In light of the continuing bad news about the economy, it is time to look at it from a new perspective. We know that bad news sells, but there really is opportunity out there if one looks.

The current unemployment rate here in North Carolina is 10%. That is awful if you compare it to the 5.5% rate not too long ago. But let's not forget that 5% is considered full employment as people are constantly in transition between jobs, returning to school, etc. The good news out of this is that 90% of people are employed. That may not be comforting if you're part of the 10%, but let's see what the news is, and is not, telling us.

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Last week while on a trip, I was contacted by a local TV reporter to help with some questions he wanted to address in the Sunday paper. Here are the questions and the answers I provided. You can also see the article published by the Charlotte Observer

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Recently, I've been pondering my attitude working at my current assignment.  I have worked as a subcontractor for most of the past three years, and most of that at a large bank here in Charlotte. It isn't my desire, but it has paid the bills. An unexpected benefit is that not having a permanent job has motivated me to start looking into what I want to do now as a career.  The last several months have persuaded me to move into coaching.  The reason is simple: The song in my head changes when I contemplate moving into coaching.  When I am facilitating a Financial Peace University class or talking to folks about careers, I have a different song in my heart. (This is not to be confused with Happy Feet penguin-heart-songs. I don't want to blog on that.)

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Why Bother With An Elevator Speech?

It helps a conversation continue

Starting off with a standard boring description will kill the conversation. People make assumptions based on what you say. If you start off with "I'm a project manager", then folks will automatically decide what you do, and move on in their mind.

It can help with your "œTell me about yourself" interview question

Having a killer elevator speech can feed well into the typical first interview question you likely receive a "Tell me a little about yourself". If you are interesting, and solve a problem, the person you are talking to will want to know more.

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