I was at a party recently talking to a bunch of strangers. As usual, the subject turned to what each of us did for work. When I stated I ran a career advice blog, one attendee in his mid-30s and giving off a pretty serious vibe said, “Which one?” I gave the same response I’ve given for the last 18 months since launching the site, “It’s CAREEREALISM.com. It’s the word ‘career’ and ‘realism’ put together, but they share the ‘r’ in the middle.” Usually, people just nod at me and say, “Ohhh,” and the conversation moves on.
This time was different…
The guy suddenly broke into a huge grin and said, “Hey! I LOVE that site. I’ve been reading it for a while now. I’m a total Careerealist!”
I’m sorry…you’re a WHAT!?!?
I’m not going to lie, I was blown away. There are 20,000+ career sites in the world, and while we’ve been moving up the ranks in terms of visitors, I still see the site as a small, unknown community of passionate people who want to help one another find greater career satisfaction on their own terms. Yet, what shocked me even more was the way he referred to himself as a Careerealist. He actually identified himself as someone who felt part of our initiative to get people to take control of their careers. After that, he and I talked for a good twenty minutes about the site’s mission and the types of people it attracted as regular readers. Thanks to that conversation, I realized it was time to formally band together all of the smart, proactive Careerealists out there. We needed to give our loyal community a place of prominence on the site. Here’s why:
Careerealists all share 3 simple, yet vital traits for success.
After that clandestine meeting with a reader, I took the time to contemplate what defines a Careerealist. I came up with a list of more than fifty traits, but finally simplified it down to 3 core beliefs adopted by true Careerealists. We all:
1. Recognize and accept EVERY job is temporary.
2. View ourselves as businesses-of-one who need to always be developing an attractive personal brand we can market as needed.
3. Engage in career development activities, even when we are gainfully employed, by sharing our thoughts, reading up on the latest trends, and focusing on ways to stay employable long-term.
If you said, “That sounds like me,” when reading the above, then you are definitely a Careerealist! It also means we’d like you to join your peers and become recognized for your professional savvy.
STARTING TODAY…Share Your Thoughts & Get Recognized for Your Contributions
First, we’d like to invite you to post a comment below explaining why you feel you are a Careerealist. Tell us, and the rest of our readers, how you are embracing today’s career reality. You can:
A. Explain what you feel you are doing differently than others.
B. Share with us the ‘Ah-ha Moment’ that made you a Careerealist.
C. Provide your own thoughts on the traits exemplified by a true Careerealist.
Then, we encourage you to continue to comment regularly on our posts. Any time you have a thought or insight to share, we want to know about it. The more comments we get from Careerealists, the better the content gets on this site for all of our fellow readers. At the same time, we will be monitoring the comments. Each week, we’ll select a Careerealist who we feel is making an outstanding contribution to the group and showcase them in the Careerealist Corner – a program designed to highlight professionals who have the right attitude and approach to their careers. We’ll also give them a FREE life-time membership to our CAREEREALISM Club.
Plus, We’ll Help Improve Your Personal Brand On-line
One way to really advance your career is to be associated with on-line content that showcases you as a top-notch professional. If selected to be featured in the Careerealist Corner, you will automatically improve your credibility on-line. It will be a distinction you can add to your:
- Resume
- LinkedIn profile
- Twitter feed
Let’s Get Started…Comment NOW & Let Us Know Why You’re a True CAREEREALIST
We look forward to hearing from all our Careerealists and can’t wait to start showcasing you to the world. So, don’t wait, post your first comment below and tell us why you are a Careerealist!
