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!

As the old saying goes your home is your castle. Whether you are building, improving, or just maintaining your home, many tradesmen or women will be assisting you to that end. When such a valuable asset is being worked on by another, quality is one of your foremost concerns. This quality comes from knowledge and experience in ones field as well as a certain amount of self respect and pride in ones work. Unfortunately, previous generations regarded these jobs with more respect, which has precipitated a collapse in the size of our younger labor pool. “Over the past ten years construction workers in the 20-30 age group declined from 40.5 percent to 26.5 percent. The percentage of workers in the 41-50 age group increased from 18 to 26 percent”(1).

Labor drying up has made it so “contractors of all sizes are on their own, forced to recruit and train on an individual basis. This is an ineffective process and cost prohibitive” (1). In a time when fewer workers are entering the market the industry is poised for growth. This gives employers fewer choices, causes them to settle for lower standards in workers and service, and allows competitors to gain market share who are willing to compromise service standards even further. “If companies want to fill their vacant positions, they might have to loosen up their hiring standards, too, said Jim Mize, manager of employer outreach at Pima County One-Stop Career Center”(5). Does this seem unfair for the consumer with their castle and the honest hard working Americans that have pride in their work?

Most high school students have no idea what one can earn by learning a trade, “A journeyman generally earns between $28 and $32 an hour (up to $64,000 a year)–a pretty nice wage for a 23-year-old. Most states require a plumber to have 2 to 10 years of experience at the apprentice level to qualify as a journeyman. My neighbor attended a trade school. He is a tool and die maker. He learned the skill in night classes. After spending time as an apprentice, he opened his own shop. It is now a multi-million dollar business” (3,4). A competent person learning a skilled trade can easily achieve the American dream. We at 10 best Tucson are on a mission to find the best home service professionals in Tucson and share them with the community. By uniting community officials and business leaders under the common goal of higher quality trades in the labor pool, the ability for honest companies to grow without compromising their excellent service records will be achievable. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao recently announced her “Skills to Build America’s Future” initiative. It “will reach out to a new generation of tradesmen and women and encourage them to use their skills and talents to find careers that will help to pave the way to a fulfilling career and bright financial future” (Doleta).

This message must be made clear to the future of our local labor market and to current workers who are considering changing careers. These skills that are currently cultivated by a unique few are ones to be proud of, and can be quite lucrative as well. Becoming a journeyman and with an entrepreneurial co-education or an enterprising spirit practically ensures an exalted status of financial wealth. These are pragmatic messages that must be presented to our youth. Our businesses can grow while maintaining their integrity and providing the absolute best possible service to home owners and customers. They deserve it. Keep a watchful eye on this topic. 10 best Tucson will be the catalyst for change.

-Todd Cuson Article Source

Article Reource:

1. Louis J. Coletti, Workforce development needs for industry are great, Real Estate Weekly, Feb 23, 2005.

2. Ilana Mercer, U.S. Jobs: Reach for the Stars e or a Hammer, Insight on the News, May 11, 2004.

3. Billijo Saffold and Bobbi Aschwanden Thomas, Should high schools prepare all students for college?, NEA Today, November 2005.

4. Susan Sales Harkins, Plumb perfect: sure, drains and pipes can be messy-but plumbing has plenty of rewards, Career World, September 2005.

5. Shelley Shelton, Local companies find tight market for workers, Arizona Daily Star, September 02, 2007.

You and I are lucky. We live in a world rich in possibilities. We are able to select from an unlimited variety of occupations, and have the right to find happiness and personal fulfillment in our daily work.
The fact that you live in a free society gives you the privilege to decide your own fate. You have as much power in determining where you work as you do in selecting a spouse, a home, a car, or a pet. Your choice of jobs really depends on how much you want to shape your career, and how much effort you’re willing to spend to make the necessary improvements in your life.
If you’re considering a job change, it’s likely related to three reasons :
1 – Personal – You want to change your relationships with others.
For example, you may have discovered that you’re incompatible with the people in your company. Perhaps they have different interests than you; or they communicate differently or have different educational backgrounds.
2 – Professional – You’ve determined the need to advance your career
For example, you have found that you won’t reach your professional or technical goals at your present company; or that your advancement is being blocked by someone who’s more senior or more politically oriented; or that you are not getting the recognition you deserve; or that you and your company are growing in different directions; or that you are not being challenged technically; or you are not being given the skills you need to compete for employment in the future. Or you have simply lost interest in your assigned tasks.
3 – Situational – You are motivated by other circumstances that all contribute to your satisfaction in the workplace. Maybe you are commuting too far from home each day, you are too compartmentalized in your duties, you are forced to travel too much, you are working too many hours, or you are under too much stress. Maybe you want to relocate to another city, or stay where you are rather than be transferred?
Whatever your personal, professional, or situational reasons may be, you’re motivated by the desire to improve your level of job satisfaction and make a positive change. You’d be surprised how many people are unclear about what they actually do for a living, and the way their jobs make them feel. In order to translate your wishes and needs into results, let’s begin by evaluating your present position it’s the first step to any job change.
For example, whenever I interview a candidate, the first thing I ask for is a complete narrative job description:
“So tell me, Bonnie”, I begin, “What is it that you do at your present company?”
“Gee Dave, I thought I told you already. I’m a systems analyst.”
“All right”, I reply. “But would you please describe to me in detail the following two things:
1- What are your daily activities? That is, how do you spend your time during a typical day
2- What are the measurable results your company expects from these activities? In other words, how does your supervisor know when you’re doing a good job?”
Often, I discover that people are hard pressed to come up with solid answers about the specific nature of their work. They’re not exactly sure about their job responsibilities, and their lack of focus results in stress or counter-productivity. Many employers expect you know what they want and how that should be done, often without giving you feedback till after you were passed over for that promotion you felt was deserved. It is your job and part of being fulfilled in it for you and your employer is to be on the same page and meet or exceed expectations and goals you both set.
While a little bit of stress may is natural in any job, a steady diet of it can destroy your incentive to work and dramatically effect happiness in all phases of your life. When you count your work week combined with your average commute, most people work more than they sleep (or do anything else), so minimizing any stress in your life contributes to life’s satisfaction. A recent study confirms this and indicates a direct correlation between a person’s lack of task clarity and their level of job dissatisfaction. Knowing what you want is the crucial first step for getting what is most appropriate for you. Every compromise you make undermines your goal of vocational satisfaction and personal achievement. Asking for what you want shows you are focused, thoughtful, and confident about your skills, goals, and abilities. Proactively approaching your work this way will more often than not impress the people you want to (if they are the right people), and will pave the way to you finding satisfaction and an optimal match in the workplace.
Try this exercise:
On a sheet of paper, write a complete, current job description in which you list your daily activities and their expected, measurable results. This exercise will not only help you clarify your own perception of your work, it’ll be useful later on when you begin to construct a resume and communicate to others exactly what you’ve done and what you are looking for.
Once you’ve described all the facets of your job, the next step is to understand the relationship between what you do and the way you feel. I use the term ‘values’ as a descriptor of personal priorities, as a yardstick to help you:
* Understand what types of work-related activities you really enjoy;
* Determine which goals or accomplishments are important to you and give you a feeling of satisfaction; and
* Evaluate whether your personal priorities are in balance, or in harmony with your job situation. new position.
Although it’s fairly simple to decipher which daily tasks you really enjoy, the task of scrutinizing your personal priorities can be tricky. That’s because there are often factors unrelated to your job that can come into play.
To demonstrate this importance of values in our decision-making process, consider the following:
* A job-seeker can turn down a position because he was an amateur athlete and he didn’t like the air quality where my client company was located.
* A candidate who was a long distance runner. He took a position largely because his new boss was also a runner, and would understand his need to take off work twice a year to run the New York City and Boston marathons.
* An engineer that took a job with a company that offered him a demotion, since being highly visible within his current employer’s department made him feel uncomfortable.
The theme here is, we all have highly personal motivations which guide our career choices. It is important to prioritize and make these known.
Now that you know how to clearly define your values, the next step is to describe the changes you’d like to make in your new job. To further illustrate, listen to the way Pat, Craig, and Neil talk about their respective situations, and how they take their values into consideration:
Pat:
“I want to have more autonomy where I work. That would mean having a flexible schedule, working different hours each day at my discretion, without having to ask permission. I’d be able to leave early on Thursdays to take my daughter to her acting class, and in return, I’d be willing to spend several hours working at home during the evening and on weekends. With my personal computer, I’d have access by modem to the database in my department, and I’d be able to make a significant contribution to the workload, any time, day or night. Most importantly, I’d be evaluated solely on my performance, not by the number of hours I’ve punched on a clock.”
Craig:
“I’d prefer to work closer to my home. I didn’t think the amount of time I spent commuting was very important when I joined the company two years ago, but now it really wears on me to sit for an hour a day in traffic. It’s not only nerve-wracking to deal with all the crazy people on the freeway; I could be using the commuting time to be with my family. The reduction of stress would improve my attitude, and give me a higher quality of life. If I could find a job similar to what I have now within a few minutes of home, that would make me happy.”
Neil: “I’m interested in my own career advancement. If I stay at this company too much longer, I’ll work myself into a corner technically and never achieve my potential. The people here are nice, but I don’t share their ‘lifer’ mentality. Look at Ed, my boss. He’s been here 17 years, and although he’s a really solid engineer, he’s not familiar with any of the latest advancements in technology. He’d have a hard time finding another job in this market, and it makes me worried, knowing I might someday be in his situation. Besides, I won’t be promoted until Ed retires. So I’d better leave soon, while I’m still attractive to other companies. That would give me the salary increase I deserve and the opportunity to learn new skills with people who are upwardly mobile and aggressive like myself.”
Someone recently asked me whether I helped people get “better” jobs or jobs that made them happier. My answer was that the two were one in the same. As any advocate of goal-setting will tell you, the more specifically you’re able to communicate what you’re looking for, the faster and more efficiently you’ll be able to get what you want and need.
Another consideration is, if you were to look at your career from a purely strategic point of view, I could give you four poignant reasons why it makes sense to change jobs within the same or similar industry three times during your first ten years of employment:
1 – Changing jobs gives you a broader base of experience:
After about three years, you’ve learned most of what you’re going to know about how to do your job. Therefore, over a ten year period, you gain more experience from “three times 90 percent” than “one times 100 percent.”
2 – A more varied background creates a greater demand for your skills:
Depth of experience means you’re more valuable to a larger number of employers. You’re not only familiar with your current company’s product, service, procedures, quality programs, inventory system, and so forth; you bring with you the expertise you’ve gained from your prior employment with other companies.
3 – A job change results in an accelerated promotion cycle:
With a change you can jump, for example, from project engineer to senior project engineer; or national sales manager to vice president of sales and marketing.
4 – More responsibility leads to greater earning power :
A promotion is usually accompanied by a salary increase. And since you’re being promoted faster, your salary grows at a quicker pace, sort of like compounding the interest you’d earn on a certificate of deposit.
While there’s no denying the strategic virtues of selective job changing for the purpose of career leverage, you want to make sure the path you take will lead you where you really want to go. There is ultimately little reason to make a job change for more money if the resulting frustrations make you unhappy to the point of distraction. Not long ago, I placed a project engineer with a company that offered him a $47,000 a year job. He later confided to me that the same day he agreed to go to work for my client, he’d turned down an offer of $83,200 with rival company. The reason? The higher offer was a consulting position with an aerospace company in Detroit — a job that would have taken him down a road he felt was a dead end.
The “best” job is one in which your values are being satisfied most effectively. If career growth and advancement are your primary goals, and they’re represented by how much you earn, then the job that pays the most money is often the “better” job. Your responsibility when contemplating a change is to evaluate what’s most important to you. Whether you focus on a single aspect of your job (like Pat, Craig, and Neil did), or on the overall nature of the job you’d like to improve, the more clearly you connect your values with your work, the greater the potential for job satisfaction.

Are you bored with your current job and considering whether or not it’s time to move on? You’ve thought through the benefits and challenges. And, finally, you’ve made a decision to move forward and change careers.

Now what?

Making a move to a new career can be incredibly exciting, but it can also be frightening. That’s understandable, since you’re moving toward the unknown and away from the stability of your current position. It may be good to know that there are steps you can take so that the transition is as comfortable and smooth as possible. Just follow this three-part formula:

1) Do your research.

Your new career is going to require new skills, new knowledge, and a strong understanding of a new industry. Do all the necessary reading and research on that industry to prepare yourself. Do some online checking, contact colleagues and friends in the area you’ll be transitioning into, read trade or specialty publications, and so on. Utilize all the resources at your disposal in order to develop a solid base of knowledge for your new career.

2) Bring relevant skills with you.

There is likely to be a lot of crossover even though you’re changing careers and transitioning into a new industry. But many people make the mistake of completely clearing the slate and not recognizing the places where their old skills can help them in their new jobs. For example, let’s consider that you’ve opened your own bakery and left your job at a bank. Well, just because your new job is creative, don’t let yourself swing too far over to the artistic side without bringing along some of your business savvy. Remember that all jobs require a balance of creativity and professionalismyou can invest your profits wisely by using your head to create a cost-saving budget.

Even if you’re making a less dramatic shiftsay, from public relations to advertisingyou will still need to show perspective employers that being new to the field doesn’t mean you’re not bringing desirable qualities to the table. This idea that skill sets overlap from industry to industry is an important one to keep in mind as you shift careers because it will provide a sense of emotional continuity.

3) Don’t change everything all at once.

You’re setting yourself up for emotional frenzy if you quit your current job, buy a dog, break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend, move to a new town, and purchase a new home all in the span of one month. Make life easier for yourself, and make change more palatable, by taking small steps, and take them one at a time. Try to maintain as much continuity as you can while making the big change of shifting careers.

There comes a point in everyone’s life when you re-evaluate what you do for a living. Maybe one person no longer enjoys his job anymore or another person feels as though she has nothing else to learn from her current job. Regardless of the reason, these individuals are eager to find a new exciting career that feels like a better fit for them and one that is in the direction that they would like to go. Whether you have decided to seek employment in the medical equipment sales world or you would prefer to become a zookeeper, you need to remember a few important job seeking skills.

First, you should not rush into a sudden career change without planning everything out. If you are the main breadwinner for your family, then you have great responsibility to make sure that your family is not destabilized by this change. Talk over your preliminary plans with your spouse and other people whose opinions you trust. Once all the pros and cons are on the table, it is much easier to make the best decision. The next step is to develop a strategy. If this new direction is very different from the one you had before, it is best to enlist a mentor to assist with the transition. It is very normal to feel nervous, but if you have a solid plan and a strong support system, you will be able to weather the biggest bumps without losing your momentum.

Make sure you review the rules on job interviewing, cover letters, and tailoring your resume for each job in which you are interested. Do not be discouraged if you do not have much success at first. Job seeking takes time! For example, if your previous job entailed sitting at a desk all day writing up analytical reports, you will need to prove to interviewers that you have the ability and the skills to be a great medical sales representative if that is what you want to do. The two jobs might be very different but there are always transferable skills that can apply to anything! Making these points smoothly during an interview takes practice, however.

Do not give up! If this change is something that you know will make you happier and improve life for you and your family, then it is definitely something worth looking into. Good luck!

Changing jobs has to be one of the more difficult decisions a person can make; staying in the work environment we are used to can sometimes be easier than having to embrace uncertainty, and having to prove your professional qualifications and credibility in a new workplace.
The decision for change becomes that much more difficult if the new job you want means changing your career. While you will face a challenge in trying to get the job that meets your new career objectives, writing your resume should not be one of them.
On the Internet alone, there are numerous resources for career changers. From helping you decide which career you are best suited for to providing helpful advice on how to succeed in your new job, you will find an overwhelming amount of resources to help you in your new journey. While most of the information you find will be helpful, be careful about the sources you utilize in order to put together the most persuasive resume for your new career choice.
There are really two basic elements to successfully creating a resume for a career changer: research and transferable skills. Most people put a lot of thought into changing careers. They consider their families, their living and financial situations, their competitive advantage in the new field, etc. After you convince yourself that changing careers is the right thing to do, you will have to convince your potential employers to give you the job you are seeking. To do so, you have to do your research.
Demonstrate to your employer that you have an extensive knowledge of the industry, even if you don’t have the accompanying experience. Before you begin your new career, make sure that you understand what professional paths are available for you, and determine what your ultimate goal is.
This will help you form the career objective for your resume. Additional, make sure to do your research on the company you are interested in, as well as their competition (if you are interested in non-profit organizations, make sure to brush up on other organizations with similar missions); if invited for an interview, you will want to appear very knowledgeable not only about their company, but about the industry as a whole.
You will have to convince your potential employer that you the best person for the job, better than the candidates with experience to do that, you have to showcase not only your enthusiasm for the opportunity, but your eagerness to learn and your knowledge about the field.
Transferable skills, those skills that can be utilized in numerous fields, are also a key to a successful career change. Consider your qualifications to date. What experience have you acquired that can be transferred across industries?
Transferable skills include verbal and written communication, people management, customer relations, organization and project management, development of new processes, generation of new ideas or concepts, etc. Such skills can be adapted to all organizations, and you should utilize them to showcase your qualifications for the job you are seeking.
For example, if you would like to ditch the 9-to-5 desk job for a hectic, unpredictable life of a high school teacher, let your potential employer know that your previous experience in leading by motivation makes you a perfect candidate for the job (even if that marketing project you managed has nothing to do with teaching English composition).
Making a list of all your professional experiences and the qualifications needed for the job you are seeking will help you in determining which skills are transferable to your new career. Once you define your transferable skills, use a functional resume to assure most (if not all) of the qualifications needed for the new job are met in your resume.
In addition to your resume, use your cover letter or email to let your potential employer know why you are changing careers, and that your new interest is not a passing one. Make sure that your resume reflects your newfound interest in a genuine and professional manner, and you are sure to have a successful career change.

How to mastermind a career change? That is a crucial question that comes across individuals that are opting to change their career for a new one. Changing a career involves long term planning which can be decided upon certain parameters such as experience, salary and the future interests that the individual would have in a career.

If you are an individual that has started upon a new job but is not currently satisfied with the field, then it is necessary that you do some brainstorming as to which job will enable you to pursue the career of your interest.

Factors Important In Deciding Upon A Career

From the very beginning of your education, i.e. from elementary school, you decide upon certain careers that you would want to pursue. As a child you often dream about being a pilot, doctor, businessman or any other field which will enable you to get an accurate assessment of your achievements for your future.

Its when you come out of this fantasy land that you realize that everyone has capacities and interests according to which they have to adapt their lives to. Some of the factors that one must look into while deciding upon a career change can be elaborated as follows -

- Aptitude

There are individual differences among everyone which enables one to decide upon which career to choose from. Aptitude is one important individual difference which is the mental capacity of an individual to perform a task. For example if you are not good with arithmetic then you have a very low aptitude for jobs which would allow you to perform on arithmetic operations. Choosing a job in the engineering field won’t be a good idea. You would be better off by opting for a career in the field of arts and humanities. If the current job that you have undertaken doesn’t suit your aptitude then you should consider a change of your career.

- Interests

If you have dreamed of being an engineer or lawyer then it is necessary that you pursue your interests in this field. But it is important to remember that you should have the aptitude to perform the job. There are many individuals working a specific job but do not have any aptitude in performing that job. If you think that you are not enjoying the current job setting then it is necessary that you weigh the time adequately. Maybe it is a temporary phase that you are going through and it may require some assessment in terms of the work place that you are working in.

- Workplace environment

Often individuals get confused in terms of the work place environment and the career. In this situation, it is necessary to distinguish your interest in the career and that of the workplace environment. However there are various questions that you would have to ask yourself regarding the present work environment that you are working in. Questions such as -

- What is the relationship with my colleagues?

- Am I satisfied with my pay?

- Is the workload too much?

These are personal questions that you should separate from your career interests.

Therefore masterminding your career is a matter of deciding upon your aptitude, interests and the present working environment. With these three parameters in place one is sure to find the adequate job.

With thousands of workers being laid off, the competition for jobs should be strong. A career counselor may be able to help people become more focused and strategic about their job search.Most people would probably rather get a root canal than hunt for a new job. Whether a person has been downsized, is changing careers, or just wants to find a better opportunity, hunting for a job can be frustrating and intimidating. And since more than 230,000 people have lost their jobs this year, the competition for employment is likely to be fierce. People who want to increase their odds for getting hired may want to consider finding a career counselor.What Career Counselors DoCareer counselors can help people evaluate their skills and abilities to find a job that fits their goals and interests. They serve as coaches, teachers, and mentors to people with all different types of job experience. A qualified counselor should be able to assess a client’s traits and abilities to help direct them to an appropriate position. They also should be good listeners who can communicate well with people who may be dealing with a lot of stress and uncertainty about their job situation–and life in general.

Some career counselors may have a degree in counseling or a related field, but others may have experience in a particular field that gives them the expertise to help others. A master career counselor usually has the highest level of expertise in career counseling and has met other qualifications, such as being licensed by a state board.

Who Should Consider Counseling?Not everyone looking to change jobs needs to see a career counselor. But people who aren’t sure where they’re headed in their careers and need help focusing may benefit from working with a coach. Workers who are thinking about getting help with their career should ask themselves:

1. Am I satisfied with my current job?2. What do I like or dislike about my current job?3. How can I improve my current job?4. Do I have the work-life balance I want?5. What are my short- and long-term goals for my career?6. What other jobs can I qualify for with my skills?

Downsized in AmericaPeople who haven’t had to look for a job in many years may be ill-equipped for their search and may be perfect candidates for career counseling. Companies all across America are cutting jobs, forcing many workers to dust off outdated resumes. A qualified counselor can help put together a resume, practice interviewing techniques, administer assessment tests, or evaluate new career paths. The right coach can help a person evaluate jobs they’ve never considered that may allow them to use their current skills.

Changing CareersFor people who are looking for a whole new career, a counselor can help them decide whether they have the necessary skills or need to continue their education. Some people may find that the type of work they’ve been doing has become obsolete. Many unskilled workers have found themselves forced out of jobs that can be done by a computer or a machine. A good career counselor should listen to workers’ needs and assess their strengths and weaknesses to help them transition to a new career. That may mean directing clients to places they can learn about new technology or employment trends in fields that interest them.

Getting EncouragementRichard Nelson Bolles writes in What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers that “Researchers discovered some years ago that while the typical job-hunt lasted around fifteen to nineteen weeks, depending on the economy, one-third to one-half of all job-hunters simply give up by the second month of their job-hunt.” Having the support of a career counselor may help some people stay focused on their job search and not become easily discouraged. The right coach can also redirect job-hunting efforts that have stalled or become unproductive.

Moving to the Next LevelAlways being passed over for promotions is like going to a spring fling and never being asked to dance. It’s no fun! Workers who are having trouble advancing in their career may need some help figuring out exactly what they need to do differently to get noticed by higher ups. For some people it may be as simple as taking a few courses to learn necessary skills. Others may need advice from a career coach on how to dress, talk, or act more professionally.

Setting Career GoalsCounselors can also be helpful if people just want to make sure they are setting the right goals for their career. They may not be looking to change companies, but may be more concerned about protecting their future job security. A person who hasn’t bothered to keep abreast of changes in their industry, learn new skills, or network with influential peers are more likely to fall under the downsizing axe than someone who has worked to remain competitive.

Choosing the Right CounselorIt’s important for people to find a career counselor that fits their goals and is reputable. A good counselor should:

1. Disclose the terms of their service and fees upfront2. Provide a copy of their ethical guidelines3. Charge only for services provided4. Let clients choose the services they want5. Not make unrealistic promises.

They should also discuss what type of time commitment clients should expect to make to their counseling sessions and job-hunting strategies.

While career counselors can be helpful they may not have all the answers. They can help individuals assess their strengths and weaknesses to choose a career that fits their unique goals and needs. Like any other counseling relationship, it may take more than one try to find the right person. People looking for a career coach can check with their former employer, local job centers, universities, alumni groups, churches, and other organizations for recommendations.