[Think As Inc.] October 8, 2008 Newsletter/ CHALLENGE OF PARALLEL CAREERS

[Think As Inc.] October 8, 2008 Newsletter

Something to Think About: CHALLENGE OF PARALLEL CAREERS

Inspirational Quote: ALAN COHEN

News and Upcoming Events: CAREER WORKSHOP IN MANHATTAN

Your life is a business. You have a:

MISSION: the reasons you live your life;

BRAND: the message you project to the world;

PRODUCT LINE: the skills and qualities that are your unique assets;

BOTTOM LINE: your financial picture;

CLIENT BASE: professional, personal, and don’t forget, yourself.

Your life is YOUR business, and you are its CEO.

The Challenge of Parallel Careers

I first wrote about parallel careers six years ago when I mainly coached artists. I used the term “parallel careers” to refer to the artist who juggles the creative career with the money job (e.g., waiter/ actor; office by day/ comedy club by night). Today, not just artists have parallel careers. There are people who start their own companies evenings and weekends while continuing to work as an employee for someone else during the day. There are consultants or freelancers, who are really looking for another long-term job. So knowing how to juggle parallel careers is something that artists, entrepreneurs, and jobseekers all have to do, and we all increasingly find ourselves in at least one of those categories.

There are different reasons for having parallel careers. Sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes it’s by circumstance. The most common reason is that one career provides the money and stability, and the other career provides the upside and personal fulfillment. If these are your parallel careers, here are some tips to meet the challenges:

Clarify your motivations for each career. How much money do you need to make from your money job? How much scheduling flexibility do you need? Depending on your requirements, your money job may mean temping, a traditional 9-to-5, or an entrepreneurial venture. What is your ultimate artistic/ entrepreneurial/ job search goal? Do you ultimately want just one career or do you plan on keeping both? If your money job is truly just for the money and you are not intent on making this a career, then you focus on the short-term benefits and less on the long-term investment.

Follow the business protocol for each career. Take the example of an actor who supplements with temp work. Acting resumes differ from corporate resumes. Audition clothes differ from interview clothes. Interviews vary at a casting office versus a corporate office. You need to understand the required marketing materials, dress code, and work environments of each career. As an entrepreneur, you need to have different skills than as an employee. A job search is different from a consulting assignment. Do not assume your knowledge in one area translates to the other career.

Maintain perspective about the benefits of both careers. The benefits of an artistic career include doing what you love every day, not just the roles you book or gallery sales. On the flip side, whether you are an artist, entrepreneur or jobseeker, your current money job is not just about money. Your money job is an investment in your art, your business and your long-term career. Your money job sustains you in the immediate term to give your other pursuits a chance to succeed. Your money job develops different skills and introduces different people and situations into your life. Resist the trap of begrudging your money job. Remember that both careers contribute to your ultimate life goals.

Inspirational Quote

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. - Alan Cohen

News And Upcoming Events

SixFigureStart Career Check-up For Gen Y Jobseekers:

Is Your Job Search Where You Want It To Be?

Young professionals, this is a tough time to start a career: maybe you took time off and are returning to the job search when no one is hiring; maybe you banked on changing careers but are afraid to take chances now.

College students, you know that this is a different recruiting season: internship offers are not being converted to full-time; the downturn in the economy means that existing offers may change or even disappear.

SixFigureStart specializes in working with college students and young professionals to launch fulfilling and financially rewarding careers. In this interactive two-hour workshop:

Take the 60-question SixFigureStart Career Assessment and see exactly what you are doing well and what you need to do better;
Learn the six job search steps that really matter in the hiring process, developed by former Fortune 500 recruiters who have hired thousands of candidates just like you;
Hear strategies and tips that you can use specifically in this challenging market.

If your career is not where you want it to be, if you are unsure of your next career move, if your job search is stalled, come to the SixFigureStart Career Check-up:

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

4:00p – 6:00p

16 West 23^rd Street, 4^th Floor

$95

Space is limited. Advance registration required. Contact me at 212-372-0277 or caroline@sixfigurestart.com for more info.

There’s still time to vote for my career coaching firm, SixFigureStart, in StartUpNation's Home-Based Business 100 online contest. And you get to see a cute picture of my youngest kid, Katie:

http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/contestant/453/index.php

You can vote once each day through most of October so if you voted already, feel free to vote again. Thanks for voting!

If you have friends who may want to join the distribution list, please have them visit http://home.ezezine.com/2034/ to sign up. You can also see previous newsletters at that link.