Daisy Swan & Associates upcoming career panel is a great way to learn about working in a variety of entertainment industry positions including the music industry and also how to transition out of these jobs. Guests will have the opportunity to talk informally with the panelists both before and after the discussion.

According to the 2008 ExecuNet Sixteenth Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report, 40% of executives are dissatisfied with their current job. The Report also states that 44% of executives expect their age will negatively impact their ability to land a new position. And practically nowhere do these two statistics ring true more than in the entertainment industry.

At this July 10th “Navigating Career Change” Panel Discussion, Daisy Swan, MA, CPCC, “The Los Angeles Career Counselor & Coach,” will moderate a panel of entertainment industry professionals who will address the ways in which career change can often take shape. Attendees will receive practical tips and inspiration from these real people who have experienced real career change – while dealing with the attitudes and expectations of their entertainment industry colleagues and peers. Want to hear their stories? Join us at this event on July 10th!

Event: Navigating Career Change Panel Discussion: Overcoming Obstacles to Career Change in the Entertainment Industry
Presented by Daisy Swan, MA, CPCC: The Los Angeles Career Counselor & Coach
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Location: Jobing.com, 12100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 320,
Los Angeles, CA 90025 (at Wilshire and Bundy)
Tickets Call 310-820-8877 or visit www.daisyswan.com

You have been in an “assistant” position for what seems like too long. You are ready to make a career change, but are unsure of how to proceed. You have achieved a level of success, and are ready to try something different and more meaningful. These are all self-truths that the July 10th panelists admitted to themselves at certain points in their entertainment industry careers, and they all successfully maneuvered through the necessary changes, in order to attain their ultimate goals.

The July 10th panelists include Hillary Kaye, who joined the William Morris Agency in 2007 as a corporate communications assistant, after a three-year stint in television development at production company, Katalyst Films; Gracelyn Brown, currently serving as the Vice President of Programming for MGM-HD, whose career was founded in brand strategy, at Innovation Protocol, and in marketing television stations, and creating and producing branded events and broadcast specials; Judy Cairo, an independent film producer in Los Angeles, who, 15 years ago, packed up her life and left her Southern home and first career phase, as a corporate-side producer for numerous local television stations and networks; Angela Fairhurst, whose career began in network television as a producer and line producer, but has transitioned into consumer marketing and product development, where she is currently the Executive Director for the Chambers Group, a creative marketing firm that does positioning and product development for large consumer product companies; and, Mary Oatman, who currently works as an elementary school band director, after 25+ years at NBC as a music supervisor and music consultant.

Tickets are $35 each for those who register by July 3, and $45 each thereafter and/or at the door. For more information or to register, please call 310-820-8877 or visit www.daisyswan.com

Article Source: Melissa Barber, Circuit City - City Life

The job market’s tough for new grads, and not only because of a faltering economy. Many employers dismiss today’s 20-somethings as the Entitlement Generation because they expect even their first entry-level job to offer them personal satisfaction, great benefits and high pay.

Really, young people are just seeking balance, says career strategist Daisy S. Swan, founder of Daisy Swan & Associates. This younger generation has seen how stressed modern workers can be, she says, and they hope to avoid a similar fate. “They want what a lot of people want, they just want it sooner.”

Equipping your grad for cubeland
First, however, they need to prove themselves, and that may mean working nights and weekends. “More than ever, at any time in our work history, flexibility is at a premium,” Swan says.

For that reason, any new grad needs to be accessible after hours and able to work from home. A speedy laptop with built-in wireless is a must, as is a BlackBerry or similar smartphone. The Nokia N810 Internet tablet is the best of both worlds; it offers email and Internet access and is small enough to carry everywhere.

College professors may have been tolerant of lost notebooks or late arrivals, but a grad’s new boss won’t be. Even if your grad isn’t naturally organized, tools like digital voice recorders and USB drives can help. If she tends to run late or get lost, having GPS navigation can save a sales call.

Whether working from home or the road, “be vigilant about staying in touch,” Swan advises. Just don’t make the fatal mistake of getting too attached to your electronics. If you tappity-tap on your laptop or cell phone during a meeting with your boss, you look like you just don’t care.

What did you just say?
Technology helps us communicate at lightning-fast speeds. It also means anyone can make a big workplace blunder in the blink of an eye. One of Swan’s clients wrote an email venting about her problems with a free gym membership—a company perk. Then she realized she had sent it to a senior VP, much to his annoyance. “It wasn’t the kind of attention she wanted,” Swan says.

How do you recover from a mistake like that? The old-fashioned way, Swan says: apologize in person. “Technology—it’s kind of got the last laugh on us,” she says. Emails and IMs often make things more complicated when an issue’s best resolved face to face. Knowing when to use technology, and when to turn it off, is the skill that might (one day) get your grad that job with the four-week surf vacation.

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More tips for grads
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* Don’t play on the Internet at work. They know.
* Do check to make sure your online presence is free of keg party photos—or at least upgrade your privacy settings so employers can’t stumble upon them.
* Do build a personal website that reflects your professional accomplishments.
* Don’t communicate via text message unless absolutely necessary. “OMG that reprt was due ystrdy???” is not something your boss wants to read.

Article Source: Melissa Barber, Circuit City - City Life

What’s the best graduation gift? Money? A watch? A car? A trip to another country? All good! But I’m giving something some might think is rather dry. I’ve decided to give the gift of education…I’ve been reading about the difficult time new grads, and those who haven’t even graduated yet, are having finding jobs this summer and I want to do something to help. I’m offering our Interviewing Excellence program on June 10th for free to those people out there who are under 23. I may even do that with our Navigating Career Change panel on July 10th, too. There’s just so much you don’t really know about work when you’re just getting started.
I know I didn’t know much about how to handle an interview when I was 21, or 23 (and sometimes when I was older, too, although I did get really good at it). My life would have been completely different if I’d gone for the job at the brand new little shop on Columbus Avenue - The Silver Palate. Had I handled the introduction and the interview with confidence and ease that little shop, with it’s two illustrious owner/chef/authors, might have launched me into a whole world of work that I would have loved! But I didn’t know the first thing about doing an interview, let alone a job search. That opportunity swept past me faster than a falling souffle! And that shop and its owners went on to make culinary history (writes the woman who just (happily) made 8 doz. cookies today).
So my gift is extended because I remember all of the things I didn’t know. And I’d love for someone, someday, to write me a letter and say that because of my gift of this program they got the job that launched many years of satisfying work. Now that would be a real gift for me

As I sit here with my 12 year old helping him to study for his Humanities final I am bored and interested…and inspired to re-read an article I clipped a couple of weeks ago. I loved the May 12th issue of The New Yorker. Chock full of interesting articles about innovation. One article, by James Surowiecki, really grabbed me: ‘The Open Secret of Success’. It made me think of the riddle about how to eat an elephant: one bite at a time. In Surowieki’s article he discusses Toyota’s approach to innovation…they implement a million new ideas a year — small process oriented ideas. What I thought was particularly interesting was that he states, parenthetically, that ‘Japanese companies get a hundred times as many suggestions from their workers as U.S. companies do.’ Why is that? Are our companies not willing to hear ideas from workers? Are US workers not looking for new ways to do things? Are we less inspired to offer ways to improve and change systems? Are you, in your work looking for new ways to do things that can improve the way you do what you do? Does your executive team offer a feedback loop so you have can have an impact on the companies bottom line?

Perhaps I’m digressing…Essentially this message is that little improvements made on a regular basis add up to major improvements - and innovations. And, as Surowiecki describes, Toyota’s improvements are based more on ‘process’ than on ‘product’, but the result is in great quality.

Same process can apply to our own lives:
Take a ‘constant improvement approach’ in your own life and career –do a little bit every day and the rewards may show up (imperceptibly at first, but ultimately) in new positions, new behavior, new relationships, new insights. I’m one of those people who gets bored easily so I need ‘new’ a lot. And a lot of my clients are the same way, but they don’t know how to get out of the rut of ‘bored’. You know Newton’s Law? An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force/an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by a net force… When I work with clients I often suggest they do at least five things every day that will keep them moving forward. Five things isn’t really that much. (One of those important things can be sitting down and doing nothing — ie, listening to yourself/your intuition.) Think about it. If you’re working in a job and looking for a new position you need to be reaching out to at least two people every day to keep your network alive. You also need to be reading local periodicals in one way or another, looking to learn about what’s happening in the industry you want to engage in.

Activating curiosity, of course, is at the heart of all of this. There’s no easy way to make change happen. Change is a process of small steps, development of awareness and, usually, two steps forward/one sideways/one backward, repeat. Sometimes good fortune comes our way and things drop right into place.

But in retrospect, there’s a slow and steady process of action that leads to the results we all seek — no matter what they are. I know I’m impatient to see results — and so are my clients. We are an impatient society. Just as Surowiecki asserts, this process to innovation/change/improvement is ‘easy to understand but hard to follow’. I’m living it right now…Ok, now back to the Indus and Nile Rivers…

Check out my article “5 Ways to Raise Career Savvy Kids” at OnTeensToday.com with Vanessa Van Petten:

I think I was born old. When I was 8, 10, 14, 21, 25 people always said I was mature for my age. I was the person everyone could talk to — no matter how old I or they were, they’d tell me everything. I said hello to everyone who looked my way by the time I could talk — and never stopped. Except, that is, when I realized that the creepy guys on the subway also managed to accept my open face and started talking to me, too. Then I started to do what a lot of NYers do — I started to avert my gaze. It wasn’t until I was about 25 that I felt like I was getting younger — and less confident. I started to question what I thought I knew…I always knew everything before that. I still sounded like I knew everything, and tried to look like I knew that I knew everything. But slowly my self-doubt crept in. Self-doubt is an insidious experience. It can show up in uncountable ways…sleepiness, lack of motivation, hunger, mean words to ourselves and others, confusion, indecision…you know what I mean. Mostly it sounds like, I can’t do that, I don’t know enough, I’m not as smart as…
It takes practice to get back to the confidence of youth. And a lot of support and love and friendship and humor. And courage. For a while in my life I didn’t have much of those — but now I do and I see that self-doubt still creeps in, but age has helped me to tame that inner negative voice so that I am clearer about when it’s there. Now I know that EVERYBODY feels that lack of confidence at some point, or even everyday…but we can make the effort to get back to our confidence of youth, and get to the real confidence that comes with experience, love and a lot of work.

Vanessa Van Petten is the teen author of the book “You’re Grounded!”—a parenting book from a young perspective. She keeps an active teen blog for parents who want to know what their kids are really doing online, at High School parties or when parents are looking the other way. Her candid and young perspective, as well her constant survey of resources and updates about this generation of young people are a treasure trove for parents.

I was on the perfect track. Was student body president of an upper snuff Los Angeles private school. Got accepted into a top 20 University and became a Mandarin and East Asian Studies major before the wave hit?????–so everyone was in desperate need of white female Asia specialists. Wrote an honors thesis and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

I had a bid from a top investment banking firm in New York—everything was perfect. It was not until my parents were filming me with the family video camera “how do you feel!? Are you excited? Sad the best years of your life are ending!?”

How did I feel?
Tired.

Are you excited?
No.

Sad the best years of your life are ending?!
Those were the best years of my life…oh my god, I just realized, I hated college.

I did hate college—but I didn’t realize it until graduation day. That’s when I knew I was on the wrong track. I wrote a thesis because that is what I thought you were supposed to do, I was a Mandarin major because it ‘was the golden ticket into any job you want’ and it sounded impressive. I realized it was so shallow.

I’ll spare you the details of my obnoxious meltdown and subsequent soul searching melodrama and fill you in briefly to the first part of the story. When I was in High School I did get into some trouble, nothing serious, a little boy crazy that’s all, had trouble with the whole curfew thing. HARD TRANSITION In that time, I decided that all of the parenting books out there had to be doing everything wrong because all of my friends were doing dumb things and hated their parents.

So, I started interviewing hundreds of other teenagers to compile our own parenting book, with advice we wish our parents would know. It was awesome, it was fun, it was empowering, it was challenging and the parents who read it loved it. Then I got back on track, and left the book in my computer.
Somewhere in the deepest depths of my mental break I remembered the passion I had for helping teens and parents…and knew that’s what I had to do. I turned down the IB offer, ran from the world of finance and started to work on convincing my parents I wasn’t crazy—but that I had just woken up.

It wasn’t easy spending my savings on publishing my book and hiring six employees in India to help me develop my website idea for parents and teens to connect in the online arena, but my goodness has it been fun.

As an entrepreneur, pro-blogger, author, youth coach and parent speaker (got to bring in the money somehow right?)—the hardest part is my own fear of failing and that I am my own worst boss. But, finally I made a choice for the right reason, finally I am having fun at what I do, finally I am awake…and living my life, not the life I think I should live.

Knowing how to properly use technology, and specifically sites like Linked In, Facebook, and Myspace, can be instrumental in your search for job opportunities. However, these sites have the potential to do more harm than good if they are not used effectively.
The first thing to consider when using technology to aid in a job search is the specific message you want to send. Remember that people often assess you based on information from a variety of sources, so having a consistent message is essential. Everything from your photos online to the voice message on your phone should be kept clean and professional. In addition, you can show your initiative by creating your own website that has your resume, writing samples, or a portfolio of work experience on it.
From here you can start to think about creating or updating your profile on the various social networking sites. Keep in mind that employers are using these sites as tools to learn about who you are. Don’t think they aren’t interested in knowing how you spend your free time or your money because they are. They are determining what sort of character you have not only by what you tell them on your resume and in your interview, but also by what you show online. If you have a Facebook or Myspace account for social reasons, be sure to check your privacy settings or clean it up. Imagine if you were running a business and you saw lewd or wild photos on the site of an employee or potential employee. You can say that this shouldn’t have any bearing on your work, but if an employer sees you being indiscreet with yourself they may assume that you have the potential to be indiscreet with your work, the goings on at work, your co-workers, etc.
Linked In is a great site to have a strictly professional profile. Many jobs on Linked In specify that they are looking for people with recommendations. If possible, get recommendations from people you’ve worked with or even had internships with. Also, it is not required that you have a photo of yourself on Linked In, but it can help if you have a good looking professional photo as part of your profile. It is always nice for potential employers to have a face to put with
a name.
Lastly, keep in mind that just because people and opportunities can be found, ie, seen online, doesn’t mean that it is easy to get a job online. Finding a job is still about connecting with people- face to face. If an employer has an option to hire someone who is personally referred by someone they know, they’ll probably opt for that person over someone they find outside their network of friends. Be prepared to talk with as many people as possible. Let people know who you want to work for and why. And then be ready to explain why they should hire you.

We, at Daisy Swan & Associates, love to help people get clarity on their LifeStage, direction for their career direction and provide strategies to live an authentic life. You may have noticed that we offer lots of classes and one-on-one coaching. We’re trying to offer what you need. So we’ve also partnered with Jobing.com in LA to provide a source for local jobs. The more people they serve the more jobs will circulate through them so it’s a win-win. So take a look at our Resources and check out the job postings there. Also, plan to attend the Net(not)Working? Networking and Research Class on May 7th to learn how to use online and other resources to find people and opportunities that you want to know about. If you have other suggestions of ways we can help, let us know by emailing us.

I can’t believe that jeans cost $200. I couldn’t believe it when they went up from $40 to $70, and then $125. For those of you in your 20’s and 30’s this probably sounds ludicrous because jeans have always seemed to cost more than $70…or else they’re cool and from H&M and a steal. Many of you only know casual Fridays, and every other day too, as a reality. Many of us remember when they began and the khakis and polo shirts that became an accepted reality. Look where we are now. Uggs, jeans and t’s, flip flops. Does not seem to be working…
The Wall Street Journal had a great article in the Personal Journal today about Business Casual and the problems it’s caused for everyone. I guess Laurie Graham and I were ahead of them because we created a program to help men and women of all ages understand how to look great and appropriate for every environment and occasion. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our program on April 19th, this coming Saturday, but we’ll be back with it soon. If you want to stay up-to-date on this and other programs, email me and we’ll stay in touch. In the meantime, keep your jeans tidy, your shirts crisp and your shoes polished — and don’t forget to smile