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.

The distinction between the chronological format and the combination format is that the chronological format resume is extremely simple to understand. Hiring executive would normally begin to read the chronological resume at the bottom, where the record of your work or experience in the profession is placed and moves upward.
Handling Employment Gaps
If there are a few breaks in your employment, it will be extremely noticeable in the chronological format. This is a reason why majority of hiring executives prefer the chronological resume format. It is simpler to read – in addition, it does not leave much to the imagination. This could be a huge plus if you have been in the same position for a long time, as it gives an account of stability and development in your field of work.
There are many reasons for having breaks in employment. It could be due to raising a family, poor health or education. It could also be due to a layoff, military service or just generally having a tough time searching for work due to a stiff job market.
Whatever the reason, if you have gaps in your employment, you’ll want to use the combination resume – because it will allow you to highlight your skills, accomplishments and achievements, rather than how long you were out of work.
Link Your Skills and the Job Requirements Together
First, you must build a resume that plainly points out at the top what kind of position you are looking for. Put in a segment that has a summary of your career; what areas you specialize in and your career progression. However, make sure to point out all the things that are important to the company. Highlight your managerial experience and skills that match what the employer is looking for.
If there is an advertisement for a job, look at it carefully and make sure that you make a link between the requirements of the job and all the things you have achieved in your career. Use a “skills” segment to list of all your skills so that the reader will be able to locate it all in one place. In addition, this is essential if the company uses resume scanning technology. Using keywords and industry jargon will guarantee that your resume will be selected from the database in response to a keyword search.
If you are a career changer, writing a resume that wins isn’t rocket science – but it does take time and planning. By tailoring your resume to fit your specific situation and the needs of each particular employer, you will ensure that you get plenty of interview calls.

Different businesses have different goals, values, and objectives and you must decide which industry best matches your individual skills. To be successful in your chosen career, you will need to have an open mind as well as a flexible schedule.
Gone are the days when students graduate from college and then begin working immediately in their field of study. You may find that the degree you have earned is not the career you really want. This is where you need to be flexible. In order to land that rewarding job you may need to change career paths altogether.
Below is a list of steps that can assist you in making necessary changes.
Keep an Open Mind
Maybe you have always dreamed about working in a particular industry or job. Maybe you have worked so hard to earn a college degree only to find out that you’ve made the wrong choices. Either way, it is never too late to change directions.
You may need to return to school and earn a different degree. Or you could enroll in a training program that will give you the necessary skills to break into a different field. Evaluating what your options are will give you a realistic idea of what it will take to get you to where you really want to be.
Set Small Realistic Goals
To advance in your chosen field, it is important to set small goals with a definite but flexible deadline. Zero in on the skills that will be needed for you to succeed in your new occupation.
A timeline will give you help keep you focused on your goals while providing you the direction of how to get there in the first place.
Maintain Your Flexibility
As you continue working in your chosen field, certain circumstances and people come along and influence the way we see ourselves. They also offer a different perspective on how we can best utilize our skills and abilities. Being open for change will help you to make the most of these opportunities.
As you are able to revise your plans, you might be able to see a more prudent way of making your dreams become a reality. Being able to maintain your flexibility is an important part of the career changing process.
A willingness to seek wise counsel will ultimately help you achieve your goal.
Evaluate Your Goals
Evaluating your career path frequently will help you to determine if you are making forward progress. You always need to assess your skills and, when necessary, take action – so that you remain competitive in the business world.
It is not wise to wait until your annual employee review to make a self-assessment. The idea is to strengthen your weaknesses before your employer points them out. Do not forget to always continue your education, as doing so will only make you more marketable in the future.
So even if you are not unhappy with what you are currently doing, it is wise to think ahead and prepare for the future. You want to keep your options open so that you’ll be prepared when an opportunity presents itself.

We spend approximately 50% of our waking hours at work. Doesn’t it make sense to make the most of that time, otherwise what’s the point? OK, it pays the bills but shouldn’t it be about more than that. The happier you are at work, the happier you can be with other areas of your life.

If work’s getting you down or you’d like to try something different, here are a few things to consider.

1. So, are you happy at work? If not, why not? Is it the type of work you do, the people you work with or your boss? What can you do to change your situation? How could you make it more interesting, how could you improve the relationships with the people you work with? Could you do the same thing but for a different company. Could you delegate tasks to someone else in your team?

2. Do you love what you do? What is your passion and what motivates you? What values in your life are important to you – health, money, security, family, relationships etc. Follow these and you’ll be happier in your work and in life generally.

3. What are you good at? What skills and abilities do you have? Where could you make improvements? Training for the job that you do could improve your job satisfaction and your job prospects and could enable you to take on a new role.

4. Where do you want to go? Are you looking for promotion, salary increase or a job change? Sometimes we have to start at the bottom in order to get where we want to be. Have your goal in mind so you don’t lose sight of what you’re doing and more importantly why!

5. Get yourself a mentor. Find someone you respect, who’s where you want to be or done what you want to do. If you don’t know anyone at work, is there someone outside work you could discuss your plans with and who would be prepared to give you advice and support?

6. Keep your CV up-to-date. Be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that might present itself if you’re looking to change jobs. Alternatively, go out and find those opportunities – if you want to change, you need to make it happen. Opportunities will present themselves if you’re looking for them.

7. Take control of your own career. There are always things we can do to change and grow. If you’re looking for a new career then spend some time thinking about what you want from your work. What do you value, need, want? What does work mean to you? How important is it in your life? What are the things you’re good at, what sort of work do you like to do? How could you create your perfect job?

Sometimes living from day to day is fine but it helps if you have a plan in mind. Where do you want to be a year from now, three years from now? Set a goal “Next year, I want to be doing …” Then set some specific steps to get you there.

       This is something that is of interest to all at this time because it is likely that in this  time and era a lot of changes are likely to accrue. Which will effect a massive amount of people. In spite of all this there are some great job opportunities. Also Career change opportunities along with the chance to start a new business or work from your own home. 

      These are all great ways to get ahead of the game.  I am sure that for most of us it is important to find something we love to do and turn that into our career like construction or graphics, meal preparation, office work, or even helping other find out what they want to do for the rest of there lives.

      There are so many Job resources out there it is sometimes very intimidating to most and so you need to find one that work best for you. Maybe one that is highly recommended  by a family member or Friend of former coworker. It is always wise to do a little research on this to make sure you have the right people working in you favor.

     I have found that if I let other know that I am in need of a job most people are more than willing  to point me in the right direction but alternately the the decisionis up to me. Like I said there are some great sites and organisation out there that will point you in the right direction. Like this site try them all and see what fits you best.

JOBINFORMPROJECT

 http://sites.google.com/site/jobinformproject

What a terrible time to make life-affecting decisions the twenties are! Who to marry? How should we know, at age twenty they all look alike to us. Where to live? Well, we only know one town, the place we grew up, so how should we know if other places are better? What should we do for a career? Search us!

But apparently, many of us pick the wrong career. You know because you hear so many forty-year-olds groaning: “This isn’t what I wanted to do!” “Boy, if I knew then what I know now!” “If I had it to do over again, I would have stuck to plumbing like Dad told me to!” and my favorite, “I’m getting too old for this!”, at age 42.

Well, here’s yet another quick career guide. Maybe it will help you, and maybe it won’t. But given how every other method for determining the outcome of your life seems to have the same odds as a coin toss, maybe it won’t be any worse than any other method.

• Step One: Completely eliminate this self defeating phrase from your vocabulary: “It is too late”. Live with how good it feels to change your life perspective. It is never too late to have your own dream career. It might be difficult for you to go after it. It might be one of the greatest challenges of your time, but if you desire it, that is when it is never too late.
• Step Two: Dare to dream, dream big, and dream deep. You do have a dream to call your own? Do you imagine yourself pursuing some other path and working in a brand new career or field? What is it that you see? How do you want to spend your days and weeks? If you already enjoy your career, how could you make it that much better? Brainstorm your ideas on a sheet of paper and think about these questions. If you are spending an inordinate amount of time dreaming about another, different way to work, it is time to do something deterministic about it. You do not have to run right out and quit your current job; in fact, please do not. But there is no harm in investigating the many possibilities.
• Step Three: Take a few moments to design your ideal career life. Now match it with your real life which you have around you. Doing the “wheel of life” exercise is great for this test. With this exercise you can visibly see how much closer your ideal and actual life really is, and determine how comfortable or uncomfortable you are with this new match. Now, design your perfect, ideal day. What would have to change in your life so that you could live more of your dream days? What are you willing to do, how far are you willing to stretch to make it a promising reality?
• Speak with those closest to you about your career ideas and dreams. Ask them to come on the journey of discovery with you, but be sure to listen to and validate their concerns and fears. If you choose to change careers it is likely that you will not be the only one who is impacted. Talk about the other possibilities. Anticipate the obstacles and leave the discussion wide open. Allow your partner the chance to sit with it for a while, and then realize that although you may have spent the past six months or ten years or so wishing you were doing something else, this may come as somewhat of a surprise to this person and you have to let him or her absorb all of it.
• Step Four: Listen to your inner intuition. What do you do better than anybody else? What comes the most naturally to you? What is effortless for you to do? What is the one thing, or many things, you can do today to let your unique gifts and talents shine? What can you do today that will make your heart sing with joy? What is holding you back from it? If you feel some fear about changing your secure situation, what is behind the prohibiting fear? What is the worst that could happen if you decided to make just one single, solitary small change? Choose to do something today that would move you ever closer to your dream day or ideal life and see how that feels to accomplish it. If it works for you, then take another step.
• Step Five: Now that you have asked a lot of these tough questions, answer this for yourself. Where do you want to be in terms of your career in another five or ten years? If you were to fully live your life’s true purpose, what changes would you then have to make? If you were doing the same thing in five years that you are doing now, how would you feel then? What regrets would you have about your path? Is that all right with you? If it is not, do something about it.
• Step Six: Evaluate the barriers that might be getting in the way of your making a defining change. Think about the role that money, expectations, time, confidence, and guilt all play into what you expect of yourself. Now take those factors away and what do you hear that remains? Imagine that you have decided to pursue your inner passions. What is the first step in your journey? Who could you talk to that could help illuminate your goal forward? What does it feel like to live in that personal space for a while? Pay attention to how that dream feels; the more you want it, the more determined you will be to get it!
• Step Seven: Do like they teach in business school, only this time working for yourself, and create an action plan. If you have decided to stay in your current career position, speak with your boss or supervisor and come up with a plan to help you get more skill invested in your work. Maybe you could ask to work on a special project? Or ask to find a way to use your strengths and experience in a new way to pick up new responsibilities. If you have decided to pursue a different career path, identify the necessary steps you need to take to make your dream a reality.

Did it work? Well, if it did, glad to help, and if it didn’t, what did you expect from an online article?

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.

There are no shortcuts to successful careers or successful lives. There may be some luck involved when people win lotteries and bets, but this does not mean that everyone is going to be lucky and hit that million-dollar jackpot. Those people have to make some quick decisions in their lives, and make instant career changes.
For those who are not close to hitting that million-dollar jackpot, here are some tips that will help you change your career for the better.
1. Snap back to reality – As easy as it may seem, changing careers can be a challenging and daunting experience and far from easy. It all boils down to how you perceive it. If you want to change your career, then do it quickly. Put in all your effort and all the strength that you have. Remember that you are wasting more effort and energy being stuck in a job that you do not like, and one that doesn’t appeal to you.
2. Do not expect miracles – There are going to be no miracles where your career change is concerned. Do not think that a career change is going to come to you miraculously. The only person who can help you escape from your current dead-end career is you! Be proactive. Don’t just sit there complacently and expect some dream career to land in your lap. It is not going to happen unless you take some steps to make it happen. You need to really go out there and do some work.
3. Analyze your values, passions and skills – When you have decided to start working on your career change, the first thing that you have to do is analyze the things that matter to you the most. These things will focus on your values, your passions and your skills. Values are principles that you adhere to in life, and these are important in your career. Passion for a particular career or being passionate about something is what will make you want to do a particular thing to the best of your ability. Your skill is the ability that of doing something well. Your passions and your skills need to be on the same wavelength.
4. Focus on the positives – When you are looking for an instant career change, you need to have a positive outlook. It does not help when you are constantly demoralized or unmotivated to change your career. Think about how much better you would feel if you were doing something you were passionate about.
So when you are trying to change your career as fast as possible, it helps to plan and plan well.