For many people, the twenties is a time of leaving home to explore the world of work after college or high school. It's about determining the profession or jobs that will meet your need to maintain social connections, keep up with living expenses, and try something new.

In the course of this decade, it is common to choose several different jobs without much direction or guidance as to where they might lead or how they fit with your personality, interests or abilities. It is estimated that if you are in your 20's today, you might have up to eight jobs before you reach 30.

Being young makes it acceptable to flounder and experiment with options. But, this cavalier, I've-got-all-the-time-in-the-world type of attitude can dramatically change as you enter the midlife stage. In the forth decade, you become increasingly aware of the passage of time and want to assert more control and develop a career plan with the time you have left.

Each decade shares the potential for either a life crisis or a life transition. A transition of some sort is inevitable; a crisis is avoidable. Being in denial about getting older, or judging yourself against the cultural standards of success can each lead to a crisis as you move away from your reality to one that is an unrealistic fantasy or someone else's expectation.

On the other hand, a focus on your own values, skills and interests might provide clues to a new direction and sense of meaning. For ideas on avoiding a quarterlife or midlife crisis, go to this page on my website:

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Jumpstart or Advance Your Career
Heart At Work Career Workshops
offered by Amy Jaffe, MA:
Effective Resumes
Job Search Strategy
Advanced Interviewing
Informational Interviewing

Weeknights and Saturday mornings-$30 each
261 Main Street - Yarmouth
Call Amy for details: 207-846-0644
or email: amy@heartatwork.biz

Fear is not always a warning that you should stop what you are doing or that there is real danger ahead. If fear is coupled with a feeling of positive anticipation (like butterflies in your stomach), it could signal a new experience that will challenge your limits and your trust. The combination of fear and exhilaration can be a sign that you should move forward and take the risk, rather than retreat.

If the experience you are considering is unfamiliar to you, it's likely to elicit fear, since most of us are afraid of the unknown. In the course of making your decision, consider: the risks, the potential benefits, and the alternatives. Notice your internal reaction as well as what your intellect tells you.

As we age, life tends to present more opportunities to stretch into other ways of discernment that are not entirely based on logic and cannot easily be settled by a list of the pros and cons.

The 17th century French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, affirms this idea in this quote: "The heart has its reason, of which reason knows nothing."

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Jumpstart or Advance Your Career
Heart At Work Career Workshops
offered by Amy Jaffe, MA:
Effective Resumes
Job Search Strategy
Advanced Interviewing
Informational Interviewing

Weeknights and Saturday mornings-$30 each
261 Main Street - Yarmouth
Call Amy for details: 207-846-0644
or email: amy@heartatwork.biz

It's a story I hear over and over again: job applicants left in the lurch by prospective employers. This situation happens without regard to specific positions, compensation or status in the organization. It's frustrating, annoying and unprofessional and you need to know how to deal with this inevitable downside of the job search.

In most cases, you've taken all the right steps: followed application directives, used your network wisely and/or submitted professional documents as requested. At this point the ball is in the employer's court and the waiting game begins.

It used to be common practice for the applicant to receive an Email or a postcard indicating receipt of their application materials. This seems to be the exception to the rule nowadays. Consequently, it's up to you as the applicant to check on this important detail yourself. I've heard many scenarios where the applicant believes he or she effectively submitted a resume online only to find out (too late) that it was never received.

You may be told by the prospective employer that you will hear news about the hiring process by a certain date. Then the date goes by without any word. In this case, it's appropriate to wait a couple of days then make a call to inquire about the process and the status of your application. You may have to repeat this step a few times in the course of the hiring process. If you do this within reasonable timeframes, you don't need to be concerned about being pushy.

The hiring process can be delayed for dozens of reasons unknown to you. Ideally, some indication of a change in the process should be communicated to the applicant. But, I don't hear of that happening very much. So, be careful not to jump to conclusions about your candidacy or why the search is delayed. It's common to make up stories in your mind when you don't know what is going on, but this is not in your best interest.

Since you can never know how a particular hiring process will proceed, it's wise to keep several options going at once. That way, you will not be waiting by the phone or your computer waiting for word from your only prospect.

Heart At Work Career Workshops
offered by Amy Jaffe, MA:
Effective Resumes
Job Search Strategy
Advanced Interviewing
Informational Interviewing

Weeknights and Saturday mornings-$30 each
261 Main Street - Yarmouth
Call Amy for details: 207-846-0644
or email: amy@heartatwork.biz