Career Change Resumes

December 16, 2009

Midlife Career Change

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:05 pm

Around 40 is often an age when people take stock of their lives and a niggling fear starts to creep in…….”If I haven’t achieved my dreams now maybe I just have to give up on them.”

However this attitude fails to recognise just how many wonderfully transferable skills you have built up through your life, through work, through life experiences and through formal and informal learning. These skills can be used in your new career, and if you have made a good career choice for yourself your skills will undoubtedly be highly valued in your new role.

Career change for people in the midst of their career is a specialty of this practice. You deserve to have work that fulfills you and provides you with more than a salary. There is a Chinese proverb that says “If you love your work you will never work another day in your life.” That should be your goal – to find the work you love and then do everything you can to make that your work.

To help you achieve this goal, career counselling is required. If you have a deep knowledge of yourself and have some ideas about what you want to do, then we will move straight into career counselling. However if you are feeling very confused, sometimes we use CareerWorks, an amazing holistic computer based career development program which analyses your responses to many questions and provides a comprehensive report that considers all aspects of you in relation to work. This provides the basis for our ongoing deep career counselling.

Once your future direction has been decided upon, career coaching can support you as you journey towards your new career. Career Coaching often makes the biggest difference to clients who make their career decision, but then feel alone as they try to implement their action plan. By continuing the coaching relationship a little you

December 10, 2009

Career Change Tips and Advice

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:20 am

In most cases people pick a career from a number of alternatives when their in their twenty’s.  That’s a time when their unsure of what career to follow.  Interests change as you move through life.  You may be at that stage now or you may have lost your interest, or even become very bored at your present job.  If you feel it’s time for a career change, follow this plan to guide you in setting a course of action.

There are signs that tell you it’s time for a career change:

 ‘Can’t wait until 5PM’  ‘I’m bored out of my head’  ‘I out-grew this job’  ‘The same work-load day in and day out’

Before you change careers, you should do a lot of contemplation and homework.  You should be aware of your strengths and weaknesses.  What are your interests?  Do you feel that your skills can be applied to a career change?

Most career changers already have the answers to these questions, but don’t realize it.  If the career changer takes the time to assess their goals, what they enjoy, what will keep them motivated, they probably will have all the answers.  Some do this by just getting into a new career.  Some need training for a new career.  There are employers that offer training if the interviewer is impressed with the job seeker.  Alternatively, the career changer may get the training through programs offered at local colleges and vocational institutions. 

Most people look at the earning capacity while ignoring what they enjoy doing best.  That’s a tragic mistake.  Don’t misunderstand me, money is important, however enjoying what you do is also crucial to your career.  So make sure whatever new career you enter into is a career that you enjoy and will keep you motivated.

Some people actually enjoy their present career, but dislike the department they are working in.  If that is your situation, speak to your supervisor and try to get placed in a department that is more suitable for your needs.

Another similar example; to make a transition a little easier, the career changer’s present job is in sales of medical equipment.  In this situation, the salesperson should consider selling a different piece of medical equipment that will keep the salesperson motivated while enjoying the sales of the new product.  If you’re in a situation where you can sell more than one product why not go for it!  You may find that even more interesting and more beneficial to your earnings.

Have self-confidence, believe in what you are doing, work hard at it,  be honest, and you will be successful.

December 1, 2009

The Career Makeover: 7 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 2:32 pm

Makeovers on television shows and in magazines are enticing for women the world over. Of course the reason they are so popular, is because the idea of getting a fresh start in life is a golden key we have all dreamt about at one time or another. No matter what their lives are like, everyone has something they wish could be different – their home, their body, their friends, and even their career. Career makeovers are not a new concept and if you think about it, making over your career will automatically set a chain reaction in motion that will affect all aspects of your life, particularly those that are unsatisfactory. If you’ve ever changed jobs or industries, worked with a recruiter, drafted a new resume or pursued additional education to increase your job prospects or opportunities, you’ve already taken steps to improve or “make over” your career.Here are some ideas which can take your career makeover to a whole new level!1. Look inside yourself. How do you perceive yourself? Are you confident? Do you like yourself? Are you proud of your accomplishments? What is your attitude to life, on working, on the value that you bring to your job? How do you feel about your career? Do you feel in control of your future? Working on your “inner self” is of critical importance when it comes to creating a career makeover. If your internal thoughts are not consistent with the actions that you need to take, you’ll continually feel a sense of disconnect. Others will feel it too. All change starts on the inside. If you need support in this area, consider counseling or coaching, whichever is most appropriate for your situation. Until the inner issues are resolved or healed, it can be very challenging to take the necessary steps that lead to a fulfilling career. 2. Get balanced. A key component of effectively managing your career starts with managing your time efficiently. Do you keep your work life separate from your home life? Do you take work home in the evenings or weekends? Do you talk about work ALL THE TIME? Do you take time to recharge your batteries so that you feel refreshed? This is probably one of the most difficult areas when it comes to career makeovers. It takes a lot of courage to “draw the line” when it comes to balancing your life. Many women feel that if they don’t give everything to their job, then they won’t have a job, yet, the opposite is actually true. If you’re working for a company which does not allow you to set boundaries around your time, you WILL burn out. Before this happens it is probably best that you start looking for a new position. It’s a difficult choice to make, but ultimately it’s up to you to set boundaries around what types of treatment you will accept from others – including your employer. If you can’t achieve work/life balance in your current job, you will never be able to give it your best, simply because you will not be at your best which in turn will affect your future career prospects. 3. Get your relationships in check. They say birds of a feather flock together. Are your friends dragging you down? ( I was told my friends were holding me back by a naturopath when I was in my early 20’s I was VERY angry with him and protective of my friends – but a year later when I had taken a grip of my life and moved on, I realized he had been completely right!) Is your network of friends and associates supportive of you and your goals, or are they constantly telling you that your dreams are too lofty? Do they drag you into their gossip or do they inspire you with thoughtful conversation? In essence your ambition can be affected by the people around you and because of this your personal and professional relationships will have a tremendous influence on your career success. Therefore, to get your relationships in check, evaluate your friendships and acquaintances. It might be time to start gently letting go of some of the relationships that aren’t serving you, which will allow you to fill the empty spaces with new friends who will support you. Make sure you’re forging relationships with the people who see your value, and surround yourself with mentors who are helpful in assisting you to move forward.4. Begin with a vision. Having an idea of where you want to go is one of the most important steps in your career makeover. Until you know where you want to be or what you want to have, it’s impossible to decide on the correct steps to get you there. How do you envision your ideal life? What type of job would make you happy? What brings you the most joy? What type of position would you like to see yourself working in 5 years time? Give yourself permission to think about what you really want, dare to dream a little. Remember what seems impossible today is only so because you haven’t had the opportunity to break the journey from here to there down into manageable chunks – now you are ready to start working on your career makeover.5. Be the change. Once you have a vision of what you think you might want. It’s now time to assess where you are now. What are your strengths and your weaknesses? What skills do you have? Which ones will you need in order to achieve your career vision? You need to know where you are now versus where you want to be in the future. The rest is about managing the “gap” in between. Here is where the career makeover really takes place and this is the secret to making it possible…6. Start at the end and work backwards. Imagine you have your dream job and are living your dream life. What was the final step you had to take to make this all possible, now what was the step before that? Work this process through until you arrive back at where you are today. Now you are aware of these steps, you know what you have to do to achieve your goals in manageable chunks. Your next course of action is to develop a plan for achieving these goals thereby giving each part of the process a timeline.7. Now hone your skills. One of the most obvious ways to create a career makeover is to work on your skills. Whether you go back to school to earn an advanced degree or take training classes here and there, anything that you can do to improve yourself can benefit your career. Learn more about your industry; attend conferences where you can keep abreast of the latest trends. Network with possible mentors. Buy books written by leaders in your field. Read industry periodicals and other materials that deep your knowledge. Check with your human resources department to find out what types of internal training opportunities are available. Take advantage of your company’s tuition reimbursement programs. Continuing your education is essential no matter how you do it. Studying will not be a chore. If you are doing work you love you will be passionate about absorbing as much information about your field as you can!And finally plan for the future. No matter who you are or whom you know, you career will have its ups and downs. These days it’s unrealistic to think you’ll have a job for life. You might be transferred, demoted, or get a new boss that you don’t enjoy. You could even lose your job because of a downturn in your industry. These are realities of work life today. To lessen the possibility of your becoming an economic statistic it’s always a good idea to have options. This means you need to think about your exit plan. What would you do if you wanted to leave, or lost your job for whatever reason? Even the people who are happy in their jobs today should have an exit strategy, so take my advice and start working on it now. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you’re in panic mode. In conclusion, always remember, no matter what career or life choices you make, ALL women need a strategic career plan. Your career makeover is ultimately your responsibility. You are the master of your life and it’s up to you to make a plan. Once you have a clear plan, take the steps that lead you to fulfilling your ultimate vision. One powerful way of helping you stay on track is by working with a coach who can help you make the transition more quickly. A good coach gives you support you need, helps you to stay focused and on track. With proper guidance, you will quickly find yourself achieving your career goals.

November 19, 2009

Career Change Begins by Taking These Steps Against Fear

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:23 pm

You’re ready to make a big career change. You really want to get going. But youre held back by fear. So you wait…and wait.
Fear leads to paralysis. Then you start what psychologists call “catastrophizing:” imagining the worst that can happen, then magnifying the consequences till you’re predicting a major, irreversible disaster.
Then you feel even more fear…you do nothing…so you feel even more fear. You’re tempted to go hide in the closet, maybe forever.
Career change begins by breaking the fear cycle. Here are 3 steps to start.
(1) Recognize the consequences of doing nothing.
You really hate your job and you’re long overdue for a change. But you like the security of a pay check. Maybe you have family (and dogs) depending on you.
Hang on long enough and you’ll probably start sabotaging your own security. You’ll find yourself making dumb mistakes, missing deadlines, losing important documents and more.
Some people handle this sort of thing better than others. Some live for 20 years with jobs they despise with no outward appearance of problems. My theory is
(a) you just don’t see what’s going on: doctor visits, anti-depressants, stomach trouble, family grief, or more;
(b) they don’t hate their job as much as they say; or
(c) they were born with a certain temperament with high tolerance for frustration.
(2) Do some reality testing.
‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ is a good first question. Once you have the answer you can often create plans to cover your worst case scenario.
Here’s where a career coach can help: not someone who administers a handful of tests, but someone who knows the ins and outs of careers.
(3) Take a small 10-minute step.
What should you do? It doesn’t matter. Take just 10 minutes to deal with your frustration.
Action means getting off the couch. It doesn’t include introspection (”what do I really want”), reciting mantras and affirmations (although you can do that too) or talking to friends on the phone. It doesn’t mean reading books and surfing the Internet for more ideas.
Examples of action include phone calls to people who can help (such as experienced professionals in your field), attending meaningful networking events (not mechanically attending lunches), and meeting contacts for coffee.
If you can’t think of a single action step, or you’re taking steps but aren’t seeing results, find a professional who can help. The sooner you get moving, the faster your fear will dissipate and the faster you’ll find yourself in a good space.
Just one note. Sometimes you’ve just been through a traumatic experience: a death of someone close to, the loss of a career you loved, break-up of a relationship, sale of a business or loss of your biggest customer. Any of these experiences require time for recovery.
Each person will handle loss differently: formulas (even the famous Kubler-Ross stages) do not apply to everyone.
In my experience, it’s best to wait 30 days before making any big moves or taking any significant risks. But at some point, you really do have to get off the couch and spring into action.

November 5, 2009

Dealing With Career Change and Transition

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 12:27 am

Career change and career transition are real concerns nowadays. People lose or give up their jobs for various reasons. Today’s aggressive, performance-oriented business ethos mean that career change and career transition happen to a lot of people; this is quite unlike before when one could get into a job and stay in it for life.

Considering a Career Change

If the change is a voluntary one, then the person undergoing the career change should take as much care as possible. Not only is one’s income-less (or non-existent) during such a time, but change itself always puts stresses on a person as he or she strives to steer his life in a new direction.

Nevertheless, not all is doom and gloom: the time spent between careers offers a chance for value appraisal and career assessment. The shock of finding one’s self adrift may provide a good impetus to accomplish a useful task that has often been set aside because of lack of time or lack of motivation. Indeed, once in the middle of a career change and career transition, you may find yourself exploring new and better career paths that you thought were closed to you.

Marketing One’s Self to Potential Employers

In the midst of your career change and career transition, you must carefully assess what job you wish to take on next. You must list down your credentials and skills, your interests, and your goals (house, car, salary grade, position, prestige, etc). Your credentials and skills will be your basis for assessing your worth to potential employers. Your interests will dictate the direction that you can possibly take. Your goals will be your basis for choosing the specific direction that you will take.

The time spent reevaluating one’s career direction is followed by a time of writing cover letters, updating one’s resume, leveraging whatever influence one has on people in a network that might help one get into a new job or completely different line of work (which is one reason why it’s nice to cultivate friends). It’s not necessary to have experience when shifting into a whole new profession, as long as you stay educated, can play up your strengths to the recruiter, and transfer the necessary social skills to your new setting.

As you sit down to write your resume, it is helpful to remember something that salesmen and marketers know but others often overlook: you must be able to sell yourself in order to profit in the job market. To increase your value to potential employers, recruitment agencies or headhunters, you must do your best to highlight your value so you will always remain on top of the recruitment heap. Only then can you be sure of a successful career change and career transition.

November 3, 2009

Career Coaching: Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Making a Big Career Change

Filed under: Career Change Resumes — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:56 am

Are you considering a big change in your career? Do you feel let down, bored, burned out? Maybe you think there is something bigger and more meaningful that you are meant to do. Perhaps your company downsized you into this predicament. Regardless of the reason, there are some common mistakes to avoid while you evaluate and select new career options. Avoid these pitfalls and you can stay motivated, keep your balance and move forward successfully.Mistake #1 – Making Decisions in Haste

Tempted to just quit and wing it? Everyone is now and then, but unless you just can’t stand your current situation another day, resist! Instead, write down everything you hate about your current situation, then one by one, look at the most intolerable issues and see how you can turn each around to make it more tolerable for the present moment.

It is easy to get so excited about the future that you decide to forge ahead without a plan and hope everything naturally falls your way after that. It will require more energy to sustain your new career and make it work well for you than it will to identify and start it. It is better to come from a place of higher energy and stability than to start out already burned out or worried about how you will pay the bills. Consider seeking the help of a qualified career coach, life coach or career counselor to help you identify your next career path. An objective, trained third party can help you strategize and phase it in for the best results and the least amount of heartache.Mistake #2 – Ignoring the Finances

“I can’t stand this any longer! I would rather eat dog food than put up with this another day!” Whether you are pursuing a new career voluntarily or involuntarily, you must pay the bills. Do pursue your dream. Do look for the career that brings out the best in you. If you have plenty of savings, good for you! Resist the temptation to go through it and be left without. If you have a dream, by all means hang on to it! But if it won’t realistically get off the ground for three years, find another way to earn a living in the meantime. The need for income is a reality you cannot ignore.Mistake #3 – Filling Your Head with Negative Stuff

What do you read? What do you view on television or the Internet? With whom do you spend free time? When you’re looking at making big life and career changes, you need lots of positive energy around you. If you spend time with negative people or fill your mind with anything that isn’t useful, guess what? It fills you with negative energy. Instead, surround yourself with people and things that give you positive energy and encouragement. Read books that motivate and encourage you. Go places that inspire you. Do everything you can to be what you want to be like after you land the next great career opportunity, and you will be more likely to attract it into your life!Mistake #4 – Getting Bogged Down by Decisions

If you’re an intelligent person who has enjoyed any measure of success, chances are there are a lot of different choices you could make in your next big life or career change. Clients often tell me they are overwhelmed by all of the thoughts and ideas that keep running through their minds. And as the overwhelm sets in, it is very easy to just shut down. As we work together, I remind clients when making tough decisions to ask themselves, “Is this going to move me forward?” If the answer is yes, proceed. If the answer is no, either revise the decision or drop it entirely.Mistake #5 – Not Having a Plan

There are two reasons this is important. First, life is unpredictable and it is dangerous to relinquish security before the next career arrangement is lined up. Second, changing careers is a lot like dating. You are always more desirable when you are unavailable. You are more attractive to a prospective employer if you are already working. And if you have already lost your job either voluntarily or involuntarily, it is even more important to have a plan so that you are then more likely to achieve it. If you see success, you will be successful. (Conversely, if you don’t have a plan, how will you know when you’ve succeeded?) Mistake #6 – Ending your Preparation Too Soon

All I can say here is, prepare, prepare, prepare. If you’re looking at several possibilities, don’t immediately drop one when another looks good. Think about all of the big tests you have taken in life (college entrance exams, finals, certification exams) and how you prepared for those. Did you study way in advance and take a big, long break before taking the test? Or were you still reading the material as you walked in the door on test day, wondering if you could still be better prepared? When you’re embarking on a new career or life change, give it all of your available energy, skills and attention. If you have a goal in mind, resist relaxing when you think you almost have it. Prepare and stay sharp right up until the day you start. This will help keep you from losing confidence at the last minute.Mistake #7 – Getting Discouraged Too Easily

Does this happen to you when you face hurdles in the midst of your goal? Instead of giving in to the pain, pay attention to what specifically is making you uncomfortable and make adjustments to get you through. For example, if you’re in career transition and you find that it is painful to go through the tedium of making phone calls, sending resumes, going on interviews where the competition is tough, etc., find the formula that gives you a break without stopping the process. Try devoting an hour or two each morning to these tasks and letting it go for the rest of the day, or only making a certain number of phone calls or interview appointments per week so that when you’re finished, you can feel good about giving yourself some time off. Don’t stop. Adjust.

Remember, a career change is a life change. You didn’t arrive at your current level of education and experience overnight, and don’t be disappointed if you don’t immediately uncover “the thing” you want to do next. Allow yourself time and space to explore and make an educated decision. Get the help you need along the way (i.e., career coach, career counselor) to help you do it strategically, not emotionally. If you avoid these mistakes you are much more likely to end up in a new career that complements and fulfills your life.

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