The Career Clinic Blog

The five-year-old who recorded the first half of this commercial was very unhappy at the implication she actually visited The Career Clinic web site. "That's what you do in advertising," I teased her. "You lie."

She's fifteen now, and graciously agreed to update the ad--if she can tell you how she really feels.

Here's listening to you, kid.

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Once upon a time I thought I was ready for kindergarten.

I was wrong.

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"If tomorrow you were given the chance to be great at every single skill in your life--I’m talking world-class level, in each of your various interests--would you do it?"

That's a question Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, posed on his blog recently.

I thought about it for a moment and decided...no. I’d feel too much pressure to be an accomplishment factory.

It reminded me of calling the office of the elementary school I attended, to find out what my IQ was. The secretary used to be my piano teacher, and--to my dismay--recognized my voice. "You're the only person I know who would ask about that!" she exclaimed. "How could anyone not wonder?" I thought to myself.

And no, I'm not going to tell you. It was high enough to make me a little puffy, not so high I felt like I'd let the world down by not delivering more on my potential.

Genius, I decided, is like that. From the outside looking in? A whole lot of pressure.

Daniel can relate. He agrees one of the best examples we can set for a child is to let them see us suck at something--and have so much fun while we're at it.

Tennis, roller skating, even Tetris--no one can accuse me of making anyone else look bad by comparison. But fun? Are you kidding?

You can hear me three rooms away as another Tetris game unravels. I play it like I mean it. I play for the sheer joy of it, not because I'm better or faster or more graceful than someone else.

Good thing!

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Want to get better at tennis? The violin? A foreign language? Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, says the way to develop talent is with what he calls deep practice.

Break things down. Isolate the movements. Do each one perfectly. Repeat. Ten thousand times!

It won’t guarantee you’ll reach the finals at Wimbledon, but it will help rewire your brain and make you a whole lot better than someone who isn’t willing to put in that much effort. Daniel says repetition has gotten a bad rap since the beginning of times tables. But repetition is power, he adds, if you concentrate on each rep.

Intense practice, endless repetition. The not-so-secret formula to many a successful--and yes, fun-filled--career.

Now granted, there are only so many things you’ll have the passion--or the time--to master. But that’s okay, too. Daniel thinks there’s a lot to be said for enjoying things you suck at. More in my next post.

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Want to see the world? Save a lot of money? Sample a new career? Make new friends, maybe even meet your soul mate?

Want to do that all at once?

Maybe you should consider working on a cruise ship. That's how Tony and Sarah Nasello got their lives--and careers--off to a dreamy start. Well, dreamy and challenging. Because it’s also hard work and long hours and keeping hundreds of people happy who likely have years if not decades of expectations demanding to be fulfilled on this one trip!

Tony and Sarah were my guests on The Career Clinic recently and looked back on their cruise ship experiences as some of the happiest of their lives. They indulged their passions for travel and for wonderful food, saved money the rest of us spend on mortgages and groceries and transportation, and--on top of Tony’s experience working for companies like Disney--learned how to make memories for people.

Now they do that at their restaurant, Sarello's, in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Yeah. Sarello's. Get it? A combination of Sarah and Nasello. Sarah knew she was going to marry Tony the minute he told her the name.

Do they regret it? I don’t mean getting married--these two are almost annoyingly happy. I mean naming their restaurant what they did. Because while I’ve known the couple casually for two years now--they do their own radio show on our flagship station, AM 1100--I still have to think about it. "Is it Tony and Sarah Nasello from Sarello's? Or Tony and Sarah Sarello from Nasello's?"

“Just so whatever you say ends in a vowel,” Tony jokes. Why would he care? It got him the girl.

Walk into Nasello’s--kidding, I mean Sarello’s--and you’ll feel like you’re on a luxury cruise. Say something even mildly amusing and Tony will throw his head back and laugh like he’s never heard anything funnier in his life. He isn’t faking, best I can tell. He’s just having that much fun living.

That’s amore.

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Should you take a year off between high school and college? Marry the guy? Buy a house in that neighborhood?

What about the job you’ve just been offered? Do you take it? Or keep looking?

Beats me.

The decisions I’ve felt most sure about have often left me wondering what I could’ve possibly been thinking. And much of what I love most about my life started practically on a dare.

So I’m probably a bad one to ask for advice. Then again, I hope you don’t read this blog for the answers. I hope you read it for the questions.

The decisions I take the most delight in have something in common. When I remembered to ask if whatever it was would make for a better story, the answer was, “Yes.”

Because really, what else is there?

Don’t take my word for it. Helen Keller said it better: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

I’ll take daring adventure, please.

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Are you're worried you're too young to be in serious consideration for that dream job? How about telling the employer that what you lack in experience you'll make up in attitude?

Come to the interview armed with examples of how you caught on quickly and pulled your weight.

If you’re energized by the challenge of fixing a copy machine or soothing an irate customer, don’t keep it a secret from the hiring manager. Let that person know how eager you are to do this job.

The manager’s job is to find people who feel that way, whose reward is in the work.

If that describes you, playing hard to get--even accidentally, by trying not to appear as desperate as you might feel--will make getting the job even more difficult.

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The hiring manager is young enough to be your daughter.

Now what?

Martin Yate, author of Knock 'em Dead, suggests you talk about what you can do--not how much you know. You want her to think of you as a potential problem solver, not a potential problem.

And what about that elephant in the job interview with you, otherwise known as your age?

"An interview almost always ends with an invitation for the job hunter to ask questions," Martin says. "That's your chance to reassure her your age will be an asset, not a liability."

Martin's script would go something like this...

"If I were sitting in your place looking at me, I'd be saying, 'Has this person got the energy to do the job? He has to be 150 years old!'" Then laugh along with her as you continue: "I may have a few years on you, but I run marathons and am in excellent health. There are a couple of benefits to my age. Number one, I've made a lot of mistakes on someone else's payroll. Number two, I understand what teamwork is all about. I know that as a manager, you need someone you can rely on--who has your back. I won't be snapping at your heels. I'm not after your job and I'm probably one of the few candidates who isn't." Then pause. Then add, "I'm experienced, I'm reliable, and I'll be a good influence."

Doesn’t sound like an old fuddy duddy to me.

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Are you older than fifty and having trouble finding a job? Human resources expert Laurie Ruettimann suggests you do volunteer work in the meantime.

"You'll get out of the house," Laurie says. "You'll be able to show off your skills and learn new ones, and you'll get to know people who know people who might want to hire you."

Volunteer work is a great way to sample a new career, too. It's the right thing to do--for others, and for you.

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Have you been offered an exit interview? Laurie Ruettimann is a human resources professional who thinks that time would be better spent--whether you're the manager or the departing employee--getting a donut.

"The exit interview is the worst point in the employment cycle to ask someone's opinion," Laurie says. "I coach people not to say anything. You don't have to accept the offer of an exit interview. Just politely decline."

Laurie bets that anything you share will just be filed under sour grapes, so what's the point?

Good managers engage their employees in thoughtful conversation constantly, another reason Laurie thinks exit interviews are unnecessary--at best.

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