Why it’s important to test out roles and how to do it
Now that you have done your research, it’s time to test out your assumptions. Career exploration includes trying out roles to see if they are a good fit. There are many ways to do this, as I will describe shortly. This method allows you to test drive before making a full career change. It can help you avoid committing to ...
Experiencing Asheville, NC, in a new way
After coming back from the Galapagos Islands, we returned to visiting places closer to Marietta, GA. Also, our situation with eldercare changed so that our RV travels would be less frequent for the foreseeable future. In fact, in late August, we took a trip without the RV to Asheville, NC. Jason’s brother lives about 30 minutes away from Asheville, so ...
Three critical facts to research about your next job
Career exploration starts with research. Now that you have taken stock of your Values, Interests, Natural disposition, Exceptional strengths, and Skills (known as your V.I.N.E.S.) and you have come up with potential targets, it’s time to seek out information. The data you collect will help you narrow down your search. As you gather more facts, you may decide to remove ...
Our Adventures in the Galapagos Islands – Part Two
In my previous blog about the Galapagos Islands, I shared my overall observations. In this blog, I will share our itinerary of visiting three islands and two cities in Ecuador. Due to an unexpected, last-minute change of flight schedules (a “minor change” according to the airline), we had to suddenly leave a day early and return a day earlier than ...
Putting together the pieces and finding additional help
Self-exploration can be very clarifying and help point you in the right direction for your next opportunity. Going through the A.S.T.E.R. Career Model offers a structured path for evaluating your Values, Interests, Natural disposition, Exceptional strengths, and Skills (known as your V.I.N.E.S.). After completing the assessment process, you should have personal insight and data on the types of jobs and ...
Our Adventures in the Galapagos Islands – Part One
After traveling along the Southeastern US coastline for the first few months of the year, we parked the RV for a while and went to explore the faraway world of the Galapagos Islands. We lived the month of May there, celebrating a couple of major life milestones. The overused tagline “a trip of a lifetime” felt very true for this ...
Transferable skills are the key to your next career transition
When you are trying to name your skill sets, it can be difficult. It makes it harder to find the right job. Without this clarity, you may find yourself in a mismatched role. Identifying your favorite skills is one of the best ways to make a successful career transition and ensure role alignment. When you know your skillset, you are ...
More travels along the Southeast Coast in NC, SC, and GA
After starting 2023 with travels in FL & GA, we went back to Marietta for a short stay and then set back out on travels along the Southeast coast from Wilmington, NC, to Brunswick, GA. At the start of this stretch, the weather was still a little cold and wet, but as we drove along the coast, it warmed up, ...
Why women struggle with naming their superpowers and how to move past this
We’ve all struggled with naming our best talents. Superpowers can be elusive for many reasons. Yet, if we can’t express our strengths to others, how will they understand where we excel? And if they don’t know what we do well, why would they hire us or send appropriate opportunities our way? As we continue this blog series (this link will ...
What’s your Natural Disposition and how does it affect your career?
This is the fifth blog in a series related to my publication, The Purple Parachute: A Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Winds of Career Change. If you’ve been following this series, skip the next paragraph. If you’re new to this series, here’s a quick recap. I am sharing information from the book chapter by chapter. Early in the book, I ...
