Tag: working

Coaching May Be For You

Are you looking for someone who will hold you accountable to achieving your goals? Career coaching and mentoring may be what you need to accomplish what you really want in your career. Your friends and family certainly love you and want the best for you, but they can’t always make the time to devote the necessary hours you may need to achieve your objectives and goals. Your friends and family have objectives and goals that they are looking to achieve as well.

Coaching is one of the best investments that I have made. Although there are many coaching packages that you can choose with becoming a coaching client, generally speaking, the coach and client usually have a weekly call, which lasts from about 45 to 55 minutes. Email communication is usually included between each coaching call.

I have worked with many terrific people who were extremely talented and were over qualified in the position in which they were working. I could only imagine how much happier and productive they would be if they had hired a career coach to work with them.

Why should you consider hiring a career coach?

1. You have someone who is focused on your objectives and goals.

Your coaching calls are all about you. Your coach will hold you accountable for your actions to achieve your goals. Many career coaches have graduated from CoachU (www.coachu.com) and have been educated and trained on holding clients accountable to achieving their goals.

That’s why many coaches offer a free initial consultation. This initial consultation will better determine if you and your potential coach are compatible. There’s nothing wrong if a particular coach and you are not compatible. The same principle applies with other professional services. You may not be compatible with every accountant, lawyer, contractor, plumber, hairdresser, mechanic or web-designer.

2. You have someone who is objective toward you.

As mentioned before, you have family and friends that love you and they may think that any work you do is awesome, but you are generally getting a subjective opinion. A coach would be able to objectively prepare you for such events as a job interview, calls from clients, querying an editor, writing a resume and getting better organized.

3. Someday leads to a town of Nowhere

How many of us have always said that we wanted to do things such as write a book, start our own business and switch careers? When did you want to start doing those wonderful things? I have done all three by working with a coach! From what I know of myself, I would not have done these things had I not been working with a coach. I might have looked back and thought shoulda, coulda, woulda. I didn’t want to look back years from now and have those regrets.

4. Coaching Can Be A Great Investment

Coaching can cost a lot less than many seminars. What is the total amount of money that you have you spent on self-help items, such as books, audiocassettes, CD’s, Videos, DVD’s and seminars? Did you spend hundreds – maybe thousands of dollars? What kind of rate of return did you get on your investment? Did you achieve your objectives after you read that book, listened to that CD, watched that DVD or went to that seminar? The aforementioned items most likely contained great information on how to achieve your goals. But did any of those items personally hold you accountable and ensured that you achieved your goals?

Like any other professional service, coaching costs money. Coaches are educated and trained professionals who provide valuable services. If your sink needed fixing and you had no idea how to fix it, would you hire a plumber to fix your sink? Hopefully! A plumber is paid to do something with specific measurable results: fix your sink. If your career needs fixing, what would you do? Coaching goes beyond specific measurable results. Can you put a price on having a career that you love?

I have always wanted to become a writer. My coach taught me how to write more effectively to express my point, get the attention of editors, and get my articles published. I cannot put a price on what I have learned by coaching!

Accounting Career Guide

If you are interested in getting into the field of accounting, you may want to find a career guide to get you well on your way. There are many career guides out there that can provide some extremely beneficial information to get you into the job of your dreams. If you’ve always dreamed of an accounting job, an accounting career guide will help put you on the path toward a successful job in the accounting industry where you can realize amazing success and great advancement.

You see, the best part about working in the field of accounting is that there are so many places you can go once you have an “in” into a company. Of course, most people start out as simple payroll clerks and then advance through the ranks towards their ultimate goals. Which means you must have a goal when you are trying to achieve a successful career in the accounting field. That’s where an accounting career guide comes in.

What the accounting career guide does is show you where to start and where you can go with a little hard work and initiative. It can outline all of the careers that are in the accounting field as well as tell you what you will need to do to advance through the ranks and achieve your ultimate career goal – whatever that might be. And that’s where the accounting career guide comes into play. It can help you identify where exactly you want to be in your career and then you can set goals to help keep you in line with where you want to be.

The field of accounting is a lucrative place to be as there are many different jobs that you can do in this career path. Usually, you will start out small as a clerk and then you can advance through the ranks into a certified public accountant, an auditor, and even a chief financial officer of a company. The possibilities are really endless, but you’ll need a plan first.

Find an accounting career guide that will help you know what to expect in specific jobs as well as any special training that will help you succeed. An accounting career guide will also help you know how to advance within your company and finally achieve the job of your dreams. You can start small and then finally get to where you want to be with a little hard work as well as the help of an accounting career guide to start you on your way.

Can A Woman Build A Home & A Good Career Together?

The combination of women and work has been rather quite a common scenario in this modern world, something that could have been frowned upon before the 1960s. Earlier and during that time, only mothers who belong to very poor families had to go into manual labor along with their domestic responsibilities in order to pay the bills. Around the 80s and the 90s, however, this changed, as majority of wives, even those who came from middle class families have found employment for themselves. Nowadays, it is estimated that three out of four households have both parents working, and that even those who just came from pregnancy labor are already coming to gain their jobs back a few months after.
When before, women were expected to be at home and perform household chores all throughout the day and spend more time with the kids, this new set-up is indeed a lifestyle change. Women working outside of their homes strive to succeed in their careers, while still aiming to spend quality time with their family. So does this new home set-up work? Can a woman really succeed in building and forging the quality of her family life without having to sacrifice her career?
For most women who are in the workforce, having a career is considered as a personal fulfillment and a chance for growth outside the home. Aside from that, it also helps that having a good position at work adds money to the table, especially now that the prices of even the most basic commodities are reaching sky high. However, the biggest challenge that these mothers and wives often encounter is how they would have to keep their energy and manage their time properly in order to still take care of the people who matter most. Apart from being robbed off of energy, there are also instances wherein families of two-income parents often feel that the time that they spent with each other is getting lesser in terms of quantity and quality.
It is true that although no matter how amazing a woman is, she can’t be a successful career woman and expect that she can still do her responsibilities the way a full-time mom can.However, for working mothers, all is not lost as there are still some things that can be done in order to create a balance inside the home and with work. The best way to achieve this is to come into a compromise within the family, especially between husbands and wives. It is important to talk and discuss each other’s concerns about how they are going to raise a quality life with their family and at the same time, keep both of their jobs. One popular move that a lot of working women have taken these days is to acquire a part-time work rather than a full one. Other moms also take advantage of work-at-home opportunities wherein they can work fulltime, and still spend time with the children, do their household chores and earn for the family. So is there any possibility that the answer to the question is positive? Yes, a woman can do both when she finds the right kind of work which will provide her with professional fulfillment that she seeks and a supportive family who understands her concerns.

How to assess your personal happiness needs in your current career

Having a satisfying career is something that we all deserve to enjoy. It is important to you since it will determine the people that you work with each day and the amount of time that you have in the way that you make a living. If you enjoy your career you are going to be happier and it is also said that you will live longer too.

You should first know yourself and who you are. Having a good career that can make you happy means that it will begin with your own self confidence. This means that you will need to know about your own personal characteristics, your interests, values, abilities, skills and personality. It is all going to make up who you are and what you do in your life to make money. This is going to determine your happiness and how well you succeed in life.

The interests and the values that you may want to include in determining the career that will make you the happiest are going to be the following:
* Working with the ideas that you like
* Helping others with the development
* Preparing foods or making crafts

The abilities and skills that you want to look for as well should include:
* Being Creative
* Writing
* Selling

If you think about your personality you will choose a career that is going to match your destiny. You can think about things that are going to help you be more excited about the job that you take on. When you put it all together with things that you enjoy and the things that you do well you are going to find a great mix of fun in your workplace. The things to look out for when you are looking for a job can include:
* Changing areas or traveling
* Working without overbearing supervision
* Having freedom in the workplace
* Good hours that are going to work with your schedule

You need to learn about yourself and then pick a career or job to match it. What do you like to do? What are your abilities and skills? Is something really important to you and the way that you think? When you mix all of these things together you are going to have a better idea of what you need and the personality characteristic that are going to affect your career options.

You should first explore everything that you can and then make a good decision from there. There are dozens of occupations out there but only one that is going to work good for you. Match up your interests and everything that makes you happy. Remember a happier workplace will mean a happier and healthier you.

You are not likely to find a job that suits you right from the beginning. You may end up having to switch jobs a few times in order to find the one job that makes you really happy. Most jobs will mean that you have to have some type of education or training that goes further than the high school degree.

You can also get great advice for your career information that you are looking for. There are plenty of resources that can help to match you up with the perfect job that is going to make you happy and be a great success in your life. You can talk to a counselor or friend to find out something about yourself that you did not know. Sometimes others can see a bigger and brighter picture even when you cannot.

Talk to people that is in the same career that you are thinking about choosing. You may be able to find out something that can help you with your decision and make it a little easier to determine what is going to work for you and your needs.

After you learn what you need, then you must set a few goals for yourself. You need to start thinking about your career and the goals that are going to make you be just what you have expected in life. You need to put yourself on the right path to begin achieving all that you have dreamed about.

Know Your Career Goals

What are your career goals? This is probably the most important question you can ask and very few people can actually answer it. It’s amazing and a bit of a paradox that most of us career people spend so much time with career planning and working toward goals that we hardly can specify.
In the starting phase of a career, things don’t always seem like a big deal; in fact they are pretty easy. Most people appreciate having a job, and when the job is new, almost any assignment is challenging. Our employees record signs of progress and assume that their employers are on track. Many of us are promoted one or more times. But do we know our ultimate destination?
When we grow older and mature, promotions become less frequent, relationships and politics means more while both pressure and expectations escalate both at work and at home and wisdom takes over. Your career or job goals are likely to change more than one time in life. As you grow and develop and learn more about yourself and your jobs, you may change your mind.
So how do you go ahead to discover your real career or professional goals?
Know what You really want – You need knowledge about yourself as well as information about the career options that fit your skills, values and interests.
Interest clarification – You must explore your work interests or preferences. Try to recall what courses or training you really enjoyed and which careers you’ve considered pursuing.
Value assessment – You must find out which of your values are important to you in terms of job and career satisfaction.
Determine Your Skills – You must list the skills you currently possess as well as skills you do not have and wish to develop. Skills can originate from education, work experiences as well as from experiences from your life in general.
Explore the career options – Do not limit yourself to one but look at various career fields. Find out what each of them entails.
Set Preliminary Goals – Summarize the results of your self-assessment in a prioritized list or statement to serve as a reference as you begin to identify and research employers
If you do a good and thorough research, you will be able to uncover your real career or job goals; what you were meant to do in your life.

Career Assessment Test

Are you working in a job that you hate and you want to make a change? You may want to take a career assessment test and try to find another field to pursue your career in. A career assessment test will match your abilities and talents with different careers that are available and give you information about how to pursue that career field. It can also make suggestions as to which careers might be a good fit for you.

There are many places you can take a career assessment test. Employment agencies use career assessment tests as a tool to place people in the right jobs. Employment agencies exist to help people find jobs whether they be temporary or permanent. It is up to them to match the person with a job that will fit with their abilities and talents to insure success. They will administer the career assessment test right there in their office and have the result back to you right away so you can begin your job search.

There are also many career assessment tests that are available online. They do the same thing as the tests administered at employment agencies only you enter in your information directly online and receive your results almost instantly. They also should be used as a tool for you to find a career that fits in with your lifestyle, abilities, and talents.

The way most career assessment tests work is you will be presented with several scenarios such as “write a detailed sales report”, “participate in a brainstorming session”, and “formulate a plan of action on your own”. You will choose your most favorite of the three and your least favorite of the three leaving one of them blank. The results are then analyzed based on your answers and you are presented with a list of top career fields that would fit you.

Along with the list of careers, they will usually give you a description of what the job entails and the education or special training needed to work in that field. Some online websites will also provide you with links to places where you can pursue those special training requirements. These sites are great for anyone who either wants to make a career change or the person who isn’t sure what they want to do in the first place.

Career assessment tests should only be used as a guide toward making a career decision. They are not the be all and end all in the job market. You still have to do what is right for you. What the career assessment test does is try to point you in the right direction!

Earning A Civil Engineering Graduate Degree Online

Civil engineering is among the oldest branches of the vast field of engineering. Civil engineers create, construct, and maintain all types of public systems and structures, and are literally the backbone of any city or town. Civil engineers are often responsible for any of the following tasks: design and/or construction of road systems, municipal buildings and centers, airports, as well as water supply and sewage systems that include tunnels, bridges, dams, and filtration structures. The general field of civil engineering is an umbrella under which there are many sub-fields, including structural engineering, building construction, environmental engineering, transportation, and geotechnical engineering (soil and rock mechanics). If you are currently working as a Civil Engineer, you know that there are a variety of jobs available within the discipline. And if you have a graduate degree in Civil Engineering, you know that the career prospects are even broader. It has never been easier to earn a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. Online programs offer a great deal of convenience and flexibility. By earning your Civil Engineering Master’s degree online, you give yourself the chance to expand and develop your knowledge and scope of the field, and thus broaden your career possibilities.

Civil Engineers often find employment near cities that house major industrial and/or commercial hubs. In areas such as these, engineers are needed to design and build safe transportation systems, water and sewage systems, as well as maintain, repair, or replace current roads and municipal construction (bridges, tunnels, etc). Because employment opportunities within the field of Civil Engineering depend on the geographic area and need for specific work, it is important to be as competitive a candidate as possible when looking for employment. Earning an online graduate degree in Civil Engineering will give you an edge, even if you are currently employed in the field. The career opportunities are seemingly limitless in the field. A Civil Engineer can hold a managerial post, ranging from construction site manager working out in the field to a city engineer designing and implementing roads and structures on computer-based interfaces. There are also many types of support positions available for a Civil Engineer, including working as a designer, conducting research to further scientific knowledge and design methods in the field, and, of course, teaching. Many of the higher-ranking (and higher-paying) positions in the field of Civil Engineering are made available to those who hold a Master’s degree or higher.

If you are considering earning a graduate degree in Civil Engineering, consider enrolling in an online program. There are a number of good reasons to do so. Number one is convenience. You can continue working your regular work schedule and earn you degree simultaneously. Many online programs offer lectures via streaming video that you can watch at any time on your computer, from home or at work. And all of your assignments can be submitted to your professors using your email. With the convenience of online learning also comes flexibility. Because you can fit your class time into your schedule, you don’t have to sacrifice family commitments or leisure time. Earning your Civil Engineering degree online is an almost ideal way to achieve your highest career aspirations.

Many online graduate degree programs in Civil Engineering are specifically designed for the working Civil Engineering professional. They are offered through fully accredited Universities, and the programs are planned around the most current recommendations of the ASCE (the American Society of Civil Engineers). Among the degrees that can be earned are a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on Construction Engineering or Structural Engineering. There are also programs available that emphasize the technological side of the field, providing instruction to those who are more inclined to do design work on a computer. Whatever you decide to do, you can often develop your own study strategy within a field of specialization that is related to your current occupation.

When you decide that you want and need a graduate degree in Civil Engineering, you must consider earning it online. The approach to continuing your education is convenient, it is adaptable, and it is simply the most current way to advance your career. Having a Master’s degree brings with it not only the professional development, but also a sense of accomplishment, and the testimony to current and future employers that you are resolute in being the best Civil Engineer that you can be.

Should You Make A Career Decision Based Upon A Career Quiz?

Q. I’m about to graduate High School and I don’t know what I want to be “when I grow up”. Do you think that a career quiz might help me decide?
A. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! But maybe not for the reasons that you think. You see, as the great Quizmaster, I’ve found one thing to be true: A career quiz, or any quiz for that matter, is always biased towards the thoughts and belief’s of the person who wrote it.
Usually a career quiz is written for entertainment purposes only. Now, if you are calling it a career quiz, but you really mean some sort of standardized occupational guidance test like professional career counsellors and the military use, then those are typically valid assessments of your career capabilities.
However, since you are asking the question here, and I am definitely not a career counsellor, then I’m going to assume that you are talking about your run-of-the-mill career quiz like the type that you find in typical magazines and on a variety of general audience web sites.
So, the reason that I said “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes” is because anything that gets someone thinking about career options is a good thing. A well-written career quiz has the effect of causing you to brainstorm over your career options. What you want to be “when you grow up” may be a moving target for you. Most people evolve as they mature and their goals change. What sounds like a good idea now may be far away from what you will eventually become. However, as I said, a career quiz gets you thinking and that’s a start!
When looking for a career quiz take a good look at the type of questions that are being asked. Remember what I said about the author’s bias earlier? You want to find a career quiz that asks “horizontal” questions rather than “vertical” ones. For example, a horizontal question might be: “Do you enjoy working against deadlines?”, while I vertical question might be “do you prefer the precision of hand tools versus the speed of power tools?”.
Horizontal career quiz questions are designed to explore general career likes and dislikes while “vertical” questions tends to try and shoehorn you into a particular career path. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a place for a vertical career quiz. For example, if you are thinking about a career in woodworking, and you are trying to decide if you want to be a cabinet maker or a house framer, a vertical career quiz is exactly what you need.
The important thing to remember is to never make a career decision based solely upon the results of some career quiz that you happen to come across. If the quiz gets you to thinking that you might enjoy some particular career, then research that option more fully. A career quiz is simply another tool to help you navigate the pathways of life. Good luck!

Mental Health Career Counseling

When we talk of career counseling, most people don’t associate mental health with the process. However, when you really think about it, if you are in a job that you hate, that has little chance of advancement, and that is completely unfulfilling to you in your personal life, that can really take a toll on your mental health. So career counseling and mental health really do go hand in hand. But, that’s not what this article is really about.

Let’s take and look at it from a different perspective. Let’s say you seek out career counseling to change your career and find that, after taking a career interest assessment test that you are best suited to work in the mental health field. See, we were getting somewhere! A career in the mental health field can be very satisfying for the right person and seeking out career counseling to get into that field is a great way to get started!

People who are in the field of mental health counseling can also be career counselors who approach job placement from the perspective that they want to place a person in a job that will be mentally fulfilling for them. People who are in the field of mental health career counseling must possess many of the same qualities as a general mental health counselor. They must relate to people well, be able to listen patiently and be understanding to their needs. You must be able to identify your client’s true needs from a mental health perspective and place them in a career that will help keep them sane and happy!

Mental health career counseling is a growing business because we live in a stressful society that places a lot of pressure on us on a daily basis. This threatens our mental health – especially because we spend so much time at our jobs. When a person is working in a job that they are not happy with, this can be mentally taxing and bring on a plethora of mental conditions – depression being the most common one.

Mental health career counseling is a satisfying profession and one that can provide a lot of help to a lot of people. When you pursue a career like this, we think you’ll find that just being able to place people in a job that is conducive to their mental health, you will also have a job that you love and that is fulfilling and satisfying on a daily basis.

Medical Career

A medical career is a noble profession because you are able to help those who are ill. As medical science has improved through the years, it has opened a lot of opportunities for those who want to be part of this specialized field.

But for those that want to become doctors, you must first complete 4 years of undergraduate training, another 4 years of medical school, then 3 to 7 years working as an intern and as a resident. That is a long time and if you want to sub specialize, that will be another 2 years.

You will have to do well even during your undergraduate years and do well in the MCAT or medical college admissions test because only a handful are accepted every year in the best medical colleges in the country.

If you got into medical school and are now working on getting your medical license, you will have to take the US medical licensing exam during your sophomore and senior year in school and during your internship. The exam itself is challenging but studies have shown that 90% of those who take it usually pass.

For those who find becoming a doctor too long, there are other options. You may pursue a medical career as a nurse. From working at the bottom, you may soon find yourself being in charge or a wing in a hospital or caring for patient in the privacy of their homes.

You may also become an emergency medical technician who is on call and assigned to rush to a scene should there be someone injured. These individuals are responsible for stabilizing the patient before he or she is brought to the hospital. It’s a hectic job given that the medical equipment inside the ambulance can only do so much.

Another job that is less stressful is being a pharmacist. All you have to do here is dispense the medication that is written on the prescription pad. You will also need to know how to explain to the patient how to use it. In some cases, the pharmacist may advice the doctor on the dosage and the side effects.

The only downside to this job is that you will have to work on holidays and weekends. If you don’t feel happy working in such a place, try getting a job at a mental institution, nursing home or neighborhood clinic.

For those that want to work in a lab, they can do so by being a laboratory technician. They are the ones that test samples given by the patient and also help doctors who are conducting scientific research. Given that we now live in the digital age, most of the testing is done using machines so all the have to do is wait for the results to come and out and analyze it.

You can also work as a medical assistant who just takes care of the paper work and makes sure that the doctor’s clinic is running smoothly.

The various positions mentioned are just some of the options you have if you are seriously considering a medical career. Though how much they earn varies, the important thing is that each person is part of something big as the doctor, the nurse, the technician or the assistant contributes something to improve the lives of those who are sick.