On this Friday afternoon (6/19) at 12:00 noon Eastern, I’m offering a FREE 60-minute teleseminar called, “How To Search for A First Job When No One is Hiring.” In it, I will outline 6 critical steps for positioning for success in challenging times.

This call is an introduction to a 6-month mastermind series that I’m launching in July specifically for first-time job seekers that will go into more depth with each of the 6 steps. The call and the series are both of limited capacity so I’m inviting anyone who is interested to register before 9am on Friday to receive the call-in number and passcode. They can register here:

For those who may not know me, here’s a brief bio:

Sherra Bell is founder of Creative Know-Who, LLC and past president of AIGA Atlanta (2005-2007). She has been recruiting creative talent in Atlanta and beyond since 1997, with a special passion for graphic designers at every stage of their career. Recruiting exposed Sherra to extensive training in sales and she has also consulted with many of Atlanta’s most prestigious design firms and advertising agencies about marketing their services. In the midst of her own evolution away from traditional concepts of headhunting, Sherra is ready to share what she’s learned from hundreds of clients and candidates in transition to help you increase your confidence, stand out among your peers, and establish yourself in an ever-evolving niche perfectly suited for you so you can make more money in the year(s) ahead.

ConsultSherra is for the candidate side of my professional practice. It is where I creatively nurture and encourage others to grow based on having creatively nurtured and encouraged myself to grow. It is quite intentionally for a fairly narrow audience of designers in Atlanta and the Southeast committed to nurturing Yin (feminine) energy who find themselves in major life transitions away from very Yang ways of being or defining success.

What I know from over a decade of recruiting is that most people move South to reconnect with family and find more life/work balance. Many of the young couples I encounter are moving back to be closer to wives’ families because children are being born. Mid-career, there is a natural reorientation back to grounding ourselves in the things of life that really matter, especially when a downturn shakes our confidence in all of the illusive promises of success by worldly standards.

Recruiting has also taught me that we are all vulnerable to what may on the surface appear to be unexpected change, and when it comes there is a lesson attached and a process to go through. I’ve become a student of that process. Recruiting is now fundamentally less interesting to me than than that process.

I’ve also learned, personally and by observation, that change is actually rarely unexpected. We may have turned a blind eye to the signs it is coming or through inexperience simply not yet recognize them, but the signs are always there. Change comes in cycles that to some degree is relatively predictable. As a result, how we respond to change is a habit we can create with intention.

This is the work I desire to do through ConsultSherra. It is about empowerment and nurture for those in the midst of transition. Through this work I will seek to create balance in the world by championing the yin/feminine aspects of energy. My primary focus will be helping women of child-bearing age balance design careers with motherhood, but men who value the feminine will also be included. And most male creative types (gay and straight) fit this bill, especially those now concerning themselves with issues of sustainability.

I’m still working out the details but expect this:

• Blog entries three times per week (M/W/F) sharing perspective about nurturing yin energy as it relates to creativity and health
• One per week newsletters (W) with ideas and networking opportunities
• Daily Tweets & Facebook Status Updates with links to share information
• Tweetups (impromptu) & Meetups (scheduled) at various times and locations to build community
• Six Live Events per year introducing new ideas around health, balance, creativity, self-promotion, leadership, and sustainability
• Masterminds, Salons, Service Projects, Childcare Co-ops, Community Gardens, etc. to support continued learning and mutual support in a community of like-mined individuals.
• Informational products (by me and from the community but endorsed and promoted by me) that promote the balancing of yin energy as it relates to creativity and health

Ultimately, this is about building Southern leaders who value the feminine – both in themselves and in the world. On some level it is counter-culture to the good ol’ boy network of Southern business and politics, but in many other ways it is right in step. There is a flair of femininity to the strength of Southern woman that can’t be rivaled anywhere. I hope to tap into that flair and have fun with it while making a grand difference in the world around us…by design!

More soon on how to join my revolution!