Exactly When Should You Begin Your Career Path?

Recently I was asked, "When should you begin to think about a career path? High School? College? Graduate School? After working a few years?" Maybe you think you should work between high school and college to explore the world of work. Maybe you should know what you want to study before going to college so that you have your career path established before you spend thousands of dollars on your education. Or maybe you should use your college years as the time to explore career options. Each person is unique and development does not have a straight path. Career development is no exception. What if I said your career development begins as soon as you learn to walk, talk and imitate those around you? Would you think I'm crazy or does that make sense to you?

Career development is part of human development. It begins at birth and continues as you master more and more skills throughout your life. Today is a different day. Years ago, a person would decide on a career and stay with it working for thirty to forty years in the same field for their entire working career. Today, it is not unusual for people to change careers two or even three times in their working years. Career development does not move forward in straight line. You need time to understand who you are, what you enjoy, what interests you, what you feel are your strengths and weaknesses and what kind of lifestyle you want to live. All of these things take time to explore, evaluate and plan. This takes years! When do you begin? You began at birth!

I used to joke that my daughter was forty since she was four years old. As a small child she showed characteristics that could be considered career skills. She liked to be in charge so you knew since she was four she would be a leader and a take charge kind of person. She also loved to help others. She was the eldest of my three children and loved to help her younger sister and brother with whatever they were doing. She was obviously a born leader, a teacher, a helper, a service oriented type of personality. I knew very early on, whatever career path she chose it would include working with people, offering some type of help to others, she would be in charge and I believed she would be in some type of teaching capacity.

As my daughter went through school she was an excellent and hard working student. It became clear by Middle School she was very good in Science and she had a work ethic that was remarkable. When she got to high school it was very evident that she was a great science student. During my daughter's sixteenth year, one of her best friends got a type of meningitis that caused her to be unable to speak or move. She was trapped in her own body. My daughter watched her friend relearn to use her body. She was deeply affected by this trauma for her friend and became interested in the professionals that helped bring her friend back to being a fully functioning person after months and months of rehabilitation. Today, my daughter is an occupational therapist. She was able to enter college knowing exactly what she wanted to study and chose a career path that she had been developing since she was a small child.

So, when should you begin to think about a career path? Whether you know it or not, you have been thinking about and developing a career path since you were a small child playing house, playing roles, playing sports, playing an instrument, drawing, singing, building models, listening to music, solving puzzles, playing word games, playing math games, trying to figure out how things work. All of these activities involve skills you have developed along the journey of your life. Pay attention to how you spend your time. What do you do with your spare time? What actions do you take each day that you enjoy? Do you enjoy working with people? Do you enjoy working with data and information? Do you enjoy fixing things, building things, making things work? What truly interests you? When you have a couple of hours to yourself, what do you do with that time? What brings you enjoyment? Satisfaction? Contentment? What challenges you in a way that stimulates you rather than frustrates you? What activities bring a smile to your face?

When you can answer these questions, then ask yourself, what careers offer me these enjoyable opportunities. You work a lot of years of your life. If you go to work to earn money, your days will be long and hard. You need to be able to go to work for satisfaction in what you do. You need to be able to feel content in your work place. You want to enjoy what you do. You want to feel good about what you do, enjoy what you do, and appreciate the income that it provides you. You also want to afford the lifestyle you know you deserve.

So think back over your life and focus on the activities that brought you satisfaction, contentment and joy. You could be sixteen, twenty-six or sixty-six. Your life experiences have been valuable learning experiences. Think back and explore your own history. If you enjoy working with people, find a career that is social. Maybe you want to help others. Explore the many medical occupations and see if any of them fit. Maybe you would love to teach young people and help them develop their minds and their skills through education. Maybe you would enjoy business fields where you help people build and run successful businesses.

Maybe you love working with your hands. Maybe you've always been fascinated by cars and would love to learn how to fix an engine. Maybe you've always been interested in electricity and would love to be an electrician. If you love working with your hands, then find a career that allows you to satisfy this need in you.

Maybe you've always loved being creative. You've loved to tell stories or draw pictures or build things. Perhaps you would love to write or design or construct buildings. If you are creative, utilize your creativity. Write, draw, design, dance, create and play music, build and create. Nurture your talents. Nurture your strengths. Be who you are in your heart and turn it into your career.

The best advice I can give any young person trying to figure out what they want to do for a career is, concentrate on what you really love to do, how you really love to spend your time and find a way to make your hobby your career. Discover what you love and make it your career. If you spend your time at work doing what you love, you will never feel like it is work. Work becomes an extension of you and what you enjoy in life. Now that's a career! Don't let life just happen and a career happen because it fell into your life. Make it happen. Plan now. When should you begin to think about a career path? Now. If you didn't start at birth, plan for it now.

For more personal development, self awareness and personal growth go to http://www.YourExcellenceWithin.org or contact Ms. Doyle at mdoyle@YourExcellenceWithin.org.

Ms. Doyle is a licensed Counselor who has been working in New York City since 1981. Ms. Doyle can always find a positive spin on life lessons. Ms. Doyle is solution oriented. There are no "problems" only challenges which offers opportunity for growth, Ms. Doyle enjoys helping people find their own power and create their own destinies and welcomes you to her website inviting you to join in her E-Counseling and Personal Growth community at http://www.YourExcellenceWithin.org. Ms. Doyle is the mother of three adult children, enjoys reading, writing, music and dance and simply appreciates the gift of life.

Careers and Job Search - Should I Get Help?

How can you make the "right" decision about using professional assistance to enhance and accelerate your career change or job search?  This article defines the main questions you need to ask yourself, and provides clear criteria for assessing your needs. To further support your decision-making, the article offers a simple cost-benefits analysis for using a career coach to increase both the probability and the speed of a successful job search. Since this step may influence your direction and career goals, as well as the "landing time" to reach your next job, it is clearly an important decision, with both short and long-term impact on your life.

 

If you are in transition to a new career or a new job, for whatever reason, you may have asked yourself the question: "can I do this on my own, or might I benefit from the advice and guidance of a professional career coach and resume writer?" Even knowing that the job search is a difficult task in today's treacherous economic environment and high unemployment with few new jobs, our sense of independence, self-confidence and the desire to conserve cash all urge us to do this on our own. But for a more reliable answer to this question, set aside your gut reaction and consider the key factors below with tough, business-like objectivity, and decide how they apply to you and your situation.

 

Are you equipped for this potentially difficult battle with:

Clearly defined career goals and objectives?
Significant experience in successfully transitioning to new careers or jobs?
Good networking skills and contacts in the field of your interest?
The skills to promote yourself, conveying your accomplishments effectively, but without boasting?
An understanding of the recruiting process and the opportunities in your field of interest?
Strong resume writing skills?
Clear, concise and persuasive verbal communication skills?
Several job-leads/opportunities that would meet your career goals and needs?
A resume that has generated several job interviews in your current situation?
Interviews that have generated at least one job offer?
Family, financial and geographic flexibility, without limitations on career or job selection?


 

 If you can answer 8 or more of these questions with a firm "yes", you probably have the resources and skills to drive your job search without external help.  But if you answer "no" to  4 or more questions, then you are lacking some key attributes or resources for an effective job campaign in today's unforgiving and competitive jobs market, and should consider some professional assistance.

 

This is not to say you cannot be successful on your own, with a great deal of perseverance and some luck. However, a capable career coach can dramatically improve the odds of success and greatly accelerate transition to new careers or jobs by:

 

 Helping you think through your situation and options in a caring but very objective way
Guiding you to develop a personal career and marketing strategy and an action plan
Helping you to fill in some of the gaps in your "arsenal"
Coaching you to present yourself in the best possible and most competitive position: armed with a powerful resume and well-prepared for job interviews and negotiating job offers
Helping you achieve your defined goals, based on a well-thought through strategic plan

If you decide that external help would be appropriate, then you still need to ask one more basic question: "are the benefits of professional assistance worth the cost?" To answer this, first recognize that using a career coach can often be the key to defining your career goals and strategy, and then in getting the "right job". The great value of this to a job seeker is incalculable, because it tends to enhance initial salary, ultimate job satisfaction, promotability and long term career success. However, beyond this great but qualitative benefit, consider the following more quantitative analysis:

 

Statistical evidence summarized from several sources* indicate that 1) 33.3% of the unemployed are now out of work for 27 weeks or more - a higher level than in any recession since 1950; 2) the average unemployment duration is now about 6 months, with a range of 1 to 12 months, twice what it was a year ago; and 3) higher salary levels and older  age statistically increase "landing time" to reemployment.   


 

 Anecdotal evidence from numerous articles and presentations suggest that a good strategy, a powerful resume and solid interview preparation - benefits that can come from the assistance of a career coach - can accelerate the job search and significantly reduce your personal "landing time", though individual success cannot be guaranteed.


Since "hard" statistics on the benefits of career coaching is unavailable, for the purpose of a simple and very conservative cost-benefits analysis, assume that the result of career coaching is finding the right job just  one month sooner than you would otherwise. If, for the typical coaching cost of about $1,000 (for a strong resume and 5-6 hours of consulting), you find a suitable $60,000/yr job just  one month sooner, then you get a $5,000 return on a $1,000 expense - which is far better than any conventional investment performance! And at higher salary and/or shorter landing time in the job search, the return on your investment is even better! This return is so good, that even if the coaching costs were significantly higher, the benefits would still remain very attractive.


 

After considering the key criteria discussed, if it is clear that you do need professional help, then do your own cost-benefits analysis to convince yourself that the investment in your career, to accelerate your job search, is truly cost effective. As the saying goes, the "view is worth the climb"!

 

 *References

Bureau of Labor Statistics; Household Data, Table A9, September, 2009
Wall Street Journal; Conor Dougherty, The Long Slog: Out of Work, Out of Hope, September 25, 2009
National Public Radio; Planet Money, August 7, 2009
Impaxis - Job Search Duration, May, 2009
Dirk Van Dijk; Daily Markets: US Unemployment Duration Stays Up, June 6, 2009 

Estelle Rauch and Paul Kende are the principals at Career Strategies Unlimited, a career coaching firm specializing in helping people change careers and conduct their job search campaigns effectively. Visit our website [http://www.careerstrategiesunlimited.com] for more information on career and job transition services, including workshops, strategic planning, resume writing, job interview preparation and career coaching. Email: paul.kende@gmail.com or estellerauch.csu@gmail.com

Career Goal Examples You Should Adopt Today!

Can you remember all the career goal examples that your parents had/have for you? Many of us remember hearing "you have to go the right college", "you have to become a lawyer" or "it would be ideal if you could become a doctor" A career for many people defines them, it is part of their identity, it helps bring satisfaction to their lives. But what happens when you can't quite seem to find the career path that is right for you or if the path that you have chosen is suddenly starting to feel a little "off". When that happens you need to step back and start to set some career goals for yourself.

There are a great number of career goal examples out there. What stage you are at in your career will determine the kinds of career goals that you will set out to achieve. But regardless of what phase of life you are in, establishing some solid career goals and embarking on a career goal setting journey are the best things you can do.

You've got to learn how to stay on top of the career goals you set for you self. People who are successful at planning their careers stay on track through a number of ways.

Including:

- Using a monthly calendar to mark down various tasks and important associated dates i.e. deadlines, application dates.

- Creating daily task lists of all the things that need to be done to help bring you closer to your goal. These lists are to be reviewed frequently and completed tasks must be removed.

- Appointment books or PDAs

You may use all or some of these methods, and if necessary you can also have a friend monitor your progress to ensure that you are getting things done.

Having an effective plan to map out the steps needed to achieve your career goals is very important. It is also important to revisit your plan often and make necessary adjustments. If a particular step is not working well for you try something new. Remember you can get to your goal using a number of different paths.

Among the list career goal examples:

When developing your career goal setting plan there are a many things to consider when it comes to finding your first job or assessing whether you current job is right for you. One of the many career goal examples would be to make a list of some important questions to ask yourself about a particular job. They include:

- Does a job in the field you are considering require you to move? Could a job in this field take you somewhere you have always wanted to move to?

- Are there many people with similar qualifications as me trying to get into this career field? Will have to continually obtain new certificates/training to stay current in the field?

- In the next ten years will this industry still be vibrant and viable?

- Is this a recession proof or non-essential job? Will the position I am considering the first should the company's financial situation be compromised?

- In order to make this jump in my career do I need to gain certain qualifications? - Does this particular position allow room for advancement?

We could probably think of tonnes of career goal examples but you must find the career goals that are specific to you and your specific career goal.Make sure you set up long and short term career goals, set up a plan to achieve them and never lose faith.

Victor Ghebre is the editor of Settinggoals101.com where you get practical tips and information on goal setting, motivation, leadership and more.

Visit Career Goal Setting [http://www.settinggoals101.com/career-goal-setting.html] to learn how to set yourself up for success and get free tips on how to effectively set career goals.

Don't miss your FREE set of goal setting forms at: Free Goal Setting Forms [http://www.settinggoals101.com/Free.html]

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Changing Careers - Should You Follow Your Head Or Your Heart?

Are you struggling with your career change plans? Do you know you need a fresh start, but you just can't work out how to approach the whole business? Is there just too much to think about and you don't know where or how to begin?

Well, you are not alone. Many career changers get stuck because they are not sure what information is relevant and how to use it to make the right career change decisions.

Two approaches to career decision making

Fundamentally there are really just two broad approaches to career choice and career change decision making.

1. The logical, let's reason it all out approach - follow your head.

2. The intuitive, let's go with my instincts approach - follow your heart.

Much of the general advice on career change that you will find in books and on the internet falls into the first category. Advisers suggest that you should collect information about your skills, interests, experience and achievements and then match that against factual information you have collected about careers. Your new career then emerges from a review of what you have already done.

The alternative approach encourages you to think much more laterally. The idea is to break free from your employment and education history and allow yourself to think 'outside the box'. You are encouraged to reflect on your values, on what is important to you and what meaning you are seeking for your life in the longer term. The idea is that if you can truly engage with something that you feel deeply about, then you will find ways of making it happen.

Which one should I use?

You may have found that you automatically favoured one or the other of these two approaches. That is not surprising, because your inborn personality will lead you to prefer either a more logical style of decision making or a more intuitive one.

So my first suggestion is to go with what feels right to you. If you start by using a strategy that you feel comfortable with, you will be more likely to stick with it and make some useful progress.

However, if you only use your preferred approach, you are likely to overlook on a whole bunch of possibilities - a bit like only looking one way up the street and not the other.

Get a different perspective

To make a truly balanced decision about your career change, you need to use both strategies.

You may find using your less preferred approach hard work. Following your heart may seem a bit airy fairy if you are a rational type and collecting facts and figures may seem dull and pedantic if you are more intuitive.

So if you are struggling, enlist the help of a friend who you know operates differently from you. Ask them to help you think through the issues affecting your career change plans and they will help you make sure that you see things from every angle.

Variety is best. We all have at least some capacity to be both practical and intuitive and the best life decisions are made by tapping into both.

Head and Heart

So when planning a career change, use your head. Ask what am I good at, what experience have I had, what training will I need, how much will it cost, how long will it take, how can I get my CV or resume just right?

But also use your heart. Ask what would I love to do if there were no limitations, what kind of work inspires and excites me, what do I want to look back on with pride when I retire, when I am at my best what are the skills and strengths that I am using, what is the biggest, wildest dream I can imagine and how can I make that happen?

With the answers to both these sets of questions, the route to your new career will be a whole lot clearer.

And if you'd like more career change tools and strategies that use both the rational and the intuitive approaches, I invite you to browse around the How To Change Careers website http://www.how-to-change-careers.com and while you are there, I suggest that you download my free Career Change Blueprint which explains the 5 essential steps to career change success.

So what are you waiting for? Get your head and your heart into gear and start taking action now!

From Cherry Douglas, Your Career Change Guide

Why Should I Conduct a Career Aptitude Test?

Choosing just one from so many career possibilities can overwhelm just anyone. Many people are unable to make the right career decision, for which they pay in the future. If you want to avoid the mistake, you should be able to carefully choose a career which is completely in tune with the talents you possess. But how do you become aware of your talents, aptitude and skills? Well, the answer to this questions a career test or career aptitude test.

Given below are some of the most important benefits of a career test.

It Highlights Your Talents & Skills

First and foremost, a career assessment test helps you discover your hidden talents. Most of the people are unaware of the potential skills even when they are skilled. A specific section of the test questionnaire remains dedicated to highlighting the potential that you might have.

It Makes You Aware of Your Weaknesses

Not only does a career aptitude test highlight the talents that you possess, it also points out the areas where you may be weak. When you become aware of your weaknesses, you know which career path is not right for you. Knowing what you can't do is much more important than knowing what you can.

It Helps You Explore Careers

As a matter of fact, a career test doesn't say which career path is perfect for you. What it actually does is list the most suitable careers that match the range of skills and talents you possess. Overall, an aptitude test helps you make a well informed career decision.

It Assists You during a Career Transition

Even if you are looking to switch careers (for different reasons), you can choose to conduct a career assessment test. If your current career doesn't satisfy you anymore, taking a career test can really help you choose a career direction which you should head into.

It Tells You Whether You Require Additional Education

Based on the range of skills you carry, a career test suggests you the best career possibilities. In case, you need to work upon some potential areas, the test process might also suggest that. So, you'll know whether you need to go back to school to advance your educational qualification.

It Guides You through the Process of Goal Setting

One of the major benefits of a career assessment or aptitude test is that it also helps you in goal setting. It offers you important pieces of advices that you should follow to set up your career goals. If you are already in a career, the testing enables you to know the changes you should make for better results.

It Encourages Your Job Search

A career aptitude testing also helps you with your job search. The process suggests you important tools that you should use to boost your job search. If you want to be guided professionally for conducting job search, a career aptitude test can offer you assistance for the same.

It is important to find out what aptitude career tests measure so you can be ready to conduct a career assessment and receive the maximum benefits. Since a career test does a great job in highlighting your strengths, weaknesses, talents and skills, it enables you to make a well informed career decision. If you are already aware of the benefits of the assessment, you can take a career test now.

Should You Make A Career Decision Based Upon A Career Quiz?

Q. I'm about to graduate High School and I don't know what I want to be "when I grow up". Do you think that a career quiz might help me decide?

A. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! But maybe not for the reasons that you think. You see, as the great Quizmaster, I've found one thing to be true: A career quiz, or any quiz for that matter, is always biased towards the thoughts and belief's of the person who wrote it.

Usually a career quiz is written for entertainment purposes only. Now, if you are calling it a career quiz, but you really mean some sort of standardized occupational guidance test like professional career counsellors and the military use, then those are typically valid assessments of your career capabilities.

However, since you are asking the question here, and I am definitely not a career counsellor, then I'm going to assume that you are talking about your run-of-the-mill career quiz like the type that you find in typical magazines and on a variety of general audience web sites.

So, the reason that I said "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes" is because anything that gets someone thinking about career options is a good thing. A well-written career quiz has the effect of causing you to brainstorm over your career options. What you want to be "when you grow up" may be a moving target for you. Most people evolve as they mature and their goals change. What sounds like a good idea now may be far away from what you will eventually become. However, as I said, a career quiz gets you thinking and that's a start!

When looking for a career quiz take a good look at the type of questions that are being asked. Remember what I said about the author's bias earlier? You want to find a career quiz that asks "horizontal" questions rather than "vertical" ones. For example, a horizontal question might be: "Do you enjoy working against deadlines?", while I vertical question might be "do you prefer the precision of hand tools versus the speed of power tools?".

Horizontal career quiz questions are designed to explore general career likes and dislikes while "vertical" questions tends to try and shoehorn you into a particular career path. Now don't get me wrong, there is a place for a vertical career quiz. For example, if you are thinking about a career in woodworking, and you are trying to decide if you want to be a cabinet maker or a house framer, a vertical career quiz is exactly what you need.

The important thing to remember is to never make a career decision based solely upon the results of some career quiz that you happen to come across. If the quiz gets you to thinking that you might enjoy some particular career, then research that option more fully. A career quiz is simply another tool to help you navigate the pathways of life. Good luck!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Brian Fong run the popular quiz site

[http://www.QuizFaq.com]

Quiz Faq - Your solutions for the quiz.

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Should I Get Help From a Career Counselor?

Most people would probably rather get a root canal than hunt for a new job. Whether a person has been downsized, is changing careers, or just wants to find a better opportunity, hunting for a job can be frustrating and intimidating. And since more than 230,000 people have lost their jobs this year, the competition for employment is likely to be fierce. People who want to increase their odds for getting hired may want to consider finding a career counselor.

What Career Counselors Do

Career counselors can help people evaluate their skills and abilities to find a job that fits their goals and interests. They serve as coaches, teachers, and mentors to people with all different types of job experience. A qualified counselor should be able to assess a client's traits and abilities to help direct them to an appropriate position. They also should be good listeners who can communicate well with people who may be dealing with a lot of stress and uncertainty about their job situation--and life in general.

Some career counselors may have a degree in counseling or a related field, but others may have experience in a particular field that gives them the expertise to help others. A master career counselor usually has the highest level of expertise in career counseling and has met other qualifications, such as being licensed by a state board.

Who Should Consider Counseling?

Not everyone looking to change jobs needs to see a career counselor. But people who aren't sure where they're headed in their careers and need help focusing may benefit from working with a coach. Workers who are thinking about getting help with their career should ask themselves:

1. Am I satisfied with my current job?

2. What do I like or dislike about my current job?

3. How can I improve my current job?

4. Do I have the work-life balance I want?

5. What are my short- and long-term goals for my career?

6. What other jobs can I qualify for with my skills?

Downsized in America

People who haven't had to look for a job in many years may be ill-equipped for their search and may be perfect candidates for career counseling. Companies all across America are cutting jobs, forcing many workers to dust off outdated resumes. A qualified counselor can help put together a resume, practice interviewing techniques, administer assessment tests, or evaluate new career paths. The right coach can help a person evaluate jobs they've never considered that may allow them to use their current skills.

Changing Careers

For people who are looking for a whole new career, a counselor can help them decide whether they have the necessary skills or need to continue their education. Some people may find that the type of work they've been doing has become obsolete. Many unskilled workers have found themselves forced out of jobs that can be done by a computer or a machine. A good career counselor should listen to workers' needs and assess their strengths and weaknesses to help them transition to a new career. That may mean directing clients to places they can learn about new technology or employment trends in fields that interest them.

Getting Encouragement

Richard Nelson Bolles writes in What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers that "Researchers discovered some years ago that while the typical job-hunt lasted around fifteen to nineteen weeks, depending on the economy, one-third to one-half of all job-hunters simply give up by the second month of their job-hunt." Having the support of a career counselor may help some people stay focused on their job search and not become easily discouraged. The right coach can also redirect job-hunting efforts that have stalled or become unproductive.

Moving to the Next Level

Always being passed over for promotions is like going to a spring fling and never being asked to dance. It's no fun! Workers who are having trouble advancing in their career may need some help figuring out exactly what they need to do differently to get noticed by higher ups. For some people it may be as simple as taking a few courses to learn necessary skills. Others may need advice from a career coach on how to dress, talk, or act more professionally.

Setting Career Goals

Counselors can also be helpful if people just want to make sure they are setting the right goals for their career. They may not be looking to change companies, but may be more concerned about protecting their future job security. A person who hasn't bothered to keep abreast of changes in their industry, learn new skills, or network with influential peers are more likely to fall under the downsizing axe than someone who has worked to remain competitive.

Choosing the Right Counselor

It's important for people to find a career counselor that fits their goals and is reputable. A good counselor should:

1. Disclose the terms of their service and fees upfront

2. Provide a copy of their ethical guidelines

3. Charge only for services provided

4. Let clients choose the services they want

5. Not make unrealistic promises.

They should also discuss what type of time commitment clients should expect to make to their counseling sessions and job-hunting strategies.

While career counselors can be helpful they may not have all the answers. They can help individuals assess their strengths and weaknesses to choose a career that fits their unique goals and needs. Like any other counseling relationship, it may take more than one try to find the right person. People looking for a career coach can check with their former employer, local job centers, universities, alumni groups, churches, and other organizations for recommendations.

Kelli Smith is the senior editor for http://www.Edu411.org Edu411 is a career education directory for finding colleges and universities, training schools, and technical institutes.

Career Change After 50 - 7 Mistakes You Should Avoid!

Career Change after 50 - here are 7 mistakes to avoid in planning a career change.

A career change after 50, can sometimes feel like a jump into the unknown. But you are not alone, many people just like you, during their working lifetime change careers not once but many times.

To reinvent yourself, and change careers after 50, you must be aware of a number of things to avoid and not make these mistakes in your career transition.

1. Failure to Plan the Move: Career planning after 50 is a must. It allows you to build your skills and qualifications. If you need relevant experience you plan activities that will give you the requisite credentials.

Planning your career gives you a significant advantage over the person who stumbles from job to job and career to career.

Career planning should have positive actions done on a regular basis. Your career planning should have an active financial component. The career plan will have built in flexibility to give you the required road map to the planned career change.

2. Deciding to change careers for the wrong reasons: Take a good look in the mirror. Are you really burned out? Is your boss really a tyrant or is it the demands of the business? Is there something else in your life that you are dissatisfied with and not really your career? Have you done everything you can to resolve the problems at work?

Moving to another career and bringing your personal baggage with you will not resolve your problems.

3. Not assessing your interests, skills and passion: You move to another career because of suggestions of friends or relatives or because the job is available will not get it done.

Self-assessment is the key to finding the right career, where you'll be challenged and have a passion to going into work everyday.

4. Not doing a due diligence study of the new career: Career research requires developing a great deal of information, talking to a lot of people and getting advice from a variety of sources.

You'll get to a number of dead ends; this is good as it allows you to reject a career. With a careful analysis of your interests, likes and dislikes there are plenty of career avenues to explore.

5. Not looking carefully at transferable skills: Rejecting the perfect fit for a career change because you do not carefully consider how long built up skills are transferable to satisfy qualifications in the planned new career is a critical mistake.

Skills like project management, leadership, and communication with a bit of work will match up with the requirements of many new careers.

6. Not developing all viable options on the career change: To often a promising career is quickly rejected because a mandatory qualification would take to long to acquire or the first option reveals that it is impossible to fit the learning into your schedule.

For example, if some technical knowledge is required it can be learned through self-study, taking an evening course at a local college, internet learning or taught by a mentor. Other education and learning can be acquired other than through formal class work. Seminars, workshops, and trade shows are other alternatives to pick up the required learning.

Other required experience can be acquired through volunteer work with a non-profit, part-time work, working on committees with a career related organization and even working on project related teams at your current employer.

7. Expecting Instant Results: Unfortunately we live in a society where everything is desired now, not tomorrow or next week, but now.

Effective career planning, on the other hand, is like building a large house. A carefully built foundation will determine the final results. Failure to consider early on, for example, the heating and cooling requirements could result in a home cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Careful planning is the key.

Career planning after 50 is clearly not an exact science. It is however, a method, if done consistently and diligently over time, with time taken occasionally to adjust the career direction, should result in a career change moving you into your dream career.

Learn more in developing your career plan after 50, go to http://careersafter50.com. Read how others over age 50, built winning career plans and found the right careers by career planning after 50.

Skill developers should aspiration quotient in mind

Tuesday 6 December, 2011

Skill developers should aspiration quotient in mind  
Tuesday 6 December, 2011 Source: times of India

Development of skills is a favorite policy issue of our time. Players from all over the governmental, for-profit and notfor-profit sectors are vying with each other to bridge the gap ' skill ', the underlying premise is that there is a huge discrepancy between the high demand for skilled labour and workforce readiness in the country.
Of a policy per ...
Libya has released largely as a result of countries such as Canada. Hurray for Canada and its Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose policies have painted him firmly in the image of the former American President George w. Bush.

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Tuesday 6 December, 2011

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