I always loved the Jetsons. What’s not to love about flying cars, robot maids and cool futuristic outfits like Judy’s?

I admit when I watched the Jetsons I wasn’t paying much attention to where the characters worked or what happened when they got there. But today, I am totally fascinated by predictions about the future of work and careers.

Will we all work from home and go to virtual meetings with our colleagues in Second Life?

Will I be able to give speeches virtually, with a holographic image of me (a la CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2008 presidential election) standing behind a holograph of a podium?

Will people have robot assistants?

To help my thinking and yours on this topic, I’ve been doing a lot of research. Here are some of the most compelling career and workplace predictions I’ve come across. It’s never too early to start thinking about how these trends will impact your own career:

1. You probably won’t work at an office from 9 to 5. More than 100 million people are expected to telecommute to work by the year 2015. This sounds accurate to me. With an increase in contract workers, freelancers, working parents and caretakers of elderly relatives, it makes sense that we’ll increasingly work from everywhere except an office. Source: OfficeTeam’s “Office of the Future: 2020″ study

2. You won’t travel for business. Thanks to better and better teleconferencing technology, faster broadband connections for Skype and 3D virtual reality meetings, you’ll rarely need to get on a plane for a meeting or presentation. (This one can’t happen soon enough for my taste!) Source: BNET Insight

3. Work will be good for your health. Instead of going to the gym at lunchtime, you might spend some of your day at a “walking workstation” and grab an apple from a healthy vending machine. Your office will be more environmentally friendly, too, with recycled office products, live plants and LEED-certified building materials.Source: Generation X, Y & Z Blog

4. You’ll have two (or more) jobs. More people will maintain two sources of income — a trend we’re seeing already across all generations. You might combine a full-time job with a side entrepreneurial venture or a freelance gig. Marci Alboher wrote a book on this topic, naming the trend “slash careers,” as in “lawyer/writer/yoga instructor.” Source: Tammy Erickson’s Harvard Business Review Blog.

5. You’ll be in school forever. This is a trend I talk about all the time. According to the above-mentioned OfficeTeam study, “To remain marketable, workers will have to make education a lifelong priority, continually upgrading their skills.” I can see people having a lifelong relationship with their college or university, not just returning for reunions but also for more education. My hunch is that the majority of this will take place through online learning. In fact, IBM is supporting its workers in this effort by matching them dollar-for-dollar in their educational pursuits, even if an employee is educating himself or herself to a job outside of IBM.

What do you think of these five predictions? What trends do you think will affect your career over the next five or ten years? Please share!

This post originally appeared on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com.

TAGS: career advice, planning for the future

My friend and colleague, Regina Barr, an extraordinary leadership development expert, is offering readers of thethinpinkline a wonderful opportunity:

You may attend The Women at the Top™ Virtual Leadership Development Conference – Amplify Your Success at no charge!

The conference is scheduled daily from 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m. CST beginning March 22, 2010 through March 26, 2010. This virtual conference will feature 25 experts in five core leadership development areas presented in 90 minute segments over the course of five days.

Topic areas include: interpersonal skills, self management, personal accountability, influencing others, and goal achievement. These topic areas are part of the critical path to leadership success. Learn more here: http://www.redladder.com/WATTvirtualconference. You will be able to listen LIVE over the phone or webcast at no charge.

Participation in the event is FREE but you do need to register here: http://www.redladder.com/WATTmember/Virtual_Conference. In addition, anyone can attend this event so please spread the word far and wide to women in your network.

Don’t miss this!

TAGS: LinkedIn, Women at the Top

Come listen in on my conversation with Pete Kistler, the founder of Brand-Yourself.com, who was named one of Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 5 College Entrepreneur of 2009. He joins me to talk about personal branding as it relates to college students and young professionals.

In this podcast, we define personal branding, talk about Pete’s own personal branding process and explain why students and young professionals need to think about your personal brand — especially the image you’re projecting online.

For more on this topic, here are two great new resources that can help you create and enhance all aspects of your personal brand:

PricewaterhouseCoopers Personal Brand Week – a terrific collection of downloadable worksheets to help you create an elevator pitch, express your passion, build a network, promote yourself online and more. PwC has also collected free personal branding advice on Twitter with the hashtag #pwcpbw.

Student Branding Blog – a new resource expressly designed to help college students with personal branding. This site was created by Dan Schawbel, who also launched the Personal Branding Blog.

Click here to listen to this week’s podcast.

How have you approached personal branding in your career? As always, I welcome your comments below!

TAGS: career advice, Generation Y, personal branding

I’ll never forget what my driving instructor said to my mom while we were waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles the morning of my driver’s license test.

“She has the ability to pass. It’s going to come down to whether she thinks she can pass.”

I failed.

My driving instructor was exactly right. I had practiced enough and had the skills and knowledge to get my license. What I was missing was the confidence to actually do it.

I see this same situation all the time with college students and recent grads in the job market. They have the talent, skills and ability to get a job, but they lack the self-confidence it takes to land a position, especially in the ultra-competitive market we’re experiencing right now.

If you’re struggling with self-confidence, here are some tips:

1. Ask for feedback. Recruit a trusted relative, career services staff member, professor or friend to assess you honestly. Often we don’t even realize our strongest assets because they come naturally to us. Ask the person to list your best qualities and most impressive accomplishments. On the flip side, ask for constructive feedback on your weaknesses. Find out if the things you’re most concerned about — lack of experience, a less-than-desirable GPA, shyness, etc. — are legitimate concerns or if you’re obsessing over nothing. If your fears are unfounded, let them go once and for all!

2. Take action on any gaps. If you do determine some important weaknesses, develop a game plan for improving the key skills, knowledge or qualities you’ll need to land the job you want. Take action! Sign up for a coaching session at your career services office, register for an e-course, read a few instructional books or hire a career coach or tutor. Besides gaining the skills you need, you’ll have a great answer to the interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?” You’ll be able to say, “I identified a key weakness and here are the steps I took to overcome it.”

3. Overprepare. Think about your confidence level when you walk into a test for which you’ve studied really thoroughly versus how you feel walking into a test for which you’ve skimmed your notes for ten minutes the night before. Most people don’t realize that a job hunt is something you can study for. Before attending a job fair, spend an hour or two on the websites of companies that will have booths. Before a job interview, spend an hour reading the organization’s website (especially the mission statement, recruiting pages and recent press releases) and study the LinkedIn profiles of the people who will be interviewing you. Read e-newsletters and blogs from your industry to keep up with current events that might be discussed at a networking event. The more preparation you do, the more confident you’ll feel when you interact with recruiters and other professionals you’ll encounter during your job search.

4. Seek out recommendations. One of my favorite features of LinkedIn is the opportunity to have people write recommendations that will appear on your profile. This not only strengthens your profile’s value but also reminds you of your best qualities. Ask for recommendations from former bosses, internship coordinators, professors, volunteer coordinators, students you’ve worked with on activities or other people you’ve known professionally or academically. Whenever you need a boost of confidence, go into your profile and read the good things other people have said about you.

Note: This post originally appeared on Lindsey’s “College to Career Blog” on MyPath.com.

TAGS: career advice, Job Search

Susan Colantuono’s book, No Ceilings, No Walls, is both inspirational and inspired. Practical exercises and tools offer valuable ways women can enhance their leadership skills ─ for example, using the language of power to communicate the value they bring.

But perhaps what makes this book so smart is the emphasis it puts on business acumen as the way for women to demonstrate that they have the “right stuff” to take on leadership roles. Aside from this being the absolute truth, it certainly makes climbing the corporate ladder more accessible.

If you can describe your organization in terms of what Colantuono calls the four “outcome” categories: cash, growth, return and customer, then you’re thinking like a CEO.  If you articulate your company’s strategy in terms of those same four outcomes, then you’ll be seen as a “big picture” person. And if you can read a balance sheet and income statement, then you’ll be able to understand the story the numbers tell and to retell it to others.

Be your own coach yourself using No Ceilings, No Walls as a guide.

TAGS: Books, business acumen, LinkedIn

While the year is still young, there’s one more thing you might consider tackling ─ your resume.

Whether you’re in the job market or not, I believe that everyone should have an updated resume ready at a moment’s notice. You never know when an opportunity will come along; you might be considered for a new role inside your company, a recruiter might call or you might want to join a board. In any of those situations, you don’t want to have to scramble to revise your resume. Time pressed, mistakes creep in, either egregious one such as typos or less obvious ones such as neglecting to add your most recent accomplishments. Have a friend (or two, even better if he/she is in your industry and familiar with the job competencies for the role you have or the one you want) review your revised resume, ask them to go beyond proofing to offer feedback regarding layout and content too. Is it easy to read? Is it clearly written? Does represent you well?

If you’ve been in the job market for a while and have posted your resume online, repost your revised resume, even if nothing has changed except the dates. Prospective employers won’t be impressed with an out-dated resume.

And, on a going forward basis, take time at the end of each month to write down your accomplishments ─ if you wait too long, it’s likely you’ll forget some of the wonderful things you’ve done! Not only will the list you create make your next resume revision easier, it will help support your performance evaluation.

Updating your resume is one relatively easy thing you can do to proactively manage your career. Think of how happy you’ll be when you’ve finished it!

TAGS: Job hunting, Job Search, LinkedIn, Resume writing

Exercise for 30 minutes a day. Sleep eight hours a night. Floss. Good habits are the building blocks of a healthy life.

The same goes for your career: small daily habits add up to big success. The earlier in your working life you develop smart daily practices, the easier they will be to maintain and the more overall impact they’ll have.

Here are 5 important career habits to cultivate:

1. Keep up with the news. We live in the Information Age, so there’s no excuse for not being informed. Whether you read a news site every morning, watch the headlines on TV or subscribe to a major news outlet’s e-newsletter, you have to know what’s happening in the world. Pay particular attention to any articles relating to your profession. This will give you topics to discuss at networking events, articles to discuss on Twitter and LinkedIn and a base of knowledge to apply to your current and future career decisions. I landed my first job at WorkingWoman.com because I learned about the site from an article in a news magazine!

2. Share. You know those little “Share” icons that appear next to almost every video and blog post these days? Imagine that “Share” button everywhere you look. One of the best ways to maintain a strong professional network is to share articles, job leads, book recommendations, etc. with the people you know. For instance, if you read an article about grad school scholarships, forward it to your friend who is applying to PhD programs. If you come across a video of an interview with Bobby Flay, send the link to your former internship colleague who loves to barbecue. A small, kind, helpful gesture is a great way to keep in touch with people in an authentic, professional way.

3. Learn. I recently switched from a PC to a Mac and I swear I am learning how to do something new every five minutes. I can feel my brain expanding in new ways, and it feels great. Successful people are always looking to learn, from taking a tutorial on a technology product, to looking up a word they don’t know on Dictionary.com, to asking a question at a meeting. There is a saying to do one thing every day that scares you. I would add: do one thing every day that teaches you.

4. Write a to-do list at the end of each day. This is a habit I’ve only begun recently and I wish I’d learned it years ago. Take a few minutes at the end of each workday to write a list of priorities and to-dos for the following morning, including anything you didn’t accomplish that day. It’s a great opportunity to set yourself up for success in the morning and to make sure you don’t let anything fall through the cracks.

5. Relax. College is certainly a time of staying up late, running from classes to extra curriculars to the gym to parties, and surviving on coffee and Ramen noodles. But those habits are not sustainable over time. No one can work 20 hours a day for weeks at a time and perform at peak levels. No one can go 10 hours without eating and concentrate completely. Take time now to figure out what kind of relaxation is most effective for you. It might be yoga, power napping, playing video games, zoning out to music or something else. What matters is that you take time to recharge your batteries when you need it. Remember that your career is more like a decathlon than a sprint.

What other career habits do you recommend? Please share!

This blog post originally appeared on Lindsey’s “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com.

TAGS: career advice

I heard a story last week from a woman (let’s call her Emma) who’s dealing with a bully boss — actually, Emma is doing more than just “dealing” with her, she’s directly reporting to her.

Among the daily miseries Emma faces at her boss’s hand:

• The boss schedules meetings, then cancels them. She will eventually reschedule but will almost always arrive late. When she does show up, she will be unclear, unfocused and easily distracted. And if the meeting runs over the allotted time, the boss will be completely unconcerned about how the schedule creep will impact Emma or anyone else.
• Her emails are ignored.
• Her previously well-regarded standard of work is consistently found lacking.

Emma is suffering badly. She is not sleeping well and has gained weight. Not only is she getting abused by her boss, she’s been beating herself up as well. She finds herself obsessing about different ways she can “do better”. While she knows on an intellectual level that her skills are excellent, she no longer faces the day feeling equipped to nurture her team. She puts in a lot of worry time before presentations because her boss is such a loose cannon that anything could happen. She second guesses herself all the time, finding it very difficult to make a decision.

The bottom line is that Emma has lost her confidence.

The emotional abuse her boss has dished out has damaged her to her very core. It’s time for Emma to take care of herself. If you are ever in a situation like hers, here is some advice:

• Keep a journal.
  Document, on a factual basis, what happened. Note dates, times as well as who was there. You probably will never need it but if you do, it is very difficult to recall details of things that happened when you were under a considerable amount of stress. In any case, many people find the act of journaling cathartic.
• Recognize that no matter how much you care or how hard you work, you will not be able to change his/her behavior.
  You don’t own this. Only he or she can prevent office dysfunction — and when someone is seriously disruptive, it is not realistic to expect he or she will change.
• Anticipate what’s coming and seek higher ground.
  Try to determine whether there are any patterns to the behavior— is there a particular time of day or day of the week that tends to be worse? Perhaps you can avoid him or her then.
• Talk it out.
  Find people with whom you can freely share (you must trust them implicitly), give them a chance to provide you with some guidance. If you are in a situation like this, don’t try to manage it alone. You may be able to approach someone more senior in the firm if you have a good reputation and strong relationships.

  While you may feel strongly that you should have legal options available to you, chances are that you don’t.^*
  

• Plan your exit strategy.
  While it may seem as though you have no choice but to continue to tolerate the situation, most likely you do have options. You may be able to transfer to another department or you may find something outside the company. Be careful not to speak ill of your boss (people will certainly wonder what part you played); rather, focus on why you are a good fit for the position for which you are interviewing.

* This post has been prepared for information purposes only. It is are not intended to be nor does it constitute legal advice.  Please consult a lawyer to obtain advice specific to your situation.

TAGS: bully boss, LinkedIn, managing your boss

Happy New Year, everyone! I love the freshness of the new year and look forward to sharing lots of great dialogue with you in 2010.

To start the year, I’m excited to share a guest post from my friend and 30/20 Vision podcast co-host, Alexandra Levit. She has just released a fantastic new book called New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career.

In addition to the tips below, Alexandra is offering some really cool giveaways, including a free teleconference, free coaching and free product offers. Don’t miss out on these great resources.

And now, over to Alexandra…

6 Tips for Landing Your Dream Job

By Alexandra Levit

As unattainable as a dream job might sound, with the right amount of forethought and preparation, you can make the move as well. Here are six tips to get you started:

1) Learn about yourself. Take time to do a self-assessment of your values, how you like to work, and what you’d be compelled to do even if you never got paid. Research careers and industries that map to your skills and interests. Hit the Internet, set up informational interviews, take relevant coursework, and arrange to go onsite at a company in your chosen field.

2) Don’t be deterred by a lack of experience. In developing a resume and other promotional materials for the field you want to pursue, think about how your current skills and talents apply to the responsibilities you’ll hold in the new job. For example, knowledge of project management, client relations, information technology, and sales will take you far in most types of careers.

3) Ease into a new career one foot at a time. Perhaps this means earning a paycheck at your current job while doing a part-time internship in your new field or taking an adult education class or workshop on the weekend. The only way to find out if you’re passionate about something is to try it – ideally with as little risk as you can manage.

4) Remember that any progress is good progress. Even confident people stay in unsatisfying jobs because they feel safe, and because they’re afraid of making a bad decision. But in the quest to uncover a source of meaningful work, though, your worst enemy is inertia. Make an effort to do one thing, like e-mailing a networking contact or attending an event – that moves you a bit closer to your big picture goal.

5) Start early. Younger professionals have more flexibility when it comes to test-driving different careers. The process of self-discovery is much easier when you’re unencumbered by family responsibilities and substantial financial burdens, and when you haven’t yet reached a level in a career where it’s tougher to turn back. That said, it’s never too late to pursue your passion. More and more baby boomers are leaving the world of traditional employment for alternative career paths that will fulfill them well into retirement age.

6) Have realistic expectations. Even if you’re lucky enough to hold your dream job, there’s no such thing as the perfect work situation. Every job has its ups and downs, and aspects we love and aspects we don’t love. And dream job doesn’t mean “cushy” job. As your mom always told you, anything worth having in this world requires some effort. There will be some days you feel like shutting the alarm off and going back to sleep, but many more where you feel more energized by the prospect of work than you ever thought possible!

Alexandra Levit is the author of New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career. Learn more at www.newjobnewyou.com.

Note: This blog post originally appeared on the Lindsey Pollak Career Blog.

TAGS: Books, career change

I’ve always loved new beginnings — the first day of a new month, the turning of a new season, even the sunrise of a new day (on the rare occasion I’m up early enough to see it). Of course there is no bigger new beginning than the turning of the calendar to January 1.

This year in particular, the New Year feels like a crucial fresh start. 2009 will go down in the books as one of the hardest years ever for job seekers, especially those looking for entry-level work. If you’ve had a tough time in 2009, or even if it’s been a great year for you, here are some tips for starting 2010 on a successful note.

1. Out With the Old. To make room for new things in your life (a great job, fresh ideas, more money, a strong network, etc.) you need to get rid of any clutter that is weighing you down. This might include critical people, a job that drains your energy, college junk piled in your closet or self-defeating thoughts like “I’ll never get a job in this economy.” For inspiration, check out two of my favorite resources on the topic of simplifying and decluttering: the Zen Habits Blog and Julie Morgenstern’s book, Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.

2. Set Quality (not Quantity) Goals. We all know that New Year’s resolutions are generally forgotten by February. So, instead of making a long list of “rules” for my year, I prefer to declare three to five big goals or priorities. I keep them in a little note file on my computer and on a little card pasted on the inside cover of the notebook I use every day. I peek at my list constantly to remind myself what my priorities are, how I want to spend my time and what opportunities I should not pursue. If you need help clarifying your goals, check out Your Best Year Yet! Ten Questions for Making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Ever.

Read the rest of this blog post on my “College to Career” blog on MyPath.com — a great new career resource for college students and recent grads…

TAGS: career advice, Job Search