MB Job Squad: 2012

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Picking the Right Career Path

For some people, finding the right job in an industry that excites you is an easy choice. When we’re little, we always have an idea of what we want to be when we grow up. More often than not, we don’t always get to realize that. As we grow older, not only do our interests change, but our realities change as well. The world can only have so many ballerinas, actresses, or professional ball players.

Therefore, facing the reality that you probably won’t be doing what you thought you’d be doing back when you were eight years old can be a painful thought. However, some people do get to be what they always wanted to be. One man this writer knows had always dreamed of being a police officer. This can be a difficult field to get into and doesn’t always happen overnight.

He knew that he’d have to work at it, but he also knew that he had to support his family. So he went to work in the family business and would test for the police department as openings were advertised. He could pass the tests, but would find himself in the lower part of the list that was compiled for possible new hires. For three years, he worked and waited.

Then, he had a successful tryout for one particular police department and found himself number two on the list. It just so happened that this particular force was hiring two officers and he was hired soon after. His dream had come true and he has had a successful career as a police officer and has received several awards for his police work.

Making a career change decision was easy for him. It was easy for this writer too.

Since I was little, all I’ve ever dreamed of doing was teaching. When I graduated from high school, my college major was education. I knew that I’d have to have extensive education if I was going to be a teacher, but I was committed to it and eagerly attended my classes with a goal in my mind.

Then, life changed. I suddenly found myself with two children, a husband who was also attending college, and bills piling up. My husband’s part-time job just wasn’t cutting it. It was decided that I would be the one to go to work since he was further along in school than I was. I took a job as a secretary and toiled away at similar jobs like that for six years.

I still took classes trying to work for my degree, but I was working full-time in jobs that I really didn’t like. I found myself in the sales field eventually. While the money was terrific and I was good at selling, I still was unfulfilled. I would go to my children’s parent-teacher conferences and find that longing to be a teacher still aching in the back of my mind as I spoke to their teachers and wandered the hallways of their school.

Then, life changed again. Only this time, it changed for the better. Our finances had finally reached the point where it would be possible for me to quit my job and attend school full-time to earn my bachelor’s degree. It took two and a half years and some very hard work, but I was rewarded when I walked across the stage at my college and received my diploma with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education.

Now, I am a certified teacher – and a freelance writer – and am more satisfied now than I have ever been. While it was scary to make this drastic career change, it really was a no-brainer when it came to deciding what I wanted to do.

The point is that if you’ve always dreamed of working in a specific career field and it’s possible for you to do so – even with a little hard work – go for your dreams and don’t stop until you realize them.

For some people, however, a career change decision isn’t as easy as mine was. They know they are unhappy in their current job and want to get out, but they really don’t know what they want to do. Perhaps, also, they have a couple of ideas in their minds but are unsure as to which was to go.

High school graduates are also faced with an important decision when it comes to their career field. So many young people go to college taking core classes without knowing what they want their major to be.

So, are there certain things you need to consider when choosing a career field? In fact, there are many things that you need to keep in mind. You will want to be successful in whatever job field you choose, so it can be very important to be sure you are going to go into a business where you will be happy and where you can realize your full potential.

There are all sorts of tests you can take online that can help with your career field. What is a career test? It’s a series of questions you answer based on what your preferences are or how you feel about specific job situations. The test will then analyze your answers and present you with the top jobs that fit you based on those answers. Some of the more accurate and reliable online career tests require you to purchase a membership or a package to get your results, but you can find some free career tests.

I took one test at www.livecareer.com and it was quite eye-opening. It was no surprise that the two job fields they recommended to me were writing and education! This website and test are free to users due to the sponsors that want you to sign up for information, so you do have to click through a lot of advertisements, but if you are not sure which career field you want to work in, this test can be a great place to start.

Of course, you can “purchase” a more detailed and in-depth report at the end of the test which is what they want you to do, but that is strictly optional. I’ve found that most of the career testing sites will do this as well.

The basic format of many of these career tests are the same, for the most part. You are presented with three situations and you pick which one you prefer most and which one you prefer least. This is how they can find where your interests lie as well as where your abilities and talents can be best utilized.

Of course, when considering a career change or choice, you don’t necessarily have to take a test. Take a look at what you enjoy doing. What have people said you are good at? Where could you be happiest? What are your interests and hobbies? You should also classify what’s important to you and where you could make concessions.

For example, if spending time with your family is a priority, you probably won’t want a job that requires extensive travel or overtime such as sales. If you are single or very career driven, you may want to look at a position that can provide for upward mobility when you put in hard work such as marketing or stocks.

What types of jobs are available to you? The choices are limitless and you will want to take a lot of things into consideration before you make the leap towards a career change.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Part 3 - SWOT Analysis

If you haven't read Part 1 and Part 2 of the SWOT Analysis series go and read them now to find out about Internal and External Factors.

To further refine the SWOT, here are some other questions to ask about yourself:

Strengths:

What are your advantages?
What do you do well?
Why did you decide to enter the field you will enter upon graduation?
What were the motivating factors and influences?
Do these factors still represent some of your inherent strengths?
What need do you expect to fill within your organization?
What have been your most notable achievements?
To what do you attribute your success?
How do you measure your success?
What knowledge or expertise will you bring to the company you join that may not have been available to the organization before?
What is your greatest asset?

Weaknesses:

What could be improved?
What do you do badly?
What should you avoid?
What are your professional weaknesses?
How do they affect your job performance? (These might include weakness in technical skill areas or in leadership or interpersonal skills.)
Think about your most unpleasant experiences in school or in past jobs and consider whether some aspect of your personal or professional life could be a root cause.

Opportunities:

Where are the promising prospects facing you?
What is the "state of the art" in your particular area of expertise?
Are you doing everything you can to enhance your exposure to this area?
What formal training and education can you add to your credentials that might position you appropriately for more opportunities?
Would an MBA or another graduate degree add to your advantage?
How quickly are you likely to advance in your chosen career?
Useful opportunities can come from such things as:

Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and industry-specific scale
Changes in government policy related to your field
Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.

Threats:

What obstacles do you face?
Are the requirements for your desired job field changing?
Does changing technology threaten your prospective position?
What is the current trend line for your personal area of expertise?
Could your area of interest be fading in comparison with more emergent fields?
Is your chosen field subject to internal politics that will lead to conflict?
Is there any way to change the politics or to perhaps defuse your involvement in potential disputes?
How might the economy negatively affect your future company and your work group?
Will your future company provide enough access to new challenges to keep you sharp -- and marketable -- in the event of sudden unemployment?

Explore your own self-perception of your strengths, but also put yourself inside a prospective employer's head as you consider your strong points. Avoid false modesty, but also be brutally honest and realistic with yourself. Start out by simply making a list of words that describe you; chances are many of these characteristics compromise your strengths.

One of your greatest strengths can love the work you do. Learning to "follow your bliss" should be a critical component of managing your career. Some people know from an early age what kind of work will make them happy. For others, nailing down the self-knowledge that leads to career fulfillment comes from a process of exploring interests, skills, personality, learning style, and values.

In assessing your weaknesses, think about what prospective employers might consider to be the areas you could improve upon. Facing your frailties now can give you a huge head start in career planning.

As humans, we find it relatively difficult to identify the areas where we are weak. But this assessment helps to identify areas where we may need to improve. If you identify a skill that you know is in your chosen field, but you are weak in that skill area, you need to take steps to improve that skill. Past performance appraisals and even your grades and teacher comments from school provide valuable feedback.

Doing a SWOT will not only help to guide you toward a specific career that you will enjoy, it will also give you an idea of how to market yourself so that you can get that dream job that you want. From this analysis, you will have a road map that shows you how to capitalize on your strengths and minimize or eliminate your weaknesses. You should then use this map to take advantage of opportunities and avoid or lessen threats.

After you've analyzed your strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, you should use that information to plan how to market yourself.

The marketing planning process entails a three-step process:

Determining objectives
Developing marketing strategies
Strategizing an action program.

Objectives — define your career objectives. What is your ideal job upon graduation (or the job you would like to transition to from your current job)? What are some other positions you could accept? What is your five-year career goal?

Marketing Strategies — a broad marketing strategy or “game plan” for attaining your objectives. What are the companies and organizations you’re going to target to obtain your objectives—your ideal job? How will you communicate with these firms? The strategies you identify should utilize all of the resources available to you, such as your personal network and a partnership with a mentor.

Action Programs — according to marketing principles, marketing strategies should be turned into specific action programs that answer a number of questions, including: What will be done? When will it be done? Who is responsible for doing it? Your key task here is setting specific timetables and deadlines for getting the career and company information you identified in the marketing strategy step.

So now that you’ve identified some key questions to ask when considering a career change, how do you know what the right career field is for you?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Part 2 - SWOT Analysis

If you haven't read Part 1 - SWOT Analysis yet you should go read it now to find out about the Internal Factors.

External Factors

Opportunities - Positive external conditions that you do not control but of which you can plan to take advantage. Here are some opportunities to list:

Positive trends in your field that will create more jobs (e.g., growth, globalization, technological advances)
Opportunities you could have in the field by enhancing your education
Field is particularly in need of your set of skills
Opportunities you could have through greater self-knowledge, more specific job goals
Opportunities for advancement in your field
Opportunities for professional development in your field
Career path you’ve chosen provides unique opportunities
Geography
Strong network

Threats - Negative external conditions that you do not control but the effect of which you may be able to lessen. These include:

Negative trends in your field that diminish jobs (downsizing, obsolescence)
Competition from your cohort of college graduates
Competitors with superior skills, experience, knowledge
Competitors with better job-hunting skills than you
Competitors who went to schools with better reputations.
Obstacles in your way (e.g., lack of the advanced education/training you need to take advantage of opportunities)
Limited advancement in your field, advancement is cut-throat and competitive
Limited professional development in your field, so it’s hard to stay marketable
Companies are not hiring people with your major/degree

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Part 1 - SWOT Analysis

When speaking about a SWOT Analysis, this is a way of doing some serious self-reflecting and figuring out what your internal as well as external strengths and weaknesses are. Think of it as a pro and con list about you!

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. While we are hesitant to use the word “weakness” as it is very negative, using the word “shortcomings” doesn’t make as catchy an acronym (SWOS) as SWOT!

Here are a few ideas when it comes to constructing your SWOT.

Internal Factors

Strengths - Internal positive aspects that are under control and upon which you may capitalize in planning for a new career. These would include:

Work Experience
Education, including value-added features
Strong technical knowledge within your field (e.g. hardware, software, programming languages)
Specific transferable skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, leadership skills)
Personal characteristics (e.g., strong work ethic, self-discipline, ability to work under pressure, creativity, optimism, or a high level of energy)
Good contacts/successful networking
Interaction with professional organizations

Weaknesses - Internal negative aspects that are under your control and that you may plan to improve. These will include:

Lack of Work Experience
Low GPA, wrong major
Lack of goals, lack of self-knowledge, lack of specific job knowledge
Weak technical knowledge
Weak skills (leadership, interpersonal, communication, teamwork)
Weak job-hunting skills
Negative personal characteristics (e.g., poor work ethic, lack of discipline, lack of motivation, indecisiveness, shyness, too emotional)

Friday, February 10, 2012

Common Mistakes People Make When Changing Careers

Making a complete career change, whatever the reason, is a really big undertaking that can have huge ramifications in your life if you don’t take the time to think things through. Jumping too quickly can result in more unhappiness in your career than you’re feeling right now, so it’s important to avoid making a few common mistakes.

First, have a plan. Probably the biggest mistake you can make is attempting to change careers without a plan. A successful career change can often take months to accomplish when you have a strategy, so without one, you could end up adrift for an even longer period.

Having a detailed action plan (including items such as strategies, finances, research, and education/training) is essential to your success. Without a plan, you might take the first job offer that comes along, whether it is a good fit for you or not.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing hating your current job with hating your current career. Take the time to analyze whether it’s just the job, another employee, or your boss that you hate, or whether it’s the career, the skills necessary to do the job, or the work that you dislike.

The same goes with if you are feeling bored or lost with your job; review whether it’s the job, the employer, or the career. Whatever you determine, it’s best not to leave your job -- if possible -- until you have a plan for finding a new career.

Many people make career changes based solely on the prospect of making more money or because of better benefits. This, too, can be a mistake. Certain career fields are very alluring because of the salary and other benefits they offer, but be very careful of switching careers because of all the dollar signs.

Keep repeating to yourself, “Money won’t buy me happiness.” Remember that you may make more money, but if you hate your new career, you’ll probably be spending that money on stress- and health-related expenses. A career that’s hot today could be gone tomorrow, so dig deeper if this is the only reason you want a new career.

If you have people in your life who are pressuring you to switch jobs, it can be very stressful, and you might be tempted to change careers just to “shut them up”. Don’t let your parents, significant others or anyone else influence your career choice. They don’t have to live that career every day; you do.

If you love what you do and earn a reasonable living, why is it anyone’s business but yours? If you switch careers because of outside pressure to have a “better career,” and then hate your new career, you’ll end up resenting whoever pressured you to make the switch.

It can be very helpful and even necessary for you to seek out the help of someone when making a career change. Having a mentor when you start this new career can be very valuable. As soon as you have identified the career field you want to switch into, begin developing new network contacts. Conduct informational interviews. Join industry associations.

People in your network can provide inside information about job-openings and can even champion you to hiring managers. Networking is essential for all job-seekers, but even more so for career-changers. And use a current or new mentor as a sounding board to help guide you in the transition.

Examine all possibilities before “diving in”. Don’t jump career fields without first conducting thorough research into all the possibilities, including career fields you may never have considered. By conducting research into careers you have never considered or been exposed to, you may find the career of your dreams.

Talk to people in your network, read career and job profiles; meet with a career management professional. The more information you have about various career choices, the more successful you’ll be in making a career change.

Although we’ll talk about this a little later, you really need to do some self-reflecting and really thinking about what you and what you don’t like. Self-assessment of your skills, values, and interests is a critical component to career-change success. Make a list of the skills you love doing: in your job, in your hobbies, in all aspects of your life. Then list those things that you never want to do again.

You may want to consider taking one or more assessment tests, especially those with a career component. Preparing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) Analysis is also a useful activity. All these activities are designed so that you better understand yourself -- your product -- so that you can find the best career for you and then sell yourself to employers in that new career.

DO NOT change your career just because you’ve seen others succeed in that field. It’s human nature to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. Just because your best friend or neighbor is successful in a certain career does not mean that you will be -- or that you will be happy doing it -- so certainly consider the career field, but make sure you do the research before jumping into it.

Finally, just to add yet another cliché, too many job-seekers switch careers on the assumption that the grass is always greener -- and often times find out that is not the case.

You have to have some experience or education for almost all career fields. If you have neither for the field you want to get into, you’ll most certainly fail. As a career-changer, you must find a way to bridge the experience, skills, and education gap between your old career and your new one.

While transferable skills – those that are applicable in multiple career fields, such as communications skills - are an important part of career change, it is often necessary to gain additional training and experience before you can find a good job in a new career field.

Research whether you need additional training, education, or certifications. And try to find time to volunteer, temp, intern, or consult in your new career field -- what some experts refer to as developing a parallel career -- before quitting your current job and searching for a full-time position in your new career field.

If you’ve been in your current position for quite some time, chances are good that a lot of things have changed in the job market since you were last out there. If you don’t take the initiative to update your job skills – such as computer skills – then you won’t enjoy as much success as you might want.

Review your resume-writing techniques, master networking, and polish your interviewing skills. What’s the sense of doing all this research and preparation in attempting to change careers if you are not current with your job-search skills?

We mentioned a SWOT Analysis. This really is a useful tool when considering changing careers as well as in finding a job in general. Next we'll look at how to construct your own SWOT Analysis.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Part 2 - Should You Make a Career Change?

If you haven't already read Part 1 - Should You Make a Career Change? you should go and do that now. There is an exercise that you should do as well, as that is part of this section.

Look at your answers to the questions that you did yesterday. Are you finding that you have more “True” answers? If so, then a career change is probably in order. But let’s look at why according to your answer to each question.

If you want the opportunity to grow your career, it’s important to be in a company that will allow you to do that. Perhaps you want greater responsibilities or a position higher up on the corporate ladder — things you won't have if you stick with your current occupation.

People can get bored with their work. Before you change careers, you may want to make sure it's your occupation in general that is boring you and not just your current job. If it is your occupation, you should consider a career change.

When there are few jobs available in your field, a career change truly might be in order. Since opportunities are limited you may want to start exploring other occupations that have a better outlook.

A lot of people want to earn more money. Keep in mind happiness does not come with higher earnings. However, if your career is unfulfilling for other reasons, you might want to change careers.

Upgrading your skills in order to stay in your current occupation will take some effort. If you aren't satisfied with your career anyway, you may want to start exploring other options rather than stress about what you need to do but don’t have the desire or motivation to do.

In general, if you find your career unfulfilling, that’s the number one reason to find a new career. Being happy with your job can contribute greatly to personal fulfillment which is something we all need, so definitely make a career change if you say “True” to this question.

If you want to pursue your lifelong passion, by all means, go for it or at least consider it as an option. Make sure you do your homework first, though, to ascertain this career is the right choice.

As long as you’ve researched a possible new career choice, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t go for it if it seems like something that will make you happy. In fact, this is a no-brainer – of course you should change your career here!

There’s a reason why you got an education in the first place. Because you wanted to do a specific type of work. Maybe you just have a specific flair to perform certain tasks but your current job doesn’t use those talents. Why would you stick around?

If your life has changed significantly since you first began your career and it is causing your personal life to be at odds with your business life, you’ll have to make a choice. Unless you want to do nothing but work, you really should choose personal happiness.

There's enough stress in life without your work contributing to it. Before you decide to change careers, you should figure out whether it's your occupation that's stressful or just your particular place of employment. If it is your occupation, change careers.

Of course, making a job change is never easy. Having a regular paycheck and job security is important – there’s no doubt about that. But if you’re unhappy in your job and feeling unfulfilled, are you doing yourself a favor by staying there? We spend a lot of our time working, so it really is important that you do something with that time that is meaningful for you and will enhance your life rather than inhibit it.

Before you make the leap to change your career path, you will want to avoid some common mistakes that many people make. By knowing what those mistakes are, you’ll know what NOT to do when undertaking such a life-changing event such as exploring a new career.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Part 1 - Should You Make A Career Change?

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Many people don’t like their jobs – it is part of being in the working world. Even people who claim to love their jobs still have days when the thought of going to work can be just too much to bear. However, the truth is that you just may be on the wrong career path if your level of job satisfaction is less than what it should be.

The best way to really see and accept that it might be time for a career change is to honestly look at how you feel about what you do. This is really a very easy process. All you need to do is keep a daily work journal.

First, record how you feel about going into the office or workplace every day. Be honest with yourself and write your true feelings. Are you dreading walking through the doors and the thought of it makes you nauseous? Maybe you’re looking forward to it but once you get there, you find that you are bored and unable to concentrate.

When a specific job situation comes up, write down your reactions to having to complete that task. Your boss has given you the assignment of researching past profit margins for one of the products your company produces. He wants a comprehensive report done and on his desk within two days. Are you angry and dreading the job or does it make you happy to be trusted with an important job? Write it down!

In your work journal, jot down your feelings about your co-workers. Do you generally get along with everyone, or do you find yourself constantly at odds with people or a specific person?

The key to a work journal is to write down exactly how you feel about various aspects of your job and then look for recurring themes. Are you unhappy because of the people you are around or because of what you are doing? Perhaps you just disagree with specific company policies. After you have identified the reason that you are unhappy with your job, you can start to take steps to look for something else.

Still not sure if you should make a career change? OK, then it’s time for a little quiz. Ask yourself the following questions and answer true or false:

There are few opportunities for growth within your company.

You find the work you are doing boring.

Few jobs exist in your field.

You want to earn more money than you ever will in your current field.

You will need to upgrade your skills to stay in your current field, but you aren’t satisfied enough to even make the effort.

You want to do something more with your life.

You want to pursue a lifelong passion.

There’s a new career you want to pursue. After doing your research, it seems to be a good fit for you.

You want to work in a field that will utilize your talents, skills, and education and your current occupation doesn’t do this.

Your life has changed since you first got into this career and now the requirements of your job don’t mix well with your current situation (extensive travel when you now have children at home)

Your occupation is too stressful.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Building Your Network | 3 Tips For Getting Started

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If you haven't already heard, networking is the best way to find jobs. Most people report that they have found they job that they are in through someone they already know.

Believe it or not, you already have a network. The question is are you using it? And are you building it so that it is constantly expanding?

Tip #1 - Know Your Existing Network

Do you know who is in your existing network? If you don't it is going to be pretty darned hard to make use of it. Start by making a list of everyone you know. Yes, everyone. These are all the people that are in your network that could possibly be the one to help you get your next job.

Who should you include? How about...

your friends
your family members
your doctor, dentist, pharmacist
your past teachers or instructors of courses you have taken
friends of your parents
parents of your friends
classmates
and more!

Tip #2 Go to Job Fairs

Job fairs are usually advertised in the newspaper or you can find them online. They are a great opportunity to get out there and meet new people.

"But I'm not very good in social situations," you might say. Well, trust me when I tell you that if you start doing things like this you will get better at it. There's only one way for people to get better at social situations and that is by putting themselves out there.

Tip #3 Carry Business Cards

Yes. You should have a business card for your job search. You don't have a business to put on your card but you have something else - your skills. Create a card with your name, address, phone number, and email. If you have a resume online put a link to it on your card. Then in point form, list your most transferable skills. Transferable skills are the ones that can apply to many different kinds of jobs.

If they don't have your contact information easily accessible, how are they going to contact you when they find about that job that is perfect for you?

You can get great business cards at Vista Print. There are many designs to choose from so that you can make a business card that suits your personality and will make people in your network remember you. The best thing about Vista Print is that Everything is FREE!.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Education | What Role Does It Play in Your Canadian Job Search

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Is education really that big of a deal? Do you have to go to school if you want to get a good job? What about internships and working your way up the ladder?

While it is nice to think that you can work your way into any career that just isn't true these days. There are many types of jobs that require education for the simple fact that you need to be certified to work in that career.

For example, if you want to go into pharmacy you need to be certified to do even the most simple jobs in a pharmacy setting. Canadian pharmacy jobs require an education no matter what kind of job you are doing. You can start by taking courses at a business college to become a pharmacy assistant or a pharmacy technician or you can go to university to become a full fledged pharmacist. But you can't skip the education part and work your way up.

Think of education as an investment. Yes, it will cost you time and money but it will get you to your goal a lot faster. You could try working your way up the ladder in some careers but it could take you more time to get up that ladder that way than if you just went to school and got the education.