Deciding on a New Career

The Challenge:

Ron had managed the family-owned hospitality business for many years, at first out of interest, later because of obligation. Relatives regularly and unpredictably interfered with business operations which resulted in significant duplication of effort, wasted energy, and stress for the staff. It was clear to Ron that he would soon have to leave the only professional life he ever knew. But to where, doing what?

The Solution:

Job Guy helped Ron separate the proverbial trees from the forest. They created a list of the things he liked about his job: human contact, planning, troubleshooting, strategizing, independence, flexible hours, playing golf, and making money. He then listed the negatives: cleaning and maintenance, being tied to one location, responsibility for others’ performance, and unhealthy interaction with his family.

We reverse engineered the job search process to identify roles that focused on what he enjoyed and involved less of what he disliked. Once we narrowed down the possibilities, Ron executed informational interviews and job shadowing with professionals in the targeted fields. This approach allowed him to get a visceral feel for new jobs while also helping him establish a network to access hiring decision-makers for the roles he ended up pursuing.

The Result:

Ron chose to become a financial planner. In his new role, he gets to meet interesting people at different locations every day. He can make his own schedule, earn tons of money, is responsible for his own performance, and is pretty much obligated to golf at least three times a week.