Midlife Without Crisis

Kathleen Gage: Reinvention through Constant Refinement

These days Kathleen Gage is training for a marathon. She's been training for many months and has even survived a broken ankle and holiday setbacks; but is still on track to achieve this fitness victory that she wants. Training for a marathon is a metaphor for how Gage lives her life. She envisions what she wants to create in her life, plugs in her resourceful attitude and creates it.

Kathleen Gage is very good at many things: she's an award-winning business owner, author, speaker, teacher, coach and mentor to people who want to grow their businesses using internet marketing. She even "plays a mean game of cards."  I'm convinced that she has developed each of her talents through practice and what Joe Vitale calls "inspired action" - putting her inspired thoughts into action. She says that she models "the behavior and actions of people who are successful doing what I want to do." For Gage reinvention is a process of constant honing and refinement.

I was very surprised to find out during a recent interview, that earlier in her life she used to be "the complete opposite of who I am today."

To hear my interview with Kathleen and find out how she evolved from the "complete opposite of who I am today" to become the talented person she is, listen to our interview:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pushtheresetbutton

To find out more about Kathleen Gage's business and her VIP Club go to:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1125126

The New Rules for Getting Rehired Over 40

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the rules for job hunting and getting rehired in this economy have changed, especially for people over 40. Not that the “old rules” were ever written down anywhere formally, but various authors have educated us over the years about what a resume should look like and contain, how to behave in an interview, what to write in a thank you letter after an interview or how to negotiate with a potential employer.

 

What are today’s “new rules”?

 

Here are some of the ones I’ve noticed and written about in my recent book called Five Strategies for Staying Employed in Today’s Economy.  Since I completed the book I’ve noticed some more. 

 

• Lifetime Employment is a 20th century concept – there’s no such thing as lifetime employment for this generation. So expect to change jobs at least one more time before you retire and become really good at: networking, presenting yourself, showcasing your skills, learning to do what employers are paying top dollar for. Be flexible and open to options you might not have considered before.

 

• Many people over 40 will not get another “full time” job – Many people I’ve worked with who are over 40 are being offered “contract” jobs rather than “full time jobs”. Many employers don’t seem to want you to retire on their watch. It looks like what I call an “evil game of musical chairs”.

 

• Today’s salaries are often disappointing – With the large number of available unemployed people and the massive amounts of jobs that have be outsourced overseas, employers are offering pathetic salaries and getting away with it.

 

• If you haven’t done a particular skill “on the job” for a previous employer, it’s often a challenge to get hired to do that skill on your next job – Even though you’ve taken a class and learned a particular skill, it doesn’t seem to count as far as potential employers go unless you’ve actually done that skill on the job for a previous employer. Don’t let that deter you from learning new skills. Just be sure to find a local non-profit or even a friend who will allow you to do a project for them using your new skills.  Then be sure to get a testimonial for the work you’ve done.

 

• Using social media effectively is mandatory – Become familiar with blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and find out how they can benefit you and your job search. Social media offers you access to people you may not have access to in any other way, who could be very helpful to you.

 

• Being healthy and energetic is crucial - If you don’t have your health – who cares how good your skills are? Take incredibly good care of yourself and your career. If you’re between jobs use some of the time you have to cultivate your health. Start that workout program you keep promising yourself you’re going to start. Lose those extra pounds. Improve the quality of your sleep. The payoff will be more than worth it. You’ll look better, and you’ll come across as younger and more energetic.

 

Three Secrets to Staying Employed in Today's Economy

It seems like every week I'm hearing about layoffs, downsizing and other changes going on at local companies. Some months at least one of my clients or friends is involved in one of these changes each week!

The good news is that there are a number of things you can do to improve your chances of staying employed, or to make the professional changes you want to, even in this economy.

As a former high tech professional myself, and as a healthcare provider who works with corporate professionals, I've noticed what savvy professionals are doing to take care of themselves and their careers; and I want to share those strategies with you.

Join me on either:

Thursday, June 18th from 6:45-9 pm at NewLogic Solutions, 1685 Westwood Drive, San Jose, CA 95125

or

Saturday, June 27th from 12:45-3pm at Integrated Healing Arts, 4153A El Camino Way, Palo Alto, CA 94306

for this full scholarship workshop where I'll share just 3 key secrets to staying employed in today's economy.

If you live outside the Bay Area, I'll be offering this same information in teleclass form. If you're interested write me an email nina@ninaprice.com and make me aware of your interest and we'll set up the teleclass!

How Others Perceive You is a Reality You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Like it or not your colleagues’ perception of you is a reality you can’t afford to ignore

What if you were clairaudient, someone who could hear exactly what the other people in the room were thinking about you, during their first meeting with you?

What would they be noticing? Would they notice that you forgot to brush your teeth this morning? Or your grey hair?  Or that you’re due for a haircut but haven’t made time to get one?  Or your mismatched socks? Or the twenty extra pounds that you’re carrying? Or your un-ironed shirt?

Hopefully your colleagues were so dazzled by your expertise and the excellent solution you proposed, that they either didn’t notice or weren’t bothered by these distractions.

Remember that your colleagues’ first impressions of you are crucial to how they relate to you in the future.  If your colleagues are enthralled with your appearance, but they don’t think you know what you’re doing, they probably won’t pay much attention to your proposals. They may ignore you, or even work around you. Your mission during the first meeting is to establish your credibility and your value. You also want to build the foundation for an ongoing relationship with these colleagues. At the same time, you want to minimize any distractions.

Distractions

A distraction is anything that captures another person’s attention, which blinds them to your real talents and expertise.  Whether it’s hair in the wrong places, a sweaty palmed handshake, an arrogant demeanor, an absence of rapport or energy in the conversation, or something else, you could be jeopardizing your credibility with the people you just met. Sometimes the consequences become apparent right away and sometimes they aren’t apparent until later. Why risk your credibility if you can take some easy steps to protect it?

Whether you’re new in your job or in your company, or have been there for years, it’s important to have a consistent positive presentation which enhances your credibility and others’ positive perception of you. It never hurts to be seen as a helpful, trusted, high value colleague, with good ideas.

Ongoing Relationships
Once you’ve established your credibility and your colleagues think well of you, be sure to continue to cultivate their positive perception of you. Just because you dazzled them the first time they met you, doesn’t mean that you’re safe the second time they deal with you. A distraction or something you say that injures your credibility can still hurt their perception of you.

Perhaps these colleagues gave you the benefit of the doubt because you were new to the company or to your job when they met you the first time. But maybe you haven’t gotten up to speed fast enough by the time they meet you the second time. You could lose the ground you gained in terms of their perception by not “getting it” the second time they see you in action.

Perception can be fickle so watch your step.  Don’t risk damaging others’ perceptions of you.  Once the damage is done it can take a while to repair. Why not spend the time building positive ongoing relationships rather than doing damage control?

What Are You Looking for in Your Next Job?

It's a common interview question, but what's the real intent and what's the best way to answer it?

You're probably quite clear about what you're looking/hoping for in your next job. However, regardless of whether you're really looking for a promotion, a raise, or a chance to work at a more prestigious company, this question in fact, may have nothing to do with what you want at all.

My tongue-in-cheek paraphrase of a famous John F. Kennedy quote provides a clue:

"Tell not what this company can do for you, tell what you can do for this company..."

A good way to talk about what you're looking for in your next job is to make your interviewer aware of what you can offer his/her company. As you answer the question be sure to share skills you have and your past results that would be of value in this position.

Consider the following:

What value can you uniquely add in this situation? (be sure that understand what you can do for them and the benefit of hiring you)

Are you offering this company the latest and greatest skills? (if so be sure to sell that, if not - what would you have to do to have the latest and greatest skills?)

If you don't have the exact skills, can you offer this company something else that is of value to them (e.g. in depth industry knowledge)?

Are you the kind of person they like to hire? (this assumes you've done some homework)

Is this a fair exchange? (are your skills worth more or less than what they're offering?)

Is this a good fit from their point of view? If so make sure they see that!