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.

“The Indispensable first step to getting what you want out of life is this: Decide What You want.” -Ben Stein

Let’s say you reach a fork in the road and have to decide which way to go on your career journey. This is naturally a difficult place to be in, but you have to make a decision.

Values clarification becomes indispensable when you are at a point where you must choose between two or more career options, but you’re uncertain which option is best for you.

At such times, you must ask yourself this question:

What are my most important career values?

The rub is that when you choose one option, you often leave behind some values connected with your alternate option. The trick is to be certain that in the end, you choose the option that is most closely identified with your top values.

For example, I recently spoke with a graphic artist employed by a small publishing company. The key to his career success has been his mentor relationship with the soon to retire company president. He knew that he did not want to work with the incoming president. He was paralyzed, however, to choose between his two remaining options; Either move to a new company where he feels positive about the executive leadership. Or, start up his own business.

What to do? Make sure you clarify your career values in order to make your decision with confidence.

First, under each option list your top 3 to 5 values or benefits to you, of each. In this case:

Option One

Option Two

Here’s the challenging part, now rank your top five values drawing from both lists.After several go rounds and some major soul searching, this individual ranked his top five values:

You can see that the majority of his values including his top two values, are drawn from list one. Although choosing which projects he takes on is important, when push came to shove he ranked it lower than the opportunity to work with a new mentor and not having to do marketing and sales.

After taking a step back and carefully considering his competing values, this individual chose option one.

When facing this kind of difficult choice, the above described coaching process insures that you make the best decision for YOU. One that will make your career soar and brings you joy and pride.

To learn more about how Seth can help you and to download his free Special Report: “10 Ways to Jump Start Your Career by Leveraging Your Strengths,” visit his website: http://www.CreativeVisionCoaching.com or email him: Seth@CreativeVisionCoaching.com

(c) Copyright – Seth Kaufman. All rights reserved worldwide.

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

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

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

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

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

Changing careers after 50 is not easy but it is possible.  Over 50s know they have a lifetime of transferable skills and experience that can be applied in different contexts. The challenge is to convince others that those skills and experience are just what they need.  To make a successful transition it is important to realise that you are marketing a product and that product is YOU.  Like any marketing, the perception of the product must be carefully managed to give it the best possible chance of success, and you need to be certain that it is being marketed to the right people.

Clearly defined goals

Being really clear about your career goals is the first step.  Your reasons for changing careers after 50 are undoubtedly complex and usually indicate that you have not been completely happy in your previous occupation.  For this reason you need to make time to consider what you liked and disliked in previous work; the type of work, the type of people, the environment, the level of responsibility, the context and the purpose of the work.  Recognising your interests is important at this stage, because the things that interest you, not just in your working life but also in your personal life, often provide a strong clue to the sort of work you will enjoy.  Similarly, acknowledging your values may provide a key to the type of organisation you would like to work for, or perhaps the sort you would not be happy to work for.  This creates a list of criteria by which you can evaluate the suitability of work opportunities for you at this time of your life.

Carefully crafted resume

When you consider all the life and work experiences that have made you the person you are today, you realise how much you have to offer.  However you need to convince other people of this, and the best way to do so is through a resume that highlights your transferable skills in a powerful way, demonstrating what you have already achieved in your career.

To prepare this sort of resume (a “functional” resume) start with a list of the jobs you have done, and examples of advertised jobs that you find interesting.  You will notice that many of the job advertisements are seeking someone with generic skills such as Communication skills, Teamwork, or good Technology skills.  Create a possible list of these headings, then look through the jobs you have done and decide which of the headings will be most helpful in marketing you as a potential employee.  For each job you have had, write down some statements to show how you have demonstrated the chosen skills in your work.  Start each statement with a strong verb because this gives a much more powerful image of what you have achieved.  This exercise will show you just how many transferable skills you have and will provide the basis for your functional resume.  Suggestions about how to prepare a functional resume is readily available online at all the major job-seeking sites, but if you do not want your age to be an issue in a job application then be careful of the prominence you give to your years of education or your earlier jobs.

Networking

The people who know you and who believe in you are the most likely source of links to work that will be of interest to you.  Ensure that they know what sort of work you are looking for.  A large proportion of jobs are not advertised, yet people hear about them through the people they know.  Prepare a 15 – 30 second description of the work you are seeking and then start telling people, requesting that they keep this in mind if they hear of any work that may be of interest to you.  Networking is not about using people you barely know, but it is about making genuine connections with others who you believe would be happy to assist you.

However beware the well-meaning friend or family member who thinks they know what is best for you!  Despite your carefully considered description of the work that you are seeking they  may try to persuade you to apply for other types of work.  Evaluate each job opportunity according to the criteria that you decided on, and don’t be persuaded to apply randomly for work.

Attitudes

Younger employers may be inclined to discard applications from those who they perceive as being “old”.  Whilst you must be true to yourself, it is important that a contemporary attitude and willingness to learn is demonstrated in the tone of your resume and cover letter.

Resilience

It hurts when you are unsuccessful in obtaining a job that you want.  However that is the nature of the job-hunting game, and it is helpful if you can develop a level of resilience that enables you to move forward with no bitterness and no blame.  Candidates who have experienced many rejections often destroy their chances of obtaining work by exhibiting a negative and defeatist attitude.

The secret to successfully changing career direction after 50 is to believe strongly in the skills and experience that you have and what you can offer to an employer.  Market this belief with confidence and pride, and enjoy the next stage of your career.

Lately, many people complain of being bored and frustrated with their current job – and according to the statistics, around 70-80 percent people continue in their current jobs because they are not able to find a new, suitable one. Many people find themselves trapped in their current careers and feel either too old to make changes or too tied down because of financial commitments.
Being stuck in such a situation is certainly no fun. Many people have gone through this phase – and if are in a rut like this, you need to do something. It is somewhat risky, and you may not be able to make as much money as you are now, at least initially. However, if you are unhappy, changing careers is certainly in order – there is more to life than a paycheck.
Begin the Hunt Now
If you want more from your career, and you also want immense satisfaction and personal rewards, then you should start your search right now! Start by looking for a career that’s right for you, that can give you job satisfaction as well as a salary that you can live with.
You can start by defining your interests. From there, figure out what it is about your current job that you don’t like and what your weaknesses are. This is the only way that you’ll be able to hone in on a career that you can stick with and enjoy over the long term.
Commitment Is the Key
Without a doubt, you will be tense about going through another job search or getting additional education. However, this process is not as hard as you think – initially you might suffer some false starts, but if you commit yourself to the task, then you will succeed eventually. The key is to not get discouraged and keep pursuing your goal – and don’t quit your current job until you have a new one.
Initiate a basic plan and then execute a course of action with regards to further education or a job search and then start looking. Once you know what you need, working towards your goal will be easy and less stressful. So if you really want to change your life and make it more interesting, think about the changes that you need to make and the routes that you need to pursue. But simply knowing your goals and pursuing them not enough – you must take action.

Before you start making an effort to change your career, there are some important things that you should consider:
Have a Set Plan
The first thing you need to do is to have a clear plan. The transition that you are planning should be approached like a road trip where careful mapping, stocking of finances, training and education is essential to reach the destination. When you change your career, you should know what you will be doing after that and whether your decisions will be effective or not.
No Unnecessary Job-Hopping
You should avoid changing jobs whenever you feel like it – because changing your career is a big decision that can change everything. It should happen at the right time. In order to get a feel for the new field you are planning to pursue, you can continue your current job and volunteer part time in that particular field.
You can also take an internship or become a consultant to test the new career move that you are planning.
Do It for the Right Reasons
Make sure that when you change your career, you do it for the right reasons. Never do it just for fun or because of some minor problem with your boss or colleagues. If you are not satisfied with your current company, then it is may not be necessary to change the job. There are ways that management problems can be solved – and perhaps you can achieve more in your current company, along with a raise and promotion. Sometimes employees make mistakes and feel that management is responsible for it, so they opt to change jobs instead of looking at other alternatives.
A career change may seem to be easy, but one wrong step could ruin everything. Whether you make changes in you career, at home or in your personal life, you should always test the waters first. You should consider taking baby steps towards a change so that when you finally do it, you can enjoy it to the fullest.
You can get help with your career change through career counselors and coaches. They can help you take the right steps and make the right decisions to enhance your professional life. Besides this, you can also take career assessment tests and career evaluation tests to know what field of work would be good for you.
Self-assessment is essential and in order to do this, you should create a list of your dislikes, likes, interests and beliefs. You should also decide what salary would be sufficient for you live on, pay the bills and still be able to do other things.
Finally, make a move only when you are sure that the new job will complement your experience and qualifications. If you have spent years in a company, in a good position, then there is no point starting over in a company where your experience doesn’t matter.

How do you go about changing careers? Changing jobs requires some self-discovery and answering some basic questions.
Here are some of the questions to consider before changing careers:
1. What is my dream job? This is one of the most important questions you need to answer. Think of it this way – what would you want to do, if you did not have to worry about money and commitments? If you can answer this, then you will know what your dream job is.
2. What do I value? Every person has a set of values. These values are personal and individualistic. These values are what determine our personalities. Consider this – if you value your freedom and you have a job that involves working irregular or late hours, this is going to hamper your productivity and work. When it comes to changing careers, knowing your values is paramount.
3. What are you passionate about? There are certain things that each one of us is passionate about. Things that make us feel good about ourselves and things that give us pleasure. If you can combine your passion with your career, then you have your dream job.
4. What are your interests? Interests are things that grab your attention, that keep you interested and productive. Once you know your interests, you can work towards building your career around them.
5. What are your talents? All of us have some talents, some things that we are naturally good at. These talents are with us since birth and need to be honed to perfection. Some natural talents are writing, painting, singing and crafts. When talents are worked into your career, your career becomes easier to handle.
6. What are your skills? Skills are things that you can do with ease. Skills are different from talents. Skills can be acquired and they are important to your career. Whatever your skills may be, you need to work on them.
7. What strengths do you have? Your strengths enable you to do the work at hand efficiently. Your strengths could be giving presentations or making speeches. Whatever it is, you need to use your strengths to your advantage.
8. What are your weaknesses? You need to identify your weaknesses just as much as you need to identify your strengths. Once you know your weaknesses, you can work on them to improve them.
9. What activities do you dislike? Are there some things that you dislike doing? It could be anything – may be you hate public speaking or you dislike writing. Whatever it maybe, once you identify these activities, you can work around them.
10. What environment do you work best in? Do you need to be surrounded by modern amenities and high raise buildings? Or would you rather work in a small office with people who are more like family rather than colleagues and competitors. Once you have identified your ideal environment, you can look for a career that allows you to work in the same environment.
Once you have determined the answers to these questions, the process of changing your career will be simpler and easier to handle.