Career Articles

10 Steps to a Successful Career Change

Interested in a new career? If so, it is important to take the time to evaluate your present situation, to explore career options and to choose a career that will be satisfying for you.

1. Evaluate your current job satisfaction. Keep a journal of your daily reactions to your job situation and look for recurring themes. Which aspects of your current job do you like/dislike? Are your dissatisfactions related to the content of your work your company culture or the people with whom you work?

2. Assess your interests, values and skills through self help resources and online exercises. Review past successful roles, volunteer work, projects and jobs to identify preferred activities and skills. Determine whether your core values and skills are addressed through your current career.

3. Brainstorm ideas for career alternatives by discussing your core values/skills with friends, family, networking contacts and counselors. Visit career libraries and use online resources.

4. Conduct a preliminary comparative evaluation of several fields to identify a few targets for in depth research.

5. Read as much as you can about those fields and reach out to personal contacts in those arenas for informational interviews.

6. Shadow professionals in fields of primary interest to observe work first hand. Spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days job shadowing people who have jobs that interest you.

7. Identify volunteer and freelance activities related to your target field to test your interest e.g. if you are thinking of publishing as a career, try editing the PTA newsletter. If you're interested in working with animals, volunteer at your local shelter.

8. Investigate educational opportunities that would bridge your background to your new field. Consider taking an evening course at a local college. Spend some time at one day or weekend seminars. Contact professional groups in your target field for suggestions.

9. Look for ways to develop new skills in your current job which would pave the way for a change e.g. offer to write a grant proposal if grant writing is valued in your new field. If your company offers in-house training, sign up for as many classes as you can.

10. Consider alternative roles within your current industry which would utilize the industry knowledge you already have e.g. If you are a store manger for a large retail chain and have grown tired of the evening and weekend hours consider a move to corporate recruiting within the retail industry. Or if you are a programmer who doesn't want to program, consider technical sales or project management.

Back to Top

Are You Really Committed To Your Career Goals?

From Deborah Brown

Are you working on your career goals or just going through the motions? Are you "in" one day and "out" the next? Are you waiting for your goals to inspire and motivate you, and then you will jump in completely?

Many of us want a guarantee before we fully commit to our goals. If only we knew it would work out, then we would not question our choice or the direction of our future. Guess what? Your career will not give you the guarantee you are seeking. What you will get is a strong feeling inside guiding you in the right direction. Then, you listen to your gut, follow what you hear, and work on your goals everyday. That’s when momentum takes over. That’s when you get inspired. That’s when you reach your goals.

The miracles in your career happen when you throw yourself fully into what you want to achieve.
Will there be bad days and good ones? Yes. Will you question your future sometimes? Yes. There is a difference between being "in" versus planning for a time when you are ready to go "in." What happens if you are never ready? How are you ever going to reach your goals then?

So, How Do You Fully Commit To Your Career Goals? Follow These Four Steps Below:

1. Decide To Commit to Your Goals

Decisions are the turning point for real change and transformation. If you are unhappy in your job, decide that you will do something about it. If you want a career change, decide that you will have one. If you want to move up in your present position, decide that this will happen. Decide that today is that start of something brand new. For many of my clients, deciding is the hard part. One the decision has been made, the rest if implementation.

2. Act On Your Goals

Get ready to reach your goals by arming yourself with the tools you need to be successful. Is your resume and cover letter ready to go? Do you have a list of schools to investigate so you can gain new skills if that’s what is necessary to get ahead? Do you have your list of contacts in front of you for networking purposes? Have you researched what your skills are worth in the marketplace so you could use this information to make more money? Make a list of action steps to move your career forward. Then, work on one action step every day.

3. Let Go Of What’s Holding You Back

Let go of your fears, disappointments, and the mistakes you have made. They are a part of your past, and not your future. Let these things go because they are keeping you from having an extraordinary career. A scary thought? You bet. Some people do not know who they would be without their past to define them. But with big leaps, come big rewards. What you are really releasing is the negative aspects of your past that are holding you back. These aspects are keeping you from being fully committed to your goals. Once you tell yourself that you will not fail, your chances of success increase substantially.

4. Celebrate

Committing to your goals is a big deal. Once you have committed, it is time to celebrate. You are free to go after what you want. You can create the future you have been thinking about and wishing for. You have more power than you think to change the direction of your career. Use that power to take your career to great heights. Then, congratulate yourself for doing so. So what do you say, you only have one life to live so it might as well be a life you love!

Back to Top

The Secrets of Successful Networking

Looking for a job is a job in itself. We've all heard this. So those on a serious job quest polish their resumes and dutifully distribute them around town. When I found myself in the job market last year, it was the way I began. Then I discovered aggressive networking.

For many, the concept of networking conjures thoughts of calling up people they know and having lunch or coffee with them and talking about opportunities that may exist in that person's company. Aggressive networking carries this a step further.

First, make a list of people you know who have jobs in your line of work or related to your line of work. Then sit down and call each person on your list and suggest that you meet for a coffee or something equally brief. There are two reasons for this. One, you don't want to take up a lot of the other person's time and two, lunches and dinners get to be expensive if you have many of them to buy.

Take networking seriously. That is, don't spread the meetings with your list of contacts out over a month-long period. Start on a Monday morning and call everyone to book a get-together for later in the week or at the latest, early next week.

When you have the meeting, keep it light. Don't show up with your resume and ask, "Do you know of any jobs?" This is simply a reconnaissance mission. The person you're having coffee with is in the business and knows what's happening. Ask for this information. Try saying something as simple and straightforward as: "You're plugged into what's going on around town.

Back to Top

Choosing A New Career Path

You faced weekday mornings (especially on Mondays) with real regret. You sat at you kitchen table until the very last moment, wishing it were still the weekend, before going to work. You would pull into the office parking lot, feel your jaw clench, and mentally count the hours until you could leave again. You felt as if you have been sentenced to punishment with no hope of reprieve. There was no early release program for good behavior, no great perks or pats on the back for earnest efforts, and no hope of financial advancement that might allow you some hope of getting out of a miserable situation. You have bills to pay. You have people at home depending on you. You would always allow yourself one last moment to wonder, "Where has the challenge gone? Why doesn't anyone appreciate me? I wish I could do something different" before you would open the office door to start another day.

With your list of possibilities to think about, you should begin an exploration within yourself. You should take the time to consider what is more important to you in matters of: work environment, work function, and levels of responsibility that you are willing to manage or accept. You should consider issues, such as, "Do I prefer working alone, or in a team?" "Do I prefer to work with few functions and little change, or do I want variety?" "Do I like quiet environments, or are active ones better for me?" "Do I aspire for a leadership role, or do I want to support the leadership?" "Do I enjoy creative work?" These issues were important to your happiness and success within the positions you might someday accept, and helped you to better judge your choices in your explore list ~ how these possible career selections measured up to your real interests and needs. You should use this knowledge to further narrow down your list to those positions that offered you the greatest potential for growth and long-term happiness.

Back to Top