Taking Care of Yourself!

Taking Care of Yourself! Sounds simple and rational but somehow it gets missed in the equation.

Just think, how can you compete in this job market if you are not functioning at your most optimal level? So now is the time for you to stop and take care of yourself. Perhaps for you it is 5 minutes of meditation or a 2 hour movie for someone else.

The point is for you to start taking care of yourself: (1) body, (2) mind and (3) soul. One of the best ways for me to take care of body, mind and soul is music. On Career Quest, I will be joined by the Jazz Angels. Barry Cogert - Executive Director, Albert Alva - Co-Director and 9 talented young musicians from Jazz Angel, Inc have a great show in store for you.

So tune in for conversation about taking care of yourself and some wonderful Jazz Music.

Barry Cogert and Albert Alva can be reached via http://www.jazzangel.org/.

If I am so Smart, Why is My Career a Mess?

Well, I heard your requests. John Hall came back to the studio to record a full 50+ minutes on this discussion!

So if you are wondering, why you are dissatisfied with your career or things just seem out of control, this show is for you.!

My guest John Hall is an Executive Career Consultant who assisted hundreds of executives and management employees through career transitions. John has had articles published in "The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly", "The Alumni Newsletter for the Wharton Business School" and the "Orange County Register". For two and half years, he hosted a talk show, Career Strategies on Talk2K.com.

At Chapman University, John developed and taught the only graduate outplacement course in the nation. He also taught Advanced Job Search Strategies in the Graduate Career Counseling Program at the University of California, San Diego.

John can be contacted via http://www.advancedcareerstrategies.com/ or john@advancedcareerstrategies.com.

Dig Your Well Before You Get Thirsty!

Have you ever felt unprepared?

Well today's topic is for you. It ties into the adage, "dig your well before you get thirsty". It is all about preparing today for tomorrow!

With the current job market, it is very importnat to be prepared for a possible wrokforce reduction. Just think,who wants to be in a stage of pandemonium when it comes to finding a job? There are steps that you can take today that can help lay the groundwork. Therefore, if you find yourself in need of a job, a strong foundation is already in place and it is just a matter of tapping into it.

The show talks about techniques for the following people:

• Students
• Employed
• Unemployed/Underemployed

Assessments: Gaining Insight Into Yourself

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When you go to career sites you are bound to find an offer for a free career assessment with some of the following sub headings: “Identify Your Ideal Career”, “What Career is Right for You?” There is a resounding focus on YOU identifying the perfect career for YOU.

With the current state of the economy YOU have an opportunity of a lifetime at your fingertips. YOU can do something totally different or do something that YOU always wanted to do.

Let’s explore assessments to see how they can assist YOU in identifying the direction YOU can take career wise and life in general.

Kei Dillard has joined me to discuss this topic.

Kei Dillard is a Professor and Business Consultant with Cynosure Management Solutions, an company that specializes in strategic professional development and growth of individuals and organizations.

Kei Dillard received her B.A. in Organizational Management and her M.S in Clinical Psychology from Vanguard University. She is currently working on her doctorate in Organizational Leadership.

Kei can be contacted via http://www.cynosurems.com/.

Comfort to Purpose

There have always been discussions around finding one’s purpose in life. For some discovering their purpose in life may seem like an unsolvable mystery or a daunting concept.

Here are three reasons why finding your purpose in life is important:

1. It gives meaning to everything you do
You could be successful, but if you don’t meaning you will feel empty inside.

2. It directs and guides you
Your life purpose can give you clear direction where to go in life. Knowing your life
purpose gives you a strong foundation. When faced with options, it will be easier for
you to decide.

3. It motivates you
You may experience failures or rejections. In such situations, your life purpose can
give you the motivation you need to keep going

So are you ready to expose your purpose in life?

Iris Jones joins me to discuss this topic. We will uncover this topic and expose how it can be an integral piece to your job search and ultimately a fulfilling life.

Iris Jones is the author of “It’s Not You, It’s Me” “Moving Forward in the Face of Adversity,” "Presenting Powerful Presentation with PowerPoint" and her recent book “You Again?”. Iris is a Certified Professional Corporate Training Specialist, Professional Coach and Ordained Minister.

Iris can be contacted via http://www.youagainbookclub.com/.

Taking Control of Your Career!

Most people’s career has been by chance. Years ago it kind of worked out. People could work for the same company for 30 years or more, retire and receive a life long pension. A paradigm shift has taking place over several years and now with today’s job market more people are impacted by this shift. . Job security is a thing of the past. It is now up to you to take control of your career and determine its direction. Just think in the end the choices are all yours. So are you going to be an active player or a silent pawn?

Joining me to discuss this topic is a person that has taking control of his career. George Willborn, Stage Comedian and Radio Personality (bringing humor and inspiration to over 200 cities and 40 countries).

Geroge Willborn can be contacted via http://www.willbornsworld.com/

What Do I Want to be When I Grow Up?

What do I want to be when I grow up? Throughout life and especially with today’s economic downturn, people find themselves trying to figure out “what’s next for me?”

Just think you will spend one-third of your life working! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a career you enjoy!

To achieve this goal you first need to take time out to explore who you really are!

This show will offer you the opportunity to get to “know yourself” better so you can find the right career and ultimately have career fulfillment.

Cathy Severson has joined me to discuss this topic. Cathy is a Career Counselor and the creator of Vista Life/Career Cards. The Vista Life/Career Cards are the best of two worlds they are a tool comprised of a personality assessment and career inventory. Therapists and career professionals throughout the world use Vista cards!

Re-entering the Work Force – Making Your Way Back!

Today there are a record number of people that have been out of the workforce for over a year or more. Some by chose others a victim of the economic downturn. There are also veterans who are now faced with transitioning into the civilian work force.

Here are some questions that I pose to you: How can one go about re-entering the workforce? What can a person do while they are unemployed?

Listen Up! This topic is applicable to anyone who is not working and may one day want to re-enter the workforce. The key is to prepare today for the future.

Tune in while I discuss how to reenter the workforce with Judy Brinton-Bleak and Daniel Evans.
Judy Brinton-Bleak the Program Coordinator for the UCI Women’s Opportunities Center. You may be thinking that the center only supports Women. This is far from the truth. Sure the initial intention back in 1970 was to serve women in career transition because during that time there was a big void. Since then the center has broadened its scope and it now supports women as well as men with reentering the work force and transitioning careers.

Daniel Evans works for the Department of Labor. Daniel served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, he returned to school to earn a degree in Business Administration and Project Management. He is a disabled veteran who was unemployed for about a year. He is now employed as Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist for the Department of Labor.

Life After College Sports

Just this week Jeffrey Jordan the son of Michael Jordan announced that after two years of playing College Basketball he is quitting to concentrate on life after college. Most of us would imagine that being an offspring of Michael Jordan, Jeffrey would naturally become a pro basketball player. However, he has given up this journey plus a basketball scholarship to focus on life after college.

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) fewer than 3% of college athletes turn pro and in certain sports this percentage is even lower.

In light of the low percentage turning pro, I am very curious in regards to how this information is being shared with college athletes and more importantly how college athletes are preparing for life after college sports. So tune in to the conversation with Elke Hardt to find out what college athletes are doing to prepare for life after college sports!

Elke Hardt is an Assistant Director with the Hegi Family Career Development Center at SMU in Dallas, TX. She has a Master of Education degree in Athletic Counseling from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Elke worked for the Canadian Olympic Association offering career development assistance and transition counseling to national team athletes.

Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Work Better as a Team

Right at this moment, there are 4 generations in the workforce. Just think about the technological and historical events that each generation grew up around, this along brings about many challenges and opportunities in the workplace.

So how can the generation gap be bridged and the generations work better as a team?

Gina Larson joins me to discuss this topic.

Gina Larson is a Professor at Doane College and a Certified Transition Coach. Gina has a Bachelor's degree in Human Relations, Master of Arts degree in Education and currently ABD status with her Ph.D. program in Psychological and Cultural Studies.

Gina Larson can be contacted via http://www.doane.edu/.

How Relationships Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

One aspect of a person’s life that is affected by career transition is relationships. If you read or listen to any type of media the picture of the future is not rosy. With this type of bleak forecast, so many people losing jobs or concerned about losing jobs, relationships are being strained.


On the show I discuss "How Relationships Can Thrive in Uncertain Times" with John Gray Ph. D.

John Gray Ph. D. is the world’s foremost relationship and gender expert. He is the best selling relationship author of all time - is the author of 16 best-selling books including Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: one of the best-selling books of the last decade. In the past fifteen years, An expert in the field of communication, John Gray focus is to help men and women understand, respect and appreciate their differences in both personal and professional relationships.

His latest book, Why Mars & Venus Collide – which recently reached the Amazon top one hundred -reveals how men and women can improve relationships by understanding how they cope differently with stress.

John Gray has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The View, Politically Incorrect, Larry King and others. He has been profiled in Newsweek, Time, Forbes, USA Today, TV Guide, People and New Age Journal, among others.

John can be reached via http://www.marsvenus.com./

Graduating in Turbulent Economic Times

The buzz in the media is centered on the economic issues that the nation is facing. Especially, the number of unemployed. There has also been coverage of job fairs showing people waiting for hours to enter the job fair to speak with potential employers. Now in a matter of weeks students will be graduating from college.

So what can they do in the next weeks to prepare for the impeding job market? What is the first step future college graduates can take today to prepare for the job market of the future?

Tune in when I talk to Nancy Salzman and Janice Hopkins of UCI Extension.

Nancy Salzman, Assistant Director of the Business Management and Legal Education at UC Irvine Extension.

Janice Hopkins, UCI Extension Director of Marketing & Communications.

Nancy Salzman and Janice Hopkins can be contacted by going to the UC Irvine Extension website http://www.extension.uci.edu

Careers that Survive Turbulent Times

Which careers stand up against the test of time? On the show, I interview 3 guests who careers survive economic times. Find out why these careers are recession proof!

Barry Cogert, Musician and Executive Director of Jazz Angel, Inc. Jazz Angel Inc., provides jazz education to children between the ages of 11-17. The children meet once a week for an hour and have an opportunity to play with professional musicians. Barry was awarded the Arts Council for Long Beach 2007 Distinguished Artist of the Year. Barry can be contacted via www.jazzangel.org or barry@jazzangel.org. *** Barry also brought some of the Jazz Angels to play tunes throughout the broadcast***.

Becky Haugen, Psych nurse, Director for the Memorial Psychiatric Health Care Systems

Charity Jackson-Belton, Computer System/Business Analyst

The November 13, 2008 issue of Time Magazine reports on the 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs. Click here to access.

Yikes! Where did my Self-Esteem go and How can I get it Back?

With the media portraying such a bleak future, it can cause people to feel a sense of hopelessness and isolation and consequently effect one’s self-esteem.

So listen to the show and find out some practical ways to boost your self-esteem?

Hilary Romanoff is a Career Counselor at the Bay Area Career Center in San Francisco, CA. She is committed to helping clients identify and remove blocks toward career satisfaction and empower them to reach their goals. .She has helped clients with diverse backgrounds gain deeper understanding about themselves and therefore make positive career choices.

Hilary can be contacted by going to the Bay Area Career Center website --
http://www.extension.uci.edu//ohttp://www.extension.uci.edu//t_blankHYPERLINKhttp://www.bayareacareercenter.com/t_blank.

The Art of Transitioning Careers

With the economic downturn and the movement of jobs off shore, I have noticed that more people are transitioning careers and in most cases it has been involuntarily. One industry that has been severely hit these days is the mortgage industry.

Wouldn't it be nice to hear how people have successfully transitioned?

On the show, two guests will talk about their journey. Nancy Salzman of UCI Extension will also join in the discussion.

Sheri Phillips was in the mortgage industry for over 18 years and served in various positions including VP of Underwriting and Operations. She was laid off in September 2007 when the company she was employed with ceased operations due to the mortgage industry crisis.

David Van Waldick had a 20+ year career in the real estate and mortgage industry when he decided to make an extreme career change.

Nancy Salzman, Assistant Director of the Business Management and Legal Education at UC Irvine Extension. Nancy can be contacted via http://www.extension.uci.edu/.