Written by Pamela Skillings

The World Future Society has released ten fearless forecasts for 2009 and beyond. If these predictions come to pass, they will mean major changes in our work lives and how we manage our careers.

1. Everything You Say and Do Will Be Recorded by 2030. “By the late 2010s, ubiquitous unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere. Humans will have nanoimplants, facilitating interaction in an omnipresent network.” This is the terrifying one, at least from my perspective. It’s bad enough that our emails are recorded. Soon we will have to worry about every stupid thing we say coming back to haunt us someday.

2.  Careers, and the college majors for preparing for them, are becoming more specialized. “Instead of simply majoring in business, more students are beginning to explore niche majors such as sustainable business, strategic intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Other unusual majors that are capturing students’ imaginations: neuroscience and nanotechnology, computer and digital forensics, and comic book art.” I like the idea of colleges and companies offering more diverse opportunities for people to find work that they love. And I love the idea of being able to major in comic book art. I do worry a little bit that super-specialization can make it easier to get trapped in the wrong narrow niche. A focus on career specialization should be accompanied by plenty of support in exploring your options before you commit to a course of study.

3.  Professional knowledge will become obsolete almost as quickly as it’s acquired. “Most professions will require continuous instruction and retraining. Rapid changes in the job market and work-related technologies will necessitate job education for almost every worker. At any given moment, a substantial portion of the labor force will be in job retraining programs.” This may sound a little bit daunting (after all, how are we going to fit more training into our already-overstuffed schedules?). At the same time, I am thrilled at the prospect of companies offering employees resources to continuously evolve and grow. It will be a lot harder to get stuck in a bad career if all careers are constantly changing and periodic career changes are viewed as standard operating procedure for all workers.  The average American worker already changes careers several times over the course of a lifetime. Won’t it be nice to have more resources and support when it’s time to change things up in our work lives?

Read up on the World Future Society’s other predictions — including their forecasts for the death of the car, the growth in urbanization, and the evolution of religion in the Middle East.

Written by Pamela Skillings

So I’m finally back in blogger mode after a stretch of very busy days working with new and old clients facing career challenges. That includes those who have been laid off, those who are afraid they might get laid off, those who are contemplating new offers and opportunities (yes, they are out there!), and those who just feel paralyzed about what move to make in the current job market.

Oh yeah, and I also spent a few days visiting my hometown in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Trust me when I say that political tensions are high in the Keystone State and I have seen enough campaign ads to last me the rest of my life.

So what’s been going on while I’ve been reworking resumes and boondoggling in Scranton, PA? Here are a few things that I’ve been meaning to bring to your attention.

• Congratulations to Project Runway Winner Leanne Marshall — I was thrilled to watch talented designer Leanne Marshall make a major career breakthrough on Bravo last night. She was crowned the Project Runway Season Five winner and won $100,000 to launch her business (along with a new car and other goodies). The 27-year-old Marshall was previously paying the bills as a graphic designer while she worked to hit it big in the fashion biz. The creatively gifted runner-up, Korto Momolu, also seems destined to make a name for herself in fashion. But will she give up her side gigs as a freelance photographer, African dancer, and hair braider? Korto is a perfect example of making a portfolio career work. Congratulations, ladies!

• Goodbye to Life’s Work — Lisa Belkin, the always-insightful New York Times Life’s Work columnist, is ending her column after nine years of covering career issues. Her last column sums up what she’s learned over the years (the biggest lesson being that there are no easy answers to the work/life balance question).
• Recession Relocation Ideas — BusinessWeek has identified the safest cities to live in during a recession — they include Washington, DC; Madison, Wisconsin; and Philadelphia, PA.
• Where Happy People Work — Check out this great roundup of the most enjoyable jobs in the U.S. from Payscale.com writer Kristina Cowan. The list is based on results from a recent University of Chicago study. You might be surprised to see that none of these jobs are particularly well-paying.
  
  

Written by Pamela Skillings

If you or anyone you know is feeling stuck in a career rut or looking for support in achieving a career goal or finding more fulfilling work this fall, I would love to be able to help.

I am getting ready to kick off a new 6-Week career change workshop in New York City and we are looking to wrap up enrollment this week by filling the last few spots. I should have blogged about it sooner, but there’s still time if you’d like to join us.

This program is a totally confidential small-group workshop designed to guide people through:

1. Diagnosing current career issues

2. Setting career goals

3. Exploring career options

4. And developing and implementing individual career action plans.

I structured the workshop to provide the best benefits of both individual career coaching and a networking/professional support group. It’s a great opportunity for anybody who might be thinking about launching a new phase in their career before the Fall season is over. I’m even offering a money-back satisfaction guarantee to show how committed I am to helping you get results.

Get all of the details about my career change workshop in New York City.

Written by Pamela Skillings

Why do we call it Labor Day when the whole point is to take an extra day off of work?  Because Labor Day was originally established in 1882 by the American labor movement as a yearly tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Most of us are probably going to spend Labor Day enjoying the last days of summer weather on the beach, in the park, or in the backyard.

But Labor Day is also a time to reflect on work and your career path in general (preferably while reclining in the sun somewhere with a cold drink in your hand — it’s less painful that way). Are you happy about how and where you’re putting in all those work hours? Does your current job allow you to use your talents and contribute the way you’d like to? Does the idea of spending another year laboring in your job inspire feelings of excitement or dread?

There’s something about returning to work after Labor Day weekend that has come to symbolize a fresh start for many of us. Maybe we’re conditioned to think that way from our back-to-school days. I almost feel like going shopping for new Jordache jeans and a shiny new Trapper Keeper (oops, showing my age and my 80s roots).

With the vacation days of the summer behind us, we dive into new projects with a new enthusiasm. That is, if we’re lucky.  For those of us who are unhappy in our current careers, there can be a major letdown after the distractions of summer have passed and it’s back to business-as usual.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Channel that fresh-start enthusiasm into plotting your escape to a more fulfilling career. After all, hiring managers are also coming back from summer vacation and getting serious about filling vacant positions. Consultants’ phones are starting to ring off the hook as clients figure out how they’re going to spend that third-quarter budget.

Why not pick up a shiny new notebook at a Back to School sale near you and spend some of your Labor Day downtime jotting down ideas and plans for the next phase of your brilliant career?

I guarantee that it will be a lot less painful to go back to work on Tuesday morning if you’ve got a plan in place to find labor that you love.

Have a happy Labor Day weekend!

Written by Pamela Skillings

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

It’s a stupid interview question. There is no remotely honest way to answer this question in an interview that will please a hiring manager. I always went with something like: “Working in a challenging role in a fantastic company like yours!” Which is a total BS response, but always seemed to satisfy interviewers (Do you have a better answer or a really unwise answer that you regret? Please share.)

But have you ever REALLY thought about where you see yourself in five years? Most of us haven’t — especially in the corporate world. We move from opportunity to opportunity without much thought about the future beyond wanting to keep advancing and making more money (and avoiding the layoff fairy). That’s probably because it’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen during five years of reorganizations, mergers, and other fun corporate games.
read more…

Written by Pamela Skillings

Who says losing your job has to be a bad experience? I don’t mean to be glib about it because I know personally that getting laid off or let go can be a very unpleasant surprise. However, I also know many people who have turned job losses into positive career changes and/or  profitable new business ventures.

I recently shared my views on this subject with a CNN.com reporter for the article Make Getting Fired Work for You. My bit is near the end (under the subhead ‘It’s OK to be happy about it").

The article also provide some other interesting insights. One tip is to thoroughly analyze why the job loss happened. While I agree that it’s generally useful to reflect on what you can learn from an experience,  I also think it’s important to make a distinction between getting fired and getting laid off. If you’ve been let go for performance issues, then it certainly makes sense to think about how you can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. However, when it comes to trying to understand the reasons for getting downsized, you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what you did to "deserve" it. In most cases, it absolutely was not you, it was them. You’d be better off using your analytical skills and your valuable time to figure out your next career move.

Written by Pamela Skillings

Think you can’t afford to escape from Corporate America? I’ve found that money fears keep many from pursuing their dream careers.

That’s why I recommend taking the time to make a detailed Escape Plan and build up an Escape Fund before you quit your day job. Escape from Corporate America has lots of advice on how to do that.

But what if you have specific questions or issues? Friday is your lucky day . Sherrill St. Germain, a financial planner who specializes in financial planning for career change, is hosting a free call-in session for career changers this Friday, July 18th from 1PM-3PM EST.   Sherrill is the founder and principal of New Means Financial Planning and a successful career changer and corporate escape artist herself (her valuable financial advice is also featured in my book). 

Sherrill is also offering free 10-minute individual consultations to the first 12 people who dial in for the session.

Find out more about Sherrill or contact her for more information about financial planning for career changers.

Written by Pamela Skillings

How do you know if you should escape from Corporate America? How can you determine if it’s time to make a major career change or if you’re just having a bad week?

I put together my Are You A Corporate Casualty? quiz based on the  research and interviews I conducted while writing Escape from Corporate America.

I would love it if you could spend a few minutes taking the quiz. We are compiling the results to try to get a better sense of just how many aspiring corporate escapees are out there (and what is driving them up the cubicle wall).

The quiz was debuted online a few weeks ago by the amazing Guy Kawasaki (thanks again to Guy for taking the time to speak with me) and the response has been great so far.

Please pass the quiz link along to any disgruntled friends who might welcome an opportunity to vent!

Written by Pamela Skillings

You can learn a lot about career change from a cartoon panda and an Israeli counter-terrorism agent.  I know this because it was so hot in New York this past weekend that I could feel my brain cells melting. So we decided to escape to the multiplex for some frigid air conditioning and screenings of Kung Fu Panda and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that both films tackle the themes of career identity and career change. In Kung Fu Panda, Po the panda works in his father’s noodle shop, but  dreams of becoming a kung fu master. Zohan is an Israeli counter-terrorism badass who really just wants to cut hair (and wear sassy denim shorts).

While these films may not be cinematic masterpieces, they are definitely entertaining. And you may even find them ever-so-slightly educational on the subject of career change.  In fact, as I was finishing this post, I heard about an interesting article related to this idea in today’s Boston Herald.  Darren Garnick has some great points about how Zohan can be a role model for career changers (he also quotes some of my advice from Escape from Corporate America).

Once I started thinking about it, I realized that some of my favorite flicks feature heroes struggling with discovering their true callings. So I put together a list of my Top 10 movies about career change. Keep in mind that I don’t recommend following any of the examples in these films too literally.

1. Office Space

I have to lead off the list with the best movie of all time about escaping from a crappy job.
Lesson: Don’t waste your life on TPS report covers.

2. The Godfather
 

War hero Michael Corleone gets pulled into the family business despite loftier intentions.
Lesson: If you want to be Godfather,  you may have to sell your soul.

 3.  Fight Club

A disgruntled office employee finds a unique way to vent his work aggression.
Lesson:  Sometimes a bad job really isn’t better than a kick in the head.

4. Jerry Maguire

Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise show us how to make a dramatic exit from a bad job and how  to start a successful business against overwhelming odds.
Lesson: Success is sweeter when it’s on your own terms.

5. American Beauty

A depressed suburban father finds happiness after quitting his job to work in a fast food restaurant and obsess over Mena Suvari.
Lesson: Stop and smell the roses.

6. The Matrix

A computer programmer discovers that his entire life is an illusion and sets out to lead his fellow humans in a rebellion agains the machines that are enslaving them.
Lesson: A virtual life is no life at all.

7. Iron Man

A billionaire defense industry mogul rejects the corrupt family business to become a superhero.
Lesson: Money can buy a pretty sweet house, but it’s more rewarding to kick terrorist butt.

8. Michael Clayton

An exceedingly good-looking "fixer" for a morally flexible law firm discovers a client’s dark secrets and tries to get out of his job alive.
Lesson: You can only stomach corporate dirty work for so long.

9. Ghostbusters

Three professors leave academia to start a ghostbusting business.
Lesson: Bustin’ makes them feel good.

10. Working Girl

A Staten Island girl finds a creative way to climb the corporate ladder.
Lesson: Fight for your ideas and you might just end up with a window office AND Harrison Ford.

Written by Pamela Skillings

I am thrilled to report that the legendary Guy Kawasaki has posted an interview with me on his blog, How to Change the World.

I have been a Guy Kawasaki fan for a long time and highly recommend both his blog and his latest book, The Art of the Start. (essential reading for all entrepreneurs)  Guy is also the man behind Alltop.com and Truemors.com.

He is a truly extraordinary person — brilliant, creative, and also nice enough to take the time to chat with a first-time author like myself. Go and check out my Q&A with Guy Kawasaki.