A new year is a great opportunity to reevaluate your career goals and decide if 2014 is the year that you’ll (finally) focus on finding a new job or career. [Read more…] about New Year, New Career
Best Careers for 2011
Following job trends has some advantages. I report on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Careers” article every year. (This year, I am excited to announce that I’ve been invited to join U.S. News’ team of career bloggers — starting in mid-January!) In my many years following this report, categories often do not change very much from year to year. That is a good thing for anyone using the list to make a career choice!
For example, the article notes that “All of the healthcare jobs on last year’s list have made the cut again this year, plus two new positions: massage therapist and athletic trainer. While the field of athletic training doesn’t offer the sheer number of positions as nursing or dental hygiene, it outranks nearly all other healthcare occupations for expected job growth.”
It’s important to remember that jobs on this list are not necessarily easy to land! Although jobs are cut from the list if they have a higher-than average unemployment rate, the article notes that, with 9.6% unemployment, there are still (statistically) five unemployed people for every job, compared to an average of 1.7 people for every job in the three years before the recession.
Do Your Research
Every job seeker should keep an eye on his or her industry and make plans for the future with an informed outlook. I like to remind readers that it’s a good idea to set a Google alert for organizations and fields of interest to you so you’ll be aware when there are newsworthy ups and downs in your market. Clearly, there are trends in industries. While there are no guarantees, keeping an eye on these surveys and data should help direct those seeking career change make their plans.
Learn what you can about the number of job opportunities, salary expectations, educational requirements, job satisfaction — make a list of what is important to you and conduct a personal analysis to determine a good direction for your career.
Luckily, there are more and more resources every day to help you with your research.
You can go “old school” and talk to people you know or people they know via informational interviews. Or, expand your networking circle by using Twitter to research your job, LinkedIn to connect with new colleagues, Facebook (via BranchOut or Jibe) and Quora to meet new people who may have advice, information or recommendations for you.
Learn what blogs are popular and respected in your niche (I like to use Alltop.com as a great resource) and find out what your mentors are saying. Find them on Twitter (WeFollow.com is my favorite list for Twitter) and learn who they talk to, what conferences they attend (and what they think of the speakers).
Hop on a Twitter chat to connect with people in your targeted industry. Before you know it — with skill and persistence — you can become one of them! (Read this story of someone who has decided to lead the way in his industry, even if his colleagues are not already joining him on social media.)
Clearly, there are many, many ways to learn what everyone is saying and — most importantly — to insert yourself into the conversations (via participating in social media, meeting local colleagues, attending professional conferences, etc.) to really get to know about a field.
Here is U.S. News & World Report’s list of top jobs for 2011, broken down by categories considered promising growth fields:
Science and Technology
– Environmental engineering technician
– Environmental science technician
Health care
– Physical therapist assistant
Social Service
– Clergy
– Emergency management specialist
– Marriage and family therapist
– Mediator
– Medical and public health social worker
Business and Finance
– Actuary
Creative and Service
– Curator
– Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technician
Be sure to review U.S. News’ entire, informative article outlining the various opportunities and their methodology.
Please comment if you know anything about these professions! Would you recommend them? What are your experiences? Share in the comments!
Don’t forget that clear, concise, optimized job search materials AND a strong, well executed plan are key for job search success! I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching? If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.
photo by Court reporter
How to get your job search started
The blogosphere is full of good posts this week about how to get started with your job hunt. (Here’s a good one from the New York Times, another one from Anita Bruzzese.)
In the “old days,” job seekers could put together some basic information (a resume, a cover letter and a pitch) and, with a little luck, land an opportunity. Now, not so much. People like to see optimized materials (a *good* resume isn’t good enough), a LinkedIn profile is a must, social (online) resumes are more and more common and an online presence is assumed. Not to mention use of Twitter and Facebook, both of which fuel today’s successful searches.
So, what is a job seeker to do?
It seems obvious – you can’t be successful until you get started. You can’t get started on everything at once, so break it down and work on one thing at a time. My friend, Cindy Petersiel, a business coach, introduced me to a term that describes this basic, yet important idea: “chunk it down.”
As a career coach, I advise my clients to “chunk down” their tasks so they won’t be overwhelmed by the process of finding a job. It’s great advice for any of us facing lots to do and not enough time. (That pretty much describes most people I know!)
Some tips for “chunking it down”:
1.) Review your assignments and goals. Create a list of everything you need to do. Make sure you have a complete picture of the tasks and create a time frame.
2.) Break down the project into natural segments. “Write a resume” may be one project (with several parts). “Make a networking plan” is another task. Prioritize the segments and think about how much time each piece will take to complete.
3.) Focus on one thing at a time. Compile a daily “to do” list. Make sure it is reasonable; don’t give yourself too many tasks on one day. Depending on the job and your patience, you may need to further chunk down the steps. (No one should expect to write a resume in a day!)
To decide what to do first, consult your list of priorities. To keep your focus, try to include some fun, interesting or simple tasks early on. If you’re doing things you enjoy or finish rapidly, you’ll give your project a boost and quickly check things off of your “to do” list.
4.) Plan ahead. Make sure you have everything you need to work on your task as scheduled.
5.) Seek help. It helps to have a good support system. Ask for advice when you’re really stuck and to ensure that you are on the right track.
6.) Reward yourself. Celebrate your accomplishments. Do something fun!
Get ahead by getting started… timeless advice for job seekers!
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No matter what your job target, you can benefit from personalized advice! Don’t forget that clear, concise, optimized job search materials AND a strong, well executed plan are key for job search success! I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching?  If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.
photo by radiant guy
New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career
The new year is a great time to think about reinventing yourself. So many people have been displaced from jobs and careers they enjoyed and hope to do again, but many are looking for the next new challenge. How perfect that Alexandra Levit’s new book, New Job, New You – A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career is launching this week!
If you are thinking of reinventing yourself – or even if you are not – the tales Alexandra shares are inspiring. The book offers story after story of people who successfully made changes in their careers and in their lives as a result of a variety of factors:
- Family requirements
- Need for independence
- Desire to pursue additional learning
- Financial aspirations
- Pursuit of a passion
- Personal or health setbacks
- Honing a talent or skill
In each category, we learn the stories of regular people (just like us!) who have made a move. Just to list a few:
- Automotive marketer to toy producer
- Accountant to wedding planner
- Wine connoisseur to thought leader promoter
- Stockbroker to pajama manufacturer
- Paralegal to advertising copywriter
- Electronic sales executive to motivational speaker
If you have read other career books, but haven’t “seen” yourself in them – this book is a refreshing change. I imagine everyone will be able to identify with some of the stories here - via the circumstances and/or the choices described.
The personal, sometimes moving, accounts of people who took the reigns of their professional lives may inspire you, but what makes this book so special and useful is that, for each of the categories above, Alexandra includes self-reflexive questions for potential career changes to consider. She offers specific suggestions, action steps and exercises to help careerists evaluate a fit for the change and a capacity to make it happen successfully. To top it all off – each chapter includes a resource toolkit and suggestions of useful books to read.
I’ve enjoyed all of the books I’ve reviewed by Alexandra, but I think this one is exceptional – a real home run for anyone looking for advice or information to help them move to their “next best thing.” I hope you will pick up a copy for yourself and anyone you know who could use a shot of inspiration and advice! Don’t forget to visit the book’s site for information about special offers and giveaways and plan to attend the book launch party on January 12th if you are in the Chicago area and keep an eye on Alexandra’s blog for regular career advice and information.
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No matter what your job target, you can benefit from personalized advice! Don’t forget that clear, concise, optimized job search materials AND a strong, well executed plan are key for job search success! I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching?  If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.
CareerBuilder's 2010 Jobs Forecast wrap up
CareerBuilder released its 2010 Jobs Forecast, and Anthony Balderrama touched on the highlights in a recent CareerBuzz:
If you’re wondering where the jobs are, look to the West, where 24 percent of employers intend to add full-time workers. Employers in the Northeast anticipate the next highest amount of hiring, followed by the South and Midwest.
The industries where you can expect to see the largest hiring increases are information technology, manufacturing, financial services, professional and business services and sales.
Other notable results from the survey? Some good news for job seekers: “20% of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees this year, up from 14% in 2009.” On the flip side, “9% plan to decrease headcount, down from 16% in 2009.” Most (61%) don’t anticipate hiring or firing workers.
The survey asks hiring managers and human resource professionals to comment on a variety of topics of interest to job seekers and employers. Some highlights from the survey include companies’ plans to:
- Replace lower-performing employees. Although most employers surveyed would grade their workforces a “B” or above (85%).
- Emphasize social media to strengthen their brand. 37% will focus more on social media and 8% plan to hire someone to do the job.
- Rehire laid-off workers. 32% plan to bring back workers, some in the first six months of the year.
- Continue to provide flexible work arrangements. 35% (up from 31% last year) will offer alternate schedules, telecommunting, compressed work weeks, summer hours, job sharing and/or sabbaticals.
- Cut perks and benefits. 37% (up from 32% last year) plan to cut employee incentives. Bonuses are the biggest cut (15%), followed by medical coverage (10%), suspended 401k matching, condiments, incentive trips, academic reimbursement, vacation time and wellness benefits.
Other items from the survey:
- Mature workers get the nod from 27% of surveyed companies who say they are open to retaining their workers who are approaching retirement. 1% say they may rehire retirees from other companies this year. 10% may offer incentives to keep workers approaching retirement age with their company. This works well for those approaching retirement age, as 37% of employers surveyed reported that they have employees requesting to stay on, up from 22% last year.
- Freelance or contract workers will still be on the books this year for 30% of surveyed employers, up from 28% last year.
- The environment is a greater focus for 11% of employers who plan to add “green jobs,” which is on par with last year’s figures.
- Bilingual employees are in luck. 40% of employers plan to build a bilingual workforce, although the survey does not specify what languages are in demand.
Read highlights HERE or download the full report HERE.
No matter what your job target, you can benefit from personalized advice! Don’t forget that clear, concise, optimized job search materials AND a strong, well executed plan are key for job search success! I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching?  If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.
photo by segozyme