I’ve pretty much worked in the same field since high school — I got a job pasting up newspaper pages using X-Acto knives and hot wax when I was 17 and I’ve earned my paycheck from something related to writing or media ever since. This week I met a friend of a friend who is studying criminal justice after getting…
Late last year, I got the most amazing freelance gig: interview three University of Michigan graduates who all had connections to the recently closed Gourmet magazine. It started with an assignment from Michigan Alumnus magazine to profile Michael and Jane Stern, authors of the Roadfood series. Then Conde Nast announced it was folding Gourmet. Since the Sterns had a long-standing…
We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming … I’ve been blogging about gratitude for the last month and now it’s time to shift back to writing more broadly about reinvention and transformation. Apparently the New York Times knew I might need some help with blog topics, since the business editors packed three good stories of reinvention today: Wines,…
My second job after college was at the weekly South Lyon Herald. We covered a small town in southeast Michigan like a big, wooly blanket — as the education reporter, I did a two-page spread on prom, for example. My editor there was Maria Stuart. It feels like ages ago for me, as I’ve moved numerous times, both my home…
More magazine, which bills itself as a “comprehensive resource and community for women over 40,” is hosting a Reinvention Convention Oct. 5 in New York. The Web site says: Are you ready to revamp your career? Tackle money management questions? Rev up your style, health and maybe your sex life, too? Then join the editors of More, top experts and…
Whether there’s a shared sense of the narrative of the recession, or perhaps some collective wishful thinking, certain stories seem to be popping up frequently: The recession is causing Americans to re-examine their consumerist spendaholic ways Layoffs are prompting Americans to pursue new, more fulfilling career paths I think the common thread in both these themes is a hope that…
I’m a big believer in the silver lining — that what initially looks negative can turn out to be a real positive. You might just need to be willing to accept that disguised gift. The New York Times recently ran a story headlined Weary of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own. Part of the story says: Plenty of other…
Apparently I’m not the only one who finds exploring career transformation interesting. Check out MSNBC’s package of stories including individual stories of how people are adapting to a changing economy as well as pointers on reinventing your career. Then pop over to Career Diva to read Eve Tahmincioglu’s reaction to some of the audience comments generated by the MSNBC stories. They’ll give…
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.” ~ Yogi Berra My birthday is Monday. Those of you who know me already know that I seriously love birthdays. Now those of you who don’t know me know that, too. I like to think of my birthday as my own personal New Year. My old roommate, Karen,…
Remember in high school art class, when you learned that two parallel lines like railroad tracks converge in the distance? Joel Zeff’s career path looks like that, with his day jobs as a reporter and PR guy merging with his hobby as a stand up comedian and improv troupe member in his current incarnation as a motivational speaker. The beauty…
Many of my friends are journalists — reporters, editors, photographers, the many things people do to deliver you the news every day. But with advertising drying up and Wall Street hammering on news organizations that mostly still seem flummoxed by how to make money online, that’s a tough place to make a living. A graphic designer started keeping track of all…
