"Carry a Paintbrush"
If you, or someone you know, is seeking a job or thinking about making a career change, would it help to have an inside look, or some type of a “secret weapon”, before you make this step? Of course!
In today’s economy, and this very competitive job market, having a working strategy to acquire the right job or career is as important as having the correct location or the right time of a job interview.
Best-selling Author and Career Expert, Susanne Goldstein has written a book which is not the typical, “how-to-get-a-job” or another “self-help” book. Goldstein’s book is written in a format that is not only easy to read but also has very practical life-experiences, solid techniques, and exercises that don’t just allow the reader to get on the path to a career but shows the reader how to find the career they are meant to be in and actually land the job.
“Carry a Paintbrush” is a must read for anyone of any age, whether you are just starting out into the workforce, changing careers or contemplating a complete “career makeover”.
Goldstein brings up very valuable points in the book which can help prevent job seeking mistakes and help create a much more pleasant career finding and life changing experience. Personally, I think “Carry a Paintbrush” should be a part of any High School Curriculum. It teaches lessons that are very valuable and would have been extremely helpful to learn much earlier on.
When a person first sets out to get their first job or they are laid off from their current job, what is the first thing they do? What should they do? What is the first thing you think of?
Many people search job listings to find where jobs are available, make those phone calls or contacts via email, send resumes and hope the feedback is returned for a possible interview and then hope they met the criteria or the expectations of the person or the company doing the hiring.
As Goldstein points out in her book, there is a solution to finding the right career for each person or even a job that may be temporary but heading towards their career. She highlights this using a demonstration, “The Sweet Spot”, which looks at a person’s passions, interests and skills. Goldstein points out, “The trick to discovering that sweet spot is to get really clear about what makes you passionate, what topics never cease to hold your interest, and what kinds of skills you possess.”
"The Sweet Spot" Diagram
The question would then be, “Okay, so how do I line up what I know I want to do with an available job?”
Since so many people are looking for jobs and companies know this, not every company list each job when a position becomes available.
When you feel you know what industry you will fit into and feel you have the necessary skills required, the next step would be to find a way to get the job. You’re asking, “Where is this job?” You may know about this job by knowing someone in this profession or in the company you’d like to work for but if you don’t have that, then you need to find an “In” person. How do you do this? You start by looking through who you already know and head to chapter 11 in “Carry a Paintbrush”. This is a great tool not only for job hunting but so many things!
As today’s world has changed so dramatically in the way of communication and Social Media, the ability to meet people is endless, therefore opening our possibilities beyond the classifieds or an online job listing websites.
Using Social Media to meet people within our same industry, desired industry or even our current workplace are tools that we can use to further our career, learn more about our potential to grow within our current workplace or if it is time to move on.
With the ability to learn about a company, their objective, the leadership and financial outlook gives us a broader view of what we can possibly offer a company or potentially if our future with a company may be solid or short-lived.
The idea of taking a leap out into a new career or even trying to move up within your current company can be extremely overwhelming but if you are seeking a position that fits you, have done everything you should to prepare for the move into another career or a step up, then you are already ahead of most others that may be seeking the same position.
Once we can acknowledge we are in more control of our career choices than we often give credit to and we have the right tools, we can have more ability to not only have a job or career, but something that is more rewarding.
To get started, I highly recommend you purchase Susanne’s book, “Carry a Paintbrush” and get started painting your own career.
Visit carryapaintbrush.com to read more about the book and how to be the artistic director of your own career!
Change Happens 