November 4, 2011

New challenges, new opportunities

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Excited and scared. With any major change in our lives, and each new venture we embark on, it's inevitable that we're going to tangle to some degree with these competing emotions.

How do I know this to be true? I've witnessed it several thousand times over the past 18 years, working as a professional career coach in the Seattle area. No matter how stoic some people try to be about matters, it's almost impossible to go through a layoff, a termination or even a voluntary job resignation without being simultaneously excited by what the future may bring and terrified that you may not be able to find a job worthy of your talents or economic needs.

Unless you're an android or, alternatively, a sociopath, I can assure you that any job transition you go through is going to be accompanied by a roller coaster of emotions you'll have to contend with as you navigate forth to your next career chapter. It's all just part of the process when dealing with significant change, and serves as a constant reminder that -- guess what? -- we're human.

It's with these same emotions, in fact, that I'm embarking on the next step of MY professional evolution, which involves serving as the newest contributor here on NWjobs.com's Career Center blog.

In one sense, I'm tremendously excited by this new "megaphone" I've been granted for sharing my views on a wide spectrum of modern career and job-search challenges. On the flip side, however, I'll admit I'm a trifle nervous to be communicating with a much wider audience than I've ever reached before, not to mention the fact that I've signed on the bottom line and agreed to be held accountable for producing a steady stream of posts that don't (let's hope) bore everybody to tears!

Gastrointestinal butterflies aside, I'm stepping up to this new challenge with great relish and enthusiasm. Today, I just wanted to introduce myself in this inaugural post to let you know I'll be doing my best to bring you some practical advice about how to manage your career and go about finding a new job, if you're facing that situation.

Much thanks to The Seattle Times and NWjobs.com for providing me this opportunity. I look forward to help from all of you out there in stimulating some useful conversations about how to get ahead in the modern world of work!

Matt Youngquist is the president and founder of Career Horizons, a career counseling and corporate outplacement firm. Email him at myoungquist@nwjobs.com.

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5 Comments

Paul Anderson on November 4, 2011 10:44 PM | Reply

Congratulations Matt, I'm excited that you've joined this awesome team and look forward to reading your awesome columns.

Best of luck,
Paul Anderson

Alison Koop on November 6, 2011 12:45 PM | Reply

Thank you to the Seattle Times for adding Matt Youngquist to its excellent roster of nwjobs columnists. He always has something insightful to say.

Michelle Goodman on November 6, 2011 5:23 PM | Reply

Welcome, Matt! Looking forward to reading your posts every week!

Matt Youngquist on November 7, 2011 7:50 AM | Reply

Thanks to all of you, above, for chiming in on my first column! Looking forward to bringing you all some fresh thoughts and career advice via this new vehicle -- and am excited to be part of the Seattle Times team in this regard. Onwards and upwards...

Denise Lee on November 9, 2011 9:19 AM | Reply

Great post Matt! Welcome aboard.

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