The Career Clinic Blog

What’s your story? Does it make you want to keep reading?

Next Generation Nepal founder Conor Grennan is constantly checking in with an older version of himself. Whatever he’s contemplating--for today, the week ahead, or the next several years--he asks, “Will this make me proud when I’m fifty?

“Do I want to be the guy who almost moved to Prague when I was a young man?” Conor wondered. “Or do I want to be the guy who actually did it?”

He moved to Prague.

Do you see why I love working at The Career Clinic? My wonderful guests never let me forget how important it is to keep reaching.

I hope they’re doing the same for you!

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Considering a big job change? Conflicted about it, are you? Maybe everyone you know thinks it’s a great move, but you’re not so sure.

You know who might be able to help?

Fido.

He’s been acting a little strange lately, now that you think about it. Animal communicator Joan Ranquet doubts Fido knows why something is wrong. But he probably knows. Ignore him at your own peril.

And sure, pets have their own issues. You take them to a vet when they’re sick, not because you think they’re sick with worry.

You can look at your pet’s behavior the way some career consultants look at assessments. As still something else to help you remember what you knew all along.

Next up, how your pet can help you prepare for a job interview.

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Where does someone who performs comedy and writes for television and competes in roller derby get the nerve? Pamie Ribon is a Jill of All Trades and seeming master of those as well. "We used to move every six months or so," she says. "My dad was in hotel management, so he'd fix up a property and then we'd get transferred. I went to thirteen schools and I've had twenty-seven addresses. I'm used to walking into a completely new situation with a bunch of people I don't know, figuring it out, and making it work."

Pamie says once she and her family got settled, they moved again: "So I got used to the idea."

The idea?

"You really only have right now," Pamie says.

Indeed.

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How successful will you become?

Steve Feinberg from Speedball Fitness says that depends on how you talk to yourself: “It’s the most powerful motivator you have, and the fastest way to get off track--if you don't choose your commentary carefully.”

Steve thinks there are things you can tell yourself every day that will help you move forward. And those are? "Up to you to figure out!" he says. "You’re the only person who can answer that question."

If a sunny outlook doesn’t come naturally, the rah-rah thing might seem a little jarring--if not fake--especially at first.

My suggestion? Ease into it.

The Desiderata might help. Or at least, this line: "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself."

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The minute I found out my first marriage was ending, I figured I’d waitress. I’d never done it before, but it seemed a logical move. It would leave days open to look for my dream job. It would pay the bills and keep me from feeling desperate if it took a while to find that dream job. And it would help me forget how lonesome I was. Spending most evenings in a crowded restaurant sounded healthier than sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal.

Waiting tables was going to be my way back to the world.

I found a job in a classy Italian restaurant, Ciatti’s, at arguably the prettiest intersection in St. Paul. It came highly recommended, but I wanted to see for myself…so I had dinner there one evening. It looked like a fun place to work. The servers were busy but not frazzled. You could tell they were enjoying themselves.

I didn’t have any experience in a restaurant, so I got assigned to the lounge. What a load off. Shoveling concrete was one thing. But carrying trays piled high with those heavy plates? That looked impossible. How could anyone hoist all that up on her shoulders and sashay around tables and chairs--and people getting up to use the bathroom--without losing her balance and turning into a slapstick routine? It made me nervous to use a tray even for carrying drinks, and in the lounge I could usually get by without one. But once in a while a table got called for dinner before their drinks were delivered. Then it was my job to find that party in the restaurant, take care of their lounge order, and transfer their tab to the food server.

One night I had to deliver six tall beers to a table in the restaurant. We were busier than usual and the customers were more dressed up than usual--though I’ve since forgotten the occasion. I took particular note of one woman’s beautiful blue evening gown as I approached. And just as I reminded myself what a disaster it would be if I lost my balance, I lost my balance. I can still hear the sound of glasses shattering as they hit the table and then the floor. It was one of those slow-motion moments you never forget.

Everything got very quiet, then. The entire restaurant fell silent. Everyone looked at me, wondering--I was sure--how I was going to recover. The thing was, I had no idea. And just when I thought I might die from embarrassment, my friend Paul, a food server, appeared. He looked at the woman with the stunning blue dress, now soaked, and said, “Well, I guess the drinks are on you tonight!” Everyone laughed. The manager swooped in with a voucher for drycleaning, and asked me for their tab so he could comp their check. It was soaking wet just like everything else, and fell apart as he tried to run it through the register.

Good times.

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