In 2007 the economy began to turn, providing a rough road ahead for many of us. The banking sector collapsed in the US, which then catapulted the UK and other parts of the world to suffer. As the situation in the economy gets worse it is harder for some businesses to keep their employees. They have to downsize, reduce salaries, remove bonuses, or close their doors. The recession the country is in seems to be heading towards only making things worse. We have asked the question: is a change in careers wise?
The market is in such upheaval that having a steady job can mean the difference in keeping or losing your home. There are hundreds of people unemployed in the UK who are desperate for a new job. They are looking everywhere, and they don’t care whether the position they find is going to lead to the best job. They are just looking to feed their family, keep their home, and not go further into debt. For families like these a change in career is necessary.
They already have lost their job, things look bleak, and the best recourse is to find a different position when their industry is not hiring. For those in a career that does not seem to be waffling in the current economy it can be very dangerous for a change in career.
Before you decide to have a change in career, consider the following:
1. Why do you want the change in career?
2. Do you want to change careers because you are unhappy with your work environment, or is it the actual career?
3. Sometimes we are just stuck in a rut that needs to change, but we don’t need a career change- does this sound like you?
4. Would you need more training in order to change careers?
5. Would a change of career cut your income?
6. Do you have enough savings to help you through the career change?
7. Do you have a family you need to consider?
All of these questions and more can help you determine if you really need to change careers. The economy is a difficult thing to factor right now. If you have a family the risk of changing careers may be too high for right now. This does not mean you cannot consider a change in career. In fact starting to think about a change is natural and wise.
If you need education you can continue to work in your current position while you obtain the necessary training that you need. The type of career you want to change to will matter. For example, changing to an industry that is struggling right now may not be the right choice. There are certain careers that you can change to right now because the industry is hurting. For instance credit advice is a very high priority right now. There are not enough personnel to help with the influx of questions bureaus are receiving. This might be a career choice for you. There are other examples as well that can help your change in career happen now.

When I first started my networking career, I was a pretty shy person. The thought of picking up a phone and calling a stranger horrified me.
I used to literally sit at my desk staring at the phone for hours trying to sum up the courage to call my leads. It was ridiculous, but my mind found a way to justify my inaction with one excuse or another.
The problem stemmed from my lack of posture, leadership, and authority, due to a lack of confidence. When I would call my leads, I came from a place of weakness, need, and desperation.
I was spending every spare cent I had on leads and tools, and I had to sponsor a new rep soon or I would be out of money and a failure.
That desperation, need, and lack of confidence came though on the phone and people took advantage of it in order to give themselves power. I came from a position of servitude, doing anything I could to please the prospect and keep them in the pipeline.
This is a MAJOR problem with people new to this industry. You will never build an organization or sponsor the right people until you move out from a Beta mindset to an Alpha mindset.
It is impossible because people only join Alpha leaders. The good news is that your Beta status can be conquered with a little education.
So what does it mean to prospect with posture? Simple. To be blunt: The person on the other end of the phone is a nobody, that must qualify for and justify your attention and time. Until they prove themselves worthy, they are just a voice and a phone number.
I do not care if it is a doctor, lawyer, business owner, etc. They can waste my time just as
easily as anyone else. They have to earn it.
Here is a pretty basic concept that I am adding to this article based on several phone calls I have gotten this week. It is about 800 numbers and whether or not you should use one as a distributor.
I was setting up their websites for them, and they insisted that their 800 number be included because it is easier for the prospect to contact them, and because some people do not want to call long distance.
I have to admit that years ago when I got into this industry, getting my first 800 number was like some cool “right of passage” that meant “now I’m a business owner!”
Ya it was fun to experience that, but I soon learned that an 800 number has no real benefit and can actually be counter-productive.
The only time you should ever use an 800 number is in a direct response advertisement. That is it. I hope by now that YOU can recognize how flawed that above kind of thinking is. (“It makes it easier for my prospects to call me.” or “Some of my prospects don’t want to call long distance”).
First and foremost, why would you even send information to either of those types of people, let alone cater to them? Think of an expert in any field.
Not only do they not have an 800 number, but they usually have a few hoops people have to jump through just to reach them! Receptionist, call screening, etc… forget 800 numbers. They have no benefit to you or your business, and they weaken your positioning.
The best way to build posture if you are lacking it, is to first and foremost, sit up straight or stand while on the phone. Have energy in your voice, and know in your head they you have the keys to the vault. You have already found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
If that is not your normal personality, then change it. This is what it means to become the person you need to be to succeed.
I honestly like to think of Donald Trump, sitting there in the boardroom on The Apprentice. It is an honor for his contestants to have the opportunity to work with him, and they all know it.
It should be no different with you and your prospects. You are the Donald. Act like it. The best way to assert your posture on a call is to keep control of it. Once a prospect asks a question and you answer it, you have lost control.
They are now in charge of the entire call and its outcome. You must take back control immediately! You do not have a choice if you want the call to be successful, not only for your sake, but for your prospects as well. (They just do not know it yet).
The best way to do this is to defer their question and ask them one. Asking your prospect questions keeps you in control of the conversation.
Example Prospect says, “so what kind of business is this? What is the name of your company? You say, “_____, that is a great question, but we are not to that point yet. This is an interview, and I am trying to qualify you for my time. If you would like to continue that is fine, or we can end the call right now. What would you like to do?” (Did you see the reverse question?) Now you have control again.
What does having a strong posture do for your business? First, it positions you as an Alpha leader. If you are not a leader, how can you expect people to follow you? Second, it positions you as an expert instead of a peddler.
Prospects and customers seek out experts because they have the answers they are looking for and because they gain power by associating themselves with that person. Third, it allows you to guide them though your information system on your terms for
maximum effectiveness.
IMPORTANT: People do not partner with you in business because of your product. They do not partner with you because of your compensation plan. They partner with you because of YOU and/or your system.
They partner with you because they see you as an Alpha Networker and someone who can help them achieve success they want. Everything else is secondary.
A great way to help you develop your posture is to just say no to your next five prospects. Do it. Tell them you are sorry, but they are not who you are looking for right now.
This exercise will change your mindset and your posture instantly because it gives you all of the power and it will help you adopt a mindset of abundance which is a critical trait that all Alphas share. Your mind will finally understand that you are the leader, and that the success of your business is not dependent upon any one person or handful of leads.
In all honesty, you should be telling this to at least 50% of everyone you talk to each day if you are building your business correctly! The vast majority of people you meet will not have the characteristics you want in a business partner!

Even though most of us hang on to as much summer as we can, as soon as the calendar changes from July to August the department stores want us in back-to-school’ mode. With school-aged children, besides dreading another year of packing lunches, you’ve probably already started to think about what they will need in the way of clothes, shoes and school supplies this year.Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll spend countless hours preparing your children for the new school year – but what are you doing this September? Are you yourself ready for a change? Do you find yourself paying extra close attention to those decorating shows you love as the summer winds down? Have you almost made up your mind that this could be the year you turn your love for decorating into a career?Because most people associate September with the start of a fresh new school year, it’s only natural for many of us feel the itch to do something new this time of year. September symbolizes change, the first page of a brand new scribbler, setting goals and learning  something new. If you are one of those mothers who have been waiting until all of your children were in school to reenter the workforce, has that time finally come?It seems logical to wait until there are teachers looking after your children all day before you go searching for employment, but it can be difficult to go back to work for someone else after an extended time of being a stay-at-home-mom. You will probably find it tough to adjust to the inflexibility of a traditional job if you’ve been lucky enough to have had the freedom of staying home to raise children for five or six years.Many mothers looking for a temporary escape from domesticity and a way to contribute to the family income realize they still want the freedom to be home when their children need them. If this sounds like you, the perfect solution is to start a home-based business that will be profitable while allowing you the flexibility to set your own hours.If you spend your evenings curled up with HGTV and have friends and family members always coming to you for decorating advice, Home Staging is the ideal career for you.A home staging or ‘house fluffing’ business can be based from your home, and you can set your appointments around your family’s busy schedule. You don’t need any special certifications or a background in interior design to be a home stager. If you have a natural talent for arranging a room, you can stage homes to sell quickly and for top dollar.The Staging Diva Training Program will teach you everything you need to know to start and grow your own successful home staging business. As you think about preparing your children for the new school year, think about how great it would feel to do something for yourself this fall. You deserve it.

Asimo is a robot made by Honda and currently working for IBM Japan. ASIMO works as a receptionist for IBM. He greets guests and shows them around the building. Asimo’s gets paid $150,000 a year (Yearly lease for ASIMO) Compared to the salary of a human receptionist – $35,000. To perform these duties, ASIMO has to be specially programmed to know the layout of the buildings and the appropriate way to greet visitors and answer questions.

What about You!

I recently saw a documentary about a lady that could not smile because of a birth defect. It cost her $70,000 to surgically have a smile created for her. It’s close to the real thing but it’s still not the real thing. Knowing the value of a rolex watch, how much would you pay for a fake rolex. Now try smiling. Easy? That’s priceless but an artificial one would cost you $70,000.

Try squeezing your hand, pick up your pen, throw your pen a varied speeds, pick your ear, play with your hand, do what you wish. Asimo couldn’t even do a tenth of what you are doing, yet it is paid a salary of $150,000 dollars. Asimo is a fake version of you. No where near the real thing.

You are priceless and Asimo is worthless compared to what you can do.

Yet it gets paid more than most!

Why?

People will only see you as you see yourself! My father always told me; “If you sell yourself cheap during the day, don’t expect to increase the price at night, for you will not find a buyer” You are fearfully & wonderfully made, you probably have been nurtured and cared for by loving parents who in their own rights are priceless. You don’t have to be programmed to know the layout of a building, greet visitors and answer questions. You are not made by man but uniquely created and fashioned to invent, innovate, discover, adapt and rule.

Dr, Micheal Denton clearly states – the cosmos (universe) is specially designed whole with life and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose. Cosmos – The universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious whole. In simple words, The world has been created specifically for you!

Trees have a purpose, gold has a purpose, water has a purpose, salt has a purpose, even micro-organisms have a purpose. What more of you? You are the most intelligent being of all creation – One that wills thoughts to action, one with feelings, emotions, a soul and a mind to invent, learn, discover, communicate, build and rule.

The more physicist, biologists and scientist learn about the universe the more they realise it has been created custom made for human existence. For you are made with love in mind – Psalmist

If the world has been built with you in mind, why settle for anything less. Asimo is a product of your your neighbours invention and how much is it worth?

The question I need to ask you is this:

How do you see yourself?

The most valuable things in life are not things but people. You and I.

Celebrate and value yourself daily and everyone else will treat you the same way.

www.careerinsights.tv

When you reach a certain level in your executive career, you start to … well, coast a bit sometimes. Be honest, now. Have you decided – actively or not – that you already know enough, and don’t need to continue improving your skill set?
Call it a feeling of invincibility. It has its advantages in the business world, but it can have its drawbacks, too. Particularly when you start thinking about changing careers, and especially when you start thinking about moving into a different industry. And particularly when it comes to making an unexpected job transition, as is happening more frequently these days.
Look at the people already doing the work you want to do. The ones who aren’t there yet, but want to be. Not all of them are pursuing continuing education to make themselves better candidates for the management positions they’re after. But a lot of them are. And that’s an extra point or two they’ll have on you when you start sending out your resume to recruiters and headhunters and the like.
Don’t sit on your laurels. It’s one of the most dangerous things you can do these days.
Need a little present-moment way to look at it? Think of the people working around you. How much could they benefit from your increased knowledge? How much could your company improve? And then (to make it all about you again), how much better would your resume look when you’ve helped your team and your company make great strides?
Education isn’t just a lark. If you have a company that helps pay for continuing education (most do), you know they don’t think it’s a lark. They know it’ll only help their bottom line by keeping their people sharp. It’ll help your bottom line, too.
And as we’re all learning in the world of work (or, as we may need to learn over and over again), if you’re not moving forward, keeping up, getting ahead – or whatever phrase you choose to use – you’re not just standing still as a result.
Fact is, you’re falling behind, or the rest of the world is moving ahead of you. Either way you look at it, the glass is half-empty for you, and getting emptier.
So enough mixing of metaphors. If you haven’t gone through that course catalog yet, now’s as good a time as any to start. Go for it!

Know Your Uniqueness
Find out what is unique in you that makes you stand out and makes you the right choice for the job advertised.
The first thing you need to have is an outstanding resume, one that will guarantee you an interview. Every organization wants only the best employees, and you need to prove that you qualify.
Some basic preparation to determine your uniqueness is in order.
1. Recognize your strengths. You need to review what you have already done as well as your competence and aptitude level. Your past appraisal reports, verbal or written, will help you with this.
2. Identify your skills. The skills and experience you have acquired over the years will help you handle your new job. You have technical skills as well as software skills that you carry with you wherever you go. Stress these strengths. For example, your communication, management and interpersonal skills might be your forte.
3. Highlight your personality. You also have certain personal traits that make you unique. You have a record of meeting deadlines. You have initiative and a great attitude. Being positive will carry you a long way.
4. Follow up your list of strengths with examples to support them. This is most important if your interviewer is to believe that you are not claiming strengths you may not actually have. This will help you stand out.
Locating the Job of Your Choice
Geographical limitations should not stop you from applying for a job that you are suited for.
Read every advertisement carefully, noting what each company is looking for. Then make your notes in two columns, one with the heading “What the organization is looking for” and the other “What I have to offer.” This exercise will help you see the closest matches.
It will help you identify your skills and strengths and how you might apply them. Spell them out in as many words as the advertisement calls for. This will make your resume stronger. You should also use this information in an interview situation.
Facing Your Interviewers
Remember to research the organization before the interview. This will demonstrate your interest in the company and also help you frame questions to them.
Wearing the appropriate clothing is important for any interview, so it is best to find out ahead of time what that is. In general, attire for an interview is formal; but if your research tells you that the organization is informal, dressing more casually might be a better choice.
Women candidates are faced with more choices. A good policy is to wear nothing very dramatic and keep it conservative. It’s better to avoid fragrances the day of the interview.
Always remember: first impressions are often the last impressions, so make the best of that interview call. You may not get a second chance.

Did you every wondered why a college degree is “SALES” is not offered by major universities? Sales remains Number 1 on the list of hardest jobs to fill. There is a growing need for sales people in every field so use this as your advantage.

Understanding the unique principles of how to interview for a sales position is very important. If you have experience in a particular field and you learn how to sell properly, you can earn a Six Figure Income! That is how successful sales people are created.

Start by reviewing your previous background. If you graduated with a degree, there probably aren’t that many companies you can start off using that degree and make any reasonable amount of income without job experience. Consider your options in sales by using your degree. Entry level sales positions are in great demand. Look in your local newspaper at the large list of ads for sales people.

If you’re changing careers and previously worked for a manufacturing company, consider selling services related to your experience. Your work experience is extremely valuable to a sales oriented company. You can maximize your base skills and apply them to the selling their product or service. You will find that the base salary of sales people, excluding commissions and other perks, is probably higher than you were making before.

Here are the key things to do to get a great sales job:

First, understand that interviewing uses the same principles as selling a product or service. In an interview, you need to sell yourself.

You need to learn the following for a successful interview:

*The latest behavioral interview techniques to get the job.

*How to research and know more about the industry and products than anyone interviewing for the job. This will make you a stand out from the rest of the crowd.

*Past accomplishments that demonstrate perseverance and ability to complete a project.

*Learn selling techniques to use in an interview.

*How to talk about your strong team player qualities and successful work behaviors.

*Ways to take control of an interview by using a pre-planned interview process.

*How to translate your past experiences to the company and their culture.

*Practice your interview techniques

*How to negotiate.

You also need to have the right mental attitude and build a contagious self confidence in yourself to take on an exciting new career. Be confident that by learning selling skills and interview skills, you will succeed in your new career in sales.

Congratulations! You’ve made the difficult yet rewarding decision to change careers. The good news? You’re in for an exciting adventure as you blaze a trail down a career path that perhaps you’ve always wanted to explore. The bad news? First you’ve got to get someone to hire you into this new field.
A traditional resume-most likely the resume that you have now-isn’t the best tool to maximize your talent and experience. If you’re transitioning to a closely related field-a hospital nurse to a private nurse, for example-a combination resume format serves you well. It’s like a chronological resume, except that you begin with a summary that outlines your qualifications and certifications, proving that you’re a great candidate for this new role.
If you’re making a larger leap between careers, a functional resume is the right choice because it highlights your skills while downplaying your work history (which undoubtedly has little, if anything, to do with your new career). Since this is the hardest transition to make, we’ll focus on putting together a functional resume.
A couple of tips before you get started on your resume:
• Do your homework. If you’ve made a life-altering decision about pursuing this new career, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re familiar with what the job entails on a day-to-day basis. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you know what employers are looking for in potential employees. You may think you’re perfect for a marketing or PR position because you’re a great writer, but did you know what many employers are looking for marketing staff with sales ability? You can get some information from the Internet, but a better solution is to meet with an employer within your desired industry to pick her brain about what specifically she looks for in a candidate.
• Think like an employer. If your resume can’t demonstrate years of direct experience within this field, what would show an employer that you’ve got what it takes to make it in this new profession? Think through all of your potential transferable skills. Did a volunteer project incorporate a related skill? Does your hobby use a transferable skill?
Crafting a new resume from scratch can be daunting-especially if you’re unfamiliar with a functional format. But the tips below will take you through the creation of your new resume step by step.
• Step 1: Begin with a clearly-stated Objective. This is important on most resumes, but it’s absolutely crucial in a transitional resume. You must tell the hiring manager exactly which position you desire because she probably won’t be able to determine that you’re applying for a graphic design job if all she sees is teaching-related skills. Example: “Graphic design job where 10 years of demonstrable creativity, adaptability, and communication skills will ensure that clients are fully satisfied with their design projects.”
• Step 2: Include a Profile. This is where your knowledge of what an employer in this field is looking for begins to come in handy. In this section, you’ll list who you are in a nutshell-as it relates to your intended position, of course. Example: “Creative, self-motivated professional who can adapt to any situation with ease. Talent for conquering new technology and software application, while retaining creative flair. Trained in cross-cultural communication and fluent in two foreign languages.”
• Step 3: Make a Skills Summary. In this section, simply list all of your skills-column format is easiest to read. Include technology, languages, and hard and soft skills. List everything from “project management” to “Dreamweaver” to “French fluency.”
• Step 4: Create functional categories. Depending on your experience and the job for which you’re applying, your functional categories could be “Sales Experience,” “Organizational Experience,” and “Customer Service.” Under “Organizational Experience,” for example, list all of your organizational-related achievements throughout your career. Example: “Created new system that tracked a 68-employee firm’s compliance with new federal regulations.” This is the most difficult aspect of a functional resume for many people because it can be hard to identify skills, rather than just job descriptions. Sometimes an outside source-a spouse, friend, or family member-can help you brainstorm ideas.
• Step 5: End with a brief employment history. You’ve already plucked all useful skills and experience from your work history and distilled them into your functional category sections. So all you need to list here is the company name, address, your job title, and the dates of your employment. Don’t elaborate on your job descriptions.
It’s a little time-consuming, but writing an effective functional resume is the first step toward the career that you’ve been dreaming of.