Category Archives: Career & Jobs

Job? Career? Hey, It’s 2010!

Posted on by

I read a blog with interest today pointing out a searching for jobs versus careers.

First, I respect anyone taking time to assist job seekers, job holders, and even people like myself that read as much as possible. And the article was well written.

As I travel the path of career guidance, today is so different than years ago. In the past, I’ve worked on organizational development with solid results when it came to job families, salary ranges, job descriptions and guidance for managers and associates when to look moving up the career ladder.

I’ve seen many professionals from my organizational development days that have far surpassed my expectations and I darn proud of the accomplishments.

Today statistics continue to point to “six applicants for one opportunity.” Those are not good reasons to quarrel over opportunity.

Of course, to every point there mostly is a counter-point. High end positions in Oil-Gas, some areas of Information Technology including specific languages, Data Communications, and Finance seem to be “hot” today and should stay hot.

The issue with many professionals searching for jobs today is you-have-training-in-the-wrong-field. For example, there are mainframe programmers (typically COBOL) who did not take training in more current disciplines. Or they chose not to consider management positions if given the opportunity. Although there are selective few jobs primarily in contracting (work for a professional services firm for a specific period of time, then hope to be hired at another location) the key could be several directions; Back to school for additional training, or stay in COBOL and continue to take contract positions. Or change careers.

This all leads me back to jobs versus careers:

– If you need retraining, consider “No Worker Left Behind”

– If you have time, get retraining in something where you know you can earn a solid living and not be in this situation again. Specialized computer training, nursing, study and get that CPA, get a certificate for data communications

– Find an area that you can love and has a future. View sites to find the “Hot Careers”

Whatever you decide, do not sit around and wait for something to happen. BECAUSE IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

You must have an action to cause a reaction.

If you don’t know where to start, seek a professional to get a reality check. Find out what’s hot, and what’s not. If it’s continued job search, find the professional. If it’s a new direction speak with your spouse, trusted advisors, whomever to get that guidance. Remember, this is a critical juncture in your life.

Call (248) 630 – 5555 or visit www.careers-in-transition.com for further information.

Choosing The Right Career Path For Yourself

Posted on by

Attaining success in your profession is not easy. It is remarkable how many people fail to achieve that perfection in their careers simply because they did not take time out to analyse what their attitude towards success is and what success looks like for them. A proper plan has to be created before choosing any profession. The road to success is never accidental or easy; to execute the plan to perfection, a hand from luck and lots of hard work has to be done.

The key steps to help attain success and move ahead on the road to achieve one’s career ambitions are:

Setting The Goals

The surest way to achieve any goal is to never to make any lofty ones. Always set such goals for yourself which are you think are achievable by you. Create a balance between your professional life and your personal life, finance, career, health, relationship, etc. You will also endanger your chances for the success of your career if you set up too many goals for yourself.

Be Committed

Once the goals have been set and the path is clear, you will have to become committed to achieving them. Create a clear vision in front of you at all time and keep in mind the success you have to achieve in your profession. Your dedication and motivation should never waver if your vision of success is clear in your mind.

Measure Your Progress

Now that you have set your goals on how to achieve the success and become committed to the cause, it does not mean that the work will be done on its own. You have to monitor your performance on every step along the way. Completing the task in proper time span and achieving the required quality at the right pace is important. If there is slack in these areas, it can leave a huge effect of your own performance on the organization.

Sharpen Your Skills

With every project and activity you gain a new experience. Learn from that experience and use it for upcoming projects. Ongoing learning is critical for your personal development and success.

Maintain A Professional Image

Professional image plays an important role in the success of the career. Your personality is the key factor which shows how serious you are about your career. Clothes, looks, and the way of talking and behaving with others, all must be maintained in order to create a perfect image of you in front of your superiors.