Date: Fri 08-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Jobseekers-Carr-uncertainty

Full Text:

Learning To Embrace Uncertainty In The Modern Job Market

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Victoria Carr knows what it is like to live with uncertainty and seemingly

insurmountable obstacles.

The professional speaker, who is scheduled to talk to the Newtown Jobseekers

Support Group next Tuesday evening, is a walking testimonial of someone who

refused to give up.

"My husband and I operated our own business [in the asphalt industry]," she

said. "But 12 years ago, just after our divorce became final, I had a stroke

that paralyzed me on the right side."

The stroke was caused by a congenital brain anomaly that was considered to be

inoperable.

"I went from doctor to doctor and was told over and over that it was

inoperable -- that I would be left paralyzed and with no memory," she said.

"Finally I found a surgeon at Columbia in New York who said he could do it. I

was only the eighth person to have the surgery."

A lengthy recovery followed. Today, no one would know that the attractive

brunette ever faced a medical crisis. But in the process of recovering her

life, Victoria Carr learned a great deal about human nature.

"The central theme of my program is about creating a difference in your life

by embracing uncertainty," she said. "Most every human being strives to

improve the quality of life so it is a universal theme."

When she decided to leave her job recently and form her own business, Victoria

Carr & Company in Redding, it was an instance of practicing what she preaches.

A member of the National Speaker's Association, she is called upon by

businesses, agencies and organizations to make people understand that if they

are not satisfied with the way life is going, they can do something about it.

"Someone who is unemployed or considering a career change is living with

uncertainty," Ms Carr said. "This can affect everything in the person's life,

particularly the image that is projected in a job search. It's important to

learn how to tolerate uncertainty and become a positive thinker. Anyone who

has ever achieved greatness knows how to do this. This one attribute can help

us to create just about anything we want in life."

In her program, Ms Carr explores the reasons why people tend to avoid the

uncertainty of change and uncertainty in general, and how they can change.

The Jobseekers Support Group is a free group open to anyone who is unemployed,

underemployed or thinking about a career change. It meets monthly in the

second floor conference room at the St Rose Parish Center on Church Hill Road.

Victoria Carr will speak on "Creating Your Life: Living With Uncertainty" at

the next meeting at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, May 12.

For more information, call Bill Brimmer at 270-9885.