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September 1, 2007By Jean-Marc Hachey
Career counsellors are frequently passionate communicators. The following is an account of how I transformed my own passion for providing career advice into a viable and interesting lifestyle: that of a self-published author and professional paid speaker. You too can turn your communications abilities – through courage, creativity and persistence – into a challenging but rewarding public speaking or publishing career in the wider career services industry, if you are motivated by a passion to share.
In the late eighties, I was about to graduate with a master’s degree in political science. When I informed my professors of my interest in obtaining work internationally, they told me, “It’s impossible!” Nevertheless, I persisted. Three months later – after speaking to numerous international employers – I had five international job offers and a burning desire to share my successful job-hunting experience with other young professionals and university students. And so I decided to write a book.
In 1992, after five years of solitary research and writing, I published my book, first titled The Canadian Guide to Living and Working Overseas. Boosted by the warm reception it received as it gradually became known, I started to hire staff to update its content and expand the next editions. When the 4th Edition went to press in 2004, it was thanks to 11 months of work by a team of 27 researchers, writers, editors, layout artists and web designers. A new title was by now required to reflect the book’s broadening scope and expansion into the US market; it thus became The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas.
But what does it really mean to work as your own publisher? After each edition of the book is released, my office returns to being staffed by just one person: myself (although I do occasionally hire a part-time researcher or graphic designer). After living the exhilaration of the production process with so many staff around helping to put together the latest edition, it is sometimes difficult to return to the lonelier aspects of being an entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Harder still, at times, is mustering the bit of courage required to manage the responsibility of the debt repayments associated with the high front end costs of book production.
Another essential aspect of my work has been knowing how to surround myself with strong people each step of the way. Recognizing the limitations of my own skills and knowledge, I have never hesitated to hire a specialist to help me get further than I would have alone. I first try bringing a piece of work to the highest level of excellence that I can on my own and then, call in a professional to audit what I have done and make critical suggestions to improve it. Without the excellent subject matter experts, editors, graphic designers, computer programmers or business strategists whom I have hired or consulted over the years, I might not be where I am today.
The benefits of working as an independent career advisor far outweigh the negatives. First and foremost, I am attaining my main goal in life which is helping university students or young professionals understand and appreciate international careers. From the very beginning, I have always been passionate about sharing my message that international experience is readily available and extremely enriching. University students are a constant source of inspiration for me. They are creative, forthright, adventurous and open to new ideas. Being on stage in front of a crowd of anywhere from 100 to 400 students and passionately sharing ideas about how to move into international careers, is something I thoroughly enjoy.
There are many other benefits to being an author and speaker. I often work 10-hour days and weekends however, I generally take three months off a year to travel and visit family. (My partner and I have 17 nieces and nephews and we get to see all of them at least twice a year, even though some live at opposite ends of the country.) Being my own boss, I have control over my work environment. I can decide to stay home and write for a few hours at the dining room table, just as I can extend my stay in San Francisco, where I have a scheduled speaking engagement, to visit Napa Valley wineries.
It is important to realize that to be a self-published author, one needs to take care of and enjoy the business side of things. No matter how good the topic, a message will not reach its audience unless you market your services. Indeed, since book publishing is rarely a profitable business in and of itself, I have had to constantly find innovative ways to keep revenues flowing from several sources. My first paid speaking engagement came from McGill University in 1995. Since that time I have been able to progressively raise my profile so that my international speaking engagements now pay higher and more sustainable fees. As a professional speaker, I am hired by career offices at universities and colleges across North America (as well as in France and the UK) to offer seminars on how to kick-start an international career.
Recently, I have undertaken another stimulating endeavour by starting to work with a small internet research firm located in Chennai, India that will update and expand the already extensive list of career resources included in the book. By outsourcing this work, I can afford to keep the evolving BIG Guide up-to-date while enriching it with content and expanding into Europe. I will continue to hire Canadians for core writing and analysis, but I am equally looking forward to this summer when I will spend two months leading the team of Indian researchers on site in Chennai. Just in time for the 2010 edition, this represents a new phase in my business as well as a great occasion to connect with my earlier personal experiences of “living and working overseas”.
When I embarked on this venture, I was confident, but did not anticipate how big it would grow or how long it would last. Still, motivated by my initial passion to help others successfully make their way in the global workplace, I look forward to continuing to develop this business and career. My advice to you who may wish to expand your own contribution to the career services world is to harness your courage, creativity and persistence, and to strike out with confidence and gusto.
Jean-Marc Hachey lives in Cabbagetown in downtown Toronto with his partner Richard Berthelsen. He is the author of The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas. In June 2007, he will release the 2nd Printing of its 4th Edition (offering expanded content on CD-ROM) as well as a “Site Licensing System” for accessing The BIG Guide on campuses.
