 |
|
The source of the best business, financial and legal news |
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
| |
 |
Business Informations |
|
|
|
How to Choose Your Ideal Career
They say that most people do complete and total career changes at least once often twice in their lifetimes. Very few people chose the ideal perfect career for themselves when they're in high school and blissfully happily work those same jobs for the rest of their lives. With the way that technology and everything else changes so fast, I think it's ridiculous to expect to stay in one job from the time you leave school until you retire. Even staying in the same company can be a huge challenge. So how will you pick your first career? Your next major career change? The first thing I want you to look at is what kinds of things do you enjoy doing and what you are naturally good at. Imagine that you just won the lottery and you will never have to work again for another day of your life. How would you spend your time? After the shopping sprees and traveling and such grows old, you're going to have to fill your days up doing something so that you aren't bored out of your mind. What would you do? What would consume your attention if you could freely bury yourself in it? Is there a way to make a living at that now? Is there a way to incorporate some of that into your current career? Could you begin doing it now as a hobby and grow it into a second income and eventually quit your 'real job' to play full time at your new hobby/career? You obviously have to look at practicality issues. Truth be known my very favorite thing to do is drive convertibles and suntan at the beach. That's not likely going to ever become a career and it sure as heck isn't going to pay my bills! You have to look at what you like to do and take a realistic look at whether the market is ever going to pay you an income for doing it. Just because you love doing something doesn't mean that the world is going to love giving you money for doing it. There are plenty of musicians and artists out there who can't earn enough to support themselves. It takes more then just a love of your work. Pick a number of different things that you love and narrow the list down by deciding which ones would realistically finance you at the level that you require. Another thing to consider, especially when you're choosing your first job is how much education or special training is required. How many kids think that because they love to play basketball that they'll be the next Michael Jordan? How many put in the kind of work and practice that he did? If you want to be a doctor, then you better seriously contemplate the years of college and the extremely high cost of going to medical school. Down the road, a lot of the experience you get in one career can be transferred to your next career. Customer service skills that you learn while waiting tables will still serve you later when you're an entrepreneur. If you have a lot of the skills from previous work experience, but not all of them, then you have to figure out how to finance going to night school or whatever else you need to do to change careers. Additional education and skills shouldn't stop you from changing to a great job that you know you'll love, but you do need to take it into serious consideration while making the choice. Many of the community colleges have these cool placement tests that tell you what kinds of work you'd be happy doing. They ask you a bunch of multiple choice questions like if you'd rather work indoors or outside. Do you want to travel as part of your career or stay home? How much weight are you willing to lift? How introverted or extroverted are you? How much money do you want to make? After you answer these questions and a bunch more, the computer system spits out a list of careers that you would be suited to. Keep in mind that what interested you at twenty isn't likely to be the same as what interests you at forty. I would think that you could do an online search and find some of those tests online. These will give you some ideas you may have never considered. I remember taking one when I was in my early twenties and I ranked extremely high at "Clergy." I laughed and thought that was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard of. I wanted to be a motivational speaker and it took me a couple of days before I realized that it's a very similar job description. Whether I'm telling you about God or I'm telling you how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, it's the same skills and many of the same daily tasks. I'm preaching a different topic, but I'm still up on my soapbox telling you what to do and telling you how to live, aren't I? So be open minded to what the test results show. So, start out by brainstorming ideas of things that you would love to do if money was not an issue. Then add to it the results of one of those placement tests. Take the ideas from those two exercises and start looking at the practicalities of marketability and how much education and training are necessary. If you can find a way to do what you love and make a living at it, then you've got the key ingredients to creating a life of abundance and prosperity that the rest of the world only dreams of. You don't have to stay with something just because you used to love it and now you make a lot of money doing it. If you are bored and ready for something new, then start dreaming and planning your next adventure. Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge About The Author Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow's Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. To read more of her articles and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To download free previews of her books, go to www.SkyeThomas.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
careers employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Unemployment Survival: Taking Back Control One of the most emotionally crippling aspects of unemployment is the sense of powerlessness it engenders. Job layoff triggers financial pressures, emotional distress, family turmoil, and dashed career hopes. Four Job Interview Mistakes That Can Torpedo Your Chances of Success What are the worst mistakes job hunters make? It turns out there are four big ones. These four mistakes turn up repeatedly when executives responsible for hiring talk about the reasons why someone didn't get a job offer. Online Resume Formats There are several types of online resume formats that can be used when contacting potential employers. When you search for job openings online, some companies will have on their websites which online resume format is acceptable. Overcoming Inertia in Job Change If you can hold on to an optimistic belief in the possibility of success, you have a very powerful motivator of change. But not everyone can, or will need help to do that as some are naturally more optimistic than others. Answering The What Are Your Weaknesses? Interview Question One of the trickier questions an interviewer might put to you is "what are your major weaknesses?"What are you meant to say? If you list all your weaknesses, aren't you just giving the interviewer reasons to think that you aren't up to the job?If you read most other interview advice guides, they will say that you should list some weaknesses that are just as much strengths. Things like "I am a perfectionist" or "I work too hard". Mastering The Lunch Interview Interviews can be nerve-racking, brain-draining, headache-inducing experiences. These days, recruiters have found a way to make the interview even more difficult by combining the experience with a meal. How to Get the Job You Want in Any Economy... Act Like a Headhunter Having spent the last few years of my career in the staffing and recruiting industry, I'm asked all the time by friends and relatives if I can help them find a more desirable job. I've helped my fianc get a job, helped my college buddies get jobs after graduation, and even helped a few high school buddies find jobs having not seen them for years. How to Walk Away from an Opportunity thats Wrong for You Q. I just finished a job interview. Career Job Satisfaction - Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race! Get Off the Treadmill - Exit Your Rat Race!We can all get in a rut from time to time. Who hasn't had a moment in their lives where you've asked yourself the question: "Why am I doing this?" Whether it's who you've become, the business you are in, your career, relationships, where you live or all of the above - sometimes you realise you're just not where you want to be - and you're not sure how you got there! It sure feels like your own version of a rat race though. Moving Without A Job: Should You Move to the Location of Your Dreams and THEN Look for a Job? Moving without a job will challenge your identity -- but for some people, it's the best way to go.Here are some ways to deal with the question. Yesterdays Hero Wonder Woman makes it looks so easy. She gets up every morning, fights the good fight, calls it a day, and starts the whole process all over again. 7 Steps to Interviews that Win the Job These days, interviews don't come easily. When you get The Call, make the most of your time -- and go for it!1. Your First Summer Work in the UK - Picking Strawberries The Right Way Most jobs on farms in the UK involve picking strawberries or berries in general, raspberries and possibly other berries with which I have not have the lucky chance to pick.Picking strawberries is very demanding and hard work and if this being your first summer job, then it will take lots of patience and clear mind. Online Business: The Underground Railroad for Corporate Escapees Millions of people everyday spend eight hours or more in a small padded cubicle. The curious thing about it is they choose to do that. When Should You Update Your Job Skills? With the U.S. Ten Things To Do If You Really, Really Hate Your Job 1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. Dissatisfied With Your job? Stop Trying To Go It Alone! Being dissatisfied with your job is a cycle, a very long and undesirable cycle. Here's how it goes:-You start to lose interest in your job. No Experience? No Problem! Are you a new graduate with little or no work experience? Sometimes it can be tough to get a job without experience, and how do you get more experience if you can't get a job? Well, your chances are better than you think. Even if your work experience is a little weak, you've probably got life experience that will help you. What To Do When You Get Caught Surfing By The Boss! It has been a long morning and you need a mental break. You start thinking of your weekend plans and jump on your messaging program to make plans with a friend. Preparing For An Interview When preparing for an interview, you need to know your skills, experiences and achievements, and how to answer interview questions.Your Skills Become an expert about yourself.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
