Award-winning broadcaster and author Tonya Fitzpatrick always knew “come hell or high water” she would become a lawyer.  She did just that, and enjoyed an appointment as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, and also served under a federal defense contract as the Senior Legal Advisor for the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But her dissatisfaction with her legal career and the political environment in Washington, DC confirmed that she was ready for a change. Traveling has always allowed Tonya to reconnect with herself and her passion for travel. Her desire to live a purposeful life led her to reinvent her avocation and make it her career. Read Full Story

Karen Kibler was raised in a small farming community in Iowa and what many people don’t know about her is that she can weld and operate heavy equipment. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1977, and soon after relocated to Arizona and worked several jobs in the business sector from receptionist to business owner. At age 40, she began working on a PhD which she minted in 1997 from Arizona State University where she now serves as an Assistant Research Professor and the university Biosafety Manager. The focus of her current research is HIV vaccines and treatments. Read Full Story

A transferable skill that tops the list of competencies employers value most is the ability to handle change. While change is an essential element in life and career, most instinctively resist it. The ability to handle change requires ongoing attention and perseverance. In the career arena, learning to deal with change can be used to your best advantage.

Keeping an open mind when change is imminent in your place of work will help the powers that be know that you are a true team player. When you look to grow rather than focus on the possible negatives of change, the process becomes easier. If you adopt a negative attitude about change then your energy is wasted on this behavior and your productivity decreases as well as your professional cache within the organization.

If you are in a position of authority in your organization or pursuing an entrepreneurial venture, be sure to motivate your team and help them through the growing pains of change. By rewarding success, you will create internal champions from among those who are higher risk takers and more aware of the value of new outcomes. Be enthusiastic and persistent with your team to help them re-boot the negative hard wiring that is often the first response to change.

I know that sometimes change comes unmercifully with lay-offs and downsizing. I encourage you to let your feeling out and experience the full gamut of emotions since it’s a vital part of catharsis and moving on. When you resist your emotions you simply make them stronger. I have established a 24 hour pout period when I allow myself to rant and rave in the privacy of my own home about a disappointment – then I move on and focus on what I do have control over.

I have seen many people make lemonade out of the career lemons they have been dealt in this tumultuous economy. Believe in yourself and know that life is what you make it because change is constant.

In order to build my brand and a foundation for my book, I have been working with a terrific Publicist, Stacey J. Miller, and our goal is to get my by-lined career articles picked up by the major national media sources. I’m thrilled to report that I was accepted to be a regular contributor for the Huffington Post online. Every month, I submit a new career column with original content. My March and April postings are on Huff Post now and you can access them easily by entering my name into the search engine on the site.

Serendipity played a very positive role in my life when I learned that Arianna Huffington, the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post was scheduled to speak at the O’Bannon Institute for Community in my home town.  I attended her talk last week and sat amongst hundreds in a packed house of enthusiastic fans.

Arianna left an amazing impression on me and shared several lessons that I believe are relevant to the career & professional development arena. She encouraged us to embrace education and never stop learning at any age. She spoke of the importance of our leaders in business, politics, and community to have good judgment. Arianna emphasized how we each have the power to turn off the negativity in our own lives. She spoke of this particular challenge for women who often feel they are not good enough, smart enough, or prepared enough for a particular quest. With humor, she talked about disregarding “The obnoxious roommate living in my head.” that often feeds her self-doubt and encouraged us all to embrace our humility, fearlessness, and above all – confidence.

A woman that has experienced many career changes, Arianna has reinvented herself personally, professionally, and politically more than once. She urged us to be good to our bodies and get the proper rest and relaxation we need to run at full capacity. Last year, she fainted from exhaustion and fell on her desk resulting in multiple stitches above her eye. This accident was a wake-up call and now she is on a mission to urge others to embrace the healing power of sleep.

Arianna believes in the power of citizen journalists and currently there are 250 official bloggers with distinctive content reporting on the Huffington Post. I am honored to be among them. With a reported 24+ million unique visitors each month to Huff Post, it’s clear to see that Arianna is thriving in her career reinvention.

With staggering unemployment rates and job insecurity, many people have changed careers by necessity and others, by choice. You must learn to navigate the new normal of this job world and take ownership of your personal career destiny. Now more than ever employers want to see that you can bounce back and recover quickly from adversity.

Resilience is a key competency that employers value because it transfers well into the workplace. One constant in every career field is change. If you can show an employer that you can deal with change you can be seen as a valuable commodity to that organization. Attitude is just as important as skill set in a competitive marketplace.

If you were downsized out of your last job, pick yourself up and get back on that proverbial career horse. Showcase this adaptive skill to illustrate that you are scrappy, flexible, and able to recover from a set back with a positive attitude and a game plan. There is no room in this job market for a negative attitude and badmouthing your former employer is the kiss of death. Put your game face on and forge ahead with confidence.

I have seen negative attitudes get the best of amazing job candidates because they are still grieving the loss of a former position and have not let go emotionally. Take the time you need to vent, rant, and rave in the privacy of your own home – this is therapeutic and essential to establish a new and positive mindset. But when you are ready (sooner is better than later!) focus and concentrate on your goals. Put your best professional foot forward and show the job world that you are scrappy, flexible, and ready for a new opportunity.