3 Things to Ask Yourself When Considering a Career Change

3 Things to Ask Yourself When Considering a Career Change You’re going about your day-to-day life when something triggers a feeling of dissatisfaction with your career. Maybe you pick up your alumni magazine and feel a pang of jealousy as you read about the brilliantly successful non-profit a classmate started that is making a big difference in the world. Or, despite your careful budgeting, you dog’s vet bill hits your finances harder than you’d like. Perhaps, yet again, your kid has a baseball game that you have to miss for a last minute work meeting. Whatever the reason, it’s natural to start to wonder, “Is there something better out there for me? Is it time for a career change?” Here are three questions to help you clarify whether your urge for a change is a passing impulse or a signal to be taken seriously. 1. What are my current priorities, and do they align with my current career path? Career choices have a big impact on three critical areas of our lives: our fulfilment, our financial health, and our personal time/ well-being. While we all want to be happy, wealthy, and healthy, real world career choices often involve compromises. If you had to order these three elements in terms of their importance to you right now, what would your ranking be? Note that there isn’t a right or a wrong here, just your personal preference. (Also realize that it’s a good idea to keep tabs on where you rank these three elements over time, because as we experience new things or enter different phases of our lives, our priorities can similarly shift.) For example, you might not love your current, high salaried career, but what you care most about right now is financial security, because you want to be able to provide for your family and save for your children’s eventual college education. Clearly financial health would be your top priority. Or, maybe you’ve put your nose to the grindstone in a stressful, lucrative job that’s left you miserable, and what you most want from your career is to actually feel engaged and happy with your job. Fulfilment would therefore be at the top of your list. If things aren’t perfect, but what your job is giving you matches up with the areas that you most care about, then staying put in your current career is a reasonable choice. If the opposite is true, that your job and your priorities are at odds, then a career change could be your next step. 2. Are my issues specific to this work environment or pervasive in this career path? Issues that are specific to a work environment are things like a poor manager, a culture of back-stabbing, or a killer commute. I once had a client who was extremely creative, but working in a “follow the rules to the letter” environment. She felt dissatisfied that her ideas were unappreciated, and her boss was frustrated that the rules were not being followed. However, this client spoke about the general work that she was doing in glowing terms. This was an instance where the career issue was purely environmental. She wound up staying in the same field, but moving to a work culture that was a better fit and is now thriving in that new position. Contrast these environmental issues with bigger picture misalignment, like working a heavily customer facing job when you need lots of quiet to think, or being bored senseless by the subject matter you work with every day. One time a young man come up to me after a talk with a question about what he should do with his career. He went on and on about his love for athletics and outdoors and health. Then, literally in the same breath, he mentioned that he was considering working for a company that manufactured junk food. That lack of alignment between who he was and the job he had on his radar screen did not bode well for career satisfaction. Whether the issue you’re having is environmental or industry-wide should factor into the size of the change you decide to take on. Environmental issues are more easily fixed with switching jobs within the same industry. Pervasive issues with the type of work you are doing would be remedied by embarking on an entirely new career path. 3. What am I willing to go through to get what I want? If you identified a mismatch between your current priorities and your current job, and your issue with your career path relates to a core element of the job you’re doing, then a career change could be in order. Your current career is out of alignment with who you are and what you’re most wanting in life, so switching to something that is a better fit would be a positive change for you. However, before you go charging off in a new direction, pause for a beat to consider your commitment level to improving your career. Making a change from one career path to another is doable, but it does take effort. Specifically, you’ll need to be willing to tap into your network for support, to devote time to exploring potential career ideas, and to being persistent as you put yourself into new environments. You will probably have to overcome fears, rejection, and discomfort as you put yourself in front of new people and opportunities. Before you get too overwhelmed by the prospect of the road ahead, remember to connect fully to why you want to make a change. Keep in your mind’s eye the goal and the benefits that making a career change will have on your life. Realize that oftentimes we have to go through some unpleasantness to get to the things we’re wanting, and career changes are no different. The first step in any journey is to make a decision about whether or not you want to take that journey. What’s yours? Are you ready to step up to the plate and work to improve your career? Or are you mostly satisfied with where you are career-wise? Listening to your answers will help you to determine whether or not it is time to invest your time and energy into a career change. It’s often fun to dream about whether the grass is really greener in another career. Hopefully the above questions have helped you to pin down whether you’re simply enjoying some idle daydreams or whether you’re ready to dig into an overhaul of your career.

Professional Resume Writing Services - Get the Job of Your Dreams

Professional Resume Writing Services - Get the Job of Your DreamsProfessional resume writing services Buffalo NY can help you on how to write a great resume. You should know that it is very important to present yourself in the best possible way. You want to be taken by your prospective employer into consideration and not second or third choice. Here are some things you can consider while writing your resume.First and foremost, professional resume writing services Buffalo NY will be able to provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time. You have to remember that time is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful candidates. A professional resume service Buffalo NY can provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time.Professional resume writing services Buffalo NY will be able to provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time. You have to remember that time is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful candidates. A professional resume service Buffalo NY can provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time. You have to remember that time is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful candidates.It is therefore recommended that you take into consideration these points when you are selecting a professional resume writing services Buffalo NY. The most important point you need to remember is that you need to write a resume that can stand the test of time. This can be achieved if you hire a professional resume writing service.Writing a professional resume is no easy task. It requires the right combination of skills and experience. If you plan to hire a professional resume writing service Buffalo NY, you will need to consider that they have all the required skills and experience required for creating professional resumes.It is therefore recommended that you take into consideration these points when you are selecting a professional resume writing service in Buffalo NY. The most important point you need t o remember is that you need to write a resume that can stand the test of time. This can be achieved if you hire a professional resume writing service.Professional resume writing services Buffalo NY will be able to provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time. You have to remember that time is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful candidates. A professional resume writing service Buffalo NY can provide you with a resume that can stand the test of time. You have to remember that time is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful candidates.Make sure that you do not just write a professional resume. Even if you have all the skill and expertise, you need to know that you have to build your resume up on its proper place. This is done by making your resume stand out. Make sure that you hire a professional resume writing service Buffalo NY so that you can get the job of your dreams.

Want To Really Challenge Yourself In 2018 Here Are Some Ideas!

Want To Really Challenge Yourself In 2018 Here Are Some Ideas! With a new year just around the corner, this is a time when many of us ambitious types start thinking about what goals we want to set ourselves for the next year. Whether you go for something physical or mental, having a big goal to work towards can be highly motivational, and the sense of achievement when you reach your target will make you look back on 2018 as a year when you did something really incredible and positive! If you want this for yourself in the coming year, here are some ideas of big challenges you could set yourself: Do Something Physically Tough! Whether you are already quite fit or are currently a couch potato, a year is a long time to achieve something impressive and rewarding in terms of sport and endurance. You could start January off with a couch to 5k running program, and within months you should be able to enter a race. Keep it up, and you could have done a marathon by the end of 2018 â€" a big achievement in anyones book! If you are already into fitness, upping your goals to do something truly remarkable like climbing Kilimanjaro could be a challenge to set yourself, and you can also attach other goals like raising a certain amount for a charity you care about. Learn A New Skill Not all challenges have to be about your physical limits, so why not consider doing something more cerebral, like getting to a certain standard in a foreign language, learning how to program and developing your own app, or attaining a qualification in a new subject that really interests you, like history or science?  OK, so if you decide to get a degree in physics or become fluent in Arabic in your spare time, it is going to take more than 2018 to achieve your goal, but starting out can be your 2018 resolution! Of course, you can also pick something less intense, for instance, learning to make a special recipe to a high standard or learning how to paint or draw something you would be happy to display. There are loads of options that will have you leaving 2018 with a new skill you are proud of! Travel Goals Another area you can consider for your 2018 challenge is to visit places on your bucket list. Most of us have some dream destinations we really want to see, and while a vacation may not sound like much of a challenge, often, making it happen can be. Challenge yourself to save up for and book your dream trip, and set goals for what you will see and do while you are there. As you can see, there are lots of different ways you can set a new challenge for next year, and if you are feeling really ambitious, you can even combine them â€" for instance, why not learn Spanish so you can converse when you visit Barcelona to enter a marathon!

Hiring Clients How to Recruit the Best Talent

Hiring Clients How to Recruit the Best Talent A guide to attracting and successfully recruiting the best talent for your business. You often see blogs giving advice to the candidate/job seekers- How to write a winning CV How to use LinkedIn to find yourself a new role How to get yourself headhunted How to get recruiters to call you How to use Job boards effectively The list is literally endless. Yet rarely do you see blogs or articles aimed at giving advice to the hiring client! I don’t suppose it is because people assume the clients won’t be reading the articles- of course they do! Lots of my client comments on my LinkedIn Pulse blogs and also share my guest blogs for Undercover Recruiter too. Most markets are skills short now and so the quest for talent attraction has become one of the single most important marketing strategies for most hiring companies. But how can YOU differentiate your message to the target market? I have decided to make a useful step by step guide for employers to use to ensure they are incorporating these simple but effective methods into their candidate attraction. 1. Invest in a dedicated talent manager/internal recruitment professional. The benefits of employing a dedicated person to focus on developing a constant talent pool of people are plentiful: Long term view is an advantage with senior hires- speaking to these people on a regular basis means that when they decide to come on the market, they will most likely call someone they have a previous dialogue with and the Talent manager should be making regular updates with those they see as ideal hires for the future Understanding of market trends- the constant brand ambassador means they get to know market knowledge before others will- if they are speaking to competitors and also active candidates in the market. Engage with third parties whom they trust and have a mutually respectful relationship with. This is not to duplicate the cost of hiring people. It means there is a central contact to manage all applications made- no more fighting over who introduced the candidate. 2. Employ an experienced social media professional. The reality is, most of our decisions are made via posts we have seen on social media and although I am not a fan of people publishing job ads on twitter, to have a focused employee dedicated to managing the various social media streams is vital. It corroborates the message your overall brand is setting out to achieve but having a dedicated person/team means if it a continual message not a “tweet when I remember to” campaign. Each social media channel has its own nuances, peaks/troughs, and your dedicated Social media guru will know what to share, how to share it and whom to engage it with. 3. Meet good people on a speculative basis. If you have previously spurned spec calls from recruiters, regardless of your market, you are possibly missing out on a) the recruiter wanting to act as your brand ambassador in the future, if you alienate the recruiter on this spec calls, they will probably spec said candidates out in future to your competitor. b) you are missing out on the right people even if it is not the right time for you. Don’t be pedantic about it. I would always suggest meeting people even if it is for pipelining purposes- as long as this is spelled out beforehand. It means then when you ARE ready to hire, you can speak to them with familiarity. 4. Manage your 3rd party recruiters. I challenge anyone of my readers to say “I don’t use agencies/recruiters”. If that is your response, I think you seriously need to move on from this rather rare stance! Your choice of recruiter(s) should be regarded as your partners- they are your external ambassadors in the market, they are your market knowledge- who is available, who is exclusive. They will work harder for you if you a) reward them with better than market average fees and b) you are honest in your feedback. Treat your recruiter like a true partner and I promise you, you will remember this tip and realise how easy they can make your “hiring” life! 5. Give prompt feedback. I am astounded when I hear from friends or colleagues that they never heard anything back from a prospective employer- this includes CVs sent as well as face to face interviews. It takes literally minutes to either pen an email rejection or even to use a template if you interview high volumes of people. This embodies part of your company’s customer service policy. Don’t leave customers waiting or wondering. I always advise constructive and candour if possible. Equally, be prepared to listen to feedback on your business, the process, your opportunity. 6. MAKE a decision. Please don’t dilly dally with people’s lives. Make a firm decision and communicate it as soon as you can. If someone isn’t a cert in your mind and gut, then they are not right for you. Use what benchmarks you can but don’t try to make the shoe fit! And always leave your door open for good people- as you would say this to the candidate- it is the same for you as the employer. People TALK and you would want potential hires to hear how efficient and professional your business is. 7. “Work for us” page. Create a page where your audience are engaged with you, participative candidates will want to follow your timelines and then when you post your live vacancies, will respond immediately. I know most companies have a “work for us” page on their own website. I think the most attractive companies will have a testimony page of their actual employees and have overview job specs rather than generic job ads which make you look like you are constantly hiring and therefore, possibly desperate. Make your “work for us” page stand out with clear benefits, unique selling points and examples of people who have done well in your business. 8. Internal referrals. Not one to do myself or fellow colleagues in recruitment an injustice, however, I often say I would prefer to lose a placement to someone going to work with a “no brainer” friend/ex-colleague (although, there is a peril with this from the candidate’s perspective, which I have written about before). A great reward scheme should be a good incentive to get your existing staff to think of who they know within their own social circle- these are people you would not necessarily attract through other means. 9. Always show empathy. Was it so long ago you were sat in the candidate’s chair/in their shoes? No? Then show them the respect and empathy that YOU desired. If it is memorable for you to know what they are feeling, communicate this to them! We are all humans and in certain situations, we share the same emotions regardless of our personality traits. It is likely you were also nervous (as well as excited, hopefully!) about coming for an interview. So, have a heart and be kind in the interview/process. Be normal. It will make the candidate feel very at ease. Show courage, patience and be brazen in your decisions. 10. Sell it to us! One final word from fellow business owner and recruiter of recruiters in the South coast, Louise Ogilvy of People Prospects. We are noticing a real change in the way that recruiters are viewing their next move. The emphasis seems to be moving away from purely the financials to now include the softer benefits. We have clients who are being really creative in terms of making themselves stand out from the crowd, a push on flexible working, a more grown up attitude towards working from home, the latest i-phones etc. More so than ever, before making a decision candidates are asking to see in black and white the full benefits package and we are certainly advising our clients where we feel that they need to be implementing changes or increasing what they can offer to attract the best in the market place. In conclusion. One of these methods in silo may get you results on an ad hoc basis. But as the battle/war for the best talent continues to get more competitive, only by incorporating ALL of these elements into your hiring strategy will you be certain to attract YOUR best talent pool in the current climate and beyond. I hope you have found this checklist useful. As you read it, you probably nod through most of it but are you doing ALL of these things? Have I missed anything glaringly obvious? If so, please comment and thanks in advance for RT, Likes and shares. Image: Shutterstock

How to Write a Summary For a Resume For International Shipping

How to Write a Summary For a Resume For International ShippingWriting a summary for a resume for international shipping can be an important part of your quest to land a good job in this particular field. By using the correct information and keeping it concise, you can have a better chance of getting noticed. There are several things that you should keep in mind when writing a summary for a resume for international shipping.First, your purpose for heading down to a foreign country is to find employment. You need to tell the recruiter exactly what you hope to accomplish in the position. You may also want to provide some of the vital details such as your education, skills, and work experience. What you leave out will probably lead to your lack of employment. Be sure to include all of the pertinent information so that the reader can fully appreciate your qualifications for the position.Second, be sure to answer all of the summary questions asked. This means that you have to answer them o n paper or with an electronic format. Include all of the information that you can about yourself and why you are looking for employment. It is also a good idea to summarize all of the essential details that pertain to the job that you are applying for. You should be able to provide detailed information about yourself and what you are seeking.Third, there is a definite hierarchy in which you will need to write your summary. Begin your first chapter by writing about your educational history. When you finish this chapter, you will have two to three sentences written that describes your actual work experience.Fourth, you will need to prepare your summary for a resume international shipping to go in the second chapter. Here you should start describing the qualities that you hope to display. This can be anything from your education, your skills, your experience, and even your educational background. Be sure to describe it all, or any of it, clearly and concisely.Fifth, in the third chapte r of your summary for a resume international shipping, you will need to describe your employer. This is very important because it should address the qualifications, needs, and desires of the employer. Be sure to list what your employer is and who it is serving. These details will be used to evaluate you for the position. If the employer does not respond to your resume, or at least provide you with an interview, it is likely that they do not need you.Sixth, when writing a summary for a resume international shipping, you should start at the beginning. Have a clear understanding of what you are applying for and what you hope to accomplish in the position. Don't try to present yourself as an expert in the field. Provide the recruiter with an outline of your resume and cover letter. Include the benefits that you will be offering to the new employer.Finally, when writing a summary for a resume international shipping, always be courteous and gracious in your writing. If you don't think tha t you are, you will most likely be labeled as unprofessional and boring.

#2 focus killer on job-search and career management - Hire Imaging

#2 focus killer on job-search and career management - Hire Imaging My last post focused (I guess pun intended) on stress as one of the top killers to focus in your job search, career management â€" your life! My #2? Multitasking! For sharper focus, do one thing at a time. #2 Focus Killer: You’re multitasking Your brain can only process so many complex tasks before it fills up and freezes. According to neurological experts, the average number of mental goals a person can manage at one time ranges from three to nine, but keeping track of even four or five goals at once is challenging. Focusing on multiple immediate goals is “mental goal stacking”. If the stack gets too high, some goals will naturally get lost. My client Sue told me about one of her recent full days â€" furnace repair guy at 8, conference call at 10, dog’s vet appointment at noon, project deadline by 5, pick up some groceries at 6, and daughter’s basketball game at 7. Fast forward to midnight. Sue’s lying in bed and giving herself kudos for all she’d accomplished. Except … she realized she had missed the vet appointment! If Sue had had the experts to guide her through this goal-stacking â€" to help her not drop goals â€" one would think they’d offer some really awesome memory tricks. But the overall advice? Finish what you start. Leaving some of your jobs unfinished just adds to your set of unfinished tasks. That ever-growing pile of unfinished goals can gnaw away at you like a child asking repeatedly, “Are we there yet?” Better to tackle one thing at a time so it gets removed from the stack. Multitasking is not your friend I often find myself with many windows open in my Web browser. They are often not centered on the same task. That spells trouble. Experts say that conducting two unrelated tasks at the same time causes errors, pure and simple. Research clearly shows that contrary to popular belief, juggling several tasks at the same time really does not save you time and energy. What it does is keep you from devoting the required attention for each task or project.   We’re pressured in this society to deliver things immediately because we can. But what about the quality of what we deliver? What about what gets left in the dust? Now, if you’re writing a report in Word while looking at a related spreadsheet, that’s not multitasking â€" same task. If you’re writing a cover letter while looking at the prospective employer’s About Us page, that’s not multitasking. But if you’re jumping from thinking about your cover letter’s introduction to simultaneously checking your text messages and returning an email, you could easily shortchange each task. Multitasking is not necessary to land a job Yes, it’s common for a prospective employer to ask you in the interview if you can multitask. They’re not hoping you have six arms to juggle with. They want to know if you can handle multiple priorities and tasks. Again, research supports that multitasking is not the way to go. Companies want talent who can unitask â€" they don’t come unglued when they have to concentrate because they’re so used to thinking just a bit about multiple things. Yes, speed’s important; but thinking is more important. Instead of answering that related interview question with “Yes, I am very adept at multitasking,” say “I know when to stop multitasking.” Now that’s a very marketable skill! Unitasking is your friend Unitasking, like any habit is not cultivated overnight. If you’re a multitasking addict, here are intervention tips: Start your work (job or job search) ten minutes early. Relax before you think about the work day. Breathe deeply. Write down five important things you need to accomplish that day. Write them from most important to least. Detail the steps you need to finish a project so you’ll spend less time backtracking should you get interrupted. Stop checking your emails and phone messages every few minutes. Turn off email notification sounds and pop-up windows; silence your cell phone while at work. Write down the exact time you will check your messages. Even if your job demands fluidly handling emails, check messages just once an hour. Having check-in times will give you comfort and control without constant disruption. Take ten minutes to reboot if you need to. A quick walk, stretch or cup of coffee. Clear your mind to stay focused. When on a project, devote your full attention to it. If the phone rings while you’re in the middle of a project, let the receptionist or your voice mail take it. Set boundaries. Know that your time is valuable. Enforce appointments and stick to a schedule that benefits you. Close your door when you need to. If someone wants a quick answer, ask for a better time to go over the topic. Put on a pair of headphones to let people know you’re in the “zone”. You don’t have to be accessible to everyone at all times. Reward yourself when you’ve had a stretch of productivity. Here’s a good time to engage with others. Respond to emails. Connect on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. There’s a delicate balance here. I think the key is to embrace both concepts: unitask for focus-intensive things; multitask for less focus-intensive things. Even with a mile-long to-do list, what if you really focused on what you’re doing right now? How might that feel? Photo: sparklefish

Do you wake up happy - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching

Do you wake up happy - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching Discover your passion? Or find what makes you happy? A trending topic right now amongst young and seasoned professionals is discovering your passion. The words Do What You Love are splashed across billboards, etched on notebooks, and paraded around on t-shirts. Finding your passion, and certainly doing what you love, is a nice thought. But we’re going to challenge this notion that doing “what you love” is the most noble thing you could be pursuing. If finding your passion was as effortless as following what makes you happy, it would be extremely easy to find the right career for yourself. If you love reading, you’d work at a library. If you loved cooking breakfast for yourself, you’d work at the cafe around the corner. If driving your car makes you happy, you’d be a taxi driver. Easy as that. But that isn’t always the case, is it? Every human has an inherent need for purpose. It is woven within us just like our DNA. Psychology Today writes, “having a strong sense of purpose can have a powerful positive effect. When you have a sense of purpose, you never get up in the morning wondering what you’re going to do with yourself. When you’re ‘in purpose’ that is, engaged with and working towards your purpose life becomes easier, less complicated and stressful.” If you’re having a hard time separating the two, let’s personify passion and purpose.  Passion is a young boy who wildly and recklessly plays with his toy cars, every second he can. He’s so happy when he can pull them out and race them around the living room. Purpose is that same young boy, but grown up, and now engineering cars for a company like Toyota or Chevy. He smiles every time he see’s one of his cars drive by on the road. Discovering purpose often means putting in the work, having tough skin, and not giving up. If your purpose is being a teacher, your day’s, in reality, won’t always look like the end scene in Mr. Holland’s Opus. Many of your days will look like you leaned over piles of assignments needing to be graded, or sweeping up a classroom, or tutoring the same student in the same subject over and over and over again. These things may not make you jump for joy, but all of the little tasks that come with being a teacher give you a deeply rooted contentedness. The irony here is that your purpose doesn’t always make you happy. If your purpose is raising a family, you might not always feel happy to wake up to feed the baby at 2am. If your purpose is writing a book, sitting down in front of a blank page might be the last thing you want to do some days. If you’re always chasing the feeling of happiness, there is a chance that you might miss your purpose. And just like in the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, you’ll find yourself wrestling with your purpose. The questions might be flashing in your mind, “Am I changing anything?” “Should I give up?” “Does what I do matter?” If you’re in the throes of wrestling with those questions, here is something for you to do: Determine your “why.” Finally, ask yourself, is what you’re doing for a career is really worth it? If you’re truly living in your purpose, the answer will always be yes, and you’ll be able to enjoy the journey. -The Wolfgang Career Coach