April 15th, 2005

Welcome again from Career Bites, formerly the Alternative Futures LETTER, a career management newsletter published quarterly by the Alternative Futures Press in Berkeley, California. We hope you enjoyed the last issue with the article entitled It's about Time - A Reluctant Journey(pdf). This issue of Career Bites offers lots of additional information and commentary plus a timely article entitled What is a Successful Career?

Please print and post copies of this newsletter and pass on copies to your colleagues, friends and relatives.

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News from The Front Line

Three Little Words That Work!
By Andy Rooney

The three little words are: "Hold On, Please..."

Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) will make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt. Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed it's task.

These three little words will help eliminate unwanted telephone soliciting.

Going it Alone
San Francisco Chronicle

More than 17.6 million Americans work for and by themselves according to a new Census Bureau Report that found the number of small firms without employees jumped 3.9 percent in 2002, the most recent year for which data is available.

According to the census, California led the nation with about 2.52 million non employer businesses. Bureau officials tallied 487,000 owner operated firms in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan area.

Retirees Go Back to Work!
San Francisco Chronicle

Statistics show that many people over sixty-five, the traditional age of retirement, want to continue working. In February 1998, according to the California Employment Development Department, 10.9 percent of Californians older than 65 said they were part of the labor force - meaning they were either working or seeking work. Last month, 14.9 percent of those over 65 said they had worked or sought work. Part of this reflects a change in people living longer, and having to work because retirement income isn't what it used to be.

For many, returning to work is an economic necessity, while others welcome the chance to get benefits such as health insurance and more social interaction. Staying mentally and physically active and remaining productive were cited as major reasons to work by retirees surveyed by AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons, in 2003. AARP has developed a listing of the top companies in the US for people over 50 years old. The employers it works with are seeking workers for all types of positions, from entry level to managerial, including highly skilled professionals. See their web site at www.aarp.org .

The trend is that older workers will become more sought after by employers who will offer more options as to how they can stay on at work. By the year 2040, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, there are predicted to be 65.8 million workers over age 45 - an increase of 30 million since 1990 - representing 40 percent of the US labor force.

Timely Tax Tips for Job Hunters!
The Wall Street Journal

The tax man is actually on your side when you are searching for a job according to Jackie Perlman, a senior tax analyst at H&R Block in Kansas City, Mo. The following expenses may be deductible:

To take advantage of these deductions, you need to itemize rather than take the standard deduction. Job hunting expenses are reported as miscellaneous itemized deductions on line 20 of Schedule A. It is always important to keep good records so you can verify your expenses if you are audited. Check with your accountant or the IRS if you have any questions. Remember, there are always exceptions to every rule and rules for every exception!

Lots of New Jobs in The Government!
US Dept. Of Labor

The U.S. government plans to hire nearly 150,000 people in the next two years but most will replace existing workers. An aging work force will also intensify competition for new hires from the private sector, a study released today shows. "Where the Jobs Are: The Continuing Growth of Federal Job Opportunities," a first-time study of federal government hiring needs by the US Department of Labor.

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Inspiration

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

~ Albert Einstein

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~ Mark Twain

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Feature Article

What is a successful career
Bookmobile Driver, Teacher, & Architect
By Clay Parsons

This is the story of one of my wife's college classmates in architecture school. He was one of those people who almost effortlessly stood head and shoulders above everyone else. You know, those people we loved to hate when we were students. To say that "John" was talented was an understatement. He was an accomplished artist, a patient craftsman, and an ingenious problem solver, a combination of talents always sought but seldom found in architecture school students. He was also quiet, sensitive, and self-effacing which endeared him to his classmates.

When John graduated, in June of 1968, he moved to New England to apprentice with a well-known architectural firm. He quickly collided head on with the constraints of tradition, money, demanding clients and the frustrating politics of professional office work. Like other talented people before him, John was also an idealist and found compromise difficult, especially when it violated his beliefs of what architecture should be. He was also dismayed by the expedient corporate culture, which discouraged innovation and favored quick solutions. It didn't take long for him to conclude that corporate architecture was not for him.

Click here to read the article (pdf)

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Until next time,

Clay Parsons, MA, MLA

Alternative FUTURES Press
2034 Blake Street
Suite 6
Berkeley, CA 94704

Tel: (510) 287-5664
Fax: (510) 548-9921
www.alternativefutures.com

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go out and do that. Because what the world needs more than anything is people who have come alive. ~ H. Whitman