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Shary Raske

Welcome to our Courageous Change newsletter! Enjoy reading, and feel free to forward this to friends, family, and colleagues or anyone who is job searching.

September 2008

If want to speak with more confidence, including at job interviews, Courageous Speaking is just the class for you!  Call for October’s schedule and availability.

If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going, Chances Are You’ll End Up Somewhere Else!

I work with career changers who think they know where they are going, but often don’t have enough information to be effective.  Not having enough information can have disastrous results. 

Three years ago, I went to Oregon, an absolutely breathtaking journey.  When I arrived in Eugene, I rented a car and ended up putting over a thousand miles going nearly the entire coast of the Oregon shore.  One of my inland destinations was Crater Lake.  It was November.  Lesson One:  Never visit Crater Lake in November.  I thought having a map was enough to have a successful trip.  It wasn’t.

Crater Lake was formed after the top of a volcanic mountain collapsed. As I began my climb there was just a little dusting of snow.  By the time I arrived at the top, the snow was plowed two feet higher than my car!  There were a total of three cars there.  Seeing how the snow made the dazzling blue Lake seem even brighter made it worth the trip. Then I discovered that the short-cut back to Eugene didn’t exist.  Well,  it existed on the map.  It was just covered with eight feet of unplowed snow.  I’m from Missouri.  Roads don’t close in November. 

Well, at least I had experience of traveling the way I came.  Or so I thought.  Lesson Two:  If you are naïve enough to visit Crater Lake in November, don’t visit it in late afternoon.  It was about 4:00 p.m. and temperatures were already falling. I was anxious to get back to Eugene, and probably was driving faster than I needed to.  But what harm can going 45 have, when the speed limit was 40 mph? As I approached what seemed like the millionth curve, my car hit a patch of black ice, went out of control, did a 180, and slammed into a snow bank.  Thank God for five feet snow banks!  They are much more forgiving than the trees that the snow had blocked.  My whole side of the car was impacted in the snow facing up the mountain, instead of down.

Within minutes a pick-up truck hit the same patch and slammed into the snow bank opposite from me. I climbed out the passenger side of the car and walked over and said, “I’ll help you dig out, if you help me.”  Lesson Three:  If you don’t have the right tools to do the job, you won’t get it done.  Just like in a job search.  All my companion had was a hammer and I had an empty plastic water bottle!  But we worked with what we had for a good 45 minutes with no results.  Now it was barely light and still no cars came. I began to have this sinking feeling that I would be spending the night on the mountain. Two hours later the park rangers arrived with shovels and a posthole digger.  The posthole digger got all the snow out from under the car in lightning speed.  We were free!

If you don’t know where you’re going, chances are you’ll end up somewhere else.  It was now 7:00 p.m.  Treacherous drizzle started.  I was three hours from Eugene with razor-back turns, and knew the best thing for me to do was find a hotel and not risk the drive.  But I’m in a forest preserve.  There are no hotels.  By 8:00 p.m. I’d found a little town of 500 people with a semi-comfortable place to sleep.  Safe at last, but not where I wanted to be.

The reason professionals choose a career strategist is they know the hazards and how to get around them.  Many career changers think they can figure it out as they go.  But like me on that mountain, some career changers don’t know what they don’t know; and it costs them time, money, and frustration.  Here are some lessons learned that I’d like to pass on to you:

1. Know where you are going with the tools to get there. 
2. Know what to ask.  If you've never traveled mountains, interview seasoned travelers to get the inside scoop.
3. There is always a learning curve when exploring new terrain.  Be careful that your frame of reference doesn't give you blind spots about what to expect.
4. Don't give into impatience.  Impatience can actually delay you from getting to where you want to be.  A reasonable pace will get you there faster than a sprint without preparation.

You Want to Job Interview Better? 

Ask yourself, "Why would they NOT hire me?"  Then you can prepare answers in advance for any weaknesses in your experience.  Your goal is to establish value for a future employer and make it easier for an employer to see that even with some weaknesses you can still be the right choice.  Call Shary Raske at (314) 560-1088 or email her at shary@courageouschange.net to schedule an initial Career Readiness meeting.

One Secret for a Successful Career Transition

One of the secrets of a successful career transition is to dress the part.  Your hair, your nails, and even your eye glasses form an impression.  Find out what the normal dress code is before the interview and dress one step up.  If the dress code is polo shirts with khakis, dress in business casual.  If the dress code is business casual, then wear a suit.
 
Want to be a Better Speaker / Facilitator / Trainer?  Try this tip:  Know what your audience’s expectations are before you begin.  This can include a pre-event survey or asking the group, “What do you hope to gain by being here today?”

Do you know someone whose career needs CPR?  No, I do not mean resuscitation, although sometimes it feels that way!!  I work with career changers who want to get to where they want to be and get there faster without hazards!  If you know someone who is complaining about their career, refer them to me!  A Career Planning Readiness meeting may be just the thing to get back on track.   Find out how Shary Raske, Career Strategist, can help. Available nationally by either tele-coaching or face-to-face.  Call today for details (314) 560-1088.

Are you over 50 and want to get re-inspired?  You can take a five-week course called Re-hired, Re-inspired, Re-wired.  Sponsored by St. Louis Community College, this course is offered on three different campuses. I'm instructing at the Florissant Valley campus.  Pass this email on to someone who might be interested and are willing to admit that they are over 50!  Call me for details (314) 560-1088 or go to www.stlcc.edu/continuing_education to register directly.