This document outlines a presentation about managing career transitions and changes. It provides a five-step process for professionals facing job changes: 1) Getting ready administratively, 2) Inventorying skills and experience, 3) Assessing potential options, 4) Researching options, and 5) Pursuing opportunities. The presentation emphasizes self-care during transitions and controlling what you can through preparation, research, networking and pursuing new opportunities.

1. Kim Dority & Scott Brown
SLA Rocky Mountain Chapter
October 18, 2012
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 1

2. 2
Yeah - it’s
stressful
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

3. Me = My job
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 3

4. Me ≠ My job
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 4

5. Change WILL happen
It is scary
AND
It is exciting
Guy Mason © 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 5

6. Change WILL happen
The situation is NOT about you
The process IS about you
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 6

7. So about that process….
Today we’ll focus on:
 Step 1: Getting ready for change – taking care of
administrivia
 Step 2: Figuring out where you are – inventorying
your professional assets
 Step 3: Figuring out where you might be – assessing
potential options and choices
 Step 4: Learning more – researching potential
options and choices
 Step 5: Putting yourself in the path of opportunity
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 7

8. Step 1: Getting ready for change
 Gather up your stuff from the office
 Collect your contacts and bookmarks, RSS feeds,
email newsletters, online groups, registrations and
logins
 Make sure that all of your accounts and contact
information go to a personal, rather than
employer-supplied, e-mail account
 Figure out the unemployment application process
before you need it
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 8

9. Getting ready (con’t)
Save or print
 Resumes, important documents, PERSONAL
material on your system
 Current and last year paycheck history, stock option
history and status (as applicable)
 Performance reviews, training history
 Health benefit elections (do medical appointments
now!)
 Vacation balance
(…being respectful and mindful of company physical and
intellectual property)
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 9

10. Getting ready (con’t)
 Make sure your resume is in order (resumes)
 Make sure you’ve got a killer LinkedIn profile and
you’ve joined the groups that relate to your
potential areas of interest
 Get the “just in case” word out discreetly
 If you want to work with recruiters or staffing
agencies, research the best ones now, before you
need them
 Detach emotionally
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 10

11. Shifting focus
to what’s next
 Transitioning the
work
 Responsibility vs.
letting go
 The freedom of
clearing your plate
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 11

12. Step 2: Figuring out where you are
Your professional equity is a combination of:
 Your skills and expertise: What do you know, and
what have you done with it?
 Your professional network
 Your professional brand
Now is the time to inventory your assets in each of
these categories
(More on leveraging your network and brand
in the third webinar of this series)
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 12

13. Where you are: Roles & Skills
What are all of your qualities and roles?
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 13

14. Roles & Skills (con’t)
What are all of your roles?
 Librarian (or  Citizen  Mentor
whatever your
job is)  Volunteer  Musician
 Father  Leader  Repairman (at
home)
 Husband  Manager
 Finances
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 14

15. Roles & Skills (con’t)
What are the skills of those roles?
 Librarian  Volunteer  Mentor
 Project  Event planning  Managing
management  Task force work  Teaching
 Training  Research  Coaching
 Research  Interviewing  Networking
 Stakeholder  Creating and  Evaluating
work administering  Etc.
 Web 2.0 tools surveys
(wikis, blogs)  Etc.
 Etc.
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 15

16. Building on your roles & skills
 List your skills - ALL of them
 List what you liked from past and current roles
 List what you didn’t like from past jobs and roles
 List what you don’t like about your current job
This will help you take the next step, which is to
assess your potential options and choices
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 16

17. Step 3:
Figuring out where you might be
Based on your previous assessments and
inventory, what do your potential options and
choices look like?
 Same type of job? Or….
 Same type of company? Or….
 Same industry? Or….
 Any existing or imminent life circumstances
you should take into consideration?
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 17

18. Where you might be…
Some questions to ask:
 What other jobs/organizations are out there?
 What have I found fulfilling (or not) in my current
job/position?
 Are there other jobs/positions available in my community
or do I need to move elsewhere?
 Am I willing to move for a better job, position,
opportunity?
 Would I prefer to move elsewhere? If so, where?
 Do I need to pursue further education for the types of
jobs that I want next?
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 18

19. Step 4: Learning more
To learn more about your potential
options and choices, you’ll probably
want to
 Research industries
 Research companies
 Research types of information work
 Consider/explore alternative work structures
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 19

20. 20
Research industries and companies –
and avoid pain!
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

21. Industry informationinformation sources
Top 10 company
1. College resources
2. Directories of industry profiles
3. Industry-specific business magazines
4. Professional associations
5. Industry observers and analysts
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

22. Industry information information sources
Top 10 company
(con’t)
6. Internet research
7. Your network
8. Social media
9. Government resources
10. Local resources
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

23. Testing your assumptions
• Informational interviews
• Job shadowing
• Volunteering
• Part-time jobs
• Freelance/independent work
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

24. Learning more…about invisible jobs
Invisible LIS jobs are sometimes tough to
“unearth,” but more and more LIS
professionals are ending up in these roles
 Embedded librarianship
 Embedded/integrated information professionals
 What are these positions called?
 Sample keywords and job titles
 “Off the beaten track” sources
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 24

25. 25
Yes, they’re really there
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

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© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

27. Step 5: Putting yourself in
the path of opportunity
 Get visible
 Monitor your environment
 Be prepared to act
 Take the initiative
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 27

28. The path of opportunity
If your research revealed knowledge gaps you need
to address, consider:
• Additional formal coursework
• Informal, non-credentialed options
• Certifications
• “Casual learning” options (e.g., HTML for
Dummies)
• Opportunities in your current job to learn more or
gain more experience
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

29. The path of opportunity
If your research revealed a need to build
connections in your target professional
community, consider:
• Joining the local chapters of professional
associations
• Doing informational interviews
• Connecting through teachers, guest speakers,
mentors, vendors you work with in your job
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

30. The path of opportunity
If your research revealed a need to build visibility
among your target prospects (potential
employers), consider:
• Becoming active in relevant LinkedIn groups
• Getting active in your local association chapters
• Volunteering
• Possibly (depending on current job) noting your
interest in your LinkedIn profile
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

31. So back to where we started….
Remember when we said that change is scary, but also
exciting? What are some ways to find the positive in
the negative?
 Understand, accept and embrace change
 Focus on new energy, opportunity for engagement and
passion
 Embrace new challenges for the renewal they provide
 Reach out to new friends
 Understand this as a gift of personal growth (even if
it’s a gift we’d all prefer to return now and then!)
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 31

32. The most important thing: take
care of yourself
You can't help others if
your oxygen mask
isn't on
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 32

33. Strengths and resources
 Use your network
 Stay connected
 Stay active
 Keep options open
 Ask for help
 This is OK
 Make yourself available
 Training/mentoring
 Consulting
 Listening
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 33

34. Strengths and resources
 Unwind/unravel from
the job
 Give yourself a break
 Take time off if possible
 Energize yourself
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 34

35. Pop quiz: key take-aways?
 Job change is inevitable, but you can prepare for it
 By inventorying where you are – and your
professional equity – you can get a good sense of
what you might want to do next
 By researching and assessing industries,
companies, and your personal preferences, you’ll
be able to identify potential options and best
choices
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 35

36. Key take-aways (con’t)
 By putting yourself in the path of opportunity, you’re
likely to come across more opening doors
 By taking care of yourself, you’re likelier to thrive, not
just survive, through change
Remember, as Charles Darwin pointed out,
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the
most intelligent, but the one most responsive to
change."
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown 36

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Upcoming webinars
• Transferable Skills: Identifying and Marketing Your Unique
Value to Non-LIS Employers, November 15, 2012, 2pm ET
• So Tell Me About Yourself: Personal and Professional
Branding for LIS Students and Professionals, December 20,
2012, 2pm ET
Sign up at http://rockymountain.sla.org/tag/virtual-
programs/
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown

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Questions
© 2012 Kim Dority & Scott Brown