How to Change Careers and Avoid Emotional Decision Making Mistakes

What makes a career change so difficult?

For most of us, probably the single biggest challenge in knowing how to change careers is addressing the emotions that are provoked when considering this kind of change.

Emotions can result from both external and internal triggers. External triggers that could stimulate a possible career change include:

Family needs that require a change in where you live or a change in income
A job loss
Approaching retirement
A company or industry downturn
Problems with a boss or coworker
A change in health status
A change in work content or expectations (work overload)
A company direction change that conflicts with your personal core values

Internal triggers that might motivate a career change include:

A change in your personal core values that now conflicts with the company ethics (e.g., you used to be OK with your company's business practices, but have had a recent change of heart)
Routine or boring work that lacks challenge, meaning, or purpose
Lack of opportunity for personal or professional growth
A desire to increase income beyond current career expectations
A desire to create better alignment with personal core values and/or beliefsThese triggers can lead to fear due to lack of knowledge; knowledge of oneself, knowledge of the environment, and knowledge of how to change careers effectively.

Breaking it down using a decision making process

An effective decision making process provides a framework for finding or creating the knowledge needed to make any change, especially one as important as a career change. How to change careers is not an isolated decision. It is part of a set of related decisions that connect in a way that creates the knowledge needed to choose a way forward.

Let's use the list of internal and external triggers above to expose some of the decisions that can be used to help in choosing a career.

Knowledge of oneself could include answers to the following questions:

Do I have a vision for my life?
What gives live meaning?
What are my strengths and talents? What are my weaknesses?
What fits with my personality?
What relationships do I value?Rephrasing these questions as choices would provide the following focusing decisions:

Choose my life vision
Choose my personal core values and beliefs
Choose my talents/strengths
Choose activities and environment that fit my personality
Choose my relationship prioritiesKnowledge of the environment might address the following questions:

What income do I need to meet the needs of my family?
What careers are available that I could consider?
What skills are needed to succeed in a career?
Where would I need to live pursue a career? Using a decision view would suggest these decision success factors for your next career (for each you would consider both your need and desire):

Income
Fits my skills / Aligns with my strengths
Training preparation, time and cost
Required travel / Daily commute time Knowledge of how to change careers effectively is addressed by using a reliable process for identifying and making each of the related decisions that will influence or guide your choice of careers.

Addressing the emotions as you focus on how to change careers

As you start down the path leading to a career change, you will continue to experience emotions that will bring up new questions and concerns. When using a decision-focused approach, each new question becomes an added decision to be made or provides a potential success factor as you progress toward your new career choice.

If you capture the questions and identify the corresponding decisions to be made or career change success factors, you can now use your emotions as a tool to motivate making the choices needed to progress toward a new career. Instead of being overwhelmed and afraid, this high value life choice is broken into smaller choices where emotions can provide the needed motivation to do some of the work.

Emotions now become a positive motivation for change instead of generating the overwhelming fear that leads to indecision. Here are some additional emotional pitfalls that are minimized when following this approach to how to change careers:


Choosing quickly without knowing why, and then creating rational explanations to justify a poor emotional decision
Creating mistakes due to distortions and bias in judgments, sometimes leading to unexpected and reckless action
Making errors that take place because we are subject to systemic inaccuracy about how we will feel in the future
Having tunnel vision with too few alternatives due to the desire to rush to judgment
Experiencing analysis paralysis with too many options that exceed our ability to keep track of them

It is possible to learn how to change careers effectively and with confidence

See how our four-step decision making process is used in changing careers at http://www.decision-making-solutions.com/how-to-change-careers.html.

Keith is Co-Founder of Decision Innovation, Inc.
Our company is focused on moving beyond collecting data and analyzing information to creating knowledge and providing insight. We will explore the decision making process and provide a unique combination of decision tools, decision and information management methods, and expertise that will give you the power over your personal and business decisions.

Visit us at http://www.decision-making-solutions.com/.

Career Planning After 50: Making Career Planning Work For You!

Almost everything we do starts with planning. Can you imagine a wedding, or building a house or going on an overseas vacation without planning? To achieve a high level of benefit and overall satisfaction all these and many other life events require a high level of meticulous planning.

It's clear to get the most out of an event a level of planning must be undertaken. The effect and risk of failure is what really drives the importance of planning.

Career planning is commonly thought of as working hard in your career and good things will happen: you'll get the promotion and the accompanying increase in earnings. This idea is only part of what a good career plan really is.

Moving ahead in your career also requires planning. It goes beyond a road map. Planning will highlight important mile posts along your career journey. And, importantly your plan will keep you on the right road without getting sidetracked from your overall career objectives.

The heart of a good plan is the method to oversee your career progress. A well designed plan for your career helps you understand you progress or lack of progress. It guides you in building your strengths, expanding your skills, monitors your abilities and watches over your unique talents.

Designing a well thought out plan will show you what career opportunities, both internal and external, are available. It will spotlight your chances of taking advantage of new jobs and new careers.

The keys to successful career planning are your proactive actions in building your skills and knowledge. If you have a gap in your skills or a new opportunity shows on the horizon your plan will give you the tools to build your skill set. In addition, your plan will point you toward added opportunities to systematically build your strengths and skills.

Any good plan has built-in methods to assess your progress toward your overall career goals. For example, if you find you need to add to your skills to update your abilities to work with new software or systems your career plan will have signposts to gauge your progress in completing the required training and experience. Of course as you observe new skill building opportunities, you must remain flexible and adjust your interim goals as appropriate.

Once you build your overall career goals into your career plan you can gauge your activities and training in a more objective and productive manner. Decisions regarding your career or a proposed career change will now be made based on a full range of objective evidence and not at some whim or snap decision.

For information and background in building a career plan to better prepare you for moving up in your current career or for a planned career change go to http://careersafter50.com. Learn the stories of others who build robust career plans changed careers and found the right job.

Midlife Career Change - Learn 5 Arguments For Making A Midlife Career Change

When we were younger, we heard about the midlife career change or midlife crisis. Now that we're older, we begin to see the reasoning. We've been in the same job or same industry for our entire working life and we're ready for a change. And, yes, I'm for the most part talking to Baby Boomers! They are the tenured employees staying 10, 15 even 20 years with the same employer. We also know that the generation that follows the Boomers - Generation X - already changes jobs frequently to advance their careers. But even with job hopping, these managers get caught up in the same industry and asking when quality of life will fit in. And we know that the generation after Gen X - those Millennials or Generation Y - already know about quality of life and are instituting many of the things we'll talk about in this newsletter. They have learned from our lives (mistakes?) and get it! No matter where you are in your career, you may be looking for a change. And many of us are considering that midlife career change.

So if you're one of those looking for change, you might be asking yourself, how hard is it to completely change careers? Is it even feasible? Luckily the Baby Boomers, in their excitement about reaching retirement and now having the time and money to do what they have always wanted to do, are forging the way. They are using their connections, money and a desire to follow their dreams to begin the career they've always wanted to do. Working through this process can be challenging so here are several things to consider:

Midlife Career Change Argument #1 - Employers are looking for brain power in our service-based society. No longer is youth or physical power as important. As we age, we naturally have more brain power and sometimes more time to learn a new skill. Let's face it, we don't retire anymore. We are living longer and finding ways to be productive whether we volunteer our time or find a new career.

Midlife Career Change Argument #2 - Security no longer rests in the corporate retirement package. It rests in our own skill. What companies and contacts can help us develop our knowledge, skills and expertise? Or do we need to go back to college? We can't rely on corporations or social security to take care of us through retirement. It is imperative that we have a plan to develop and rely on our own skill level and what it can afford.

Midlife Career Change Argument #3 - What about a boomerang job which allows you to take some time off or "semi-retire" and then re-enter the industry or organization after a few months or even a few years usually with limited hours and lighter responsibilities? Could this be your version of a midlife career change?

Midlife Career Change Argument #4 - If you really can't justify leaving the job or the industry you're in, can you still work quality of life into you position? Can you find flexibility or another needed perk? Can you talk to your employer about shorter hours, flex time or job sharing? Make the career or industry work for you and work so that you get what you need and want from the job and life.

Midlife Career Change Argument #5 - If you're in those next generations after the Baby Boomers, sprinkle leisure time into your career path now. Don't hold all of your leisure time for retirement. Throughout your working career try to work in blocks of time that you can devote to rest, relaxation and regeneration. It is during these times of reflection that you can look objectively at your past work history and where you would like to go in the future. Who knows, you may change careers every 10-15 years instead of once at midlife or retirement! Visit http://www.activ8careers.com to read more free career newsletters on skills needed to make career changes.

If these arguments have convinced you to make a midlife career change or look at other areas for skill development, join us next month when we look at what an interview for a job change in a new industry might look like and how to field challenges regarding your background and expertise.

David Hults author of the book "From Cornered To Corner Office" Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams

http://www.fromcorneredtocorneroffice.com

Career Coaching - Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Making a Big Career Change

Are you considering a big change in your career? Do you feel let down, bored, burned out? Maybe you think there is something bigger and more meaningful that you are meant to do. Perhaps your company downsized you into this predicament. Regardless of the reason, there are some common mistakes to avoid while you evaluate and select new career options. Avoid these pitfalls and you can stay motivated, keep your balance and move forward successfully.

Mistake #1 - Making Decisions in Haste

Tempted to just quit and wing it? Everyone is now and then, but unless you just can't stand your current situation another day, resist! Instead, write down everything you hate about your current situation, then one by one, look at the most intolerable issues and see how you can turn each around to make it more tolerable for the present moment.

It is easy to get so excited about the future that you decide to forge ahead without a plan and hope everything naturally falls your way after that. It will require more energy to sustain your new career and make it work well for you than it will to identify and start it. It is better to come from a place of higher energy and stability than to start out already burned out or worried about how you will pay the bills. Consider seeking the help of a qualified career coach, life coach or career counselor to help you identify your next career path. An objective, trained third party can help you strategize and phase it in for the best results and the least amount of heartache.

Mistake #2 - Ignoring the Finances

"I can't stand this any longer! I would rather eat dog food than put up with this another day!" Whether you are pursuing a new career voluntarily or involuntarily, you must pay the bills. Do pursue your dream. Do look for the career that brings out the best in you. If you have plenty of savings, good for you! Resist the temptation to go through it and be left without. If you have a dream, by all means hang on to it! But if it won't realistically get off the ground for three years, find another way to earn a living in the meantime. The need for income is a reality you cannot ignore.

Mistake #3 - Filling Your Head with Negative Stuff

What do you read? What do you view on television or the Internet? With whom do you spend free time? When you're looking at making big life and career changes, you need lots of positive energy around you. If you spend time with negative people or fill your mind with anything that isn't useful, guess what? It fills you with negative energy. Instead, surround yourself with people and things that give you positive energy and encouragement. Read books that motivate and encourage you. Go places that inspire you. Do everything you can to be what you want to be like after you land the next great career opportunity, and you will be more likely to attract it into your life!

Mistake #4 - Getting Bogged Down by Decisions

If you're an intelligent person who has enjoyed any measure of success, chances are there are a lot of different choices you could make in your next big life or career change. Clients often tell me they are overwhelmed by all of the thoughts and ideas that keep running through their minds. And as the overwhelm sets in, it is very easy to just shut down. As we work together, I remind clients when making tough decisions to ask themselves, "Is this going to move me forward?" If the answer is yes, proceed. If the answer is no, either revise the decision or drop it entirely.

Mistake #5 - Not Having a Plan

There are two reasons this is important. First, life is unpredictable and it is dangerous to relinquish security before the next career arrangement is lined up. Second, changing careers is a lot like dating. You are always more desirable when you are unavailable. You are more attractive to a prospective employer if you are already working. And if you have already lost your job either voluntarily or involuntarily, it is even more important to have a plan so that you are then more likely to achieve it. If you see success, you will be successful. (Conversely, if you don't have a plan, how will you know when you've succeeded?)

Mistake #6 - Ending your Preparation Too Soon

All I can say here is, prepare, prepare, prepare. If you're looking at several possibilities, don't immediately drop one when another looks good. Think about all of the big tests you have taken in life (college entrance exams, finals, certification exams) and how you prepared for those. Did you study way in advance and take a big, long break before taking the test? Or were you still reading the material as you walked in the door on test day, wondering if you could still be better prepared? When you're embarking on a new career or life change, give it all of your available energy, skills and attention. If you have a goal in mind, resist relaxing when you think you almost have it. Prepare and stay sharp right up until the day you start. This will help keep you from losing confidence at the last minute.

Mistake #7 - Getting Discouraged Too Easily

Does this happen to you when you face hurdles in the midst of your goal? Instead of giving in to the pain, pay attention to what specifically is making you uncomfortable and make adjustments to get you through. For example, if you're in career transition and you find that it is painful to go through the tedium of making phone calls, sending resumes, going on interviews where the competition is tough, etc., find the formula that gives you a break without stopping the process. Try devoting an hour or two each morning to these tasks and letting it go for the rest of the day, or only making a certain number of phone calls or interview appointments per week so that when you're finished, you can feel good about giving yourself some time off. Don't stop. Adjust.

Remember, a career change is a life change. You didn't arrive at your current level of education and experience overnight, and don't be disappointed if you don't immediately uncover "the thing" you want to do next. Allow yourself time and space to explore and make an educated decision. Get the help you need along the way (i.e., career coach, career counselor) to help you do it strategically, not emotionally. If you avoid these mistakes you are much more likely to end up in a new career that complements and fulfills your life.

Gwen Jewett is a Life and Career Coach and Selfgrowth.com Guide to Career Coaching, living in the Dallas area. After 14 years as Executive Director of a 12,000-member national healthcare association, she voluntarily left to pursue a more balanced life. Since 2001 she has helped many clients make their career and personal life stop working against each other and instead work in complement.

[http://www.coachgwen.com]

Career change-they are doing a stellar choice? Step (1)

Most of us have days when we want we could change careers. For some of us and we will pass your frustrations. For others of us feel that we have to make a change ... gets stronger and stronger. The big question that many would-be career changing face is How to make the decision about what to do next. After all, if you're a competent person with some good experience there are many options. How to avoid leaving the range of choice to stop you in your tracks?

One way to check your choice of career change is to use stellar career change tests. Run the idea by your choice of career change through the six areas. Ask yourself the questions. Write down what emerges as the most important to you on your career change. If you do this with a few examples of careers as the sound of a pattern you start to emerge.

Skills
Trialing
XcitementAnd
Lifestyle
Egacy/ L
Atccomplishment
Reward

SKILLS

You already have the skills needed for your new career? Are your transferable skills? Do natural strength and talents lend themselves to success in your new career? You can make the transition if you are given a small amount of training or the opportunity to acquire practical experience?

EXPERIMENTING WITH

You can trial or test you are interested in this career? Most people take the time to transition to a new field. Do you know people who work in this industry that you could get insider-insights from? There are ways that you can try out aspects of your career choice, for example by taking on projects at work, attending night school classes, volunteer etc?

EXCITATION

This is a career change who are considering why you
competences but that leaves cold? This choice or bring a real charge or buzz for you?
You can identify problems in your new career area that would like to solve? Do you have a hobby that would turn into a career? Are you sure it's viable as a business or should stay as a much loved hobby and relax? Careers engage strongly affecting?

LIFESTYLE

This career choice will fit with your lifestyle? It fits with your family obligations? Interfere with important aspects of life you want to lead? As this career fits into the context of your life?

LEGACY/CREATION

Will this give you career opportunities too make the contribution you wish to make in the world?
It will give you a sense of accomplishment in the short or long term? Will provide the kind of stories that you'll feel proud to speak when I retire?

REWARD

Is the financial reward in this new field enough to keep his family afloat? It will allow you to continue to add to your superannuation fund? It will help you create the Board you must keep happy and secure in your old age?

Once you are clear about your new career destination you will be ready to start planning your move. You will stop being part of the chorus line to complain about what is wrong with his current role. You will be preparing to star in a new show!

Dorothea works with lawyers and other professionals who want to develop their business careers/improving their professional visibility; developing their own brand and communicate their experience.

Dorothea is a reach Certified Personal Branding strategist and author of Essentials: career change switched careers in the 21st century.

http://dorotheastuart.com
For more information about Career change Essentials click here

Your Career Plan Must Always Be Considered in Making Career-Related Decisions

Both students and current professionals can begin to draft a plan for their careers. Students upon graduation can begin realizing their career plan especially that they have already received proper preparations and career advices from their school, parents, and peers. Professionals may commence establishing their own career based on their present job easily because they are already employed or have something to begin with.

For students, choosing the job after graduation is highly significant for the manner and phase of realization of one's career plans. Due to distressed economic situation we are in right now, some jobs fit or ideal for one's career plans are not readily available hence one has to hold in abeyance such plan. However, this does not mean he or she won't work anymore pending the availability of such desirable job. He or she can still find temporary work for the time being as a means of living. This makes the person work for a job which does not in any manner contribute to the realization of his or her career plans. Although there are some very few exceptions to this where such job is partly related to the career desired by the person, the point still remains that such realization of career plan is either postponed or delayed. Hence, it is highly advised that choosing a job or upon engaging in any endeavors, one must seriously consider the plan or path sketched for his or her career. Such consideration can be greatly helpful if one seeks for a career advice from friends, family, or human resource management professional.

Professionals need not go through the same grueling process of determining which job best prepares them for the realization of their career plan. Since they are already employed, all they have to do is map out the opportunities available to establish a career within the system he or she is already a part of. A professional simply finds ways of utilizing present opportunities in such a way that the career plan is benefited. In so doing, one has to decide whether or not his or her current job provides for such opportunity or one has to find a new one where he or she can be certain that a career can be drawn out from such job. Although the latter option is quite risky, it can be a necessary sacrifice to allow for something better to come in that will significantly contribute to the needs of building a career. Hence, if one is already employed but seems to have a mere job without a career, he or she must seek career advice to strategically asses and calculate the risks and benefits of either staying or leaving the present job.

Considering all of these premises, it clearly and simply shows that if one is really serious and committed in making a career of his or her own, that person must take into great consideration the career plan in every decision-making. A career is easily affected both internally and externally of the person. Economy, politics, and other social factors affect your career plan. However, a strong foundation within yourself and a strong support system that provides for sound career advices can easily overcome such adverse effects to your career. Hence, a career advice is often needed to ensure that your decisions complement your career plan.

Norah C. Bear enjoys writing for Resumelines.com which sells resume service and executive resume writing as well as a host of additional products.

Career tests – making it easier for counseling parents of career

All parents want the best for their children, and finding the perfect career is no exception. Provide career advice however is a challenging task for many parents. Many parents may have an understanding of their personality but also necessary, childs and what can be more difficult to provide, is current work and labour market information. This can be difficult given the landscape of our labour market has changed so significantly over the years and from previous generations. For example, many older parents tend to stick with one or perhaps two employers through their career. Nowadays, however, statistics show that those entering nowadays the workforce can expect to work in many different roles, with many different employers, through the course of their careers.

It is also a common trend for parents to focus on the experience in one area only and this can become a potential problem when trying to provide career counselling to their children. Not only that, even though we know what we are talking about, all parents know that sometimes our children do not listen to us just because we are their parents! I've known a lot of parents who are able to provide good career advice, but find themselves talking to a brick wall. Less than ideal situations also arise when chose to children or chose not to, select the same career as their parents, for no other reason than is what you learn through their parents and who have grown up with this expectation. This is obviously not the best career option for a child and it would be preferable to make an important decision based on sound career advice and information, rather than just following or not following their parents.

These are just some of the problems, but what is the answer? The answer in my opinion is for your child to do a quality career tests and receive professional career advice on the basis of their results. With very strong emphasis has been put there on the word "Quality"! As a parent I certainly don't want the baby to an important decision based on the outcome of a career quiz one career on the internet. However, those in the know are aware there are some quality career tests that rely on search to make them valid and reliable. One such tool is the strong interest inventory (SII). The SII is probably the most popular tool used by career worldwide career counselors. It will give you a thorough assessment of the personality test and buyer's preferences. Nowadays the test can also be taken online through some online in the comfort of your provider and your childs home.

Such a supplier of SII is CareerSense.com.au, which not only provide evidence, but also provide a complete and detailed report, examined by a registered psychologist and a follow-up telephone consultation to examine the results in detail. This is an excellent choice for many parents as it ensures career decisions of their children are based on objective and reliable evaluation measures used throughout the world. So if you or your child is at an age when they need to take the important steps in the career best for them, I recommend you buy a gift voucher and have them take the strong interest inventory (SII) in CareerSense.com.au or another supplier today. This will provide piece of mind that does not allow future career and happiness of your child. Nathan Jones is the Director of CareerSense.com.au. He is a registered psychologist with extensive experience of work in the field of career counseling and support. In 2009 he founded CareerSense.com.au that offers quality and affordable online career and personality test. CareerSense use only the most respected and scientifically validated testing tools and consulting services of professional career. Visit CareerSense today for a career or personality test at CareerSense.com.au.

Career Transition - Making a Career Transition at Any Stage of Life

Career transition can occur at any stage during the life of your career. It can occur when you are considering a move laterally or even a promotion. Transition also occurs when you are looking to move into a new work place or even while changing career industries.

To make a positive career transition, the key is in assessing your current wants and needs and matching it to what season of life you are currently experiencing. At the beginning of your career you will make different career transition choices due to life style, goals and passion. So, what SEASON is your career currently in? Spring and new growth; Summer and stretching/extremes; Fall and change; or Winter and self reflection?

To help you assess and determine the season of your career, use the following self evaluation questions.

Career Transition for SPRING

Spring denotes growth. Your career is blossoming and full of new life. Spring occurs at the stage in your career in which you have energy and vision. Are you adding to your career goals? Maybe you have just started learning a new skill set. Are you currently challenged within your career? Are you discovering new processes or products to advance your career goals? If so, then you might be in the Spring of your career.

Career Transition for SUMMER

Summer means the heat of it. With Summer, one can feel stretched or maybe even experience extremes much like drought, or even flooding. You may be unsure about how to move forward at this season of your career since the time is short and you feel as if you are just keeping your head above water! Are you overwhelmed with the workload and see no end in sight? Are you experiencing problems sleeping at night? Or do you feel that projects are drying up but the pressure to increase sales or customer satisfaction is always present? If so, then you might be in Summer of your career transition.

Career Transition for FALL

Fall says change is inevitable. Change is coming and it is going to happen whether or not you like it. It is important to read the signs at this stage of your career and to make the adjustment to change as necessary. Am I reading the signs that my job or company is going to change? Am I looking for ways to learn new concepts or skills so that I can add value to the organization? Am I stepping forward by taking on new projects or responsibilities? If so, then you just might be experiencing the Fall career season.

Career Transition for WINTER

Winter takes on that subtle internal growth. Winter is a time of self-reflection. Others may not necessarily see the growth happening within you. Winter growth is not seen on the outside but seeds are being planted and you are preparing for growth. In the Winter of a career transition we think about what we want to become by Spring. We may be looking to trim some fat or become stronger in a certain area. Are you resetting career goals like a New Year's Resolution? Have you found yourself considering going back to school for an MBA? Maybe you are reading more articles on self or career development concepts, or how-to books. Then, you may be in the Winter of your career transition.

All of the above seasons describe the different career transitions we go in and out of throughout our lifetime. You might experience two or more of these seasons going on at the same time! The key is to first know where you are in them and then to set out a plan to move into the season you desire. Seek out those resources or professionals that can help you move from one season to another without experiencing the pain of making costly mistakes. Look forward to these positive changes in your career!

David Hults author of the book "From Cornered To Corner Office" Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams http://www.fromcorneredtocorneroffice.com

Making a Career Change - 7 Things to Do Before Making a Career Change

Take some time to do some smart research before you commit to making a career change and you will ensure that your next career move is a smart one.

1. Evaluate what you like and dislike about your current career

While you may feel as though you drag yourself to work every day, hopefully, you initially accepted that job because it was a good fit for you in some ways. Take some time to objectively think through the different facets of your job. What skills do you use or what tasks do you perform at work that you truly enjoy. Those tasks and skills may form the basis of your next career.

2. Consider whether you need a full-blown career change or maybe simply an industry change

Often, when people are ready to leave their current careers, they assume that they need to make a completely fresh start in a completely new career in order to find happiness. This is not always the case. Perhaps you still enjoy the nature of the work that you do, but there have been changes to your industry that have made your career unpalatable. In that case, consider whether you can find the same type of work but in a different industry. You may just need a slight shift and now a full-blown change in order to meet your career related needs.

3. Know what you want

People who are contemplating a career change often know what they don't want. "I never want to work for another micro-managing boss." or "I am completely burnt out on front-line work." Unfortunately, they don't always know what it is that they do want.

If you are stating all of your career change needs and expectations in the form of what you don't want, it will be important to take some time to think through exactly what it is that you do want. It is much easier and more powerful to make yourself move toward something that you want than to move away from something that you don't want. People seek to find positive experiences more consistently than they seek to avoid pain. Therefore, if you are working toward a positive experience (those things that you do want in your next career), you'll be much more motivated to do the work required to get there.

4. Understand your financial needs

While, over the long term, a career change can have a lot of potential to increase your household income, over the short term, you may need to make some financial sacrifices to meet your new career goals. You may need to spend money on tuition to attain the training required for a new field, or you might decide to accept a lower paying entry level job in your new field to gain necessary experience. If your career change will have an impact on your household income, ensure that you will still be able to meet your financial obligations through your period of career transition.

5. Assess your educational needs and priorities

Never embark on a career change without a clear understanding of the educational background required to be competitive in your new field of work. There are many jobs that are not regulated, that is, there are no legal requirements in terms of required training. However, simply because there are no legal requirements doesn't mean that you don't realistically need specific training to be competitive in the job market.

The best way to determine educational requirements for a job is to talk to people who hire in that industry. They'll know what is really necessary for entry into the field and they will give you current and unbiased input. The worst way to determine educational requirements for a job is to talk to staff at schools. They are highly biased and want you there in their programs, so they are not necessarily the best source for this type of information.

6. Talk with your partner and anyone who will be impacted by your career change

Making a career change will impact the lives of those closest to you. Be sure to discuss your plans with these people. Help them to understand what this change will mean in terms of demands on your time, household income and future changes. Getting the support of those who are close to you is a crucial part of your career change success.

7. Talk with people who do the job you'd like to do

People who do the job that you'd like to do are the best sources of information about your new career. They will give you unbiased information about the day to day job, their biggest challenges, and sometimes the requirements to get started in the field. To many people fail to take this step when deciding on career options, and it should not be ignored.

Lisa McGrimmon is a career expert who has helped over two thousand clients achieve their career goals. To learn more about making a career change and gain enormous control over your future, visit Career Choice Guide.

Career Change - 7 Things to Consider When Making a Career Change

Too often people make a career change without fully considering the impact of changing careers. Following are 7 issues to consider before you commit to making a career change:

1. Your Values

People think about money or prestige when considering career options, but they rarely talk about work values when making a career change. A mismatch between your values and the realities and requirements of your job is the biggest source of career burnout.

Many people easily tolerate working odd hours or a long commute when they feel truly invested in the value of the work that they do. As soon as you don't buy into the big picture importance of your job, all of the little stresses and annoyances pile up and wear on you.

If you ensure your work is in line with your values and you believe in the value of the work that your do, you will be taking to first step toward a smart career decision.

2. Your Current Lifestyle Based Needs and Expectations

Do you have a mortgage to pay, or a child or partner who is dependent upon you for income? Have you become accustomed to a certain lifestyle that your current job allows? Before you make a career change, assess your lifestyle related needs to ensure your new job will meet those needs. If you have a spouse, or other people in your life who will be significantly impacted by your career change, discuss your plans with those people. if you take their needs into account as much as possible, you will have an easier time getting the support you need through this change.

3. The Influence of Others

Are you making career choices based on your own needs or based on the expectations of others? While it's important to consider the concerns of people who will be impacted by your career change, basing career decisions based on the expectations of friends and family can send you into a job that is not a good fit for you. You are the one who will have to get up and go to work everyday, so you need to make career choices based on your one definition of success, not someone else's ideas about what may be right for you.

4. Your Education and Skills

Do you have the education and or skills required to be competitive in your new chosen career? If you don't, are you ready and able to commit the time and perhaps financial resources needed to upgraded your education or get needed experience? If a particular job requires a master's degree, and you are just not willing or able to commit to pursuing that degree, then that job is not a good fit for your needs.

5. Your Aptitudes

Consider the kinds of tasks that you are naturally good at and work to your strengths. Too often we focus on our weaknesses. Instead of always concentrating on your areas for improvement, look toward those things that come naturally to you and use those skills as a starting point for making career choices.

6. Your Interests

You will spend countless hours each year at your job, you might as well be doing something that piques your interest. Consider the types of subjects that interest you when making career decisions.

7. Labor Market Conditions

Is it realistic to expect you will find a job in your chosen field within your local area? Will you need to look outside of your community to find work in your new field, and if so, are you willing to commit to a move or a commute to make your career change? Particularly in smaller towns, labor markets can quickly become saturated in some fields when new training programs emerge.

Imagine, for example, you live in a small town, and the community college has just launched an aesthetician certification program. Suddenly there will be an perceivable increase in the number of people in the area who are trained aestheticians. The first few graduating classes may have no trouble finding work in the local area, but if there are only a limited number of jobs in the area in this field, as more people graduate from the program, graduates will need to look beyond that community for job opportunities.

Before you make a career choice, ensure that there are jobs available locally in your filed, or that you are willing to move or commute to an area where those jobs are available.

Think through your needs and fully understand the realities of your new career, and you will ensure that you make a smart career choice and a smooth transition to your new career.

Lisa McGrimmon writes about career planning at Career Choice Guide. Drop by her site for more information about making a career change.

Make the career change over 50

Often it is difficult to think about changing careers. Is doubly difficult to make the step to change careers after you have done something for what may seem like a lifetime. Often it is difficult to think about changing careers. Is doubly difficult to make the step to change careers after you have done something for what may seem like a lifetime. Interestingly, many people are opting for a career change after 50 years. There are many things that drive people to seek a new career direction: burnout, a feeling that you did something for years which is actually not fulfilling or entertainment industry downturns, creating an excess of applicants in your field this career, a desire for something new and exciting in which devote yourself to the rest of your working life. Whatever the motivation, is a big step and you will need help to do so.

First, here are some things to think about.

* What do you do now? Where are your strengths? What skills can tap into to help you create a new career path?

* Do you know any headhunters?

* How good is your professional network? It will be useful in making your career change?

* What local resources are at your disposal? You can take advantage of career seminars, career counseling and professional staff or career fairs?

* You need to reformat your resume to highlight your experience and/or education and training in the new career area that you want to pursue.

"Headhunter" is a common term that refers to professional recruiters who work for firms looking for work. They usually specialize in certain career fields and/or industries and may focus on a specific professional level; for example, Executive, Manager or Director, etc. You can find the headhunters in a number of ways, including Word of mouth, internet ads, yellow pages and career change consultancy resources.

Here are some of the things that a headhunter will do for you:

* Review your resume and give you tips on submitting it and yourself in the best light for the career field.

* Be open requisitions that are trying to fill, or contact its customer network of employer to present as a candidate.

* Arrange interviews and travel, when necessary and follow up after the interviews with the potential employer.

* Negotiate salary and signing bonuses, where applicable

Follow-up with you after you are hired to make sure everything is working for you.

The headhunter can literally be your best friend during the change of career. Most are successful because of their empathy, their ability to understand the attributes of their candidates and the needs of their employers and their enjoyment of the continuous contact with the people on both sides of the fence looking work ... in other words, he wants to talk and enjoy interacting with people over the phone. This helps candidates and employers can interact with them and builds confidence.

It is important that you establish a good relationship with the headhunter, because you are entering unknown territory into a new career field and contacts and knowledge of the field that you had in your career past might not be more useful to you, depending on how drastic change you are making. There are some important steps you can take to make sure that you are able to work with you the headhunter. First, be completely honest with your headhunter about why you want to change careers and what you are looking for. The headhunter needs to understand your needs, completely in order to create a good match for you inside a new career field. Secondly, be responsive and follow-up in a professional manner. This does two things for you: it will move things quickly and demonstrates your professionalism to your headhunter. Thirdly, quickly refer to contact with companies that interview to keep the momentum going.

If more than 50 years and feel that something is missing from your career, it is never too late to make a change. While career changes can be challenging, it can lead to a valuable opportunity to build a professional life around the things you enjoy doing.

Greg Heslin is a best selling career consulting and author of "street smart" advice on how to survive workplace of the 21st century. For more technical information and free career advice, can visit the web site http://www.My -new-Career.com

What to consider when making a career change

You feel satisfied with your current career? If you find that you are unhappy with your current job or career, you're not alone. The average American changes careers between three and five times in his life.

While the process of changing careers can be a bit stressful, there are some steps that can be taken to facilitate the transition from one career to another. They include an assessment of their current career, identification of the reasons why the change is justified, analysis of career options and changing the skills and education to meet the basic requirements for success in the new career choice.

The first step to take in making a career change is to assess your current career to determine that a career change is in your best interest. If your dissatisfaction at work is fleeting or related to a problem or a short-term event, a career change can be premature or unjustified. In such cases, it is generally better to wait until after the stress has passed in the short term to assess your level of career satisfaction. However, if your career dissatisfaction has been consistent and long term, then a career change can indeed be in order.

Once you have confirmed that a career change is justified, the next step is to identify the reasons behind your desire to change careers. Determine the factors that contribute to your current career dissatisfaction ultimately will help to eliminate other possible career options that can share the same characteristics. For example, if a manager doesn't like restaurant often work until midnight, then it would be wise to remove from consideration any careers as nurses or dealership that may involve shift work at night.

Just as important as knowing the factors leading to career dissatisfaction is the identification of any pleasant aspects of their current career. Awareness fun aspects of a career will be helpful in narrowing numerous career options that exist. For example, if a dental office managers do not like the client billing management and insurance problems but enjoys face-to-face interaction with patients, perhaps with more contact positions health patient should be considered. In this case, viable career options may include medical Assistant or dental hygienist.

After narrowing vital career options based on your identification of funny and unpleasant aspects of your current career, the next step is to consider the educational needs and the skills necessary to succeed in any career option identified in conjunction with their level of education and training. Career transition is much smoother and easier to implement in cases where a person's level of education and training is a good match with the level of education and training generally required to flourish in that career. For example, a doctor of Psychology who wants to stop clinical practice and become a College Professor would have a smoother transition Chair than a manager of shipping in Italy with the same aspirations that lacks a college or college degree.

The final step in completing a career change is complete any further educational requirements or training needed to qualify for such a career. For example, the office manager who wants to become a dental hygienist would have to enroll in an accredited dental hygiene program and complete any required supervised training before being eligible for hire as a dental hygienist. The shipping manager that aspires to be a College Professor would have a RADIUS even more, unless he is currently shipping packages with a master's or doctorate.

In summary, a career change should be done with proper planning and thoughtful analysis of the current situation. It is important to recognise funny and unpleasant aspects of their current career and to identify educational requirements and training necessary to perform the tasks associated with a new career.

Decide which career you pursue is a tough decision, but there are resources of career training available to begin your journey to success. Make the effort to set your life straight today.

The Making of a Successful Virtual Job Fair

The relevance of a virtual job fair today

With the widespread use of the Internet for job searches, recruiters and hiring managers have a larger pool of accessible job candidates. The consequent information overload is inevitable. A typical search within a job board gives a recruiter thousands of choices and not enough time in the day to review all of them. A virtual job fair serves as a levee to arrest the information deluge, capture a relevant, interested and manageable part of the database, invite them to a job fair, and fish for the best candidates. From the candidates' perspective, they enjoy the ability to fish for the best opportunities. By creating manageable capsules of time, (web) space, and information, a virtual job fair creates a sheltered environment without the noise and clutter of the Internet for a recruiter or hiring manager to directly connect with a potential job candidate.

The other reason that a virtual job fair has become relevant is that hiring companies are trying their best to make their brand stand out amongst their competitors to attract the best talent that is out there. Many organizations are able to receive résumés of interested job candidates at their own career websites. Some even have a .jobs domain name to go with their overall web presence. With such elements they are trying to create an exclusive corner for their hiring needs and thus build some branding. To create an element of brand-loyalty even before they have become an employee of the company, many organizations prefer to have their own online event to invite and engage candidates who have expressed interest in working for that specific organization. The virtual job fair is an ideal way to maintain a pipeline of future employees that care about an organization's brand

Three 'C's for a successful virtual job fair

There are several factors that make for a successful virtual job fair, but in our experience the most critical ones are making them Convenient, Crisp and Current.

a) Convenient: If a job fair can be wrapped around the needs of the job candidate, it has a better chance of success. We conducted a job fair where the recruiters 'staffed' their virtual booth on a Sunday morning (from the comfort of their home via the Internet) just to make it convenient to working professionals who may not have time during the work week for a serious job search. Candidates were able to attend online, connect instantly via chat with the recruiter, schedule an interview or even have an initial phone interview with the recruiter that Sunday morning. Since the internet does not have any boundaries of time, it stands a better chance of success if it creates spells of interactivity aligned with the convenience of the job candidates in mind. Convenience is also important to the hiring manager. Should a hiring manager wish to involve an engineer in the hiring process, it can be accomplished without the engineer leaving her or his desk, and still be able to address technical questions and concerns of a job candidate instantaneously. Making it convenient is the biggest hallmark of the success of a virtual job fair. Taking this a little further, it also means that the virtual job fair must be easy to participate from behind firewalls in case a working professional chooses to attend from the office. It goes without saying that the virtual job fair then must enjoy timely customer support during any hour that has been chosen by the fair organizers. It is all about making it convenient for the job candidate and the recruiter in terms of getting the required customer support for an easy and seamless experience. Respecting the time of all participants is paramount. To assume that the job candidate, hiring managers or recruiters have a lot of time to spend on the Internet is a fallacy. That leads us to the next C - Crisp.

b) Crisp: Time is a scarce resource. Let us not forget that the hiring manager, recruiter and the job candidate, each have a specific need - to be able to find one another, to find the right fit, and to connect as quickly as possible armed with as much information as possible. Virtual job fairs work best when they are used to facilitate and swiftly arrange for a phone conversation or an email follow-up leading to a phone conversation. Throwing too much technology at the users is inconsiderate and counter-productive. The second most important hallmark of a successful virtual job fair is to keep it simple and crisp, serving as a tool to establish an instant connection between the job giver and the job seeker. Anything else that interferes with this ultimate objective is a waste of time and therefore money. Keeping all the content in the virtual job fair concise, keeping the navigation consistent and predictable is very important. Of course, all of the convenience and conciseness you offer in a virtual job fair is meaningless if the content is not current, taking us to the next C -Current.

c) Current: Even if your virtual job fair is being created out of an existing database of job candidates or an existing job listing pool, and even if it is easy to simply pull all of that data into a virtual job fair venue, I would urge to resist the temptation to serve old wine in a new bottle. My recommendation would be to leave certain pieces of information out of any automated data transfers, and mandate that the job fair participants - both employers and job candidates demonstrate their commitment by making current their job listings and résumés respectively, as well as their contact information. Employers will tell you how frustrating it is to find interesting résumés that are outdated, emails that bounce back and phones numbers that never ring. In the same vein, job candidates will tell you how exasperating it is to go through job listings, fill out an application form, click on the 'apply' button only to find that the job posting has 'expired' or is 'not available any longer'. Keep all content in the virtual job fair current, and you will have a winner.

The first steps towards building a brand

To keep all content in a virtual job fair current, it is also important that the job fair has a specific start and an end. A virtual job fair with a defined time-frame is successful for the following few reasons. It is not reasonable to expect hiring managers to be online 'staffing' virtual booths for more than a few hours. Hiring processes have a life-cycle, and matters have to move beyond the initial screening that the virtual job fair painlessly allows. When a virtual job fair is closed, it is best to open pre-registration and pre-announce the next virtual job fair. A pre-announced calendar of job fairs helps sustain the momentum of the first fair. It gives job candidates something to look forward to. It gives recruiters a breather. Most of all, it helps the job fair organizer build a brand for the job fair. Based on our experience, if you deliver virtual job fairs in brief spells of time, and also use it in conjunction with face-to-face job fairs, you will experience measurable success. One must remember that the Internet works best when used as a tool to enhance human interaction.

The author, Ramesh Sambasivan is the co-founder of iTradeFair.com, Inc. Thanks to Grant Hartman, a virtual event manager and social networking evangelist at iTradeFair.com for valuable edits to the article.