Being a “slash careerist” is one thing, talking about it however can be quite another matter.

Working as a slash careerist is – for the most part – a blast. You can roll a couple of interests into a hybrid sort of overall occupation, and if one or two parts of the equation aren’t exactly hauling in the cash, no problem, hopefully another of the slash/options will. The hours might be long, and there are occasions you need to be in two places at once, but otherwise it’s all good. Talking, however, about your slash career work is another, far trickier proposition, especially in social settings, and particularly when meeting people for the first time.

Mark Pollard’s MyMeMap.

Find half an hour of free time to identify your passions and knowledge, and then draw up a five-step plan of action to go about realising your career purpose.

Brilliant!

Not exactly related to changing careers but I thought I would mention something I posted on my other website, a guide to office etiquette.

Essential reading whether you are changing careers or not, no doubt!

Jockey Glen Butler’s story is proof that age need not be an obstacle when it comes following to your dreams.

At age 42 Butler has finally fulfilled a life long ambition to jockey race horses.

Although he always wanted to be a jockey, he found the 3am starts just a little too difficult when younger, and gave up training.

It was a decision he always regretted. After numerous attempts, he finally gained an apprenticeship, and recently had his first win in a race.

Of course it was not easy going. He was subject to numerous knock backs while seeking an apprenticeship, and also had to reduce his weight to just 51 kilograms!

There’s an old saying that goes something like “there’s only one way to really get to know a person; either live with them, or work with them”.

Well there’s nothing like finding out the hard way is there?

And while as a job hunter we can never really “try before we buy” when it come to getting the low down on a new boss, it is now possible to gain some sort of idea.

eBossWatch is a new service that allows job hunters (only in the USA at the moment) to search for a prospective new boss on a database and for a small cost, receive an email report which offers a six point review, based on feedback received from past employees.

I recently wrote a review of this new job hunting tool over at my personal website disassociated.com if you are interested to read more about it.

Apologies to regular readers of The InterChange Desk for my continuing absence, and the lack of posts recently.

Ironically my blogging here have resulted in some work which has become ongoing, but has left less time to spend researching and writing InterChange Desk articles.

At this stage I am not sure how long this state of affairs will continue for, but will post further updates from time to time.

In the meantime I am still updating my personal blog disassociated.com (more opinion, rather than fact, based!), so I haven’t dropped out of the blogosphere totally!

I thought I was watching the Nine O’clock news but it turned out to be someone’s video resume! Personally I don’t think they’ll be for everyone. It’s an idea I will talk about more here one day. In the meantime here is this week’s Friday five checklist:

• While we might be able to use email, fax, or snail mail, to communicate with prospective employers most of the time, there will be certain situations where making contact by phone is un-avoidable. And while we may have no qualms about picking up the phone and calling most people most of the time, there will always be those “extra difficult” sort of calls that fill even the most confident person with dread. 12 Ways to Overcome Phone Phobia at Water Cooler Wisdom, offers strategies for overcoming this phone phobia. To add to the list, where possible I try and make any “difficult calls” first thing in the day – it saves having to think too much about them that way, which only makes such calls all the harder to make!
• Your “confusion” at making a big change is more likely fear of the truth. “Are you really confused, or do you actually know what you want to do?” Confusion as another name for fear?
• Those who read my targeted job search articles and are indeed looking for “targets” should read Target your search at The Net-Savvy Jobseeker.
• If I’m talking about it then it must be old news, and I’ve already covered the pros and cons of the idea, but there is a growing consensus that blogs are increasingly becoming regarded as resumes. Living, breathing, resumes that offer more than just a glorified list of someone’s qualifications and experience.
• If however blogs just aren’t your thing you might like to consider compiling a personal portfolio of your life’s work and experience. “You can use your strengths and values to express your story with pictures, words, stories, letters, or music. Your portfolio may be digitally expressed on the internet, or it might look like a photo album, journal, or binder.” If that doesn’t appeal then I’m afraid the video resume may be your only option… give me a blog or personal portfolio any day!