Earlier this week, The New York Times discontinued its career-based blog entitled Shifting Careers. Fortunately, the archives of the blog are still up and accessible, because it offers some excellent and thought-provoking reading.
The blog was written by Marci Alboher, a former corporate lawyer who has written about workplace issues and careers for The New York Times since 2001. She is also the author of “One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success.”
The topic of her book, which she covered extensively on her blog, was "slash careers," meaning one person wearing a variety of hats in life who manages to integrate all the parts into a seamless whole. For instance, one of the profiles she did is of Susan Sparks, a former lawyer turned Baptist minister who's also a standup comedian. The posts under the "slash" tag on Shifting Careers are especially relevant to fan-to-pro types, who are seeing to integrate hobbies and careers
Alboher's other posts cover a lot of areas commonly found on job blogs – career changing, social networking, acing interviews, etc. – and a few that are unique, like branding. One of her posts on this topic, by guest columnist Catherine Kaputa, makes for particularly enlightening reading. Kaputa, a branding expert, recommends that job seekers make a particular attribute their own, the way that Volvo "owned" the concept of safety, and promote their "heritage" – their education and job background.
Kaputa is just one of many experts who did guest columns and interviews for Alboher's blog – others include former Apple "evangelist" Guy Kawasaki; Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Heiden, who went from being a speed skater to an orthopedic surgeon; and former CNN anchor Daryn Kagen, who left the news giant to form her own media network. All offer solid advice, especially for those who find themselves at a career crossroads.
It's a shame that the Times chose not to continue this blog (and Alboher did a post about "being fired from my non-job" and how she found herself dealing with many of the issues she writes about), but at least it had a good run, which is still available to all seekers of career guidance.
– Bonnie