Career Planning After 50 - Spring Cleaning Ideas for Your Career Plan

Spring cleaning for your career plan here are 15 tips to get you started.

Career planning after 50 should not be a one time transaction, but rather career planning at any age, should be a lifelong process.

If you need to jumpstart you after 50 career planning, now is the time to start on spring cleaning out your career closet. Spend you time and effort now in building your career future-it will be time well spent.

Here are some actions you can start right now-get a head start on your spring cleaning:

1. Update your network. Make contact with everyone you haven't talked to in a while. If they have some career or job hunting issues offer to help.

2. Build an "atta-boy," file. Go back over the past year or more and start a file on performance reviews, thank-you letters, seminars and workshops attended, samples of work, projects managed, accomplishments and memo's outlining results. For the future keep the file up to date.

3. Draft a personal training and educational plan. What are your training needs? Books you need to read? Plan on reading at least two books a month-one about your career and another to stretch your knowledge. Other gaps in you skills that need to be filled?

4. Discover 10 or more people working in your career, or working in a proposed new career. Make arrangements to meet with them and share ideas. Add them to your career network and keep in touch.

5. Find 6 or more blogs or forums related to your career and industry. Visit them on a regular basis to stay up to date. Share the list with others in your career and ask for their favorites.

6. Review your overall systems and computer competencies with someone knowledgeable in IT. Make arrangements to add to your learning in this area. Get one related problem solved that has been vexing you.

7. Become more active in you local professional association. Add contacts to your network.

8. Volunteer you time in a cause or organization you admire. You'll realize a variety of rewards along with the chance to meet new people. Add contacts to your network.

9. Search for additional ways to add value to your job and department. Find ways to become more efficient and more responsive to both your internal and external customers.

10. Carefully analyze you own performance. Did you meet the goals you set for yourself last year? What went right and what went wrong? Plan to do better in the coming year.

11. Whenever possible look for opportunities to use a skill or interest working temporarily in another function or in a task that will give you the opportunity to work with another department or different group of people.

12. It's spring so give your wardrobe an updating. Look for sales and donate everything you haven't worn for-awhile.

13. Schedule a physical check-up. Get approval to start an exercise and diet program. Set your goals in short chunks and celebrate achieving each goal.

14. Build your coaching skills. Help a subordinate or co-worker advance their skills.

15. Draft your resume in a functional, chronological and targeted format. The exercise will help you respond to possible opportunities.

Now after your spring cleaning you've got your career planning after 50 back on track. With any plan it should not be ignored and put back in the closet. Put each action item in writing and work on your career plan every day.

You'll now be prepared for any and all after 50 career opportunities.

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.

What Career Path Is Right for You?

Are you ready for a new career but are unsure of what you want to do? Do you want to make a living doing something you love and are genuinely good at? Then look into associate degree (occupational) careers or professional certificate careers. This career path will take you less time than getting your degree through a community college or traditional university. Most programs will also prepare you to sit for professional certification exams; having certifications generally make you more employable.

Associate Degree Careers are Rewarding and In-demand

You can complete training for associate degree (occupational) careers in only 15-18 months. Explore this sample of six career paths that have positive employment growth:

Business Careers
Computer Careers
Medical and Dental Careers
Personal Appearance Careers
Technical Trades Careers
Wellness Careers

1 - Business Careers

Are you a problem solver who pays close attention to detail and can remain calm in a chaotic environment? Do you have excellent customer service skills that you want to put to good use? You can have a career in the business field in under two years.

Administrative Professionals perform a variety of administrative and clerical duties necessary to run an office efficiently.
Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) certification exam. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Average: 71-13% increase from 2008 to 2018

2 - Computer Careers

If you are someone who loves technology, enjoys tinkering with computers and helping others understand how everything works, consider a career working with computers in one of these two career paths:

Computer & Network Systems Technicians provide technical assistance, support, and advice to individuals and organizations that depend on information technology for daily operations.
Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for the Network+, Security+, and the A+ certification exams. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Much faster than average: 20% and higher increase from 2008 to 2018.

Mechanical Drafters prepare detailed working diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices using engineering practices and mathematics. They can work for established companies or as independent contractors.

Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for professional drafting industry certification exams. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Opportunities are good for individuals with at least 2 years of post-secondary training in a drafting program, strong technical skills and experience with CADD systems.

3 - Medical and Dental Careers

If you excel at multi-tasking, communication and organization, you might want to use your talents to help provide care and comfort to people in need.

You can work in a medical or dental environment in one of these three professional career paths:

Medical Assistants use basic medical techniques to work with patients in a clinical environment under the supervision of a doctor.
Employment Growth Projections* - Much faster than average: 20-34% increase from 2008 to 2018.

Dental Assistants use basic dental techniques to work with patients in a clinical environment under the supervision of a dentist.

Employment Growth Projections* - Much faster than average: 20-36% increase from 2008 to 2018.

Medical Administrative Technicians care for patients by providing a variety of services in a medical office environment.

Employment Growth Projections*- Much faster than average: 20-34% increase from 2008 to 2018.

Health Information Technicians care for patients by providing a variety of services in a medical office environment.

Employment Growth Projections*- Much faster than average: 20-34% increase from 2008 to 2018.

4 - Personal Appearance Careers

If you enjoy making people look and feel their best while being personable, then maybe a career in the Personal Appearance field is the right choice for you.

Cosmetologists enhance the appearance of their clients by doing hair, but they are also trained in skincare, makeup and nails. Work in a salon, barber shop, high end spa, hotel or resort. Make your own schedule and even be your own boss.

Licensure Requirements:

High school diploma or GED
Be at least 16 years old
Graduate from a State-licensed barber or cosmetology school
Pass written and practical licensure exams
Employment Growth Projections* - Faster to much faster than average: 14-20% and higher increase from 2008 to 2018.

5 - Technical Trades Careers

Do you have patience, good interpersonal skills and love working with your hands and thinking through interesting problems? This could be your job! Technical trades career paths allow all of this to be possible.

Automotive Technicians inspect, maintain and repair a variety of vehicle types. They provide basic care maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations. They also diagnose and repair more complex problems.
Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for the ASE (Automotive Services Excellence) and Snap-on certification exams. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Job opportunities are very good for those with both post-secondary automotive training and ASE certification.

Refrigeration & AC-HVAC Technicians install, maintain and repair heating and air-conditioning systems in residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for the Mech IV licensing, EPA certification, and HVAC Excellence certification exams. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Much faster than average: 20-28% increase from 2008 to 2018.

6 - Wellness Careers

Are you interested in alternative medicine and wellness, or physical fitness? Do you want to help people work through debilitating physical issues or achieve personal fitness goals? Consider a career in Health and Wellness.

Massage Therapists treat soft tissue pain by relaxing tired and overworked muscles, reducing stress, rehabilitating sports injuries and promoting overall general health.
Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for the required state licensure exams. Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Employment Growth Projections* - Faster than average: 14-19% increase from 2008 to 2018.

Personal Trainers work with clients or members of a fitness facility to help them become healthy and maintain or increase levels of fitness.

Professional Certification: Be prepared to sit for these 3 National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) exams.
Remember: certifications generally make you more employable.
Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) certification
Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) credential
Fitness Nutrition Specialist (FNS) credential

Employment Growth Projections* - Employment of fitness workers is expected to increase 29 percent over the 2008-18 decade.

Find a school that offers a good variety of career training programs like the ones you see here and start your journey to a new career today.

Sources

* According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 2008-2018 Employment Projections

IntelliTec College offers accelerated career training programs in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Pueblo. Request more information at: http://www.intelliteccollege.com/requestInfo.php or call 1-800-748-2282.

Choosing the Right Career - A Model Based on Psychology and Career Coaching Experience

We've come a long way since the days when men were expected to follow in their fathers' footsteps and women were expected to be homemakers. But with so many opportunities now open to us, and the expectations of friends, parents and society to consider, people can often find it difficult to choose which career would be most suitable for them. Fortunately, research from the fields of positive, personality and work psychology can provide a good framework to guide us in making these difficult, and important, decisions.

A general definition of personality provides a good starting point; "personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make a person unique". This definition highlights three important points. Firstly, the way that you think, feel and behave is clearly going to have a significant bearing on determining the career that you are most suited to, so understanding your own personality is an important part of any career decision. Secondly, our personalities are very complex. They comprise many different attributes and are often not straightforward or easy to understand. And thirdly, we are all different. Each of us has a unique personality and therefore each of us is suited to a career with a unique set of characteristics. It may seem obvious, but it's worth emphasising that what works for one person may not work for another, however similar they may appear to be. Advice from friends and family can be useful, but ultimately each of us has to choose our own career because no-one else understands our thoughts and feelings as well as we do.

So what is the most helpful way of assessing your personality in the context of choosing a career? There are a number of different theories of personality and various psychological models, which can be helpful in varying degrees, but I have developed a simple model, bringing together the most important of these, that makes it easier for you to choose the career that best matches your personality. My Career Personality Profile model has four elements; Interests (what you enjoy doing), Values (what you find meaningful), Strengths (what you're good at) and Environment (where you feel most comfortable). Taken together, the first two elements, Interests and Values, incorporate Martin Seligman's theory of Authentic Happiness, Tal Ben-Shahar's Happiness Archetype and Kennon Sheldon's research on self-concordant goals to show that we are happiest when doing things that we enjoy while pursuing goals that we find personally meaningful. The third element, Strengths, reflects Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's theory of Flow, in which we are most likely to achieve a state of optimal experience and optimal performance when the difficulty of tasks that we undertake matches our skill level. Another way of viewing this is that we are most likely to feel good about ourselves when we are using our strengths and avoiding using our weaknesses. The fourth element, Environment, recognises that the way that we feel and behave is going to be strongly influenced by our environment, reflecting research by Peter Warr and others into the influence of environmental factors on the happiness we experience at work.

How do you build your Career Personality Profile? When I work with clients, I use the Birkman Method® behavioural assessment and coaching techniques to develop a really deep understanding of the four elements, but it is possible to develop a simple profile for yourself. Basically, you need to reflect on each of the four elements in turn and write down the things that are most important to you. For Interests, what do you enjoy doing, both at work and in your spare time? For Values, what gives meaning to you work, or what do you want to achieve with your life? For Strengths, what are you good at, not just in terms of practical (hard) skills, but also in terms of behavioural (soft) skills, such as relating to people, dealing with change and making decisions? And for Environment, where do you feel most comfortable? What size and type of organisation, what management style, what kind of daily routine? It's best to do this exercise at a time when you are relaxed and unlikely to be disturbed. Also, try to think of examples for each point that you come up with and remember how you felt at the time.

Once you've considered each of the four elements, write down all of the key points on a single sheet of paper to give a profile of your ideal career. You can now use this profile to guide you as you consider different careers. Compare each career that you're considering to your profile and see how well it matches. Which one is the best match? Or if none of them seem to match very well, can you think of something else that would? The closer the match between a possible career and your profile, the more likely you are to both enjoy it and succeed at it. If you feel that you don't know enough about a possible career to make a meaningful comparison, then you need to further research that career to find out more about it.

I hope that gives you a good idea of the best way to approach career choices. The reality for many people is a lot more complex than this simple illustration would suggest, but my experience as a career coach has shown it to be an extremely effective way of helping people to focus on the right things. Obviously, when I work with clients I go into great depth and help clients to understand aspects of their personality that are not already clear to them, but the overall approach is exactly the same. The most important thing to remember, is that you need to start by understanding yourself. If you don't do this, then you're unlikely to choose the right career.

I am Dr Roger Todd, co-founder of The Right Career, a career consultancy based in London, UK. We specialise in using personality profiling and career coaching techniques to help clients identify the career that will work best for them. Sign up for our free email course at http://therightcareer.co.uk for a more detailed step-by-step guide to Choosing the Right Career.