• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Epigraph Introduction LAW 1 - IT STARTS WITH A VISION FOR YOUR LIFE LAW 2 - YOUR BODY IS YOUR BEST GUIDE LAW 3 - PROGRESS BEGINS WHEN YOU STOP MAKING EXCUSES LAW 4 - WHAT YOU SEEK IS ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED LAW 5 - YOU’VE GOT THE TOOLS IN YOUR TOOLBOX LAW 6 - YOUR REINVENTION BOARD IS YOUR LIFELINE LAW 7 - ONLY A NATIVE CAN GIVE YOU THE INSIDE SCOOP LAW 8 - THEY WON’T “GET” YOU UNTIL YOU SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE LAW 9 - IT TAKES THE TIME THAT IT TAKES LAW 10 - THE WORLD BUYS INTO AN AURA OF SUCCESS EPILOGUE: WORKBOOK LAW 1: LAW 2: LAW 3: LAW 4: LAW 5: LAW 6: LAW 7: LAW 8: LAW 9: LAW 10: Acknowledgements WORKS CITED INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE REINVENTION INSTITUTE PUBLISHER’S NOTE DUTTON Published by Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.); Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England; Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd); Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd); Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India; Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd); Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. First printing, January Copyright © 2010 by Pamela Mitchell All rights reserved REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mitchell, Pamela, 1964- The 10 laws of career reinvention : essential survival skills for any economy / by Pamela Mitchell. p. cm. eISBN : 978-1-101-17117-2 1. Career changes. 2. Vocational guidance. I. Title. II. Title: Ten laws of career reinvention. HF5384.M.14—dc22 2009036177 Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. http://us.penguingroup.com THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY GRANDPARENTS, ROBERT AND JANE LOU REED: THANK YOU. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. Lucius Annaeus Seneca With the exception of the ten profile stories, most of the names and some personal details in this book have been changed to protect the identities of the people involved. The inspirational quotes used throughout are not meant to suggest an endorsement of this book by those artists and authors. Special thanks to Alton Brown for graciously agreeing to be interviewed for this book. Jeffery Rudell story: © 2009 Jeffery Rudell 10% of the author’s net royalties from sales of this book will be donated to charity. AUTHOR’S NOTE INTRODUCTION: IT IS TIME TO LEAVE There are no more “safe” industries. The ability to reinvent your career at any moment is the new—and only—form of job security. Even when you desire change, the familiar always exerts a powerful magnetic pull. But when the world is changing and you are seeking refuge, career reinvention is your safest—and often your only—choice. In The Prisoner, a 1960s British TV series, a spy wakes up one morning and finds himself in an outwardly pleasant, picture-perfect seaside village where each day is like the last and nothing unexpected ever happens. A person could happily live there forever. The villagers are all content— except for Patrick McGoohan, who plays the spy. He senses menace beneath the placid, homey exterior. There is no free will, no opportunity for change or possibility for growth, and no way to leave. Whenever he tries to escape—say, by swimming out to sea—a big white balloon bobs up and nudges him back to shore. This isn’t paradise. It’s a prison. Yet the balloon could have hauled those villagers into the water and pushed them out to sea, and most of them would have swum back to the comfortable jail of their seemingly perfect lives. But you can’t stay in your comfortable old career if there are no jobs available. Whether you are among the legions of the downsized and the sidelined, or a victim of industry consolidation, job scarcity, ageism—or just plain job dissatisfaction; whether you are a corporate job hunter responding to the realities of business or ready to stake your claim in a small business, or among the artistically inclined and wondering whether it’s possible to put your “hobby” center stage; whether you’re a baby boomer hedging against a shrinking portfolio, an employee beefing up your experience to stay competitive in a digital world, a freelancer who wants the benefits of a staff job, or a staffer who wants the freedom of going it alone: You have no idea what step to take first. Whether you are willing to leave the familiar trappings of your seaside village by choice or the white balloon is in the process of evicting you: Either way, it is time to leave. GETTING THERE SAFELY The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention is the first book to give you all the necessary tools for navigating the full arc of career change between different fields. It will help you take that first step and the next nine—all the way to a successful new career. But know one thing: This book is about using vision and creative thinking to repurpose your skills and find new outlets for your abilities without having to depend solely on the job listings du jour. This book is not for you if you are merely looking for a promotion to the next level in your career, or if you are hoping to replace your old job with its counterpart at the competition across the street. Those goals belong to a traditional job hunt, and there are plenty of “old-school” books to help you polish your résumé and dress correctly for an interview. The book is divided into ten lessons that combine my hard-won expertise with real-life success stories. Changing careers can be quite a culture shock, but you can ensure a smoother transition by mastering the techniques outlined in these laws. They have been successfully applied thousands of times by my clients in the real world. I will help you explode the myths you’ve been harboring and choose a destination, and I will teach you how to translate your background and skills so that you are understood —and valued—by potential clients or hiring managers there. Each law begins with an in-depth profile of a dramatic—and successful —career reinvention that illustrates the principle. You’ll meet people such as the popular Food Network personality Alton Brown, who began his career on the other side of the camera as a videographer; public relations pro-turned-mental health advocate Terrie Williams, who used the starry client list she built through her eponymous firm to bring attention to the problem of depression in the African-American community; Reggie Mebane, the former COO of Federal Express Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage (a $2 billion subsidiary of Federal Express), who parlayed his expertise in the logistics of handling packages into the logistics of saving lives when he went to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control; and Felina Rakowski-Gallagher, a cop who left the force to open New York City’s first breast-feeding boutique. I will break down the steps they took (and the mistakes they made) to reinvent their careers, so you can see up close how it’s done. It’s a myth that all you have to do is land one perfect job and you’ll be set for life; in fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that among jobs started by late-stage baby boomers in their late thirties to early forties, 31 percent ended in less than a year, and 65 percent ended in fewer than five years. With industries imploding seemingly daily, this trend is on track to accelerate. Whether you are a baby boomer, Generation Xer, or Millennial, throughout your working life you will find continual uses for these 10 Laws. Career reinvention is a life skill. When you have the ability to reinvent yourself, you’ll possess an aptitude for adapting that will help you evolve with life’s phases (just ask Madonna) or cope with its surprises. When you integrate the 10 Laws into how you live your life, the next time the ground shifts beneath you—for whatever reason—you will know exactly what to do to regain your footing.

Load more

  274

Copy Link