Career Transition Articles

If your resume looks as if it could have come from 20 years ago or it just hasn’t been put together carefully–with good attention to what your targeted employers are probably looking for–it most likely will end up in the resume “black hole” trap. The same goes for submitting it to employers without doing any research beforehand to see if your background makes sense for the company. Yet another black hole mistake is distributing your resume with a generic cover letter that does little, if anything, to give the employers a reason to read it OR the resume.

As I work with senior-level IT leaders, IT operations directors, as well as IT program and project managers, I hear more and more about failed technology implementations. Not that the technology itself failed, although that certainly happens too. What really intrigues me is the level of project failure from an operational, functional, and process standpoint. IT Project Failure: What Drives It? Where to begin? IT projects fail for so many reasons. Chief among them, however, are reasons that must be considered before any project is initiated. These include:

The process of finding a new job can be overwhelming. It takes time, energy and focus-resources that most people don't have in abundance. Job hunting can also be psychologically taxing and usually requires some degree of discipline and organization. In my experience, nothing will undermine a job search more quickly than a negative attitude. With this in mind, I've developed a list of the top ten strategies for finding a job. 1. Make small career appointments with yourself --

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who think hiring a resume writer is a big waste of time and money. If you're one of these people, please keep reading. I can assure you that it will be well worth your time. Why hire a professional resume writer?

Healthcare is one service that has directly or indirectly touched every individual at some point or the other. From receiving prescription medication from the local drugstore to getting a flu shot from your GP; from having an X-ray taken by a radiologist technician to the dreaded dental fix – healthcare forms an important part of our life. That's perhaps one of the reasons why even at the peak of economic recession, healthcare professionals continue to be in demand. If there's one career for all seasons, it's got to do with healthcare.

Faith is one of the keys to living a life filled with peace and joy. Being connected spiritually will help you to have faith, which is believing in that which is unseen. Quantum physics explains that all possibilities exist in the quantum field (otherwise known as the future to us). Our thoughts are charged with a certain frequency which will attract the outcome that has the strongest charge to it.

Making the Conscious Choice to Win! How many times have you blamed someone or something else for a problem in your life? We’ve all done it and we are conditioned to do this. It is a natural reaction…yet it is one that harms us in so many ways. Blaming others automatically puts you in a position of being a victim. It gives your control away and takes away your confidence and innate power.

Sitting on my closet floor with an intense audible cry and more tears than you could imagine, I felt the most intense sadness. My dream is waiting? What dream? Your view of me was quite converse to my reality. YOUR VIEW LOOKING IN: - Handsome husband and two healthy girls - Big home with nice cars in the driveway SVP title with hundreds of amazing employees who depended on me - Income in the high six figures with lots of toys - Beautiful hotels while I traveled for work - A smile on my face

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the employment of pharmacy technicians will increase by 32 percent in the 2010-20 decade.* It further adds that the field will add about 108,300 jobs in the same time period.** Clearly, pharmacy technician is one of the hottest allied healthcare careers right now. But what is the process involved in becoming a pharmacy technician? If you are looking for answers, we have them for you right here. Presenting a complete step-by-step guide on what it takes to become a certified pharmacy technician.

Did you ever see the TV game show, Concentration? It was a show that came out in the 1950s. Basically it was a combination of a children’s match game and solving of a puzzle. The puzzle was a rebus puzzle, which is made up of a combination of pictures, words and numbers that when taken together ...

Average earning of a particular profession is perhaps one of the most important parameters that help you decide in favor of or against it. And why shouldn’t it be? Who wouldn’t like to take back home decent wages at the end of a hard day’s work? After all, money plays a vital role in shaping the standard of your life. It is important for securing your family’s and your own future. So, whoever said money should not be a consideration while choosing a career has probably never lived without it.

Medical billing professionals are health information technicians responsible for ensuring that healthcare facilities stay in business. In that respect, medical billing is one of the most important allied healthcare jobs because without good billers, the viability of a healthcare facility may suffer. But what exactly is it that medical billers do? Whenever a patient visits a doctor's office, hospital or any other healthcare facility, they are provided some service, which may be consultation, treatment, therapy, diagnostic examination, etc.

Medical billing specialists are part of a hospital's medical records and health information technician team. They use patient records to compile and submit claims to their health insurance companies for reimbursement. Thus, medical billing professionals make sure that doctors and other healthcare practitioners are paid for the services they provide and the business of healthcare delivery continues without interruption. In doing so, they act as a liaison between healthcare providers and their patients' insurance carriers.

Who is not familiar with the office secretary? Traditionally, a secretary used to be a conservatively-dressed women buzzing around in the office performing a whole gamut of tasks that ranged from making coffee to scheduling appointments. However, with improvements in technology, the role of a stereotypical secretary or “administrative assistants” as they are now called has undergone a facelift. It has become a lot more sophisticated over the years and much of the work that was earlier the reserve of managerial staff is now being entrusted with administrative assistants.

Forgiveness is by far one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my life, especially during the hardest times. Forgiveness frees your heart which in turn can free your mind. The thing that many people have a difficult time believing is that you forgive someone not for them, but for YOU! When you hold on to resentment, anger, hurt, and disappointment, it’s like you are taking a poison and expecting the other person to die. It only hurts yourself. By practicing forgiveness, you release heavy emotions, which really do hold you back, and you are able to move forward.

At some point in your career there may have been a time when you took a pay cut or downgraded to a less skilled position as a way to "pay the bills" or for resume continuity sake. But eventually you come to a place of frustration or you feel as though you are "stuck" in your position and really want to start looking for a position that is more in line with your professional goals.

Filling a critical job position is never an easy task; the hiring process costs both time and money. So, it’s always in the best interest of hiring managers to improve employee retention rates. While there are a number of ways to do this once an employee is onboard through leadership and management styles, incentive and performance programs, and the list goes on… probably the best time to start worrying about retention is at the very beginning—the hiring process.

Looking to upgrade your career for more security, opportunity or money? Want to be part of a growth industry? Interested in green jobs? Now is the time. “Since gas prices went up to $5 a gallon, there has been historic momentum for green jobs,” according to Dr. Kirwan Rockfeller, Director, Sustainability Leadership, UC Irvine Extension. But what, exactly, is a green job? 1.

1. Not doing your research. - Make sure you know who will help you and why. Understand your business and how it works. Research which are the companies that you want to work with and which are the ones that you don't. If you don’t you run the risk of blowing the job. - I called someone without researching their company only to find that they didn't work in Europe like I thought they did. So my pitch about my European background was wasted. . Networking with the wrong people. - A Career Fair may be a great place for some people looking for a job but not always.

You know, it is the lack of career change ideas that seems to keep many would-be career changers stuck. One of the things that clients often say to me is: "I know I want to change careers, to do something different, but I just don’t know what I want to do instead." The problem is they are stuck in a pattern of boxed-in thinking that prevents them from seeing the wealth of possibilities that are out there. Would you like some tips to help you get out of that place and to help you to generate a range of new career ideas to explore? Then read on.

When going through a career change, it’s important to know what to expect every step of the way and this includes the interview process. Below, we’ve outlined ten of the most common interview questions and how to best answer them. 1. "Tell me about yourself..." Although technically not a question, this is often how job interviews will start out. As someone in a career transition, you need to outline the most important past events in regards to education, professional positioning and skills in a few minutes flat. Be bold, be brief and be honest. 2.

I say this is the big secret because in my dozen years teaching thousands of people about how to rethink changing or choosing their careers and work lives, I’ve found that so few people know this that it might as well be a secret. But it’s not a secret in that you should hide it—quite the ...

When you are doing your job hunting, is it very important to have a good resume? The answer is “yes” and “no”. Basically, the resume is merely a calling card; it introduces you in outline form to a prospective employer. Your only aim is to make this introduction as painless as possible for the ...

Thinking small does have its benefits! I was on a coaching call with one of my TCE member clients and the focal point of our conversation was a topic I frequently have with colleagues. And, I want to share my thoughts to ensure that you’re making the most of your marketing efforts and seeing results. Some of you may have heard what I’m about to share while others haven’t. So if what you read sounds familiar, it’s my hope that you’ve taken action when you first learned about it. But if you haven’t taken action yet, let my posting serve as as a reminder of what could be.

What’s the future hold? Industries that are doing well or expanding, such as healthcare, green/alte ative energy and certain tech sectors, will continue to hire mid and senior level executives, according to executive recruitment firm CT Partners. Finance and pharmaceuticals are also looking up, however, at large corporations generally the outlook is underwhelming. Ed Savage, Managing Director for the L.A.

Looking to change your career? Want to be part of a growth industry? Interested in green jobs? Now is the time. As Dr. Kirwan Rockfeller, Director, Sustainability Leadership, UC Irvine Extension, puts it, “since gas prices went up to $5 a gallon there has been historic momentum for green jobs”. But what are green jobs? 1. Green job definition According to Phil Angelides, chairman of Califo ia based Apollo Alliance, which brings business, labor and environmental groups together, a green job "has to pay decent wages and benefits that can support a family.

Woody Allen reportedly said, “80% of success is showing up.” There’s a lot to that, but if you’re networking at some event, that other 20% that doesn't have to do with just showing up will be the difference between being remembered well and merely being a recycled business card the next day. ...

One of the most commonly-asked questions when it comes to the job hunt has to be: "Do I need a cover letter?" Yes, you do! "Can't I just send my resume without it?" Only if the employer, recruiter, or software refuses to let you submit the cover letter! Why? Because the resume doesn't create the first impression of you: the cover letter does. Make sure your cover letter is professional, targeted, and polished so that you create a strong first impression. An excellent cover letter almost always leads to the employer reading your resume.

It has been reported that approximately 86% of all American workers dislike their jobs. Now you will learn why this is true, and more importantly what you can do to actually get the work positions you will like. Virtually everyone has the power to choose and obtain his or her dream career, or something close to it. But they don't know it. So they rarely do. Instead, most people end up in work positions they do not like, and think they must suffer through their work like everyone else.

We all experience stress. Yet, some stress is good for you and some stress is bad for you. Good stress occurs when the results from the stress are more valuable to you than the harm (if any) caused by the stress itself. Bad stress occurs when the damage caused by the stress is greater than the value of the results received. The key to managing stress is to discover which stress you are allowing to affect you that is good for you and which is bad for you then reduce or eliminate the bad stress. Example of good stress

Regardless of the type of job that you are seeking, the following seven areas are of utmost importance to not only landing the job that you want but also holding on to that job for the long haul. So what are the skills that employers value and seek in potential employees? This same question was asked of hiring managers and their responses may surprise you! Below are the most common skills mentioned, whether the employee happens to be a manager, network engineer, or a cook. Here are seven “In-Demand Skills for Success” in the workplace.

Following is part three of an interview with Cheryl Benton, owner of 747 Marketing. Their website says, "We've built a consulting business that helps our clients gain unfair competitive advantages by outwitting the other guys." Visit Cheryl Benton’s website simply by Googling 747 Marketing. ...

Of course, money matters. People have to be able to support their chosen lifestyles; however...it may not be the only way to attract top talent and retain good employees in your industry. With more people weighing work/life balance, you may be able to lure and keep these "impact players" on your team with a few unique "time-saving" benefits that your competitors may have overlooked. Some of these less than traditional workplace ideas include:

As you make changes in your life and grow, you will want to increase your circle of friends. A great way to do that is to take a friend, business associate, or mentor to lunch. You may be invited to a party, Chamber of Commerce or Rotary meeting or other business networking event that includes a meal. Either way you want to make sure you project the professional person that you are. Bad table manners are inexcusable in business and your personal life. They project a person that has not reached a sophisticated level of accomplishment.

Problem solving is often difficult whether the problem is yours alone or one that requires group consideration. If the problem is personal in nature, you may feel ‘stuck’ in moving forward. In working with groups of people either at work, in volunteer activities or in your own family it may seem impossible to generate fresh ideas or for a group to come to a consensus. Resources may be thin. Strong personalities may weigh with heavy influence. Personal agendas may come into play. Different constituents may have different goals.

Change is constant, prevalent, inevitable. We experience it in the weather as temperatures vary, in the seasons as spring cycles to winter, and within ourselves as we accumulate experiences. For most of us, these changes or transitions are characteristically familiar. Similarly, we embrace characteristic changes in our careers, expecting a familiar, linear path of advancement within an organization, within the same industry. This typical paradigm describes the traditional career ladder.

I once read about a man who challenged himself to drive home from work by a different route every day. After a while, as you may imagine, it became quite tricky and involved all kinds of indirect routes with side streets. This practice certainly seems odd as most of us returning home from ...

Often, when you lose a job, someone will tell you, "Now's the time to follow your passion!" What does that mean? Are you out of luck if you don't have a passion? Does that mean it's time to find a passion? And what, exactly, does said "passion" get you? Fact of the matter is, this is typically something people say so that they can feel better complaining about their jobs when you'd give your left leg to be employed again. But, it may strike a chord with some people -- some people will say, "Yeah, you know what? I will follow my passion!" To read more of this article, please visit:

Anyone who’s in the market for home-based careers will know how hard it can to find genuine opportunities amidst all the scams. When everybody, but everybody seems to want a piece of your hard earned money or personal information in exchange for a “home-based job”, it can easily make you believe that work-at-home careers are a myth.

So, what motivates federal employees and others to move during retirement? While there may be other factors, this list covers a number of the considerations many of our fellow baby boomers and others consider important in making such a decision. First, we may decide to move because a specific ...

You're on the way to a job interview and you're already late because you couldn't find your car keys and you found a mark on your suit that you tried to clean off but made worse. You get on the freeway and suddenly you get a flat tire. You've had a breakdown. You can't get to the interview on time. And you know that the cardinal rules of interviews is to get there on time. You have three choices: change the tire - and get filthy dirty, call AAA and hope they come fast or sit down and cry.

It's not all rainbows and butterflies with the economy just yet, and we all know that. Many of us are on the hunt for recession resistant careers, hoping to turn up a golden goose egg of sorts that will never give out even in the worst economic climate. But are such careers really out there? Or is it all a combination of luck in all it's different forms when it comes to keeping your job in these uncertain times?

The "holiday season" defines the time that extends from Thanksgiving to New Year's, where all we seem to do is eat, drink and be merry. Just what is it that makes the holiday season so special? It's a combination of things, really. The concept of giving is but one reason. What other time of year do you find yourself encouraged on a daily basis to do or buy not for yourself, but for everybody else?

If you’re deciding what movie to rent or what to have for lunch, the possible down-side of a poor choice probably doesn’t amount to much. On the other hand, when your job search or career success is at stake, choices become much more critical.

Not many people have scored their dream jobs Recent statistics show that fewer than half the people surveyed like their work. That’s a dismal number and what is even sadder that even among those people who said they like their job there are even fewer employees who are in their dream career.

A number of things can shake up a person's life, but divorce is definitely one of the biggest. Whether you initiated it or not, dealing with the aftermath takes a great deal of emotional fortitude. Most people start to identify themselves in conjunction with their spouse, especially after ...

One of the more difficult things that you are going to face in life is the time when you must decide what you are going to do for the rest of your life. This is something that generally gets decided when you are in high school and you are facing the time when you're going to need to enter into the workforce and start making money for yourself, and eventually, for the rest of your family. Some of the choices that you have opened to you are to enter directly into the workforce, trying to get the training that you need on the job, or you can attend college to get the training that you need.

Here’s a questio I often hear: What should I do now that my dream career is not possible? For most, the answer is simple—stop assuming the dream isn’t possible and start looking for creative ways to achieve it. You’d be amazed at what we assume is impossible for ...

It is well known that 80% of jobs are not advertised yet job hunters still focus on the 20% that are. For the jobs that aren’t advertised – that is, aren’t on job sites, in the papers or posted with recruiters, you need to network – that is, make contacts that can get you in front of the ...