Career Boost Camp Inspires Professionals to Seek Best Job for Their Skill Set

UC San Diego Alumni and UC San Diego Extension’s Center for Life/Work Strategies have teamed up to offer an inspirational and eye-opening “Career Boost Camp” that will take your career to the next level. Executives, managers and recent grads will gain a new sense of control and a conviction to energize their work style, create unique value and build a blueprint to take control of their lives.

The Career Boost Camp will take place Saturday June 2nd, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the UC San Diego Institute of the Americas conference hall. Registration is $10 per person and includes breakfast and a raffle ticket for books and Extension workshops. Parking is free (recommended parking at N. Torrey Pines and Pangea Dr.).

Kicking off the morning session is Associate Vice Chancellor, Armin Afsahi, which will be followed by keynote address from Will Marré, Co-Founder of the Covey Leadership Center and Emmy-Award Winner.

According to Marré’s research, only 19 percent of professionals today are truly satisfied with their careers. He will share with you ways people are thriving in today’s job market by turning their talents and passions into value to maximize their opportunities, earnings and fulfillment.

A panel of entrepreneurs and UCSD alumni will share their journeys to building successful businesses. The experiences of these innovators range from career entrepreneurs to an alumnus who decided to start his own business after years in industry. Moderated by Lisa Gordon, San Diego Small Business Ambassador, the session will include stories from Erik Maki ’08, Founder of Maki Longboards, Joon Han ‘96, Business Strategist, and Elizabeth Kaplan ‘88, Founder of The Pure Pantry.

U-T San Diego Job & Career Columnist and Co-Author of Closing America’s Job Gap, Henry DeVries, ’79, will discuss how to grow companies and land good jobs in the age of innovation. Interviewer Elizabeth Gibson, Advisor to UC San Diego Extension’s Career Transition & Development for Professionals Program, will share her perspective along with Henry on what it takes to secure a job along a successful career path.

The event’s closing session will feature Christine Didonato, Director, Talent & Organizational Development, Sony Electronics. She’ll address the tough questions many professionals experience today: how do you get developed and promoted in a time when organizations are in the midst of constant change and have limited resources?  Through her 7 Must-Have Mindsets™ Didonato will help you to understand the unspoken beliefs to give you an edge and accelerate career progression.

To register for this though-provoking and insightful Career Boost Camp event, visit http://alumni.ucsd.edu/careerboost.

Questions? Contact ksears@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-8178.

Quiz: Is My Career Right For Me?

By Will Marre

Research confirms that your career is the cornerstone of your personal well-being. Yet sadly less than two in ten people are fully engaged with their work.

Take this short, 10-question quiz to see if your career is right for you. This spring’s new course, “How Your Unique Design Will Help You Reboot Your Career,”  course could transform your life.

Discover where to invest your time and energy to attain your best future.

Quiz:

1. Do you find yourself looking forward to going to work?
   Yes, frequently
   No or very rarely

2. Do you consistently engage yourself in new activities that make your work more fulfilling and enjoyable?
   Yes, every week or every other week
   No or very rarely

3. Do you work with good friends that you trust and encourage you?
   Yes
   No, not really

4. Are you actively developing your strengths and talents to get more out of work and life?
   Yes, consistently
   No

5. Do you have a low stress work style that is enjoyable in terms of its pace, variety, and growth?
   Yes, usually
   No, rarely

6. Do you usually have high energy and feel fit and healthy?
   Yes, usually
   No, not as often as I’d like

7. Are you in a highly satisfying relationship with your boss that makes you feel valued and affirmed?
   Yes
   No

8. Are you frequently coming up with and taking action on new, creative ideas to make both your work and your life better?
   Yes, frequently
   No, rarely

9. Are you clear that the career you’re investing yourself in is the right one for you?
   Yes, I am clear and happy
   No, I often wonder about it

10. Do you have an excellent coach or expert friend that helps you make great decisions about your work and your life?
    Yes, I talk to him/her every week
    No, I try to figure it out on my own

Score:
# No
# Yes

This quiz is based on the forces of the new science of Life Harmony, which studies human thriving when our careers, relationships, and lifestyle are aligned.

Understanding Your Score

• If your Yes score is 9 or above: Congratulations.  You are in the top 10% of people who are thriving in their work and consistently taking action to keep their life progressing in a fulfilling and rewarding direction. Why you should take the class: As a hungry learner your thirst for development will be maximized by the quick and efficient tips, techniques, and insights you will receive over three fast paced sessions.  And you will likely enjoy encouraging and inspiring others to achieve what you’re achieving.
• If your Yes score is 7 or 8: Be encouraged.  You are very close to having self-inspiring career.  Your score means you have a lot of things right and just a series of small, consistent changes may add up to a big change in how you feel about your career.  Your score may reveal a certain area you can focus on that the new skills and science based know-how that you will learn from the course will help you conquer.  You are close.  Join us.
• If your Yes score is 6 or below: You are a member of a very big club of the vast majority of people who are suffering every day with stress and uncertainty wondering what to do.  Our “Reboot” course is designed to free you from the little, invisible mistakes you are likely making and give you the power to change your work, improve your performance, and remodel your career into a more fulfilling, and enjoyable one virtually every day.  Our Career Center is a growing community of people just like you that are making positive, life-fulfilling changes every day.  There will never be a better time to free yourself from whatever is in your way.

Will Marre’s next class, “How Your Unique Design Will Help You Reboot Your Career,” begins Thursday, April 12th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at UCSD Extension University City Center, 6256 Greenwich Dr., San Diego.  The class meets three times (4/12, 4/23 and 5/7).  Fee is $95, and includes eight assessments. Parking is free.

Will Marré is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center where he translated the concepts of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into powerful leadership courses taught to millions of executives worldwide.   Today Will is an evangelist of socially strategic enterprise that transforms Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Social Opportunity. Will is founder and CEO of ThoughtRocket, a learning community systematically designed to center your life around your personal purpose so that you have enriching work, fulfilling relationships, and a lifestyle of full engagement. Read more about Will

UC San Diego Extension’s Center for Life/Work Strategies is a nexus of resources to help professionals manage their short and long-term career paths. As the job market has fundamentally changed, so must the way in which people approach their employment—it’s up to individuals to understand and build upon their strengths and develop a plan to meet their career goals.  Workshops, assessments, coaching and online careers resources are available at extension.ucsd.edu/careers.

Don’t Stop Believing: 3 Reasons to Job Search During the Holidays

By Elizabeth Gibson

Network during the holidays—professional organization parties, corporate events, neighborhood get-togethers—and find more opportunities to connect with key contacts.

A challenging job market, everyone on vacation, deadline-driven managers:  what do each of these have in common?  They’re all excuses that job seekers give to skip job hunting over the holidays.  Why bother, you ask?

• Reason #1:  Less Competition
  If everyone else believes you can’t get a job during the holidays, let everyone else stay home drinking eggnog.  Much like the early bird getting the worm, the job seeker who stays focused during the holidays maintains momentum, demonstrates commitment to employers, and is far more likely to encounter and take advantage of existing opportunities.  Job seekers who are prepared with their story, their motivation, and a plan can make a big impact on their target contacts at a time when the competition is focused on finding Zhiu Zhui pets at Toys ‘R Us.
• Reason #2:  More Opportunity
  Organizations often map their first quarter hiring needs during the last quarter of the calendar year, so opportunities may be evaluated, discussed, and/or posted in December and January.  Job seekers who continue to research key organizations and stay on task during the holidays are more likely to land on a hiring manager’s radar early in that process.
• Reason #3:  Better Connections
  Let’s face it, there are more opportunities to network during the holidays – professional organization parties, corporate events, neighborhood get-togethers – and people are typically a little more relaxed.  Job seekers who are strategic about networking may find more opportunities to connect with key contacts, or find that people are more inclined to help.  (A word of warning – while people are a bit more relaxed at this time, dancing around in a Santa hat and demonstrating how the alcohol in your breath can replicate a blowtorch probably won’t land you that dream job.)

Also, while administrative staff may take vacation during holidays, executives or managers in key areas will often work at least part of the time in order to meet deadlines and finish strategic projects.  Well prepared job seekers may be able to bypass a gatekeeper by calling key executives between Christmas and New Year’s.

If you’re looking to sharpen your job search skills, whether it’s resume-building, interviewing, or identifying your career passion, UC San Diego Extension’s Career Center courses can give you the guidance you need to stay focused and effective this winter.

A Career Center student creates a personal brochure to market his skills.

Elizabeth Gibson is director of UC San Diego Extension’s Career Transition & Development for Professionals Program.  She is a community leader with expertise in career development, HR, organizational development, and change management, and has presented to industry associations and Fortune 500s. She was VP of Business Development at Lee Hecht Harrison, where she consulted on career transition, leadership development, and workforce solutions. She is a Past President of the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management.

This winter quarter, Elizabeth Gibson will be teaching Career Management, which begins January 25^th.