Marc as a Guest on Think, Believe, and Manifest! Online Radio Podcast #033

In this episode, Marc says he has been getting tremendous feedback from his appearance on the Think, Believe, and Manifest! Online Radio podcast, and he decided to use it as an episode of the Repurpose Your Career Podcast. This time, Marc is the guest! Marc shares career pivot advice and anecdotes from his own career and the pivots of his clients, with host Constance Arnold. Listen in for a refresher course on how to plan for your career pivot.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:31] Constance Arnold introduces Marc and he goes over his history at IBM, a startup, and his near-fatal bicycle accident, his high school teaching stint, his work with a not-for-profit, another startup, and his inspiration for a career pivot system.

[6:15] Marc says people are living longer, and are often dissatisfied with the direction of their current career, so they pivot incrementally to get where they want. The most common way to do it is to repurpose their industry knowledge or their business skills.

[7:45] Marc has an intern, Elizabeth, who found she wanted to change careers. She wanted to use her creativity. So she first went from permitting, to business development and marketing at the same company. Then she pivoted to a pure marketing role at a different company. Marc, in his seven pivots, used half steps. He explains that.

[10:02] To pivot, first, “know thyself.” You are not the persona you’ve taken on at work. As you prepare to pivot, what skills do you want to carry forward, and what skills do you want to leave behind? Marc uses a practice from Susan Cain’s book, Quiet, ‘restorative niches.’ Schedule into your day something that will restore you, for self-care.

[12:38] Sometimes you make a career pivot because you need the money. One in four people over 65 still have college debt, and it comes out of their SS. There has to be a balance between doing what society needs and doing what you want.

[14:43] The second step in pivoting is learning not to make assumptions. Marc calls this “MSU Syndrome.” Marc talks about assumptions he made when pivoting to teaching high school. Several of his assumptions were completely wrong. He uses an example.

[17:34] The third step is you’re not going to do this alone. Build a tribe — those people you can go to and reliably ask a favor and it be fulfilled. Who are those people? Many of us need a fan club. A fan club is those people around you who, when you’re making this change, and things don’t go right, they will cheer you onward.

[22:14] Ask your weak ties for advice, insights, and recommendations. Asking for advice is a compliment. People will rarely turn you down. Ask what should I do next? Is there anyone you can think of I should talk to?

[24:32] To help clients know where they want to go, Marc uses the Birkman Assessment. He finds out when they have been the happiest, and when they have been the most miserable, and helps them understand why. Be honest with yourself. Get a coach, or your spouse, or friend to advise you.

[29:33] LinkedIn is a valuable tool to find people who look, taste, and smell like you, and where they are working. There is wonderful information in LinkedIn. Represent yourself authentically.

[32:33] Someone looking for a career pivot has to be willing to ask for help. Be humble, be willing to move along and go with the flow. Marc gives some examples from past episodes of Repurpose Your Career.

[38:52] The possibilities are unlimited. Marc puts people on the podcasts who have made the transitions to say, yes, you can do this. There are a lot of people going through what you’re going through. And they found ways to accomplish it.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

CareerPivot.com/blog

Marc@CareerPivot.com

Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me. Marc is accepting new clients, so reach out to him. He will supply a link to his calendar to set up a call.

Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life, by Marc Miller and Susan Lahey

Think, Believe, and Manifest! Online Radio

Birkman Assessment

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

LinkedIn

CareerPivot.com/episode-33

 

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