Decide On a Career First, Then Get a Job

With a US unemployment rate hovering at 9% and millions of other American workers under-employed, the question many people are asking is "Where can I get a job?" The answer is "Decide on a career first, then get a job." Although a slow economy will limit the number of overall opportunities available, people who are clear about what they really want for a career will ultimately have an advantage over people who are just looking for a job. Here are six good career-building tips that explain why focusing on career first makes sense:

Start with a vision: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there" so says the old adage. Almost every human endeavor starts with a vision, and a career is no different. Whether you are a recent graduate looking for your first job or a displaced older worker, you must first decide on a career path. What type of work? What industry? What is your passion? These are the kinds of questions that you must answer first before you can begin a focused job search. Just "looking for a job" is not good enough. You must decide on your career field first, and only then can you begin to set the goals that will lead you to a job.

Set some short-term and long-term goals: Goals are the discreet milestones, the objectives that you plan to achieve. The best goals are specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and time-bounded (SMART). When you have decided on a career path, you can more easily set goals to advance your career and find a job. Knowing your career field first, you can assess your skills and decide if you need to have short-term goals around education. If you already have the skills, then you can set goals around finding target companies. You can also set long-term goals around career advancement for the next five to ten years.

Be a life-long learner, an expert: Even if you have the immediate skills required to get a job, you still must be a life-long learner. Almost every career field is constantly changing. New technologies are coming online and old ones are constantly being upgraded. Every day, there are more new markets, new products, and new customers who need new solutions to their problems. If you don't stay current in your chosen career field, you will be less attractive to employers. On the other hand, if you are viewed as an "expert" on the latest trends, then you will be sought out for your expertise.

Build your brand: Your reputation is your personal brand, and it is just as important as your technical skills. The technical skills may get you hired, but your brand will keep you there and get you promoted. What kind of team player are you? Do you deliver on commitments? Do you get things done? Are you innovative? Do you always do the right thing? The answers to these types of questions define your personal reputation in the workplace, your brand. Building a positive brand will help you build a successful long-term career; however, it takes time to build a brand because it is defined by many interactions with lots of people over a long period of time.

Build your database: Every successful business has a database of customers and potential customers (prospects). If you think about managing your career in the same way as managing a business, then you need a personal database. The good news is that this has never been easier to do this. There are internet based tools like Linkedin which make keeping track of your professional contacts easy. Track your current and former colleagues, peers in your industry, former classmates, and others who can help you with your career. Paraphrasing noted author Harvey McKay: "The time to dig your well is before you get thirsty." So, build your network over time so that you can tap into it when you need it. Also be sure to connect with these people periodically so that you build relationships and not just have a list of people. It is the number of people with whom you have a relationship and not the number of people on your list that will be most important to your career.

Find a mentor. Everyone can use some special help in getting ahead, especially if you are in the early stages of your career. Find someone who has "been there and done that." They have experience, and if they are willing to share it with you, then you can avoid some basic career mistakes. A mentor can be your coach, and a mentor who is in a senior position at your company, can also help you get promoted by using their influence. How do you find a mentor? Get to know people who have experience, arrange a meeting, and then ask them for their help. Most senior people are genuinely willing to help others in the same career field and they will often be open to your request. Ask, and you may be pleasantly be surprised.

So, if you are unemployed or under-employed, then begin your job search by thinking about your career field first. Once you decide on what you want to do, then finding career opportunities will become an easier task. Thus, the best advice for career success is "Decide on a career first, then get a job!"

Leonard Kloeber is an author and leadership consultant. He has extensive leadership experience as business executive and as a military officer. He has been a hands-on leader in a variety of organizations large and small. Most recently he was a human resources executive for a Fortune 100 company. His book - Victory Principles, Leadership Lessons from D-Day - illustrates seven bedrock leadership principles that all successful leaders use. Download a free summary of the Victory Principles at: http://www.victoryprinciples.com and find other bonus materials for leaders. Contact him at staffride@gmail.com or find his book Victory Principles at http://www.leadershipthebook.com

Take A Free Career Test - First Step To A Successful Career

Deciding and choosing what career an individual must take is thrilling and interesting. But, sometime after, some will be left wondering if they chose the right career path. Life has its own ups and downs, but getting stuck in a job you hate is the pits and can drive the individual to depression. The individual then feels the need to assess and begins to question his/her decisions. A possible solution to this problem is by taking a career test, many of which are online or if you want, a career center in the community. One has to answer the answers truthfully, only then can the individual know if s/he needs a career change or not.

Looking for career tests are easy. Many are available in the internet and most have taken one or two of these tests. Career tests are very simple and easy to read, and can easily become a part of a career planning program. A word of caution though, one must read the fine print at the bottom or top of the page, a lot of these career tests were first devised for entertainment, so a little caution should be exercised. Nonetheless, results should be utilized as a reference, even if it's a legitimate career test, not as the ultimate answer or solution. People who are in limbo about their careers might find it comforting to read the results of these exams. These tests can also give the job seeker the right direction they want.

These tests are sometimes condensed from larger career tests. Online tests often give out general results, and if the individual wants a deeper interpretation of the test, s/he must pay a certain amount to the site owners to gain access to it. Career tests are helpful but one has to remember that there are other methods available too. Signing on to a career management site can give you useful insights and information. After reading the information the next step is to check if the kind of career you are looking for offer the duties and salaries you want.

An individual should not be afraid to examine their career choices every once in a while. Career tests that are free are extremely useful as an individual doesn't have to spend anything. For beginners and new graduates taking these tests can be of great help and can stop you from making the mistake of pursuing the wrong career. Career tests can also help the individual figure out if s/he fits another position in the same industry.

Abhishek is a Career Counselor and he has got some great Career Planning Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 71 Pages Ebook, "Career Planning Made Easy!" from his website http://www.Career-Guru.com/769/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Online Career Tests - A First Step to Your Ultimate Career

It stands to reason that often times the people who have a natural liking or interest towards a certain career path may perform much better when they are working in this area. It also stands to reason that if it is this natural interest in the role that lead them to the career in the first place will also mean that they will be much happier in their work and probably achieve much greater career satisfaction over their lifetime.

Once a person's career interests are identified the task of locating their ideal profession or career often becomes easy. The difficulty however often presents in trying to locate or identify a persons interests that could translate into a realistic career path. There are many ways to do this and often the best approach is to use not just one, but a combination of methods, in conjunction with each other to arrive at the best options or solutions for you.

One of these methods that can be extremely useful in the career counseling process is the use of career counselling or career interest test. Using a career counselling test should not be seen as the be all and end all, but rather as a starting point for ideas and exploration of your career interests. There are many online career counselling tests that can be used, however it is important to stick to or use only tests that are valid and reliable and not simply fun "quizzes" which are found on the internet. One example of a good online career test or questionnaire is the Strong Interest Inventory. The benefit of taking such a test online is that it is used widely all around the world by career counsellors and for this reason, once you have your results you should not have too much trouble in obtaining follow up career advice from a professional career counsellor if you feel like you need more support and career advice.

Another useful tool used commonly by career counsellors around the world is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test or MBTI for short. This can also be taken online and as with the Strong Interest Inventory, the fact it is used so widely around the globe in career counselling means you can easily obtain follow up career advice based on your results at any point in the future if you wish.

Both the Strong Interest Inventory career test and MBTI personality test should taken by people looking for a simple answer. Career tests are an integral part of the career counselling process and are an excellent starting point for people looking to find their ideal career. Such career and personality test should give the person many different career ideas and open their minds to many possibilities which will need to be explored after the career test has been taken. A person may feel comfortable and confident in exploring these many possibilities on their own, or it is at this point that people often feel they would like some additional support from a career professional so they can be guided through this process.

There are many online career counselling tests, including those above, which are easily located through a search engine such as Google. A good career personality test such as those above will provide the test taker with many career options to explore, and it's at that point that a career counsellor can often provide valuable assistance to assist in maximising the benefit of the career test. This also can be done easily on the internet by using a search engine with a search term such as "registered professional career counsellors list" or something similar. In Australia there is the The Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) which can be used to locate an appropriate career counseling services close to you.

So in summary, if there is one piece of advice I can give to those looking to find the right career path for them, it would be to take a quality career counselling test and use this to get ideas to work from. From their the many options raised can be explored and examined, either by yourself alone, or with the assistance of a career counsellor or professional.

Nathan Jones is a registered psychologist and has many years working within career counselling related fields. He is the director of CareerSense.com.au which is a business providing quality online career counselling tests and career personality tests to help people work towards finding their ideal career.