As clients are going through career change, many ideas and opportunities present themselves.   Having choices, without solid information, can make decision making difficult.  Here are some suggestion to help make the process easier.  There are several ways to research a career:

-   Start by speaking with people who are presently working doing the type of job you desire. If you wish to become an electrician, speak with an electrician.  If you want to become a store manager, seek out someone who is successful in this line of work.  People are usually very willing to share their experiences – don’t be afraid to ask them to share!  Who knows, this might be the right connection to get you started in your new career!

-   Go to a library or bookstore and read books on the subject. Look at magazine racks in the bookstores and find those that are specific to the field of work you are researching.

-   Go online and contact associations which are relevant.

-   Seek information from universities or schools which provide training for your choice career

-   Profiler.com – uses survey questions to match you to a career choice.  There is a fee, but it may give you more insights and ideas.

-   Vocationvacations.com – for a fee, you can arrange to spend a few days with someone who is doing the work you would like to do.  Want to become an actor or a cattle rancher?  This may be a great option for you.

-   Volunteer – you can learn a lot about different positions, make good connections and give back all at the same time

- Temporary Assignment - Utilizing a Temp Agency may give you the experience and inside information you need about a particular sector

-   Find a mentor. Someone who is successful in your newly chosen career who will guide you and give you practical information about working in that specific field.

Sometimes, clients think that a specific career is right for them, until they get further information about it, and then discover it may not be all it’s cracked up to be.  Other times, after getting some first hand information, a career that they had not considered seriously, takes on a different appeal.  Gaining as much information as possible, will help you to be sure of the best options for your situation.

As with any big decision, it is important for you to take the time to gain knowledge and make educated choices.  This will lead to a much happier career and one that grows with you.

How big is the role you play in your own success? As you set your goals and make your plans to achieve them, holding yourself to be resolute of character means you have boldness and firmness of purpose. How wonderful to move forward boldly! Also, how necessary.

Necessary? Yes. Keep in mind, that once a plan is put into place and you start making changes, the next thing you know everything seems to be going wrong. I’m sure it has happened to you. You’ve started to happily progress, then the car suddenly breaks and needs repairs, an unexpected bill arrives, you come down with the flu, your computer crashes, you can’t find an important paper, dinner burnt and the dog vomited on the carpet! Feeling stuck in the mire, you begin to think that the universe is conspiring against you.

Truth be told, however, the universe is conspiring with you, but your resolve to succeed is being tested. When you prove that you truly hold a strong desire to succeed, things will start to fall into place. Those who choose to succeed work through the problems that arise, side step what is unnecessary, and boldly continue forward on their way.

As you set your goals, it helps to brainstorm a little about the things that might crop up. For instance, I am making the goal to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. What might happen to sabotage my goal plan? Probably a thousand things, but a few might be: a meeting that is scheduled early, a comfortable bed, an ache or pain, a poor night’s sleep, etc. As I look at this list, I realize that the majority of them are within me and relate to my mindset. The meeting, is something that I may, or may not have control over. What I do have control over is how I can work around this appointment. Keeping in mind that I am always in the driver’s seat, I can hold onto my resolution to meet my new goal easier, recognizing the types of events I will have to work around.

Are you determined to succeed? Then hold firm to your purpose no matter what is thrown in your path! In time, you will see fruits of your labor and feel satisfaction of your triumphs – self back-patting is always acceptable!

For more information on how make a career change and enjoy more of your life, please email us at: info@clearpathway.com

Have you ever said:  “I’ve got to get out of this job and do something else!” Many people stay locked in jobs that bring them no joy, no fulfillment, but they stay because they feel they must.  Perhaps they are waiting for the children to finish college, the economy to change, or chance to show its hand. The time to plot your escape is NOW!

Start by getting the framework into place so that as you go through the process of changing your career, you have support to keep you going.

Frustrations and loosing your motivation while you are going through a career change are typical emotions, and  it is definitely something that will have to be acknowledged and worked through.  If you do not honor your natural feelings about change, eventually you will hold yourself back.

As you are going through this unsettled time of career change, it is important to develop a good support system.  While sometimes it may seem like it, you are not alone.  Many of the people you know will be part of your systems.  Additionally there are professionals, such as coaches and consultants, as well as agencies in your area.

Create a support matrix for yourself.  Not every person or agency will be a good advocate for your every need.  Let’s face it, sometimes it’s easier to talk to your buddy about a frustration than it is with your close partner.  Likewise, you will probably get better career advice from a professional than you would from your teenage daughter.

Make a list of those around you who advocate your efforts.  List spouses/partners, friends, colleagues, former employers, etc.  Also look at some professional support.  These may include, your coach, a counselor, your doctor, and others.

Now we will identify where you believe each will supply the best support to you and make note of this next to their name.  For instance, your brother works as a department head of his company and often interview people.  He would be a good resource to support you and give advice when you are meeting people and interviewing.  Your significant other believes that you can do anything and wants you to be happy.  This would be an appropriate person to help motivate you and give you overall encouragement.

You can then use this list to let those around you know what type of encouragement you will be needing from them.  People are always willing to help, and both you and others will benefit when they know what you expect from them.

Finally, be sure you appreciate their support and let them know it!

As always, your comments on this blog are appreciated!  For more thoughts and insights, sign up for my weekly e-zine “Path Light” by visiting: www.clearpathway.com and opt in.

(Please see  previous post for Part I)

Let’s take a look at the actual interview.  What is going on during an interview?  By the time you meet, the recruiter has already looked at your resume, they know what you’ve done and your successes, so what’s this whole meeting about anyway?

In a nutshell, this is what is going on:  The interviewer is trying to find the best person to suit the company’s needs, obviously what you wrote in your resume shows you might fit the bill.  They want to be sure you can do the tasks assigned to you, that you will be at work on time and regularly, that you will do the work and not goof off, that you will fit in with the rest of the workers and that you will do all this for the pay they wish to give.

You, the applicant, are trying to find out if you can do the work, that you want to work in the environment provided and at the pace required, that the other workers are people with whom you would like to spend so many hours per week and all this is at the pay you are willing to accept.

In order for each to determine if this can be worked out, a formal dance, called an interview is held.  Your part is to arrive on time, dressed appropriately for the position, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye, remain positive and answer questions honestly.  Toward the end of the meeting, ask a few questions about the company or clarify the job description and you’ve basically completed your part.

The reality is that this “dance” is usually over within the first few minutes, although it may continue on for much longer.  Within the first few minutes of meeting, the interviewer has sized you up and made a decision, if not consciously, at least at the subconscious level.  You have done the same of the interviewer and the company.  The rest is merely an exchange of basic information.

So, if what I have said is in fact true, how do you realize your dream and secure the position?  The answer is knowledge.  Having information and knowledge is your power and will give you the confidence needed to make a good impression from the start.  If you have done your research as described in my last post, you will already have a good idea if this is company is a good fit for you.  Confidence goes a long way in projecting a good impression.  If also will help to calm your nerves so you may speak easier and be able to think more clearly under pressure.

If you are able to answer to all of the interviewer’s needs described above better than any other prospect and do so with confidence, you will definitely ace the interview.

For more thoughts and insights, sign up for my weekly e-zine by visiting: www.clearpathway.com and opt in!

How clear is your journey?

A client of mine recently lamented that she has not landed another position, despite being laid off for nearly three months. “I feel as if I haven’t accomplished a thing during this time and I’ve gotten no where.”  This made me chuckle a little.  This client is hard extremely working and has not wasted a moment of her time preparing and seeking out her next position, yet she feels that she has done nothing!

Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the progress you are really making.  When you are moving to fulfilling a large goal, such as making a career change or starting a business, there are so many things to do that you feel like a little wave in the middle of the ocean.  Does this sound familiar to you?

Fortunately, I keep notes from our coaching sessions and was able to give this client a long list of her accomplishments during the past few months on her career transition journey.  After we reviewed all the things she had done, she calmed down and felt much better about her situation.

Celebrate your successes!

I now request that all my clients keep a journal or time line with notes so they will always have a visual record of achievements.   What should be included in this journal?  Everything!  If you are at the beginning of the career transition journey, maybe you will be marking down that you updated your resume, or took a webinar on interviewing tips.  Perhaps you secured a meeting with a manager from a targeted company where you’d like to work.  Other examples might be completing a skills assessment, networking by telling the next person in line at the store about your job hunt, signing up for a training class or realizing a talent you possess could be transferred into a working skill.  The list is endless! Give yourself credit for all you do!

The human mind is made to adapt to differing situations.  We see this around us all the time.  We managed to adjust when the gas prices skyrocketed.  We’ve all had loss and changes in our lives to which we’ve had to learn acceptance and even modify our entire lifestyle.  Change always seems difficult at the beginning, but over time, the difficulty eases as we learn adaptive skills. Sometimes we even excel because of the change!

Part of the adaptive skills however, requires that our minds move things that were in our conscious efforts, into our non-conscious.  This is a survival technique so as not to overload the conscious working mind.  When things get moved into the non-conscious realm, it is the time we begin to “forget.”  Things are not completely lost to us, they are just not in the high visibility portion of our efforts and they then blur out.  This is what causes us to begin to think that we have not accomplished anything, because we are no longer focused on those specific successes.

By keeping a journal or success time line, it is easy to look at where we are now as opposed to where we started. This can change our entire outlook from “no where” to “now here” by providing a slight shift in our perspective!  Keep the negative, self defeating thoughts at bay with written proof of your own greatness!

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Spring is here! The shortened daylight, colder weather, festivities, concerns and added burdens of the winter months have come to an end.

The brighter weather has lit a bit of a fire under me and given me new energies to put into my goals.  This is perhaps because spring is the season of change and awakening.  It causes moods to lift and energies to flow.

Where are you headed this year? If you sat down and made goals at the beginning of the year, now is a great time to review those and see how far you have come in meeting your milestones.  What?  You didn’t write out goals and set markers on the way?   Well get out paper and pen or open up a new document and get started now!

I know, I know, you’re busy and don’t really have time for this right now, besides it’s useless in this economy anyway.  Now is probably the most important time to set goals and make plans to move ahead.  The world is ever changing, and while some will sit back and let the change wash over them, the truly successful are using change to create and grow.  Gandhi said that we must become the change we wish to see.  Take the time to set your course so it is not set for you.

Really, it’s okay to miss an episode of your favorite TV program in order to plan your life, honest.  You can always catch it in rerun.  Start by making a few headings on your page – these should include:  Career, Finances, Learning / Growth, Relationships, Health, Fun and Contribution.  Jot down what you would like to have and see fulfilled in each of these areas -  think big, there are no limits!

Now, set a time line to each of these goals.  Is it attainable within 5 years or 1 year?  Let’s say you want to have your finances at a certain level in 5 years,  then work backward from there and think about where you would have to be in 3 years, and one year in order to achieve that goal.  Then breakdown the one year mark into twelve – one for each month. These milestones will allow you to easily see your progress and know where you may have to make adjustments to reach your goals.

Review your goals weekly to keep them fresh in your mind and ingrain them so you make decisions based on your overall big picture.

Go ahead, join the minority of people who actually write out goal plans, but who then become the majority of achievers!

Sign up for my ezine for more tips on clarifying your goals and filling your life with purpose by visiting my website at www.clearpathway.com