The Next Chapter


I’m a 37-year-old man who worked in corporate America in the technology sector for 15 years until I was laid off. Now I’m trying to find something I love. Do you have any suggestions?

-R. Washington, Via the Internet

Perhaps your unexpected job loss was a good thing. Now is a great time for you to uncover what it is you really want in a nine-to-five (or any other work schedule you’d like). If you are financially stable, then you have more flexibility in deciding what your next career pursuit will be.

Construct a mental picture of your dream job. In it, are you the teacher or the apprentice? Are you working in a volunteer capacity or for profit? And, provided you can afford to, it’s OK if you’re not quite ready to leap back into the world of work. Just be sure to use your time wisely. There are many things you can pursue that have the potential to leave you fulfilled. You just have to find them. In the meantime, keep from being idle by joining area social groups and community organizations.

Read “Time Out” (March 2007) and the “The Rules of Reinvention” (January 2007). Also, pick up any one of the following books: What to Do with the Rest of Your Life: America’s Top Career Coach Shows You how to Find or Create the Job You’ll LOVE by Robin Ryan (Fireside; $14); or I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It by Barbara Sher with Barbara Smith (Dell Publishing; $16).


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