life@work

JibberJobber Helps You Manage Your Career Contacts

I can't believe that I haven't already written about JibberJobber, which is a great tool for both career managers (i.e., all of us, right?) and job seekers.

Jason Alba created JibberJobber as a result of his own frustrating job search process. So what else is an Internet application design expert to do but invent his own tool set that complements, yet doesn't duplicate, other tools out there.

JibberJobber helps you organize all the information you gather during a job search. Where have you sent your resume? To whom do you owe a follow up call? What is the name and number of the hiring manager your friend told you about? Did you remember to send a thank you note after the last interview? You can have all that data in one place.

The especially smart aspect of the tool set is that has features that help you manage your career on an ongoing basis (I'm talking about networking here), not just when you're looking for a job.

I can't tell you how many people I talk to who need to contact people with whom they've lost touch and feel really awkward about that.

Ideally we're staying connected with the past and meeting new people frequently - you know, keeping up our relationships with others. It's so easy to let a really interesting person or a mentor from years past fall off the radar. But it's also easy to keep in touch, especially if you have some kind of system to help you do it.

You can get a free, basic subscription to JibberJobber, or you can pay about $10 per month for additional features.

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com

Money Mindfulness and Your Career

I coach people who are making big decisions about their career, so therefore I coach people about money.

Financial rewards and security are for most of us inextricably linked to our career choices. Planning our careers means we're thinking about how we are funding our lifestyles.

And all of that thinking about money brings up big emotions. You know, the fun ones, like fear, dread, and confusion.

A trusted colleague of mine, Debbie Lacy, of The Inspired Life, has put together a two-part workshop on money mindfulness that is happening this spring in Seattle and is all about how to create a more positive relationship with money.

Career decisions are so much easier to make when we have a relationship with money that is grounded in a clear vision of what we want!

Debbie is a superb coach and facilitator - if you're in Seattle and are ready for a money makeover - if you're ready to believe and behave differently with money - check out her Money Mindfulness workshop.

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com

The Good Enough Career

Sometimes I'm tired of striving for perfect - how about you?

It's a real gift to recognize when what you have is good enough. It will do. It's just perfectly OK and alright as is.

When was the last time you thought that about your career? Or about anything in your life?

What kind of career happiness would be possible for you if you felt grateful for all the good things about your good enough career?

When we are always striving for something better in our careers, we lose track of the present. We focus on what we don't have (more money, a promotion, a better office, a more interesting project, a more compelling organizational mission, a better boss). We worry a lot, sometimes to the point of being unable to appreciate what we do have. This isn't fun.

I've worked with plenty of people who hired me to help them change careers, jobs or companies - only to decide a bit later that they really had it pretty good where they were and would simply stay put, with a slightly adjusted attitude.

They came to this conclusion after thinking and talking about what was working well in their careers, not just the disappointments. Many times the pros were more compelling than the cons.

I'm all for proactive career development and planning ahead. But there's something to be said for enjoying your good enough career and setting the striving aside for a while.

Heather Mundell
Dream Big Coaching Services
www.dreambigcoaching.com
heather@dreambigcoaching.com