Founder and CEO of the Reinvention Institute, Pamela Mitchell, author of the dynamic and empowering book The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about her book with us.
She shares ideas about how to become a career reinventor and why it's essential in today's rapidly changing and highly competitive employment market. With ever rising unemployment, Pamela Mitchell's ideas are crucial for your survival and ability to adapt and prosper in your career.
Thanks to Pamela Mitchell for her time and thoughtful responses.
What was the background to writing this book The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy?
Pamela Mitchell: Back in the early 90s when I was working on Wall Street, I found myself hating my career and desperate to make a switch. I went searching for a book that could help me, but the ones I found assumed you wanted to find a job within the same industry you’d been working in. None of them told you what to do if your goal was to get a job in a different field.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do next much less have a strategy for getting there. There were no 10 Laws of Reinvention to guide me, so I had to figure it out the hard way! Through much trial and error I did, and seven months after leaving Wall Street I landed a new position in the entertainment field.
For years afterward I served as an informal mentor for people looking to make a career switch. Invariably they’d come back with a success story resulting from the strategies I’d shared. After nine years in entertainment, tired of the travel, I decided it was time for yet another reinvention. I became a certified coach and launched The Reinvention Institute, a company specifically dedicated to providing the knowledge, tools, support and inspiration people need to change direction in their careers. It is the company I looked for when I left Wall Street! The book came about because our clients and students repeatedly asked for a comprehensive guide to what they’d learned in our classes, seminars and coaching.
In today's economy, with layoffs and the dream of a lifelong career no longer a reality, is it more important than ever to have a career survival skill set?
Pamela Mitchell: Absolutely. ExecuNet's 2009 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report states that executives expect to hold a single job for 5.6 years, but they only stay in that spot for 2.3 years. They also expect to work for the same company for 6.6 years, but in actuality they remain employed by that company for just 2.8 years. While some of this job changing may be voluntary, there’s a good percentage of it that’s not. You need to have your career reinvention skills honed so that when the ground shifts beneath your feet, you can land securely in your next position.
Pamela Mitchell (photo left)
Is the book's information useful for a Baby Boomer nearing retirement, a GenXer in mid-career, or a Millennial starting their own career path?
Pamela Mitchell: Knowing the Laws of Career Reinvention is critical for baby boomers who, though nearing retirement, may have a desire (or need) to remain active in the world of work. The 10 Laws give them the tools to stay in the game. Mid-careerists can use the 10 Laws to help them rapidly adapt to an ever-changing landscape of companies buffeted by rapid technological change. For Millennials who are just entering the workforce, the 10 Laws teach them how to build a portfolio of skills that will ensure they are best positioned for future opportunities.
How can a person become emotionally and mentally prepared for career change at any point in their life?
Pamela Mitchell: A person can stay ready for career change by continually developing new skills and regularly pursuing projects and activities outside their comfort zone. They should also make a Plan B strategy a permanent part of their career planning strategy, and update it at a minimum annually.
What often holds a person back from becoming a Reinventor?
Pamela Mitchell: We did a study back in 2006 that polled over 350 professionals, 65% of whom had successfully reinvented their careers at least once. The number one perceived barrier among successful Reinventors was lack of necessary skills/knowledge for their new career. Interestingly enough, 72% of them reported that the skills from their previous career were ‘extremely useful’ or ‘very useful’ in their new career. My experience has shown that oftentimes, the biggest barrier to becoming a successful Reinventor is something much more intangible, namely fear.
What is the first step a person should take toward getting the career of their dreams even in a bad economy?
Pamela Mitchell: Buy The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention! But seriously, the first thing a person should do, especially in a bad economy, is take an honest look at their lifestyle. If you use career reinvention as an excuse to purse a pie-in-the-sky dream at the expense of your basic needs, you’ve set yourself up for failure. Once you’ve taken stock of the components of your life (finances, family obligations, interests and passions), use them as a foundation for crafting a reinvention strategy that will deliver a workable intersection of all three.
What is next for Pamela Mitchell?
Pamela Mitchell: Continuing my mission to give people practical tools that will help them stay competitive and build a satisfying, productive and prosperous career, even in the most challenging marketplace.
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My book review of The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy by Pamela Mitchell.
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