No Place Like H.O.M.E.Written by Liz Sumner, Life Coach
A few years ago I was having dinner at a Hollywood restaurant with several of my husband's childhood friends-- one of whom was a movie producer who owned restaurant, and another was some big deal in music industry. I gave meaning and importance to their glamorous titles. I decided that they were better than me because they had money and celebrity. In that rarefied air I felt oversized, underdressed, and at same time puny and invisible.I can still feel outrage of my self-generated nightmare. My dinner companions may have lacked social skills necessary to help me feel at ease, but I brought powerless attitude. I'm reminded of this as I think about circumstances that bring out best (and worst) in us. My favorite way of being is exact opposite of that dinner party. I want to feel expansive, engaged with others and comfortable exactly as I am. Certain environments contribute to our success. Clients have recently told me they feel most like themselves as a gracious hostess at home; an energized team member at work; an inspiring leader at group seminar; or an artist alone in studio. If we identify qualities that make those locations effective we can choose them and build them into our lives like architectural details. With my tongue in my cheek I call them Highly Operative Me Environments. My goal is to spend as much time as possible at H.O.M.E., feeling like my me-est self-- by that I mean in my skin, true to myself, living my highest values.
| | Over 50 and Looking for Work?Written by Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, THE EQ COACH
Please consider this article for your website or ezine. Permission to reprint if byline stays intact. Courtesy copy appreciated.TITLE: Over 50 and Looking for Work? AUTHOR: Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, The EQ Coach WORD COUNT: 685 WRAP: 65 URL: http://www.susandunn.cc Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc Photo available: http://www.susandunn.cc/images/susaninstripe1.JPG “Over 50 and Looking for Work?” by Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, The EQ Coach As a midlife transition career coach, I often encounter clients are are initially afraid they won’t get hired because of their age. They’ve all gotten good jobs, but I decided to verify my experience with some senior HR professionals. Here’s what they told me: Q: Is age an issue? A1: "Age is never an issue, unless you're talking about an actual physical-labor job.” A2: "Age is never a determining factor, legally, and it's not relevant to common sense or anything else." A3: "Thinking age is a drawback is screamingly wrong. Especially in software, if you can find someone with 25 years experience, they’re gold. The perspective is so mind-bogglingly good when you get a team that’s diverse in age." Q: Is age an asset then? A: "Age is not a determining factor. Experience, now that’s an asset. For any job that requires experience in industry or market, where it truly matters in making sound decisions and producing quality, experience is an asset." Q: What kind of jobs are those? A: "Every job you can think of." Q: Should you only go back 10 years on your resume? "Only if you're afraid of looking old." Q: How many resumes do you get per listing? What gets your attention? A1: "I get 400-500 resumes for each position I list. From that I'll choose 2-3 clear candidates. I'd give everyone same advice: ·Apply for jobs you have capabilities for. ·Write your resume like a newspaper article – a catchy headline (not jazzy); something that would interest hirer. ·Put what you are at top. ·List your technical skills right beneath it and relevant experience, and a summary of your work history. ·Don’t fabricate your experience, skills or education. We check.” A2: "Don't write your life story. If I have to dig for something it's gone."
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