
[1:38] Marc has selected two volunteers — Juan, a 55-year old former school teacher, who’s trying to figure out what is next, and Sarah, a marketer who is a square peg. Sarah is in her early fifties and Marc will help her figure what the future may hold. Each of these will comprise of three or four episodes spread out over several months.
[2:06] Marc wants you to see how some personalities have difficulty fitting in today’s workplace. Teachers, if they’ve taught for many years, they struggle to find their place in the traditional workplace. They don’t quite feel they fit in, but don’t know why. Marc will explore where they fit in and where they are misinterpreted.
[2:48] In this week’s episode, Marc interviews Marti Konstant, author of Activate Your Agile Career: How Responding to Change Will Inspire Your Life’s Work. Marti is a workplace futurist with an agile mindset. She is a career growth analyst, author, speaker, and Founder of the Agile Careerist Project.
[3:13] Marti’s career path includes artist, designer, brand developer, entrepreneur, technology marketing executive, investor, and a 2nd half of life career pivoter.
[3:26] Marc welcomes Marti to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.
[4:22] Marti talks about a career detour that started early in her life with diagnoses of skeletal diseases that put her in a full-body brace for her high-school years. What it did was taught Marti the value of true friends, and gave her focus on her schoolwork. She learned to adapt to a life of near-immobility.
[7:39] Marc relates to that, as he recalls rupturing the L4-L5 disk in his back and being bed-bound for four months.
[8:36] Marti started as a graphic designer, then ran a B-2-B business with a partner. The next third of her career, Marti migrated into marketing. She got an MBA and worked for growth-stage technology companies. When she was Chief Marketer at a company, it was sold to a Fortune 100 company. She had been working towards that success.
[11:41] Observing engineers, she took their agile production techniques of breaking things into smaller pieces and collaborating on projects, and applied those methods to the marketing business. She learned about formal project management and cites the way it was used to put a man on the moon.
[13:06] In 2012 Marti worked with a group of global marketers to apply agile methods to the marketing process. They came up with an agile marketing manifesto.
[13:49] Marketing was modestly different from engineering, so the agile method principles had to be adjusted. Marti started thinking about adjusting some of the principles of agile methods to the management of one’s own career. In 2012, the world was reeling from the global financial crisis. People were not adapting to the changes.
[14:50] There was downsizing and organizations became efficient. People became consultants who did not want to be consultants. Marti thought the world needed agile methods to adapt to changes.
[16:00] Marti reviews “lean” methods — test a product; get market feedback; change the product according to the feedback. It is a subset of agile thinking. Marti put up some LinkedIn Slideshare pieces that were 12-15 slides long, based on 20 interviews she had conducted and they got thousands of views and hundreds of downloads.
[17:00] Marti adjusted her interview process and did about 120 interviews of one-third Millennials, one-third Gen-Xers and one-third Boomers. Then she hired a marketing research firm to survey mid-careerists between the ages of 35 to early 50s. Marti learned many things through this project.
[17:45] Marti’s big ‘aha’ was that every individual is skewed more towards being set in their ways or agile. Marti found that people who were adaptable and responded to change were able to advance, be happier in their jobs and had the mindset that they didn’t have to worry about things like recessions.
[19:14] The career agility model starts with the design-thinking phase of life, when we’re exploring and refining what we want to do. We should never let the design-thinking phase of our life end. Then we determine at some point what our strengths, likes, and dislikes are. We enter the career hypothesis phase.
[20:30] You graduate from school or a program, or you learn it on your own, and then you start your career. Marti found that 80% of the people who were interviewed got the job they could get — not that perfect job. Sometimes they ended up in completely unexpected roles. The first job very often impacted their career trajectory.
[21:06] The model covers things like having a project mindset, A-B testing your career, the concept of an idea zone (similar to a backlog that software engineers use where they nurture ideas for the next generation of their product), activating the feedback squad of mentors, colleagues, advisors and “learning from dead people.”
[22:05] Life and work aren’t about one thing. We are more productive when we explore on the side things unrelated to our core industry or interest. This helps us in the way that we solve problems. Parallel pursuits can be side gigs or freelance work. Meanwhile, optimize your career brand.
[22:46] Similar to the five stages of grieving, you don’t have to do the steps of the agility model in order. Many of the most successful agile careerists went through all or most of the steps.
[23:08] Marti talks about the project mindset. View your career as a series of projects rather than as one big thing. A project generates excitement. It has a foreseeable beginning, middle and end. When something gets too protracted, it get boring. The ideal segment of time today for a role is about two to three years.
[24:46] The project mindset is pretty intriguing because one of the biggest problems we have in our workplace today is lack of engagement. A large percent of disengaged workers are actively negative.
[25:15] Marti talks about optimizing the areas of creativity, growth, and happiness. If you are optimizing on these three fronts, you are in the right role and in the zone but it’s always important to think about what’s next.
[25:45] Seth Godin proposed the concept of life as a series of projects. Seth started in corporate. Now he takes each of his book ideas, creates a project of it, gets a sponsor, and does workshops around it. Each book project is focused on helping people to be more productive and successful. Marti talks about debriefing and tweaking the project.
[27:05] Marc relates his experience of his expected linear career on graduation in 1978. This was the steadfast mindset. Marc talks about the creative destruction of the iPhone and other innovations. Marc has people in his community who are stuck because they want to do things that don’t exist anymore.
[28:52] If you don’t adapt, you will be left behind. Marti refers to Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction. Today the destruction is accelerating. The half-life of an education is now less than five years. Agility thinking is not age-specific. Integrate agility into thinking or you will leave a lot of opportunities and rich experiences on the table.
[31:49] You never really know what you’re walking into. When Marti started this project five years ago, she had just sold her company, was consulting, traveling to Silicon Valley, and doing this research on the side. She didn’t know why she was doing it or where it would lead but she was curious and couldn’t drop it.
[32:43] She started to ask how she could use this body of work to help people and mitigate some of the pain and suffering they go through in managing their career. She devised models and workshops. She helped people develop career brand maps. She built tools useful in a webinar or an interview. She knew it couldn’t be about her opinion.
[34:07] Marti provides exercises at the end of each book chapter similar to the types of things she would cover in a workshop to help people with tools of agility. Marti believes people of any age can learn this and learn to optimize their creativity, growth, and happiness. Marti wants to mitigate the technology overwhelm.
[35:04] Marti’s last bit of advice: pick out a hobby or something that challenges you in a way that is exciting for you. Do something on the side that will be useful for you in the future. This isn’t a quick fix. You might find something that could be a parallel track for you and you could find yourself jumping a lane in the near future.”
[36:00] In light of chaos theory, Marc recommends you randomly try stuff. “Go take a dart and throw it against the wall and see what it hits.”
[36:37] Marti cites Tina Seelig of Stanford: “Experiences lead to passions, not the other way around.” Marti says that is a golden nugget. The reality is testing, experimentation, and measuring to find what you like. Give yourself permission to try new things.
[40:27] Check back next week, when Marc starts the “Can Juan Repurpose His Career?” Series.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-48 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 1”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-49 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 2”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-50 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 3”
CareerPivot.com/Episode-51 “Can Tim Repurpose His Career? Part 4”
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck
CareerPivot.com/Episode-20 with Elizabeth Rabaey
Please pick up a copy of Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey. The paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats are available now. When you have completed reading the book, Marc would very much appreciate your leaving an honest review on Amazon.com. The audio version of the book is available on iTunes app, Audible, and Amazon.
Marc has the paid membership community running on the CareerPivot.com website. The website is in production. Marc is contacting people on the waitlist. Get more information and sign up for the waitlist at CareerPivot.com/Community. Marc has three initial cohorts of 10 members in the second half of life and he is onboarding the fourth cohort. They are guiding him on what to build. He is looking for individuals for the fifth cohort who are motivated to take action and give Marc input on what he should produce next. He’s currently working on LinkedIn, blogging, and book publishing training. Marc is bringing someone in to guide members on how to write a book. The next topic will be business formation and there will be lots of other things. Ask to be put on the waiting list to join a cohort. This is a unique paid membership community where Marc will offer group coaching, special content, mastermind groups, and a community where you can seek help.
CareerPivot.com/Episode-82 Show Notes for this episode.
Please subscribe at CareerPivot.com to get updates on all the other happenings at Career Pivot. Marc publishes a blog with Show Notes every Tuesday morning. If you subscribe to the Career Pivots blog, every Sunday you will receive the Career Pivot Insights email, which includes a link to this podcast.
Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify through the Spotify app. Give this podcast an honest review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.
Email Marc at Podcast@CareerPivot.com.
Contact Marc, and ask questions at Careerpivot.com/contact-me
You can find Show Notes at Careerpivot.com/repurpose-career-podcast.
To subscribe from an iPhone: CareerPivot.com/iTunes
To subscribe from an Android: CareerPivot.com/Android
In this episode Marc and Mark address questions about pivoting from installer to instructor, re-entering the workforce as a trainer after years of raising a family, and transitioning from IT consultant to full-time CIO.
[1:01] Marc welcomes you to Episode 81 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast and invites you to share this podcast with like-minded souls. Please subscribe, share it on social media, write an honest iTunes review, or tell your neighbors and colleagues.
[1:34] Next week’s show Marc interviews Marti Konstant, author of Activate Your Agile Career: How Responding to Change Will Inspire Your Life’s Work. Marti is a workplace futurist with an agile mindset. She is a career growth analyst, author, speaker, and Founder of the Agile Careerist Project.
[1:57] Marti has been an artist, designer, brand developer, entrepreneur, technology marketing executive, investor, and a 2nd half of life career pivoter.
[2:11] This week is the Q&A episode, with Mark Anthony Dyson of The Voice of Job Seekers podcast. Marc welcomes Mark to help answer listener questions.
[2:51] Q1: I am a 61-year-old floor installer. The products change every year the installation is different. I come up with ways to install each product as it comes out. Because of the weight I cannot physically keep this up. What can I do?
[3:30] A1: Flooring installation is easier for a younger person than a 60-year-old. Marc suggests doing YouTube videos. Marc found some DIY floor installing videos with a million views. The installer could have someone record the installation on an iPhone. Mark wonders if he needs immediate cash flow because video is a long path to income.
[7:32] Mark suggests podcasts, consulting, and training. He could be a source of referrals to other installers for a fee. He could teach installers at retailers like Home Depot. The main thing is to get out of the physical aspect of the installation. SCORE is a source of new business consultation for free.
[10:58] Marc recommends the Small Business Development Center near Austin, and many places around the country. Listen to Episode 77 to learn more.
[11:20] Q2: After years of corporate training, I took time off to raise my daughter. She is graduating HS in two weeks and I am ready to get back to training. A few of my challenges: I haven’t used much of the new technology since 2008; I haven’t spoken in front of an audience or worked since 2009. Not sure where to begin.
[11:50] A2: Mark knew the person and went in-depth with them. Some of the technologies haven’t changed a lot, such as Microsoft Office. What has changed is the way you are going to market yourself. Use social media for business.
[14:47] Marc has experience with the world of training, until 2011. He suggests looking at all the want ads, and seeing what tools they requesting. Some examples are Captivate, Articulate, Storyline. They could pick one and learn it to gain experience. These are not hard tools if you understand instructional design.
[15:34] Then you can start saying, “I’m translating curriculum development online.” Listen to the last episode where Marc interviewed Carol Fishman Cohen who runs iRelaunch. Employers are more interested that you have the fire to learn the new technology than being completely up-to-date on it. You have to stretch yourself.
[16:36] Mark reminds the listener that there is marketing and PR to do to get in front of the right eyes, especially if you’ve been out of the market for years. You’ve got to be doing something and displaying some relevancy. Try Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and other online learning sources. The cost is worth it.
[18:59] Q3: I am 65 and I have been an IT consultant/interim CIO for the last 25 years. I want to finish my career as a CIO at a small-to-medium-sized business. I cannot convince people I am worth the risk. I have worked in so many industries that people say I do not have the necessary experience and I get passed over. What should I do?
[19:29] A3: Marc told him to reach out to all the people he has consulted for over the years. These are his weak ties. He needs to methodically reconnect with each one and ask, “I’m looking for some advice. What do you think I should do?” Mark suggests narrowing it to one industry where he can demonstrate he has knowledge.
[23:51] He needs to update his resume. It shows jobs back to the ‘70s. No one in the technology world cares about anything before 2010. Technology changes every year. Relationships change too. Keep relationships current. Focus on one field. He must be a master of something, at age 65.
[27:26] Check back next week, when Marc interviews Agile Careerist Marti Konstant.
Mike O’Krent, Life Stories Alive
Repurpose Your Career Episode 7 with Mike O’Krent
Joe Harper and the Small Business Development Center
Repurpose Your Career Episode 77 with Joe Harper
Repurpose Your Career Episode 80 with Carol Fishman Cohen
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