Think career planning is only for the active job seeker? Think again! In days gone by, career planning was to be hired with a family, work for 20-30 years and then retire. Today, even Estate Managers with long-term positions need to take conscious control of their career plan to accommodate their principals’ changing lifestyles. From learning new technology to developing management plans, the private service professional who does not grow is setting himself up for replacement. In this presentation, discover a way to develop both short term and long term career plans to make sure you will never be obsolete.

1. ©2013, Donna Shannon
1425 Brentwood St, Suite 11, Lakewood, CO 80214
www.PersonalTouchCareerServices.com
720-341-8229
Never Be Obsolete: Career Planning for the Private Service Professional
Since 2008, there is no question that the job market has changed – it certainly has for private service.
No longer can one count on being in the same position for 20 years. In the corporate world, the idea of
the long-term job resulting in a nice retirement and a gold watch disappeared quite some time ago.
Even in the past few years, corporate job seekers have been reeling from layoffs, ill-equipped to
compete in the job market because they spent all their time working their jobs instead of preparing for
their next one. Now we are seeing that same scenario in the private service industry. So how can we
avoid the obsolete trap?
Protean Careers
According to Jay Block (May 2012): The Protean Career is a concept that requires everyone to 1) monitor
and assess the job market; 2) anticipate future developments, trends, and industry shifts, 3) gain the
necessary skills, qualifications, relationships, and assets to meet the shifts, and 4) adapt quickly to thrive
in an ever-changing workplace.
The word “Protean” comes from the Mythical Greek Sea God “Proteus,”who
was best known for 1) predicting and foretelling the future and 2) his
versatility and adaptability to acclimate himself to successfully meet and
thrive in the future he envisioned.http://www.jayblock.com/protean-
careers-what-is-a-protean-career/
Sound familiar? This is the essence of any household or estate!
Target Employer and Narrowcasting
When someone calls me for help with their job search, one of the things that I always hear without fail is
“I am not so concerned about the title or location, so long as there is a really good ‘fit’ with the
principals.” But how do we find that fit?
When I worked in radio, we followed the concept of “narrowcasting.” In a general sense, we had a
target market, which was defined by general demographics such as males ages 21 – 28. But the art of
narrowcasting is to define not a market, but a specific individual within that market. So for my station, it
was a 25 year old single male, blue collar, earning $40,000 and no college degree. When we think of our
ideal employer, we need to narrowcast as well – of course, we will attract others around that target,
which is ideal.
Who is your target individual or family?

2. 2 | P a g e
Long Term Needs Anticipation
A big impact on any Estate Managers career is the actual changes that happen within the employers’
lives. If you aren’t paying attention, this could lead to you actually becoming obsolete.
Identify the lifecycle:
In the next 5 years, my principals will be:
My principals really enjoy __________________________ and I expect that to increase in the future.
Identify Needs of the Property
In the next 5 years, the estate will:
Getting
married or
Getting
Divorced
Having Children
Sending
children to
school (K-12)
Sending
children to
College
Retiring or
Traveling
Managing Health
Issues
Dying or
dispersing the
estate
Major
Renovations or
construction
Sell or Purchase
additional
properties
Implementation
of overall
management plan
Downsize to
smaller
residence(s)
Initiate green
technology or
procedures
Technology
upgrade /
intergration
Additional lifecycle events that
impact the household / my work:
Additional estate needs that impact
the household / my work:

3. 3 | P a g e
Based on these considerations, what knowledge do you need to add to remain vital to the estate?
It’s Not about Doing More – It’s Doing More of What You Love
Some hearts may be sinking right now – after all, it can be intimidating looking at the needs of the
principals and the estate and think, “I can’t do all that, in addition to what I’m doing now!” This is where
the art of delegation comes into play. Best of all, we can start to direct our career so that we can do
more of what we love and assign staff or vendors to take over other functions.
Love it Like it Live with it Loathe it
I would happily do
more of this…
I enjoy this… I can do this, if it is
essential for the job…
I would give anything
to not have to…
Taking charge of your career
Where do you want to be in 5 years? It’s not a flippant question, but a real tool to plan your career. Do
you want to work long-term for one employer? Do you want to keep adding responsibilities with your
employer, working your way up to be the estate manager? Or do you want to make an impact and then
move on to another household? Depending on your answer, the need to keep increasing your skills will
either be fast-tracked or natural evolution.
In 5 years, I want to:
Evolutions You Can’t Escape
In modern estate management, the demand for some skills will only continue to increase. Most notably,
this often is the high demand for top-notch computer skills. Very few employers will allow you to do “on
the job training” with QuickBooks, Microsoft Office, Mac platforms, iPhone apps and tablet operations.

4. 4 | P a g e
Program Expert Advanced Beginner In Trouble
Word
Excel
Outlook
QuickBooks/ Quicken/ accounting programs
Mac platforms
Internet research
Smart phones/ tablets
LinkedIn
Facebook
Cloud computing
Professional Development
In addition to the computer skills, you need to stay on top of the luxury market, including trends, care of
fine items and ways to enhance your principals’ lifestyle. Similarly, it may be necessary to add classes
for your own mental well-being, such as conflict resolution and handling different personalities. Finally,
sometimes we need to add professional training or certifications to prove to the employers our desire to
change roles, such as the private chef obtaining a household management certification to send a clear
message that they do not want to cook in their next job.
Based on these thoughts, where are your strengths? (Remember, even if you aren’t doing the hands-on
work, you should be well versed enough to manage staff or vendors.)
Area of expertise I can teach it I know it I need to learn
more
Vendor and staff management
Home maintenance
Culinary talents
Housekeeping
Care of fine items (linen, crystal, silver, etc.)
Wardrobe care
Event production and entertaining
Smart home/ IT / technical systems
Grounds maintenance
Child or elder care
Interpersonal relations
Conflict resolution
Want to see more?
Visit the full Career Planning Questionnaire on my www.Slideshare.net account
(http://www.slideshare.net/DLShannon):
http://www.slideshare.net/DLShannon/private-service-career-planning-questions