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janhoistad@drjanhoistad.com

3 Time Factors for Success In Any Career Transition, Relocation, Lay-Off, Exit or Succession Plan

You schedule everything in your work time. Yet when things are unsettled at work, your personal life can provide much needed stability. This article contains tips that will help you integrate your home life during times of professional change, be it job change, relocation, lay-off or exit plan.  It will make your career and transitions go better for you—and everyone in your life. Everyone thriving is the end-result. Time Factors in a Transition-Time In an ideal world, the outcome of any career transition would be focused on everyone thriving. That includes not only the company achieving stated results, but you—and your family—having positive experience and outcomes as well. Companies with well-developed systems for carefully growing human capital anticipate and strategize change. Over time they have conversations to ensure a match of values, expectations and life-style changes that leaders face as they grow in their career while also growing a family and rich personal life. Coaching is provided in corporations with well-established growth trajectory and budgets to match that growth. This is not always true however, in a rapidly changing world of economic competition, mergers and acquisitions, massive company lay-offs, and huge generations of boomers anticipated to exit while similar numbers of younger generations need to become educated as they assume powerful positions. Circumstances do not always allow the time, nor provide the opportunity, to assess the wide-ranging ramifications such demands make on employees at all levels and their families. While many couples succeed, at worst, we all know stories of professionals [...]

Follow These Steps to Write an Amazing Cover Letter

DJHP /Careers Name that Scenario! Picture this. You walk into the coffee shop. You see the perfect table. There is an outlet nearby so you can plug in your computer. Your bag is down… That is YOUR table. It also doesn’t hurt that there is a little eye candy to your left. You order your latte/Americano/cold press, or whatever you’re drinking these days and you open your laptop. And you’re off! Google is always a safe place to start. Then a sudden fear comes over you as you realize the only friend is the coffee cup sitting at your table. You take a deep breath and begin… Well, if you guessed Job Searching, you got it right! Whether it happened like that, or a different way, the point is, it is grueling but necessary. I was in this spot not so long ago. After getting countless rejection emails and a lot of nothing, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I’m going to enhance my resume and perfect my cover letter. I didn’t even know what the purpose of a cover letter was until recently. Someone very wise told me to think about my resume as factual, professional and informational and to think of a cover letter as a way to show personality. Although I understand what that means NOW, I had to do a lot of research to understand where to start. I did a lot of research and came across “Cover Letters are Hard to Write [...]

4 Secrets to Successful Work-Life Change

DJHP / Careers The direction and force of nature is continuous growth. So change is a natural part of life to be embraced. Otherwise, it's like living life with your head in the sand. Whenever a change is desired–in work or life–shifts in attitude and behavior are demanded of you to grow. Choosing to rise to the occasion, to learn from your experiences develops inner strength, character and greater capacity for what life brings. These are qualities of leaders in work and life. Facing Change People seldom seek change when things are going well. Seeking to grow during these times is then a choice versus a push. Because the force of nature is all about growth, if we are not doing so, circumstances will arise to create discontent or circumstances leading to eventual change–desired, planned for or not. So the internal or external circumstances leading to the desire for work-life change are less important than how you approach it. You might as well embrace it. Listening to the Discontent Instead of exiting a job dramatically with a bang, seeking a promotion with lots of over-zealous activity, or starting a new venture flailing about trying everything that the media says you should do, I’m advising what I call ”standing still.” Standing Still is taking a breath, taking the discontent as opportunity. It's an opportunity to become more self-aware so you assess fully, listen to what the discontent is telling you and then, from that centered place opening to new possibilities that [...]

Stacking the Deck for Success: How Business Can Learn from the Medical Residency Training Model

DJHP /Leaders As roughly one-third of Boomers prepare to exit the workforce, companies are fast becoming aware of need for next generation of workers: Millennials. In fact, an estimated 86 million of them will be part of the workforce by 2020. That’s 40 percent of the total working population. This impacts both business and education alike. We’re working harder and faster than ever to figure out effective ways to educate and train this new batch of workers in the skills necessary for tomorrow’s workforce. Working closely with educational systems is important to develop long-term strategies, but what do we do in the interim? How do we ensure that we’re meeting the demands placed on businesses by the ever-changing marketplace. For the near future, what you can do is develop one strong solid part of your strategy to create a learning environment and consider the medical school residency model — which is education by apprenticeship — as an approach. Core Characteristics of the Apprenticeship Model TV shows like Code Black or the early days of Grey’s Anatomy capture some of this model. In the “emergency room setting,” they role-play a culture in which medical residents and doctors are all working from the same values and intent toward the same outcome. They’re individually and collectively: Hell-bent on learning, intense growth, and teamwork.Continuously reminded — implicitly and explicitly — of their higher purpose. They know their work matters.Given the tools, structure, and support around each task.Know that wisdom and experience is responsible for [...]

Transitions in Difficult Times: 7 Steps to Ground Yourself and Guide Others to “Transition Up” vs. Giving Up

DJHP Leaders / Careers /Transitions Transitions imposed from the outside can make you feel dis-empowered, out of control, anxious; even fearful, as many have experienced thousand-fold in light of recent national events. Pair that with everyday demands of business: higher, faster productivity, often coupled with fewer resources. How do you step up to meet these business, career and life transition demands? Transitions in Perspective Transitions are naturally stressful. While there may be some excitement brought about by anticipated change, more often than not, career, business and life transitions stir anxiety. It’s the unknown. Humans don’t respond especially well to the unknown, preferring to be in charge, imagining some sense of predictability and control. There are three forces pressing on you during times of transition—to a greater or lesser degree. Right now it’s to a greater degree, and shows no sign of decreasing. First is your inner, personal response to a change. Sometimes tumultuous and hopefully private, then tempered with wisdom and experience. Next there’s the larger societal, communal response, quite abuzz right now. Some people are acting out the shadow side of the culture as others search for greater wisdom to make meaning, and take action. Finally, there are the varied responses of the people around you. Those you impact. Those you love at home; those you lead, work with and have expectations of at the office. Those three factors increase your stress potential and require a thoughtful, well-contained response. You are at the center. Start there. How do you [...]

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