Rediscover yourself with a stroll down memory lane
Rediscover yourself with a stroll down memory lane
I worked full time when I was in my early twenties and stopped everything to marry my boyfriend and raise three children. Now the children are grown and married and have moved away to make lives for themselves. My husband died last year, and I need a dependable income. My office skills are antiquated (I’ve only recently learned how to use e-mail), and I look older than I feel. I don’t think I can jump-start a career that never had an engine. What can I do to get myself going?
Crank up your computer, find your address book, open your photo album and put your shoes on — we’re walking down memory lane. First stop: high school. Which classes and activities did you enjoy most? Which teachers brought out the best in you? What did those early experiences tell you about yourself? Because this is important information, I suggest you write it all down. Next stop: your early twenties and the jobs you held during that time. What did you do best and enjoy most? Which managers brought out the best in you? What did you learn from your working experiences? Write it all down. When your children were young and growing up, were you involved in PTA and their after-school activities? What got you invigorated and made you believe that you made a difference? Write it all down. Next, open that photo album: Rediscover the people who believed in you and told you so, people who appreciated you, not only for what you had done but also for who you are. Reach out to them. Ask them to describe your strengths as they see them. Listen to what they say and write it all down, every word. Open yourself to what they’re telling you. Don’t stop them, correct them or allow your humility or embarrassment to interrupt the flow of what they’re sharing with you.
As you review and organize what you remember and how others have remembered you, you may notice that elements naturally combine to form patterns. These elements and patterns become the design and structure of your story.
If you need help with this phase of your assessment, ask for it. Invite a career coach to help you explore your thoughts, insights and conclusions. The final product might sound something like this:
“I’m the kind of person who enjoys taking on projects and seeing them through to completion. I enjoy the details as much as the tactics involved in getting it done. I’m not the big idea person; I’m the one who likes to take a big idea and turns it into a tangible product and outcome. I enjoy working with a team of people that is as flexible and fun as they are focused on getting the job done right.”
I hadn’t thought about myself in that way in a very, very long time. This process gives me some ideas about how to get started. I’ve been meaning to take some computer classes at the community college, so I’ll get going on that, too. But what about my age? Isn’t that going to be a barrier to getting hired? You have the benefit of life experience: the capacity for patience, forgiveness, calm and resilience. In the frenetic, multi-tasking, cell-phoning, text-messaging universe in which we all find ourselves, that counts for a lot. Remove barriers from your thinking. Employers have expectations no matter how old the employee. They want to hire people who are positive, flexible, embrace change, are open to new learning, willing to take on new challenges, able to work with others, and dedicated to getting the work done right and on time.
Joyce Richman is a speaker and career coach conducting seminars and workshops throughout the United States, and the author of "Roads, Routes & Ruts: A Guidebook for Career Success." You can reach her at 288-1799 or JERichman@aol.com. Watch Joyce Richman's latest career advice Wednesdays at 6:35 a.m. during "The Good Morning Show" on WFMY News 2 or visit http://www.digtriad.com/business/columnists/career_minute/
