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Managing Your Career and Life Through Flexible Work with Kristin Thomas

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More choices for flexible work are available for anyone in a situation where working full-time at an office is not an option. Most people want a flexible work schedule and to work remotely for many reasons. I want you to meet Kristin Thomas (@KristinVThomas), who opted to raise four kids (including a set of twins), and faced and survived breast cancer. Her story will affect the way you look at work, re-examine your priorities, and change the way you manage your career. Despite having four kids and breast cancer, Kristen stayed connected and engaged in managing her career. Do you see a flexible work schedule now or in the future? I found her story written on her blog and knew her story would resonate with you.

I want you to hear how Kristin considered her life, family, and challenges and how it played a part of her career trajectory. It is not easy to approach a career path with life challenges, family, and maintaining career goals and personal satisfaction. The last is usually the one we sacrifice. One big lesson is the one that Kristin teaches us: personal and career satisfaction does not have to be sacrificed, but is attainable through flexible work.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this in one of the following three ways:

1) Leave a voice mail or text message at 708-365-9822. Let me know if I can share it on future shows

2) Email me: mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com
3) Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com and press the “Send Voicemail” button to leave a message online

Kristin is Director of Employer Partnerships at FlexJobs.com. She works from home with her husband and four boys (all who are under 10). Would your choices be different is you have a job you loved and was as flexible as you desired? Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

Her background is primarily in talent acquisition, and while working at her previous position, she became pregnant and eventually gave birth to premature twins
Listen to why Kristin could not continue working for the company (nuclear) after the birth of her third child
Her former employer called her back for a consulting opportunity. She worked there for a year but then decided to take more time off
Kristin stayed connected with her network (she says with everyone) through social media while at home with three small children
Kristin remained active through volunteering. She put in so many hours she contemplated going back to work
She found out about her next job through her network at FlexJobs. She also found out that she had Breast Cancer. She had surgery, and because her job was completely remote, it was easy to recover without an extensive leave
Kristin shared that her work was positive and engaging as much as she could. She didn’t like to be down or away

Have you subscribed to this show on iTunes? If you haven’t, please do so. This is also a great place to write an honest review. Enjoy listening to the show. Let us know what you think.

Do you need help with resume writing or career direction? Do you need coaching or instruction?I can help.

Also, join our community on Linkedin! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Get the Job You Were Called to Do with Kathleen Brady

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I am happy to have Kathleen Brady, author of “Get a Job” back on the show. She was on episode 4 back in October 2013. She is the founder of Brady & Associates Career Planners, LLC and Career Services Director at Georgian Court University. Her advice has been nationally shared on news outlets such as CNN, CBS, NPR, FoxNews. Her book, advice and this conversation will get down to it with you finding the job you were called to do, and not what you “should” do.

Do you look for jobs that you “should” take or are you looking for the job you are called to do? I would love to hear your thoughts on this in one of the following three ways:

1) Leave a voice mail or text message at 708-365-9822. Let me know if I can share it on future shows

2) Email me: mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com
3) Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com and press the “Send Voicemail” button to leave a message online

Kathleen rewrote the first chapter of “Get a Job” (first version published in 2013) while keeping her pragmatic approach to worksheets and questions to answer after reflection
As career pros, we have an aerial view to guide people in the right way of conducting a job search. The mindset is the common denominator. Job seekers who focus on the obstacles and find it difficult to achieve success. Our role as career pros is to help others focus on a positive mindset and dig deeper with a reflective approach
The best way to put changes and improvements into your job search is to use “baby steps.” Trying to take large steps for most job seekers is overwhelming
Although “values” have been talked about, they must be a prime motivator at the core of his or her job search
“What do I value?” and “How do I want to show up?” is at the core of finding meaningful work more than the mechanics of the job search such as a resume or cover letter
Kathleen also advises job seekers to be careful of what they post on social media. Even in the comments sections of threads such as Facebook discretion must used
Job seekers often prioritize”should” goals, or the path of least resistance rather than what they are called to do or natural gifts
Kathleen states that people are better off thinking about their job search goals holistically as it impacts their life goals
There are multi-layered career paths now that did not exists years ago. Job seekers need to be realistic and disciplined about his or her choices

Have you subscribed to this show on iTunes? If you haven’t, please do so. This is also a great place to write an honest review. Enjoy listening to the show. Let us know what you think.

Do you need help with resume writing or career direction? Do you need coaching or instruction?I can help.

Also, join our community on Linkedin! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Choose a Career Path Not a Job with Ryan Porter

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I found a site in the last year that exclusively promotes career paths for those who decide not to pursue post-secondary education. The site was eye-catching, attractive, and hyper-functional for the users as an energetic experience. The founder, Ryan Porter, epitomizes energy and synergy when I talked to him. Any time that a site, an idea, technology or person can positively engage a job seeker to clarity and simplicity, I’m interested in featuring it on the podcast.

Has a lack of a college degree hindered you from career choices? Would a site that had more compatible choices for you help your job search? I would love to hear what you think. There are three ways to let me know what you think:

1) Leave a voicemail or text message at 708-365-9822. Let me know if I can share it on future shows
2) Email me: mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com
3) Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com and press the “Send Voicemail” button to leave a message online

1. At 21, while hating college, quit his job and college and moved to Tokyo. Eventually moved to Canada and the U.S. and went around the country speaking to schools around the country (more than 900,000 students). He also wrote Make Your Own Lunch: How to Live an Epically Epic Life before founding “Raise Your Flag.”

2. Ryan reflects on a book that influenced his thinking written by Samuel Halprin, The Forgotten Half: Pathways to Success for America’s Youth and Young Families. The book address that half of high school graduates do not go on to postsecondary education and nothing was being done for them. More than 30 years later, that statistic has not changed. 70% of working Americans have less than a Bachelor’s degree.

3. Ryan observed how the discussion about education was about having a college degree or be like Bill Gates. It’s rare when the discussion addresses the majority of people who are in-between.

4. What sets “Raise Your Flag” apart from other sites that every posting has a career path. You click on the career and a path to the next career upward is shown.

5. Ryan believes those who choose their jobs are on a career path and deserve to have the confidence of their career trajectory as a college graduate does.

6. College students are likely to describe his or her retail job as “JUST” a sales associate – when for others it is the launching of a career in retail.

7. Learning and development are essential for many careers but only need a SkillShare class to enhance their skills. Ryan says that employers will drive the shift from emphasizing college to MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) as colleges are deemed to implode through its current business model.

8. Ryan says that what is missing from learning is the context of learning. “Are you learning this to get a good grade or is it useful for you to apply?” It takes two years of college to get the context of why you’re there.

9. Many of the volunteer projects and campaigns have the context of learning that it takes two years of college to receive, if not better.

10. “Meaningful work experiences is the true currency of the world of work.”

I encourage you to follow them on their Facebook page that has five million members and growing!

Have you subscribed to this show on iTunes? If you haven’t, please do so. This is also a great place to write an honest review. Enjoy listening to the show. Let us know what you think.

Do you need help with resume writing or career direction? Do you need coaching or instruction?I can help.

Also, join our community on Linkedin! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!