Charles, 32, a biologist, has two great job offers. One is with an older, established public corporation, and the second with a fast growing four-year old private firm. Charles does not know which one to accept.

What type of company would you prefer? What criteria should Charles use when making this decision?

Most important, evaluate the job in terms of its compatibility with your personal qualities and desired career goals and lifestyle. Consider your passion, needs, interests and skills.

Know everything about each company and position. Use the Internet, library and your network. Talk to professionals in the industry and organization.

Request meetings with prospective peers and superiors. Ask them about their jobs and company challenges. Find out problems that need immediate attention. Ask how the position has been performed previously, and what happened to the last person on the job. Know what’s expected of you, and how quickly you’ll be expected to work up to speed. Note evasive or defensive responses.

Factors Charles considered when evaluating options

Finances.

Both companies are offering a similar salary. The older company is financially sound. Raises are provided annually, and benefits such as paid vacation time, sick days, medical plans and retirement are great. The newer company is just starting to make a profit. Raises are generally made annually. Benefits are fair, but expected to improve within the next few years, and generous stock options will be given.

Professional development.

When promotions become available in the older company, they are based on both merit and seniority. The company has many in-house and external training programs which include reimbursement for off-site training, coaching and career pathing. With the newer company’s anticipated rapid growth, talented employees can expect to be promoted relatively quickly. Professional development is offered on an individual and as needed basis.

Organizational culture and management style.

The older company has specific, written procedures to follow with clear lines of authority and responsibility. However, management allows each unit to develop its own culture without too much intervention from the central office. The younger company encourages creative expression, challenge, intelligent risk-taking and high employee expectations. Hierarchy and lines of authority are informal.

Nature of the work.

The job is valued at both companies. The responsibilities, level of accountability and scope of authority are clearly defined in the older company. The younger company allows more scope and flexibility for employees to define the forgoing enabling professionals to adapt job duties to maximize their strengths, preferences and goals.

Work environment.

The older company’s physical setting and overall appearance is elegant and traditional. Conventional office attire is required. The younger company has a more informal environment and dress code. Both appear to have good staff morale, and are committed to diversity.

Work-life balance.

The position at the older company requires little night or weekend work, and offers many support services. The younger company offers more flexible work schedules and telecommuting options, but motivated professionals generally work many hours. Both have similar commute distances, and are in urban communities that offer varied cultural, social and athletic activities.

Compatibility of personal qualities and desired lifestyle

Charles has strong needs for autonomy, growth, achievement and way of life. He wants a balanced life and enjoys the finer things. He is passionate about creative problem solving, and likes improvising, managing, planning, researching and analyzing. His career goal is to make a contribution to his field.

Charles likes the stability and amenities of the older company, but knows he could become frustrated by fewer promotions and bureaucracy. He likes the idea of being involved in defining potential projects that the younger company offers, and believes he would move up the ranks quickly.

Charles thinks he would be supported by prospective superiors in both companies. However, he feels the atmosphere of the older company might be a bit stultifying. He likes the energetic, creative co-workers in the smaller company, and feels he would be more productive in the innovative culture. However, such an intense environment may conflict with his desire for balance.

The older company’s immediate and continuous good standard of living appeals to Charles since he plans on getting married and would like to start a family. The offer of a faster paced career would meet many needs, and the possibility of becoming wealthy early with stock options is appealing. Discussion with his fiancée, revealed that she would support Charles in any decision.

Decision making style.

Charles listed all important criteria on the left side of a page, and the two options at the top. He assigned a plus one, a minus one, and a zero 0 to each criterion important to him. After he added the points, he took a few days off to let his intuition kick in. Charles had good feelings about the newer company so decided to accept the offer.

If you are in a similar position, consider all the factors offered by the company as well as your personal qualities and situation. Only you and your partner know what’s best for you!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

Change happens around us every day. Yet, why do many people fear change? We get into comfortable ruts! When something takes us out of our comfort zones – job loss, geographic move – we feel uncomfortable because we must adjust to a different situation.

We can learn from adversity or change if we look at lessons with open minds. Winston Churchill said: “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty”.

Eastern thinkers believe everything in life is impermanent. When we accept the fact that nothing lasts forever, we’re equipped to manage changes. Therefore, enjoy good times, and remember challenging times are temporary.

How well do you adapt to change?

Answer yes or no:

1. I’m self-reliant, resilient, flexible

2. I like learning, challenge

3. I like stability, structure, predictability

4. I’m cautious, dislike fast-paced environments

5. I value growth over security

6. I adapt quickly to new situations

7. I dislike variety

8. I’m bothered when something interrupts routine

9. I like trying new things

10. I handle stress well

11. I get frustrated with time pressures

12. I like doing things the same way.

Scoring: 1 point for each yes to 1, 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10; and each no to 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12. To empower yourself to manage change, consider suggestions below.

Adapting to change

Since changes occur in most aspects of our lives, we can learn to respond to change with positive anticipation, believing change brings new opportunities.

View career growth as a lifelong process of personal and professional development – a continuing quest to maintain harmony between who you are and what you do.

Take responsibility for your career.

Create new opportunities with your current or another employer. Consider time out, full or part-time study, travel or self employment.

Identify personal and transferable skills.

These enable you to perform in varied situations. Employers value adaptive skills like openness to ideas, persistence, critical evaluation, enthusiasm, helpfulness, patience, optimism and tolerance.

Strengthen “meta skills.”

These skills for tomorrow can’t be easily automated. They include problem solving, research, judgment, inspiration, relationship building, ethical leadership, mental training and emotional intelligence.

Continuously update technical and professional skills and strengthen Quester qualities like authenticity, purpose, risk, confidence and resilience.

Cultivate and use intuition.

Intuitive skills help you deal with ambiguous circumstances. Practice relaxation to slow your mind and listen to inner signals. Ask dreams for direction before going to sleep. Keep a journal. Pray. Communicate with nature.

Continue to learn.

Lifelong learning is the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for personal, interpersonal, leisure, health, spiritual or professional reasons. Workshops, online courses, night school, apprenticeship programs, and correspondence school offer programs. Some learning activities are recognized by traditional educational institutions and may be called adult education.

Think critically.

Critical thinkers ask questions, evaluate, categorize, and find relationships. To read critically, ask: What are main points? Can I put this into my own words? Is a bias apparent? Could a different conclusion be drawn? Are ideas supported by evidence? Do I agree with the author? What are implications?

Strengthen creativity.

Approach the problem from different angles. Ask for feedback from people with different backgrounds. Avoid negativity. View work differently. What would happen if you shrink, enlarge or change its shape?

Surround yourself with diverse stimuli. Seek information outside your specialty. Awaken your child within. Play. Believe anything is possible.

Expand your horizons. Go beyond borders. Prepare for and welcome the unexpected. Innovate, adapt, explore, seize opportunities. Nothing is beyond reach! Follow examples of the Questers in “Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life” – available for purchase at link above.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. ~ John F. Kennedy

Are you a risk taker? If you said no, think again. You may be more of a risk taker than you think.

David works as a sales clerk to support his fledgling acting career. Before that he taught school, following 12 years as a computer programmer. You may perceive David to be a risk taker having left two positions which had good security and pay. But David doesn’t see himself as a risk taker. For David, risk involves physical activities such as mountain climbing.

Most of us are more conscious of the risks we avoid than those we take. That’s why we don’t think we’re risk takers. And because we’re aware of the risks we avoid, we assume that others take bigger risks. But they may be avoiding risks we’re taking. So risk, in this sense, is in the eye of the beholder.

When we describe something as “risky,” we usually mean it’s scary, to us. And because few of us get involved in activities we fear, we don’t view ourselves as risk takers. Yet, when someone else does something that’s scary to us, it’s hard to imagine they’re not afraid. Since we weigh risk in comparison to our fears, we perceive that person to be a risk taker. However, they may not view themselves as risk takers.

What’s risky to you?

– Physical danger — sky diving, skiing, taking drugs, having cosmetic surgery?

– Psychological/Emotional — staying in a dead-end job, getting married or divorced?

– Social — giving a presentation, telling jokes at a company party, traveling solo in a foreign country?

– Intellectual — taking a graduate course, chairing a high-level policy meeting?

– Economic — investing in stocks, changing jobs, buying a home, starting a business?

– Career — involving any combination of the above?

Think about three successful risks you’ve taken in any life component. What did you do to make it turn out well? In which categories did the risks fall? What have you learned about yourself and your risk taking behavior?

Strengthening ability to risk

Describe the fears blocking you from making a change.

Barriers could include fear of loss of a secure income, fear of failure such as starting a new job, and guilt that change might create family hardships. Identify ways to overcome these obstacles.

Let go of “attachments.”

The more attached you are to something, the greater the fear of losing it. Ask yourself, “What do I want to let go of?” “What’s the worst thing that can happen if I let go?” “What people, resources and support would make my goal less risky?”

Live in the present.

Because most fear centers around the future, don’t spend time worrying about what might happen.

Know your mission, strengths and priorities.

It’s easier to risk for something you’re passionate about. What do you really want to do? How does this differ from what others think you should do? Replace the “shoulds” with your own values. As you turn your priorities around, risking will become easier.

Clarify your goal and a plan to achieve it.

Break the goal down into small steps. What’s the first step you could take? When could you take it? Do this for each step.

Watch “self-talk.”

Each time you catch yourself saying something that fuels your fear, say “cancel,” and replace it with a more positive statement. Shift your vocabulary from being a victim to someone with power and strength.

View setbacks as learning experience as you move toward your goal.

Failure can be reduced by planning and persisting.

What risk would you like to take this week? What can you do to prepare for it?

Life is a challenge, meet it; it’s an opportunity, take it; life is an adventure, dare it!

How can events in Brazil – or anywhere else – affect how you do your job today and even whether you’ll have that job tomorrow? This is known as Chaos Theory.

Sometimes, things appear to come “out of the blue.” Do you know someone who has been downsized – not for the first time, but for the second, or third?

Productive employees may be dismissed as a result of being caught in a wave of change. These workers are often experiencing the effects of disorder common to large natural systems. Indeed, economic systems are natural systems. They are susceptible not only to large, immediate fluctuations, but to distant and small changes.

We look for causes and find none because the relationships do not have one-to-one patterns. Instead, they’re understood using the insights of chaos theory. Chaos theory is attributed to meteorologist, Edward Lorenz. The most frequently used metaphor Lorenz used to explain the theory is that the butterfly fluttering its wings in the Amazon rain forest can cause a storm in distant places such as Vancouver.

Just as that Brazilian event can bring rain or sunshine to your day, so can distant events bring changes to your work. Fluctuations in China’s economy, the war in Iraq, or almost any other event will sooner or later affect the work of people faraway from that event.

Chaos theory explains how a rainforest achieves stability and balance without anybody programming what grows where and why. It shows that the wild chaos of the rainforest, with no imposed control, manages to succeed as a “happy” rainforest – unless interfered with by humankind. 

Chaos theory defines a new attitude. It enables scientists to understand the wholeness of their subject rather than smaller subsections. It demonstrates we’re all part of a complex system in which anything affects everything. A universal tendency of complex systems is to create order within themselves.

That’s what your career is like. Why not use insights gained from chaos theory to prepare for changes that may occur?

Adapting to chaos

Guide your own career.

Expect change. No matter how secure you feel, circumstances may change. Look for opportunities to initiate change. Small changes can bring big effects. If you’re unhappy with your job, consider taking a break. Study, travel, or work full- or part-time in another field. Consider similar options if unemployed. Unexpected opportunities may arise.

Know how to transfer your strengths.

Skills and knowledge used in one industry can be applied others. For example, skills required for customer service positions such as problem solving and interpersonal skills can be applied to sales and management jobs.

Identify and pursue your purpose.

This is your compass which will guide you through chaos. When you’re in touch with the real you and live out who you believe you are, you’ll have you a sense of direction, inner peace and satisfaction. You’ll be in harmony with changes occurring in the universal system.

Re-evaluate your definition of career development.

View career growth as a lifelong process of personal and professional development – a continuing quest to maintain harmony between who you are and what you do.

Periodically re-evaluate your career and life goals. In addition to purpose, pay attention to skill development, needs and priorities as well as changes occurring in your work and other environments. As you continue to make career moves, you’ll experience uncertainty and the corresponding need for support experienced in earlier moves. Therefore, maintain and build your network, and develop meaningful, supportive relationships.

Cultivate and use your intuition.

Intuitive skills help you deal with ambiguous circumstances and hazy objectives. Practice relaxation daily to slow your mind and listen to inner signals. Meditate. Ask your dreams for direction before going to sleep. Keep a journal. Pray. Communicate with nature.

Maintain flexibility.

Continue building skills and knowledge. Learn how to learn. Focus on learning and experimenting with something new rather than previously mastered tasks.

Develop the will to risk. Think of opportunities you’ll miss if you don’t try. Ask, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Then decide whether you could live with the worst scenario or take steps to reduce the chances of it happening.

Use positive terms to describe chaos.

These include innovate, adapt, explore, expand, opportunity. Prepare for and welcome the unexpected.

Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life, by Dr. Carole Kanchier, provides additional tips for managing chaos.

This insightful post about managing stress is brought to you by a wise friend of mine, Zoe, of ZealAndZen.com. Her blog has some very helpful tips on living a healthier lifestyle! Follow her on Facebook!

Please don’t shoot, I am just the messenger….

Since I have been doing some facebook posts on stress I thought it was time to do a blog too. I figured a blog was a better place to tell you something that you will likely dislike me a lot for. All I can say is I am just relating the information to you. I am not the person saying it is so. But that said, I do agree and even in the heat of my own stress response it drives me just as crazy as it likely will you.

On the good news side though, it is getting less frequent that I feel this way and I DO feel more control.

Well here it is….

You are the source of most of your stress, well for some of us, all of it.

Phew it is out there. Now I will explain.

Have you ever been with someone in a situation that you find unbearable and they just shrug their shoulders and move on; makes you even more crazy, no? How is it that they don’t feel the injustice or frustration of whatever has been presented and you do? Don’t they KNOW what is happening?

Truth is they do, they just process it differently and the key to stress reduction is to learn how to do the same.

I remember a story a friend told me about their first holiday with their new guy. They were waiting at the gate for their flight when it was announced cancelled. Immediately there was bedlam, people cursing, rushing the information desk, waving hands, complaining. But the two of them quietly sat in the middle of it all and gave a shrug. My friend said it was then that she really knew how special this guy was.

If I remember this story correctly there was only a minor disruption in their plans and the compensation offered was a huge perk. They saved on their tickets enough to have an extra great time while holidaying enjoying indulgences they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

Be careful about REACTING to your thoughts about a given situation, not the situation itself.

The situation really has a handful of interpretations. Key here is to check your expectations and the thought train that results from the altered pathway you thought you were on.

Say you are waiting for a friend at a restaurant, they are Twenty minutes late and the clock is ticking. Your internal conversation could start something like…well I was considerate and on time I would think they could be, argh I am so busy right now I can feel my work load increasing by the moment, I am soooo hungry, I feel so silly sitting by myself, everyone thinks I am being stood up…etc.

This type of thought pattern will jumpstart your stress response whereas….some time for me, wha hoo I never get quiet like this, oh an opportunity to check my messages and get caught up, maybe I will order an appetizer so I have something to munch on that I can share when they get here, I bet they will be hungry too I know how it feels to run late despite best intentions…will have you actually enjoying the downtime.

So the next time you are presented with a change in plans that MIGHT have less than ideal impact, check your expectations at the door, and/or think of the disguised OPPORTUNITY you have been presented.

Stop expecting everything to go exactly as you see it in your mind.

Life happens, things change and it doesn’t have to make it bad, just different. When things go really awry a trick I learned from a recent podcast says hit the pause button for at least two days before you react. In that time frame consider all angles of whatever it is you are dealing with. Lost a job? Well I wasn’t really happy there anyway, maybe I can find something with less of a commute, now I can take that training I have been thinking of to upgrade and be more marketable, I might be ready to hang up my own business shingle etc.

There is always a side less considered that deserves attention.

These are just examples. Some stuff will be hard not to react to but the more you think like this the less stress you will feel AND you will discover options and be thinking productively instead of negatively. It is so easy to self talk yourself into a corner!

Good luck changing thought trains; I’d love to hear how it goes. If you are already in super stress mode remember the love my RESTORE, REPAIR, RESET online yoga course offers…it can help you crawl out of stress and into ease.

Happy day,

Zoë

With continuing technological advances, and accompanying economic, social, and climate changes, psychologist, Dr. Carole Kanchier, encourages people to pursue success by strengthening Quester traits. Questers are highlighted in the revised 6th edition of the award winning, life changing book, Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life.

Who are Questers? What personality traits give them confidence and courage to take charge of their lives? Are you a Quester? Could you become one?

Questers offers powerful, positive information for people needing knowledge and strategies to understand and control their lives.  It presents a developmental, inspirational approach to growth and revitalization.

Questers helps individuals understand how they grow and change through life, where they fit in the career and life cycles, and how to make important decisions.

By referring to real life examples of “Questers,” representing varied occupations, people are encouraged to move beyond traditional thinking about careers. Questers not only inspires readers to rethink their lives, it shows them how!

Questers have been around for centuries.

Famous Questers include Galileo Galilei, the Italian physicist who proved the earth revolved around the sun, and J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

Yet, many Questers are folks who have courage and confidence to pursue their dreams. Jessie came to North America from China when she was 30. She took survival jobs while studying English and computers. Jesse was promoted in her computer job. Now 40, Jesse is reassessing values and goals. Jesse is experiencing her age-40 transition.

Although we have our own rhythms of change, growing adults alternate between transitional and developmental periods throughout life.

Transitions, which generally begin in our late teens or early 20s and occur every decade following, are times for questioning who we are and where we want to go. Experiences such as marriage, divorce, illness or job loss precipitate and intensify appraisals during transitions. Jessie’s age-40 transition was triggered by a car accident.

Attuned to changes within and around them, Questers anticipate layoffs and know voluntary and involuntary career changes are a normal part of growth.

Therefore, quitting a job during a recession may be smart. While his colleagues worried about being laid off, Mike upgraded his skills and contacted employers. He was offered a job the day he received his pink slip. He chose to pursue success.

Questers create work that’s in harmony with their purpose.

As a child, Fred loved fixing things so he studied mechanical engineering. He had been promoted to senior management within a large organization, but wasn’t happy. Fred realized he couldn’t express his passion – fixing things. So, he pursued his purpose by becoming a maintenance man in an apartment complex. “If you’re doing something you like, it’s not really work, and you’re making money…”  Fred radiates joy.

Questers measure success internally.

Fred had confidence and courage to create his own satisfying job.  Success to Questers means moving up or down the occupational prestige ladder to achieve fulfillment and growth. Questers are productive because they enjoy work and set high standards when they pursue success.

Not all Questers live to work. Some work to live.

Lorrie’s calling is to enjoy life. “I work to support my lifestyle…Although I get satisfaction from doing a good job, I devote my life to hobbies and volunteer activities.”

Retirement is obsolete to Questers.

John, a professor, says; “I could retire, but choose not to because work is too much fun…”If I wasn’t paid, I would continue to work. If I retire, there is only one thing left!

We’re all born Questers.

However, as we grow older, societal institutions inhibit development of Quester traits.  Fortunately, we retain Quester traits within and can strengthen these, if we desire.

Are You a Quester?

Answer yes or no. I:  

1. When I want something, I’m willing to risk.
2. pursue goals in harmony with my purpose.
3. usually am optimistic.
4. like trying new things.
5. place more value on growth than security, money, prestige.
6. periodically reassess goals.
7. make my own decisions, and if necessary, swim against the tide.
8. turn crises into opportunities.

Scoring: 6 or more “yeses” suggests you may be a Quester

Nurturing the Quester Spirit

Security is an illusion. To prevail in changing times, strengthen Quester traits.

 – Focus on the positive. Think about who you want to be and do.  Look for and expect good things to happen. Avoid phrases such as, “I can’t.”

– Continue to learn. Read, take courses.

– Use intellect and intuition when making decisions.  Research needed information, then use intuition.  For example, ask dreams a question before falling asleep, journal, meditate, relax in nature.

– Do what you feel is right for you, not what others think.

– Manage Fear.  Live in the present. Don’t worry about what might happen. Let go of “attachments.”

– Believe in yourself. Pursue success!

Fall, a season of transformations, may be the time to dare yourself to change, welcome new opportunities!

Review your views of career success, and strengthen Quester traits such as purpose, intuition, and resilience to succeed.

Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life answers many questions you may have related to career and personal growth including: Strengthen “Quester” traits to succeed; Develop skills needed to prevail in changing times; Understand how job dissatisfaction affects health; Determine whether you’re ready to make a career shift Overcome fear of failure; Express your purpose at work; Grow in your job…and so much more…

www.questersdaretochange.com provides information about career questing. Paperback and Kindle versions of Questers may be ordered from amazon: www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963. Please request a review PDF Edition of Questers.

A free copy of chapter 1, Questers, is available from web site: www.questersdaretochange.com/free-chapter-1/

Check out your Quester traits with this self-scoring quiz http://www.questersdaretochange.com