Career Transitions Made Easy

Written by Myrtis Smith


Changing careers can be a scary thing. A variety of unknowns can creep intorepparttar career transition process. How will you know if you like it? What if you have to go back to school? What isrepparttar 125555 future outlook forrepparttar 125556 field that interests you? Like with any other endeavor,repparttar 125557 best way to handlerepparttar 125558 inevitable fear that will appear is to arm yourself with as much information as possible. The 5 steps outlined below are designed to help you prepare for your new career change and make an informed decision.

1. Volunteer. This is a great way to "try it before you buy it." Are you interested in opening a daycare? Volunteer inrepparttar 125559 children’s area of your church. Are you interested in desktop publishing? Volunteer to createrepparttar 125560 newsletter for your professional organization. There are many not-for-profit and community services organizations that would love your assistance. As a bonus, oftentimes there is an experienced staff member that you can learn from and ask questions.

2. Researchrepparttar 125561 field. The Internet andrepparttar 125562 library are great resources for getting more information about your potential new field, but you can easily take it a step further. Ask your friends and family if they know anyone inrepparttar 125563 field and then interview that individual. Learn what things attracted that person torepparttar 125564 field, what a typical day is like, and what things they dislike aboutrepparttar 125565 field. Find 3 - 4 people to talk with in order to get a variety of opinions. If you are having trouble locating a person to talk to, remember almost every field has a professional organization associated with it. Userepparttar 125566 Internet to locate a chapter for that organization in your city.

3. Maintain a support network. During your time of transition, it is crucial that you are getting allrepparttar 125567 love and support you can find. Ideally this should be coming from your friends and family. But if you find those closest to you aren’t as supportive as you need then it may be time to hire a coach, find a mentor, or join a professional organization.

Loving the Job You’re In

Written by Myrtis Smith


Inrepparttar days of corporate downsizing, a poor economy and relatively high unemployment, many people with jobs may not be inclined to complain about them. Often your job related complaint will be met withrepparttar 125554 statement "just be happy you have a job." If you find yourself in a position where you really don't like what you're doing, but its notrepparttar 125555 right time to move,repparttar 125556 best thing you can do for yourself is learn to makerepparttar 125557 most of your current situation.

So how can you learn to love (or at least like)repparttar 125558 job you’re in? By graspingrepparttar 125559 concept thatrepparttar 125560 present is perfect. You are in your current situation for a reason. If you aren’t ready or able to move beyond it that could be a message that you haven't learned everything you need to learn.

Here are a few ideas to help survive those days when your heart isn’t in it:

1. Remember why you joined your company. There was something about your company that appealed to you when you first joined. Was itrepparttar 125561 product,repparttar 125562 people,repparttar 125563 environment? Ifrepparttar 125564 reason why you joined is no longer there, what can you do to rekindle it?

2. What is your company's reputation? Many individuals are very proud ofrepparttar 125565 company they work for. The company is prestigious inrepparttar 125566 community, a leader in its industry, or treats its employees well. Keeping these things in mind will help keep you mentally afloat when times get tough.

3. Appreciate your co-workers. Going to work everyday is about more than just doing a job and getting a paycheck. You also should be building relationships with your co-workers; these are people you spend 1/3 of your day with, learn about their families.

4. Rememberrepparttar 125567 product andrepparttar 125568 customers. You can take pride inrepparttar 125569 quality and type of product you produce. This is especially obvious if you make medical equipment but what about cars or clothing or toys? All these things help make people lives better and safer. You play an important role in that.

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