Considering A Job Change? 10 Ways to Make a Successful Move!

Are you looking for more than just a better job? Are you looking for a more rewarding profession, one that better aligns with your skills, interests, values, and plans for the future? If so, be prepared to face a lot of reflection and planning.

It’s important to take a serious look at the many possibilities and outcomes before you jump into a new career or field. Consider these 10 tips as you make a transition from your present career to your next:

1. Have a clear plan. The smartest move that you can make is to carefully map out an effective career-change strategy. This should include a detailed action plan that takes into consideration finances, research, education, and training. Keep in mind that a successful career change can take several months or longer to accomplish, so patience is key.
2. Wait for the right time. The best time to consider a new career is when you are safely ensconced in your existing position. It goes without saying that a steady paycheck can relieve a lot of pressure. There are many ways to take steps toward your new career path; you can volunteer or offer yourself as a freelancer or consultant. This can help you to “test the waters” in your desired new field.
3. Be sure of your reasons. Just because you’re unhappy in your current job isn’t a strong enough reason to make a total career break. Carefully analyze whether it is your actual career you dislike or whether your employer, supervisor, or office situation is the problem.
4. Do your research. Be sure to examine all possibilities before attempting a career jump. Talk to people in your network; read career and job profiles; meet with a career management professional. The more information with which you arm yourself beforehand, the more successful you will be.
5. Decide what’s important. This is the best time for thoughtful self-reflection. Ask yourself what it is you really want to do with the rest of your life. Take an honest inventory of your likes and dislikes, and evaluate your skills, values, and personal interests. Many people who are looking to change careers do so to find a balance between their personal and professional lives, to accomplish the right mix of meaning and money. You may want to consider consulting a career coach and/or taking a career assessment test.
6. Examine your qualifications. Do you have the necessary experience and education to be considered a qualified candidate in your desired career field? If not, you need to find a way to bridge the credentials gap. This might mean making your goal more long-term while you go back to school or receive additional training.
7. Learn about the industry. Get a feel for the field that interests you. Read industry journals, attend conferences, and talk to people in the profession about what they do. Learn whether your target industry has growth potential. Trade magazines, organizations, and entrepreneurs have created a slew of Web sites that offer searchable databases where job openings in many specific industries are listed. Start looking at these sites on a regular basis.
8. Develop your network. Begin nurturing professional friendships early and tend them regularly. Professional organizations and job industry trade associations are a good place to start. Many of them hold networking events and job fairs.
9. Update your job search skills. It is especially important to polish up your job-hunting skills and techniques before you get out there and start networking. Make sure you are using your time and resources as effectively as possible.
10. Pay your dues. Don’t expect to begin at the same level of seniority in your new career that you held in your old one. It will take time to move up the ranks, but if you find a new career that you absolutely love, it will be worth it.

AllBusiness http://www.allbusiness.com/

Great Words for your Resume!

Nothing is worse than reading a resume with the same adjectives over and over. Here is a list of great words to use when spicing up your resume and describing your experience.

Achieved, Acquired, Adapted, Addressed, Administered, Analyzed, Anticipted, Assembled, Assisted, Audited, Bugeted, Calculated, Centralized, Changed, Composed, COndensed, Conducted, Contracted, Converted, Coordiated, Created, Cultivated, Demonstrated, Designed, Developed, Devised, Discovered, Drafted, Edited, Established, Expandeed, Explained, Forcasted, Generated, Improved, Implemented, Interpreted, Launched, Maintained, Managed, Marketed, Motivated, Negotiated, Organized Originated, Oversaw, Performed, Planned, Prevented, Produced, Programmed, Promoted, Provided, Published, Recruited, Reorganized, Selected, Surveyed, Solved, Simplified, Taught, Trained...

Another Woman With Great Advice - 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Job Search

-by Heather Huhman

With spring slowly approaching, it’s time to think about cleaning up your job search efforts to create more focus and less chaos all around.

Ready to start? Here are five ways to begin:

Company search instead of job search
Too many people focus on scouring job boards and blindly applying for openings. Instead, follow 5-10 companies that interest you and put your focus onto those organizations. Tap your network for contacts they may have at your ideal organizations, and get to know someone on the inside through an introduction.

Put your focus on networking
Networking is the number one way people land new jobs. Period. Although many people are hesitant of the word “networking,” just think of it as talking with people you know or meeting other individuals in your field. Many hiring managers are avoiding advertising new job openings because of the extreme amount of applications they may get. So how do they fill those openings? Through referrals and recommendations!
Networking efforts can be in-person and online, so spend your time building relationships with thought leaders and professionals through Twitter chats, conference attendance, guest blogging, volunteering and LinkedIn groups.

Apply less, follow-up more
Your job search shouldn’t be about quantity, but rather quality. Don’t send off resumes and applications to dozens of openings each day. Instead, apply for highly targeted openings for which you’re completely qualified. In your cover letter, state that you will follow-up in one week if you do not hear back beforehand—and then follow through on that promise. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who will respond to a well-intentioned follow-up.

Focus your personal brand
What makes this person stand out? What are their strengths? Why should I hire them? These questions will inevitably run through a hiring manager’s mind, and you should have a firm grasp on the answers before they even ask. Keep your brand consistent throughout your job search documents, networking profiles and interview answers.

Evaluate job search activities
If something you’re doing in your job search hasn’t turned up any leads, re-evaluate why you’re doing it or eliminate the activity altogether. If it’s not working, it’s time to try something new!

How will you spring clean your job search this month? Learn More http://heatherhuhman.com/2011/03/5-ways-to-spring-clean-your-job-search/

5 Ways to Get Fired - by Amy Epstein

I just read this very funny post on 5 ways to get fired and just had to share it with you all. Please check out Amy Epstein's blog for more post like this one! http://moneywatch.bnet.com/career-advice/blog/on-job/facebook-your-job-5-ways-to-get-fired/281/

5 Ways To Get Fired!

In a perfect world, Facebook would be a safe space to express yourself and share your life with your family and friends, period. Unfortunately, that line inevitably becomes blurred. First, you start linking with co-workers you’re close with; next thing you know, your boss “friends” you and you can’t say no.
Even if you try to keep your personal and work life completely separate, both on- and offline, and you implement rigid security measures, social networks are truly a public arena - and should be treated as such. “If you really want your employer looking at you in a hot bikini holding a mai tai, so be it. Just make sure that is the image you want to project in your career as well,” says John Millikin, a professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and former vice president of human resources at Motorola in Phoenix. (I’d add that unless your boss happens to be Hugh Hefner or Charlie Sheen, this is generally the opposite of the image you want to project.)

But not all transgressions resulting in termination are as colorful. “A client of mine put information up about how his boss [could not] prioritize,” says David Couper, a career coach, consultant and author of Outsiders On The Inside: How to Create a Winning Career…Even When You Don’t Fit In. The client “did not name names, but it was obvious who he was talking about. He didn’t get fired [immediately], but when there was a downsizing he was one of the first to go,” Couper says.
Here are five other ways that social media can mess with your employment — or even end it.

1. Updating Your Status — Hourly
It’s not only what you post — it’s how often you post. Unless your job title includes the words “social media,” keep updates to a minimum. “Frequent postings suggest that you may not be actively engaged at work or you may not have a life outside of work.  Either way it’s still sending the message: pathetic,” says Roy Cohen, career coach and author, The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide.

2. Living Like a Pre-Rehab Lindsay Lohan
You know this, I’m sure, but it bears repeating: “When it comes to Facebook, think of yourself as a celebrity.  If anybody has a camera, behave,” says Kenneth Sundheim, president and founder of staffing agency KAS Placement. And mind you: In the smartphone era, pretty much everyone has a camera. “You can only control what you do; you can’t control what others put up,” Sundheim says.
After you finish reading this, immediately change your settings to prevent tagged photos from being automatically visible to everyone. Go to Privacy Settings, click on “Customize settings” and then edit to allow “Only me” to view “Photos and video I’m tagged in.” Then, at your leisure you can choose appropriate ones to put in albums for your friends to see. This will prevent bleary-eyed photos from Friday night from greeting your boss online Saturday morning.

3. Making Your Religious Status: “Satanic Scientologist”
You shouldn’t share any political or religious views on Facebook that you wouldn’t face-to-face, says Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert and founder of Millennial Branding, a full-service personal branding agency. Just use the same guidelines as in the workplace: “Don’t talk about politics, race, class, or gender on Facebook in an aggressive way that disturbs your co-workers,” says Schawbel.

4. Bragging About Your Beautiful Baby, Boyfriend or Boat
Nobody likes a show-off. “They see all these great posts by friends about trips, parties, kid’s firsts, etc. and [may] feel that their own lives don’t measure up,” says J.T. O’Donnell, CEO of CareerHMO.com. “Having a better life than your boss could lead to him/her treating you different in the office,” O’Donnell adds. “Your fabulous life might just make a boss say, ‘Well, I guess he/she could handle being let go.’”

5. Getting Chatty with the Competition
Clearly, updating your Facebook status to “I just had an amazing job interview with Our Biggest Competitor, Inc. Fingers crossed I’m blowing this pop stand, stat,” will get you fired, stat. However, even friending multiple people from a competitor after meeting them at a networking event - or socially - can ruin your office rep. “Sending out red flags like these may have you headed straight to the boss’s office for some unwelcome news way before you were ready to hand in a resignation letter,” says Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor.com’s career and workplace expert.

Do you know anyone who was fired because of Facebook? Please sign in below and share the cautionary tale. And for more career advice, follow @MWOnTheJob on Twitter.

5 Ways to Use Twitter to Find a Job - by Anne McGraw

 

 

If you’re one of the millions of people actively searching for a new job, Twitter can be a useful resource to build and maintain connections to get your foot in the door.  The resources for job hunters are growing by the minute, but job seekers should be on their best tweeting behavior during this time of evaluation and analysis by potential employers.

1.       Tell people you’re actively job hunting.
If you’ve heard it once, you should hear it again – job hunting is all about networking these days.  Blindly sending off resumes gets you very little traction, but telling everyone you know that you’re actively searching will open doors and connect you with the right people.  Make sure your bio makes mention of your goals as well and positions yourself in the best light possible with the available 160 characters.

2.       Follow relevant job-posting feeds.

They’re out there – twitter profiles that exist solely to share job postings for those interested in that particular genre.  For example,  @FreelanceSw is always posting new freelance jobs. Find a similar feed for your line of work with some diligent searching through a site such as TweepSearch or by posting a question for those who might be in the know.  This is often like following a breadcrumb trail….they’re sure to be out there, but it might take a few clicks through lists of Followers to find them.

3.       Mind your tweets.
It is not uncommon, to say the least, for potential employers to review Twitter profiles for candidates.  If you have something controversial out there, you may want to consider deleting it so it’s not easily located when scrolling through your history.  While actively job searching, it’s best to tweet knowing anyone and everyone could be watching and evaluating you.  Even if it’s not relevant to the position for which you’ve applied, your public online presence is now a part of your portfolio.

4.       Follow industry leaders
Book authors, public speakers, experts in the field, or anyone who people seem to go to for advice or knowledge on the “it” topics…these are the people you can learn from and who have the potential to shape your attitude and knowledge base while looking for your next gig.  Now is a great time to go ahead and ask that semi-famous person who’s at the top of their game what they would do if in your shoes – you never know, you might get a little nugget of feedback that sets you in the right direction.

5.       Engage in topics and conversations in your field.
Becoming part of the dialogue is sure to gather you some new well-connected followers.  It’s incredibly easy to watch the conversations flow as an observer, but jumping in to ask questions or provide your own insights is what makes Twitter such a unique channel for instant communication. It will show you have initiative and expertise, or are willing to learn and accept mentoring.  If nothing else, this will keep you in the know and able to have relevant discussions when it’s time for your next interview.