Talane’s Blog of the Week, January 29, 2007

A Classic Tip from Talane...
Invent Five Alternate Careers

Many people get stuck in one field or career. If they apply for a job in another field, there is always the problem of not having the right experience. Pretend that your current job has been eliminated from the face of the earth, and you now have to do something completely different. What might you like to do? Pick any five careers that you fancy. Don't worry if you don't have the training or education. Write a paragraph about why you'd want this career. Then go on to the next career. Why would you want this one? This will also help you figure out what you really value.

One client, Jenny, a hard working, forty-five-year-old human resources executive, did this exercise and came up with a rather unexpected result. She was surprised when she realized that she'd like to look after other people's gardens. Somehow it just didn't fit with her idea of the executive life she had. The five alternate careers revealed a strong creative side that had been stifled. She had never allowed herself to try them out.

I asked that she take one day at home and make it her creative day. Just start. Even if it seems tiny and all you have is half an hour, pick up a paintbrush or snap a few photographs. Soon after that she had an offer to go into the interior design business. When she finished a painting, her friends thought she had purchased it from a "real" artist. She is now selling her home and moving into a less expensive apartment in anticipation of quitting her executive job to pursue these new interests. She felt stuck, unfulfilled and dissatisfied, and now she is more vibrantly alive than ever. What little step can you take today? Make the future look promising and exciting instead of dull, drab and routine.

All the best,
Talane