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F. Scott Fitzgerald Got It Wrong

In fact, I think he completely missed the mark with his “There are no second acts in American lives” remark. On the contrary, we are completely capable of reinventing ourselves – and our careers – on an ongoing basis.

Sometimes it happens just by accident. You start out doing one job, and then you end up being the person who just happens to be good at that new thing that needed to be done, and your career takes off heading in a new direction. Or you volunteer for a project and then realize that you not only love the new work you’re doing, you’re also pretty darn good at it – so you keep doing it. Or you’re promoted into a position that at first feels way over your head but then ends up being a perfect match for your growing professional skills. In each instance, you’re reinventing your career.

Other times, however, reinventing yourself – creating that next act – becomes a purposeful choice. Perhaps you’ve simply outgrown the job you’ve been in for years, and are ready to explore the question of what type of work or work environment might re-engage you. Or perhaps a change in your job (new boss? new leadership? new expectations? new mission?) has left you feeling like it’s time to consider other, more rewarding, options. Or perhaps your personal circumstances have changed, so that what worked for you previously no longer meets your requirements.

For whatever reason, you’re ready to reinvent your career.

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Career Profile: Sara Mooney, Technical Documentalist, Cirque du Soleil

Sara Mooney has managed to combine a love of theater with her LIS skills in a highly unusual job, with a highly innovative organization. She managed to follow her own interests while also doing a great job of creating business value wherever she went. Her comments about her job and her eclectic career path:

What is your current position or professional role?
Technical Documentalist for Cirque du Soleil

How long have you been doing this work?
Approximately 2 ½ years although I’ve been with Cirque for eight years.

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Stephen Abram: LIS Career Opportunities and Insights

In his Career Profile, Stephen Abram discussed his career path, including his highly-visible work with information vendors, his publishing and presentation work, and his involvement with many national and international professional associations.

Here, Stephen talks about working with a vendor as a career path, and the opportunities he sees emerging for LIS professionals in the coming years.

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Career Profile: Stephen Abram, Cengage Learning

Stephen Abram has had multiple high-visibility, high-impact roles within the library profession the most recent with Cengage Learning, known formerly as Gale. His career history provides a terrific tour through the ways an information professional can continue to grow and add value in a constantly changing environment. Sort of like the one we’re in now.

Following is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Stephen. Be sure to also see Part 2, LIS Career Insights from Stephen Abram.

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Seven Careers – Or Seven Career Extensions?

Recently the Wall Street Journal ran an article debunking the oft-repeated mantra that most of us will go through seven career changes throughout our working lifetimes. Basically, the Department of Labor has completely disavowed the statement, and no one’s ready to ‘fess up to having started the seven-careers rumor.

However, I think a more valid (and useful) way of framing this is that we may, in fact, be much likelier to have at least seven career extensions throughout our working lives. With that frame, I’ve had at least seven so far, and have friends and colleagues who’ve had even more as new opportunities have opened up (or been created by them).

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