According to CareerBuilder.com’s 2008 Job Forecast conducted by Harris Interactive of more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals:

I was really surprised to see salary and “bigger paychecks” ranked so high on the list.  And of course as someone who works in the talent management and performance consulting fields, I loved seeing that a little over 50% of respondents stated that a company’s ability to offer career advancement was more important than salary. 

We discussed both of these points on our Insight on Coaching show dedicated to coaching for personal reinvention.

Pamela Mitchell of The Reinvention Institute highlighted a nice contrast to the CareerBuilder data on salary.  Pamela emphasized in her experience, for many people looking to reinvent their careers, once they hit a certain point in their careers it’s no longer about getting a higher salary.  

If it’s not about salary, than what is it about?  

According to Pamela – it’s more about acquiring knowledge and increased job satisfaction.

Pamela added in a survey of 350 professionals (70% of whom had successfully reinvented their careers) led by The Reinvention Institute, her team found that people who put money as their top reason for wanting to make a change were actually less successful in making these types of career shifts and changes than those who were seeking other things like more satisfaction, knowledge and passion.

Another phrase she used that I liked?  

“Reinvention is the new form of job security – for example we now have industries that come and disappear within a 15-year span for example.”

What does this mean for you?

Well from my perspective as a management consultant, it means it’s important to:

Michael Arthur also brought up some additional great points around CareerBuilder’s data on the importance of flexible work arrangements, and the importance of both adaptability and flexibility as overall skills for people as well.  

In his own words “The world belongs to people who are ready to learn, ready to adapt, ready to go with the flow and benefit from the flow rather than those that want to hold onto the same kind of work they were doing a few years ago.”

I think that summed it up well Michael!

Want to hear more?

Tune into the podcast version of the Insight on Coaching show dedicated to coaching for personal reinvention to hear our guests discuss what personal reinvention is, how coaches are working with people to reinvent themselves, and most importantly how you can find a career that truly makes you happy.

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting
Specializing in Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for Reinvention

In a feature for Diversified Recruitment Inc, career columnist Patrice Kelly writes “Corporations reinvent themselves internally everyday, but individuals also can make significant changes to improve their business and personal life.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, statistically speaking no one really knows what motivates many of us to want to change careers, or the number of times the typical person changes his or her career over a lifetime.  However one idea commonly attributed to the Department of Labor is that people change careers about seven times throughout their lives.

But what stops many of us from changing careers or pursuing our dreams?

Miami-based The Reinvention Institute says there are a variety of perceived barriers that stop many of us from reinventing our careers, including lack of knowledge, scarce financial resources, and a scarcity of contacts.

How can we overcome these challenges in finding the career of our dreams?  And what should we consider when debating whether or not to change careers?

Our panel of experts address these questions and more, focusing on how coaches who specialize in career reinvention can help reshape who we are, what we do, and how we choose to live our professional and personal lives.

Highlights of the show include: