How to Choose Your Ideal CareerWritten by Skye Thomas
They say that most people do complete and total career changes at least once often twice in their lifetimes. Very few people chose ideal perfect career for themselves when they're in high school and blissfully happily work those same jobs for rest of their lives. With way that technology and everything else changes so fast, I think it's ridiculous to expect to stay in one job from time you leave school until you retire. Even staying in same company can be a huge challenge. So how will you pick your first career? Your next major career change?The first thing I want you to look at is what kinds of things do you enjoy doing and what you are naturally good at. Imagine that you just won lottery and you will never have to work again for another day of your life. How would you spend your time? After shopping sprees and traveling and such grows old, you're going to have to fill your days up doing something so that you aren't bored out of your mind. What would you do? What would consume your attention if you could freely bury yourself in it? Is there a way to make a living at that now? Is there a way to incorporate some of that into your current career? Could you begin doing it now as a hobby and grow it into a second income and eventually quit your 'real job' to play full time at your new hobby/career? You obviously have to look at practicality issues. Truth be known my very favorite thing to do is drive convertibles and suntan at beach. That's not likely going to ever become a career and it sure as heck isn't going to pay my bills! You have to look at what you like to do and take a realistic look at whether market is ever going to pay you an income for doing it. Just because you love doing something doesn't mean that world is going to love giving you money for doing it. There are plenty of musicians and artists out there who can't earn enough to support themselves. It takes more then just a love of your work. Pick a number of different things that you love and narrow list down by deciding which ones would realistically finance you at level that you require. Another thing to consider, especially when you're choosing your first job is how much education or special training is required. How many kids think that because they love to play basketball that they'll be next Michael Jordan? How many put in kind of work and practice that he did? If you want to be a doctor, then you better seriously contemplate years of college and extremely high cost of going to medical school. Down road, a lot of experience you get in one career can be transferred to your next career. Customer service skills that you learn while waiting tables will still serve you later when you're an entrepreneur. If you have a lot of skills from previous work experience, but not all of them, then you have to figure out how to finance going to night school or whatever else you need to do to change careers. Additional education and skills shouldn't stop you from changing to a great job that you know you'll love, but you do need to take it into serious consideration while making choice.
| | How to Be Prepared for a LayoffWritten by Ann Hackett
If you are concerned that your company might be planning a layoff, your best course of action is to be prepared. Employees often see warning signs that their jobs may be at risk. Such signs could include poor company performance, earlier rounds of layoffs, conflicts with their manager, increased manager intervention and involvement, and poor performance reviews. Employees see signs, but aren’t as proactive as they should be in looking out for their future. Here are steps you can take to be prepared for a layoff.Update your resume. Start complying a list of your accomplishments in your present job. In particular, focus on quantifiable achievements. Bring home a copy of position description your human resources department has developed for your job. Use this position description to check content of your resume. If you need help, get it from Internet, resume writing books, or a professional resume writer. Create a portfolio. Make copies of positive letters you have received from customers and letters of recognition you have received from your employer. If you have a job where you create materials that are not company confidential such as brochures or operating manuals, make copies of your work to show to potential employers during future job interviews. Develop your list of references. Contact people you would like to use as references to ask their permission to be used as a reference. Obtain their current contact information and type up your reference list. Check job postings. See what market need is for someone with your background and experience. Consider applying for jobs now if market is weak and you feel probability of being laid off in near future is high. Also use job postings as a means of checking content of your resume to see if you omitted key points or focused on items that aren’t being emphasized by employers.
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