This entry will probably be the concluding post in my series about life-story interventions that guide career choice. My goal has been to explore tools and assessments that employ stories/narrative to assist users in discerning what they want to do (or do next) in their careers. Two came from print … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Lessons of “The Life Reports”
Here’s one more followup on New York Times columnist David Brooks’s project to collect stories from folks older than 70, a series he’s calling “The Life Report” … Brooks has synthesized the lessons offered by the life stories/essays he received: Divide your life into chapters. Beware rumination. You can’t control … Continue reading
Over-70 Stories (“The Life Report”): Followup
A few weeks ago, I posted about New York Times columnist David Brooks’s request for stories from folks older than 70, a series he’s calling “The Life Report.” Yesterday, Brooks summarized the responses he’s received. He also has been running an essay a day on his blog. Some of Brooks’s … Continue reading
Change Based on a Deep Understanding of Self-Identity: Life-Story Interventions that Guide Career Choice, Part 4
A few months ago, graduate student Joseph Palmisano asked me to be a subject-matter expert for his master’s-degree project, an online, narrative-based career tool. In fact, it has been my involvement with Joseph’s project that has inspired this current series. He turned me on to Lisa Severy, whose similar project … Continue reading
You’ll Be Thankful for Cornucopia of Offerings from Story Practitioners
Have a heaping helping of story goodies with your stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie … Michael Margolis has been running a series this week emphasizing how entrepreneurs can better tell their bio stories: The Power of Storytelling: From Hauling Trash and Addiction to Stardom The Key Ingredients of a … Continue reading
Friday is National Day of Listening (to Stories)
November 25 is the third annual National Day of Listening, a national holiday started by the acclaimed oral history nonprofit organization StoryCorps in 2008. It is a day when families are encouraged to give the gift of storytelling to their loved ones, leaving a legacy that’s likely to be treasured … Continue reading
Narrative Career Intervention Results in Less Career Indecision: Life-Story Interventions that Guide Career Choice, Part 3
As part of my exploration of life-story-based career interventions, I came across an academic paper, “Analysis of an Online Career Narrative Intervention: ‘What’s My Story?’” by Lisa Severy, director of career services at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who created a narrative online intervention as part of her dissertation project. … Continue reading
“Présumé™” Offers Story Elements and Gets Employer’s Attention
The first time I came across Hanna Phan’s presentation resume, or Présumé™, I admired it as terribly clever and creative but decided against writing about it because it doesn’t truly tell a story. But the next time the Présumé™ came over my virtual transom (at right is a slide from … Continue reading
Storytelling Cited as Essential Job-Seeker Skill
Career columnist Liz Ryan, long a supporter of storytelling in the job search, has included storytelling on a list of five new skills job-seekers need: “I have a strong work ethic and get along with all kinds of people” is about as compelling as “I had cereal for breakfast” — … Continue reading
Free Download Helps Analyze Book Audience
Denis Ledoux has been offering loads of free goodies for November’s National Life Writing Month. The latest is a free download, Who Will Read Your Book?. The guide includes a detailed form that enables authors to truly understand whom they’re writing for. Ledoux’s own audience is lifewriters/memoirists, but the handout … Continue reading