by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

I am very excited to report that Publishers Weekly has reviewed Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams (which will be published on May 13).

If you click through, you’ll see that my write-up comes right after reviews for two other very interesting-sounding May titles — Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever by Joel Derfner and Sex: How to Do Everything by Em & Lo.  It’s hard to compete for attention with titles like those, but here’s what PW had to say about Escape from Corporate America:

========

Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams

Pamela Skillings. Ballantine

Journalist Skillings aims to rescue Americans from corporate tedium in this entertaining and informative guide to walking away from an established—albeit stultifying—job and forging a more rewarding career. With insight and humor, Skillings enumerates the stages of “Corporate Disillusionment” and the features of the “toxic workplace”—the bullying bosses, moronic co-workers, “terminal boredom” and rampant racism and sexism. A multitude of questionnaires, exercises and worksheets helps readers determine their dream job, assess expenses and assets, and plot an escape plan to break free of corporate life without going bankrupt. Skillings also provides pointers to those readers who simply want to be happier in their current jobs—including negotiating for more flexible hours, telecommuting and taking sabbaticals. Vignettes of successful fugitives from the corporate world populate the book and an extremely useful “Escape Tool Kit” supplies information on where and how to find career coaches, health insurance, job listings and a wealth of other much needed resources when embarking on career change. Comprehensive, informative and witty, this book will be indispensable to those looking to start new careers with concrete plans and well-defined goals. (May)

Popularity: 24%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

Delta Airlines is offering voluntary severance packages to thousands of employees, according to a recent AP story. Higher fuel prices and a weak economy have prompted the move, which aims to cut 2,000 front-line, administrative and management jobs. 

Employees who accept the offers will receive severance payements as well as travel privileges and additional benefits to help them with managing their career transitions.

While the announcement of job cuts is rarely good news for a company, the offer of voluntary severance packages can be a fantastic opportunity for those who are contemplating a career change or a complete escape from Corporate America. Most voluntary severance packages come with at least a couple of months of salary and benefits and often other perks to sweeten the deal. 

Several of the corporate escape artists that I interviewed were able to jump start their new careers or businesses because of voluntary severance packages. I remember a time when I fervently prayed that I would be laid off with severance. There may be some risk involved in "taking a package" in an uncertain economy, but it may also be too good an opportunity to pass up.

If you’re tempted by a severance package offer, take the time to sit down and do the math:

• With severance payments and any savings you’ve socked away, how long will you be able to pay your bills without additional income?
• How long is it likely to take for you to find a new job or get a new income source up and running (like your own business or a freelance career)?
• Is your job likely to be at risk if you DON’T take a package? If it seems likely that there will be additional  non-voluntary job cuts at your firm and that your job could be vulnerable,  you may be better off leaving now (assuming that it’s financially viable). Voluntary severance packages are often sweeter deals than the standard packages offered to downsized employees.

If you’d like to leave, but have concerns about finances or benefits, it may help to consult a financial advisor and get some expert guidance. If you are struggling with other issues — like whether you really want to leave or what you’re going to do next — a career counselor can help you to evaluate your options and do any necessary research.

In any case, it’s important to look at the potential opportunities represented by a voluntary severance offer  After all, it would take you months to save up  enough money to equal a generous severance payout. That cash can provide a nice safety net while you get a new business up and running, look for a new job, or navigate a career change.

Popularity: 23%

Escape from Corporate America

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

The latest brief from the "Escape from Corporate America" movement comes by way of a great article by Liza Porteus Viana in Condé Nast Portfolio. The piece focuses on the growing number of Millenial generation workers who are quitting their well-paid and prestigious corporate jobs to pursue careers with meaning.

The story cites research that has shown that workers born after 1980 (approximately 80 million of them) care much more about how they spend their time on the job than about how much money they make. For the Millenials profiled in Viana’s article, it’s all about passion — passion so strong they were willing to give up six-figure salaries to start new companies from scratch.

In my own research, I have found that members of the Millenial generation are much more confident and vocal about their desire for meaningful work, but they’re not the only ones seeking career fulfillment. I interviewed professionals from all age groups who walked away from job security to pursue their dreams.

I think it just takes a little bit longer for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers to feel ready to make such a dramatic career change — most have been trained to climb the corporate ladder and many have been taught that job fulfillment is a selfish idea. Meanwhile, the Millenials have been raised to believe they can be whatever they want to be — CEOs, entrepreneurs,  or rock stars.

While some mock the Millenial sense of entitlement, there may be lessons that the rest of us can learn from them. I think it’s inspiring to see people willing to give up fat paychecks to try to change the world or at least find work that they love. Check out the links below to the web sites of the corporate escapees profiled in Viana’s article (you’ll find links to other great corporate escapees in my "Escape Artists" blogroll over there –> ):

• OldCampus.com — An online political hub started by former investment banker Manish Vora
• Change.org — A social networking site that connects people who are passionate about the same issues, founded by former management consultant Ben Rattray.
• GiveWell.net — An online hub for researching charities, launched by former hedge fund players Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld.

Popularity: 22%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

I just had to post a link to this inspiring story featured on Yahoo! today. Jonathan Coulton was a software engineer who quit his job to become a rock star. Today, he’s earning more than his old salary by selling his music online, including tracks inspired by his office life like the irresistable "Code Monkey." 

I really like his quote about what prompted him to leave his code monkey career to to pursue his music: "I have known some bitter people in my life who never did what they wanted to do, and I didn’t wanna be that person."

I sure wish I had known about Jonathan while I was still working on the book. I’d love to interview him and learn more about how he made his career change work. After all, rock star is a pretty ballsy goal to dream about from a cubicle and he made it happen.
 

Check out Jonathan’s story on Yahoo!

Visit Jonathan’s site to hear his music.

Popularity: 19%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

Ever fantasize about quitting your corporate day job to make movies and hang out with celebrities? Tony Moody and Rob Malkani did just that. And this weekend, their film Day Zero, which stars Elijah Wood and Chris Klein and made a splash at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, will open in New York City.

If you’re in New York, support two fellow corporate escape artists by checking out Day Zero at the Anjelika this weekend. The film imagines New York City after the draft has been reinstated (a premise that is frighteningly not terribly far-fetched) and follows the reactions of three NYC draftees — a corporate lawyer played by Chris Klein, a neurotic writer played by Elijah Wood, and a cab driver played by Jon Bernthal.

I met Tony and Rob when I was sent to review Day Zero at the Tribeca Film Festival. When I read their press kit bios, I noticed that both were corporate escapees and knew I had to meet them. I was even more impressed when I saw that the movie was actually good.

I ended up interviewing both Tony and Rob for my upcoming book, Escape from Corporate America, and found their stories to be pretty inspiring. Both walked away from prestigious corporate jobs to follow their dreams. Tony was a senior trader at one of the country’s top brokerages before becoming a film producer. Rob was a corporate lawyer and then a highly-paid investment banker before quitting to focus on a career as a screenwriter and producer.

Both saved up their money when they were earning big corporate paychecks to create escape funds that paid their bills when they were getting started in the film business. Although their finances are still a lot less predictable than during their corporate days, both Tony and Rob say they are much happier because they are doing work they love.

If you’re looking for an engaging and thought-provoking film this weekend, I highly recommend Day Zero. After all, all of the advance reviews say Cloverfield is a monstrous disappointment and 27 Dresses is mostly warmed-over chick-flick cliches.

When I saw Day Zero at Tribeca, everyone left the theater buzzing and debating. Get tickets for Day Zero at the Angelika. Catch the 7:45 Friday show and stick around for a Q&A session with Tony and actor Jon Bernthal (if you don’t know his name yet, you will).

Popularity: 18%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

According to an interesting new article in Business Week by writer Douglas McMillan, a growing number of midlife career-changers are ditching their corporate gigs to pursue careers devoted to the environment.

There are currently 8.5 million of these "green-collar jobs" in renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries in the U.S. and a November report commissioned by the American Solar Energy Society projects that number could grow to 40 million by 2030.

Interested in pursuing a green career? Here are some resources to get you started:

• Green Careers Guide from MonsterTRAK
•  
• Green Career Salary Trends at Payscale.com
•  
• EnvironmentalCareer.com Job Board
•  
• Green Career Tracks Coaching and Services

Popularity: 21%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

Do you have a business idea or career fantasy that has stalled because of lack of capital? Would a big check for $50,000 give you the cushion you need to quit your day job and go after your dream? While I’m sure you’d like $100,000 to start that new home-based business, this would still make for a nice deposit in your Escape Fund.

The Intuit Just Start Contest is giving one lucky person a $50,000 grant to strike out on their own and follow their passion ($5,000 prizes will also go to each of two runners-up). Just tell them what it is that you want to "Just Start." Your submission can be in writing or on video and will be judged based on your clarity of expression and the feasibility of your idea. Entries are due by December 15, 2007.

Who will be sitting in judgment of you and your dreams? Columnist and small business expert Anita Campbell, author and marketing guru John Jantsch (the man behind the awesome Duct Tape Marketing blog), and technology consultant Ramon Ray.

And while you’re online, you might want to check out JumpUp, the free online community for entrepreneurs that was started by Intuit. Life as an aspiring entrepreneur toiling in a day job can be lonely and isolating. JumpUp is a great place to connect with a community of like-minded people who can share advice, ideas, and opportunities.

Popularity: 16%

by Pamela Skillings      Send to a friend

When office life is getting you down, block out your boss’s yammering and the tortured noises from the next cubicle with the sweet sounds from your iPod. Here are some song picks to add to your rotation.

Songs for Wallowing in Your Misery

Songs for Daydreaming About Leaving

Popularity: 9%