Disqus - Friends of BrianShamberger

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:44:23 -0000

I love Melanie Griffith in that movie. The final scene is my favorite - nice call! Plus, I always crack up when I watch older movies like that and the technology is outdated. Cell phones the size of bricks always make me chuckle.

Re: 3 Good Things a Recession Does for Careers

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:53:52 -0000

Thanks Dorie for your comment. I agree, I have such respect for people who realized early in their careers that they needed to pursue what was right for them as opposed to what they thought would impress others. Sadly, I was the latter, and it wasn't until I gave myself what I jokingly call an 'extreme career makeover' in my 30's that I learned this lesson. The Golden Handcuffs have more than a few people stuck professionally today. So those who pursued a career path on their own terms are folks I really admire.

Re: 3 Good Things a Recession Does for Careers

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:00:57 -0000

Hi Susan - thanks for posting! I think it's great that you and your fiance are going to go out on your own. Learning to work for ourselves is a good skill to develop - we wrote a post about its benefits called Work 2.0 not long ago - you'll find tips from a successful freelancer Matt May in it. It's on our Career Strategy Articles Page.

And, if you feel like writing a post about your decision to start your own business with your husband and want to share it, we have a guest post program called 'Career In Progress' where readers can share their story. You get to also include your business info in it at the end. So, it's a great way to get online exposure. Feel free to e-mail us at info@careerealism.com if you are interested.

Thanks again for joining the discussion and best wishes to you both!

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:42:21 -0000

That's great! Her video for Harvard is hilarious! Technically, we could say she was an early adopter of personal branding. Thanks for the contribution Amy!

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:32:45 -0000

That is a funny movie Greg and a favorite of mine - and that scene is fabulous. A friend just e-mailed me suggesting it as well, but wondered if it was a negative film and didn't meet my criteria for the list. I actually think films like that inspire us to look for work with meaning, regardless of what people think of the job. So, I'd definitely count it as a good choice. Thanks for posting!

Re: 3 Good Things a Recession Does for Careers

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:39:35 -0000

@ouelletteda - You bring up such a good point...I wonder how many office jobs people would be in right now and hating? I think it's great that people don't have to feel the pressure to take a full-time job they don't like just because it's available and society says it's the right thing to do. For most people, there isn't a single job that feeds all their professional needs and interests. There is a lot of talk now about slash careers (and a good book out on the subject as well) and how we are all moving towards having several jobs in different areas in order to feel fulfilled. This recession can help more people build their skills and abilities to work in this fashion. By not relying on a full-time job, the opportunities to change up the career mix is so much greater.

Thanks for posting!

Re: 3 Good Things a Recession Does for Careers

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:57:33 -0000

You are right, I've seen evidence of the going abroad trend too. It's funny, I actually was advising young professionals against this back when times were different. Primarily, because they were taking off without a gameplan for their careers and then returning feeling disconnected and behind their peers. But in this economy, a trip abroad offers a lot of learning potential and not much will be missed while their gone in terms of career advancement. And of course, globalization continues to affect business, so learning about other cultures and mastering additional languages certainly has the potential to pay off down the line. Thanks Beth for the insight!

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:20:48 -0000

Of course John! If you've got more than one, let's hear them. "The Devil Wears Prada" is a good one. I never get tired of hearing Merrill say "That's All."

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:23:56 -0000

Oh Jen, you definitely have my interest with these. I haven't seen either one and I'm known in my family for not speaking to people who try to talk to me when I get caught up in an old B&W flick. Sounds like these would bring that out in me. True story - once I called in and said I was 'stuck in traffic' and would be an hour late just so I could finish watching a B&W film. This was back before DVR and Tivo - so I knew I wouldn't see the movie again for a while and couldn't stand to miss it. Okay - so don't tell anyone now. :)

Re: 3 Good Things a Recession Does for Careers

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:39:13 -0000

I can relate to that Lisa. At 33, I felt like I had the Golden Handcuffs and couldn't change gears either. Financial commitments make it hard to just walk away. Not sure if this will help, but here's something to consider...

In my experience, those that have successfully transitioned in to a career later in life did it by actually narrowing down the options and choosing one specific type of career they wanted to move into. Then, they focused all of their networking efforts on this cause. They chose to attend certain association events, set up informational interviews, and crafted and marketed a Career Story that was highly targeted. Some people feel like that limits them, but it actually helps a more seasoned professional work smarter in a job search. When you choose a career niche, it's easier for people to help you achieve your goal.

Recently, a person I know reinvented herself and got into an entirely different field in this fashion. It took her a year of focused efforts, but it paid off and she is infinitely more happy now. She shared with me that she really saw herself grow throughout the year in terms of knowing who she was and what she wanted. Her efforts helped her improve her ability to market her skills and gain confidence that when she finally got her chance, she'd do well. Don't get me wrong, she had her down days, but all in all, once she made the decision to focus on one career and just keep going until it happened, things came together and she got results.

Anyone else have ideas?

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:27:12 -0000

YES! That is an ideal choice. The fact that it's based on true events makes it even sweeter. A bunch of great stars in that movie too. I'm a huge Vince Vaughn fan (he's one of the guys on the team). Nice call!

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:51:06 -0000

Awesome list Rose! Clockwatchers is new to me - thanks for the tip, I like Toni Colllette - it's now on my list to see.

I completely forgot about Miracle - such a great story.

I just saw Fun With dick and Jane for the first time over the holidays - hilarious!

I'm now going to have to go buy more Smartfood and Vitamin Water XXX for this weekend, I feel a movie marathon coming on!

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:40:09 -0000

I love Jane Fonda in that movie. And it was Dolly Parton's break out role, wasn't it? In fact, I'm trying to remember the name of the movie Dolly did where she was a country girl who came to the city and became a radio advice show host. Does anyone remember the name of that movie? Her name was 'Dr. Shirley' in it. My mind's blanking...

Thanks for the contribution Susan!

Re: CAREEREALISM TV: Creating a Strong Career Identity

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:09:57 -0000

Hi Marcia,

I mentioned a couple in the show, what are you looking for specifically?

Re: College Degree a Waste of $$$? 20/20 Says, For Many Americans, YES!

J.T. O'Donnell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:38:40 -0000

Hi Susan,

Maybe I'm about to give 20/20 more credit than they deserve, but I actually think they created the segment as a way to drive the thoughtful line of questioning you present above.

While watching it, I also immediately wondered about the young woman being profiled. In my own work with college students, we've found that over 83% of them say their college career center is/was useless. BUT, with further exploration we actually found they were saying this because they were afraid of the career center. They had experienced first-hand or had heard stories of their peers going in and being made to feel stupid by the counselors because they didn't have a clear understanding of what they wanted to do after college. Which leads to the basic question here: Should we really be pushing people to go to college right out of high school? Or, should we be doing a better job of helping them identify some career paths that would work for them and then point them in the proper educational direction?

All that said, I think you and I are in agreement that it's time we get our society to re-think this college auto-pilot process we have going on.

What do others think?

Re: A List: What’s Your Favorite Career Inspiration Movie?

J.T. O'Donnell — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:40:39 -0000

I see them everywhere too - it's got to be a professional side effect to us both being career strategists.

Bee Movie is a good one - the graduation scene is one of my favorites.

My hubby and I just took our girls to see Bedtime Stories. Adam Sandler grew up in the town next to us. It does have a wonderful message!

Re: Ugg! How Do I Explain THAT On Interviews?!?

J.T. O'Donnell — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:41:20 -0000

We'll be taping tonight's broadcast so that people who can't make it can listen to it. We'll also be following up with a second session on how to answer the Interview Questions are that are on the free interview prep tool you can subscribe to on our free resource page.

If you'd like, you can e-mail us any additional scenarios you want us to discuss tonight - send them to info@careerealism.com and we'll include them without mentioning your name.

Re: PODCAST: Career Identity = The #1 Factor in Career Success

J.T. O'Donnell — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:30:45 -0000

Ahh Mark, you are correct - I gave the wrong URL. It is www.visualcv.com. I am going to updated it in the posts so people know the right one. Thank you for pointing that out!

Send me your mailing address at info@careerealism.com and your t-shirt size and I'll send you one of our shirts as a thank you!

Re: Younger Job Seekers: 3 Reasons Why Your Application Will Be Put in the Circular File (a.k.a. Waste Basket)

J.T. O'Donnell — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:38:50 -0000

Thanks Trevor for sharing your story. I'm so glad you agree that it's important for people to know that we all survive these mistakes - they are such great lessons. I have my fair share horror stories of things I did wrong too. I look back and say, "Why didn't some one stop me?!"

I'm glad to have learned about your site and look forward to reading more www.gradversity.com.

Re: Younger Job Seekers: 3 Reasons Why Your Application Will Be Put in the Circular File (a.k.a. Waste Basket)

J.T. O'Donnell — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:26:39 -0000

Well said CK, it is about differentiating yourself. I love that you quoted Sun Tzu!

You are a great contributor to this site and I'm so glad you come and comment regularly. When am I going to convince you to write a guest post!?!?

info@careerealism.com if/when you are interested!

Re: Career In Progress: For Me, Every Job REALLY Is Temporary

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:46:08 -0000

I couldn't agree more Jeff. I started following Susan on Twitter a while back and have really enjoyed her perspective. That's why we started the 'Careers In Progress' weekly column. A lot of talented people who are still in the process of developing their careers have insightful stories and advice that need to be heard. If you have suggestions of other professionals who might make for great reading, please let me know at info@careerealism.com so I can reach out to them.

Thanks for commenting!

Re: Career In Progress: For Me, Every Job REALLY Is Temporary

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:29:10 -0000

Thanks Will - we just updated it!

Re: Career Do-Over: Interview with Net Celeb Chris Brogan

J.T. O'Donnell — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:29:43 -0000

I promise, I meant it in a good way!

Re: Career Do-Over: Interview with Net Celeb Chris Brogan

J.T. O'Donnell — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:36:37 -0000

I agree about the brevity Jeff. I wonder if regular use of Twitter helps with that? I've definitely found myself wanting to find the way to say more with less words because of it. How about you? Is micro-blogging changing your style?

Re: Juggling Balls: What Keeps Yours in the Air?

J.T. O'Donnell — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:19:57 -0000

I agree that it is the act of writing it out that calms me. I do lists on my Google Apps Home Page, but it's not the same. I print the calendar out too. Sometimes just holding it and seeing it not on a screen makes a difference. I wonder why?