Raymond Lee - Clocking Out: A Stress-Free Guide to Career Transitions

Clocking Out

Copyright 2021 Raymond Lee. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in -Public ation Data

Names: Lee, Raymond (Career consultant), author.

Title: Clocking out : a stress-free guide to career transitions / Raymond Lee.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020023379 (print) | LCCN 2020023380 (ebook)
| ISBN 9781586446543 (paperback) | ISBN 9781586446550 (pdf)
| ISBN 9781586446567 (epub) | ISBN 9781586446574 (mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Career changes. | Career development.

Classification: LCC HF5384 .L44 2020 (print) | LCC HF5384 (ebook) | DDC 650.14--dc23

Published in the United States of America

FIR ST EDITION

PB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 261.15335

This is for you, Mom.

Acknowledgments

This book would not be possible without of the support of my entire family. To my spouse, Abby: You have been incredibly supportive of me taking the leap of faith to start Careerminds. In the early days, you maintained the family insurance, a stable income, and most importantly, patience and support. Over the years, my kids Rachel and Matthew have been an inspiration to me for keeping an eye on the ball. I want to thank the late David Freshman and Pat Foley from Innovation Ventures for taking a chance on me and Careerminds. Their investment in an entrepreneur who never took a business class and never started a company before was a risk, and Ill be forever grateful. Jack Gavin, your investment, support, and mentoring of me from the beginning wont ever be forgotten. Justin Schakelman, you are a great friend. You stuck with me in the beginning as I was learning the ropes of entrepreneurship. A special thanks to my former boss and friend JC Gibson for not only supporting my transition to Careerminds, but for being an early adopter and supporter of virtual outplacement. I want to thank all the employees and consultants at Careerminds. Im incredibly appreciative of your dedication to our clients and participants. Thank you, Kathy Harris, for discovering me at SHRM and introducing me to the SHRM publishing team led by Matt Davis. Matt, you have been a pleasure to work with. Thank you, Josh Hrala, for helping me write this book by bringing the interviews and stories in the book to life. You are a true natural and just get it. I want to thank the late John Connors. John was the first HR professional I came to know in New Orleans who helped guide me through the field of HR and was there when Careerminds was just a thought. I want to thank my brother David for being a role model, best friend, and inspiration. To the late Carol Lagasse, you hired me to my first job in HR and paved the way to my success.

And last but not least, my mom and dad. Dad, thank you for your support of me and for sharing some of the toughest challenges we faced together. Your story and personal experience made this book possible and also helped shape me to be the person I am today, and for that Ill be forever grateful. Mom, thank you for your dedication and hard work as a mother. Youre an inspiration to all and your legacy and impact will alway s live on.

Introduction

Taking on Adversity

Ask yourself: Are you currently in a job or career that is not bringing you fulfillment? Have you recently been faced with a job loss or adversity that is challenging to overcome?

What would you do if you permanently clocked out of your job and your current situation, or if you woke up tomorrow morning and your company asked you to clock out of your job without warning? What would you do next? Every human being throughout his or her personal and professional life will experience some adversity, unexpected change, new opportunity, or simply a fork in the road. The question is What choice will you make when faced with any of these situations? Doing nothing is considered a choice, and oftentimes it is made out of fear of what the future holds. After choice, the next question is What kind of mindset do you possess? Do you have a growth or fixed mindset? Are you agile? When things arent working out or are becoming stagnant, are you capable of pivoting and changing direction? Lastly, in the face of the toughest situations and decisions, are you capable of trusting the process and recognizing that you may not know the outcome of your choices? These are difficult questions that we all will encounter at some point in our lives an d career.

Throughout the book, Im going to bring to life four career success principles that can be used when navigating life and career change, whether the change is initiated externally and outside of a persons control or is a decision driven internally. These four princ iples are:

1. Choice We all have the power of choice. Its accepting responsibility for the actions and choices we make day-to -day and learning and growing from those decisions that is important.
2. Mindset Developing a growth mindset to change, learn, and grow through experience, risk-taking , and ap plication.