Comments on: The Art of Starting a Career Group http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/ Everything About Money You Were Too Polite To Ask Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:32:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ledamarritz http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-32550 ledamarritz Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:11:06 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-32550 @The Nerdy Nutritionist I'm so glad you found this helpful. Let me know how it goes! @The Nerdy Nutritionist I’m so glad you found this helpful. Let me know how it goes!

]]> By: The Nerdy Nutritionist http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-32030 The Nerdy Nutritionist Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:40:22 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-32030 I am definitely inspired by your post. Your experience with getting things set up so that productivity is emphasized over gossip is so helpful. I had run across the idea of ladies working groups before but wasn't sure of how to go about setting things up, thanks for sharing your experience! I am definitely inspired by your post. Your experience with getting things set up so that productivity is emphasized over gossip is so helpful. I had run across the idea of ladies working groups before but wasn’t sure of how to go about setting things up, thanks for sharing your experience!

]]> By: ledamarritz http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31681 ledamarritz Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:25:14 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31681 @eemusings@twitter I would say one big career group conclusion is that, without a doubt, no job is perfect. More than anything, our discussions have revealed the subjective nature of the things we value most about our jobs. A lot of us really want to have jobs that we find meaningful, but there is often tension between the job you want (or think you want, anyway) and the job that lets you lead the kind of life you want to lead. I'd be curious see the Jen Dziura piece if you find it. Group productivity like what you're describing is a great idea and is something we've also discussed, although haven't done yet. @eemusings@twitter I would say one big career group conclusion is that, without a doubt, no job is perfect. More than anything, our discussions have revealed the subjective nature of the things we value most about our jobs. A lot of us really want to have jobs that we find meaningful, but there is often tension between the job you want (or think you want, anyway) and the job that lets you lead the kind of life you want to lead. I’d be curious see the Jen Dziura piece if you find it. Group productivity like what you’re describing is a great idea and is something we’ve also discussed, although haven’t done yet.

]]> By: sintaxis http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31670 sintaxis Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:02:44 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31670 By: ledamarritz http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31668 ledamarritz Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:59:11 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31668 @LouisePlease This is a great question, and I’m not sure I have a specific answer. A few possibilities come to mind: 1) Since we have a dedicated topic and leader for each meeting, there is a very specific expectation of what we’re going to discuss before we even begin. Having that specificity means it isn’t awkward when, should we get off-track, someone interjects, “This is interesting, but let’s stick to the topic at hand.” But I do think it takes a majority of people being dedicated to keeping the conversation focused, because it is easy to get distracted if no one pipes up to stop it. 2) Because our group isn’t composed of people who are all close friends – although we all really like each other – there isn’t a lot of gossip about shared friends or guys to distract us (not that it can’t happen anyway, but I think it helps) 3) A number of us are engaged or married. I hadn’t thought about it before, but this might be a factor in unintentionally limiting the relationship and gossip talk? I’m not sure. @LouisePlease This is a great question, and I’m not sure I have a specific answer. A few possibilities come to mind:
1) Since we have a dedicated topic and leader for each meeting, there is a very specific expectation of what we’re going to discuss before we even begin. Having that specificity means it isn’t awkward when, should we get off-track, someone interjects, “This is interesting, but let’s stick to the topic at hand.” But I do think it takes a majority of people being dedicated to keeping the conversation focused, because it is easy to get distracted if no one pipes up to stop it.
2) Because our group isn’t composed of people who are all close friends – although we all really like each other – there isn’t a lot of gossip about shared friends or guys to distract us (not that it can’t happen anyway, but I think it helps)
3) A number of us are engaged or married. I hadn’t thought about it before, but this might be a factor in unintentionally limiting the relationship and gossip talk? I’m not sure.

]]> By: LouisePlease http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31657 LouisePlease Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:33:48 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31657 Great idea! I would love to start something like this. Just one question. With women-only book clubs I've been in, the conversation always turns to guys and gossip (about those not at the meeting). How do you keep people actually talking about career topics? Great idea! I would love to start something like this. Just one question. With women-only book clubs I’ve been in, the conversation always turns to guys and gossip (about those not at the meeting). How do you keep people actually talking about career topics?

]]> By: ledamarritz http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31640 ledamarritz Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:38:58 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31640 @oiseau That's great! As I'm sure you can tell from this piece, I highly recommend starting a career group. How it actually took off was very simple: Steph and I compiled a short list of friends, friends-of-friends, and colleagues who we thought would be interested in a group like this and who we suspected would have valuable and interesting things to say. We then simply emailed everyone to explain what we were thinking and to gauge interest. Some people got back to us quickly saying yes (and sometimes asking if they could invite their friend who they thought would be interested) and some not at all. That pretty much determined the mix. I think it’s very important to vary the strength of the connections in the group. For example, ours is composed of several people who are very good friends, some colleagues, and some distant acquaintances. We all met one or two people for the first time simply because we’re in this group together. You don’t want it to feel like just a bunch of friends getting together – or at least, we didn’t. We wanted it to be about expanding our circle, not staying within it. The other thing that was important was limiting the size of the group. We wanted to keep it at around 10, and we’ve stuck to that. This size has been great for us. If everyone shows up, it’s a manageable size and we can all talk, share, and discuss in a two hour time window (which is about how long we meet for). And if not everyone shows up, there are still enough attendees so that the conversations are busy and full. Good luck! I’d love to hear about how yours develops if you end up pursuing it. @oiseau That’s great! As I’m sure you can tell from this piece, I highly recommend starting a career group. How it actually took off was very simple: Steph and I compiled a short list of friends, friends-of-friends, and colleagues who we thought would be interested in a group like this and who we suspected would have valuable and interesting things to say. We then simply emailed everyone to explain what we were thinking and to gauge interest. Some people got back to us quickly saying yes (and sometimes asking if they could invite their friend who they thought would be interested) and some not at all. That pretty much determined the mix.
I think it’s very important to vary the strength of the connections in the group. For example, ours is composed of several people who are very good friends, some colleagues, and some distant acquaintances. We all met one or two people for the first time simply because we’re in this group together. You don’t want it to feel like just a bunch of friends getting together – or at least, we didn’t. We wanted it to be about expanding our circle, not staying within it.
The other thing that was important was limiting the size of the group. We wanted to keep it at around 10, and we’ve stuck to that. This size has been great for us. If everyone shows up, it’s a manageable size and we can all talk, share, and discuss in a two hour time window (which is about how long we meet for). And if not everyone shows up, there are still enough attendees so that the conversations are busy and full. Good luck! I’d love to hear about how yours develops if you end up pursuing it.

]]> By: oiseau http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31639 oiseau Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:27:07 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31639 I love this idea, especially since I'm still figuring out where I want to go professionally. Talking to a group of women in all points in their varied careers would be something I'd be really enthusiastic about. I'm wondering about how it actually took off - was it a Facebook invite you sent out, or...? I love this idea, especially since I’m still figuring out where I want to go professionally. Talking to a group of women in all points in their varied careers would be something I’d be really enthusiastic about. I’m wondering about how it actually took off – was it a Facebook invite you sent out, or…?

]]> By: eemusings@twitter http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31635 eemusings@twitter Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:19:54 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31635 "Even those who are in their supposed dream jobs aren’t sure that they make them happy." Hell to the yes. I don't know if I'm just being a typical Gen Yer and expecting too much. No job can ever be perfect, right? Unfortunately, I can't find the exact link, but Jen Dziura at Bullish last year did an excellent column on how she and her friends did a somewhat similar thing, except more of a working group than a discussion group. They'd get together, have food and drinks, and generally have a few hours of being productive individually yet together (having the others around you keeps you accountable so you don't get distracted). “Even those who are in their supposed dream jobs aren’t sure that they make them happy.”

Hell to the yes. I don’t know if I’m just being a typical Gen Yer and expecting too much. No job can ever be perfect, right?

Unfortunately, I can’t find the exact link, but Jen Dziura at Bullish last year did an excellent column on how she and her friends did a somewhat similar thing, except more of a working group than a discussion group. They’d get together, have food and drinks, and generally have a few hours of being productive individually yet together (having the others around you keeps you accountable so you don’t get distracted).

]]> By: ledamarritz http://thebillfold.com/2013/01/the-art-of-starting-a-career-group/#comment-31619 ledamarritz Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:38:27 +0000 http://thebillfold.com/?p=22056#comment-31619 @BornSecular Hey, that's great. Congratulations! @BornSecular Hey, that’s great. Congratulations!

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