Aaren Career

Showing posts with label career. Show all posts

How To Brand Yourself For A Career Change

• 2-minute read •
Job-seekers worry about their branding, but the folks who worry about it the most are people who are trying to change careers.
They wonder whether hiring managers will consider them for open positions when their resumes don't seem to show any relevant experience in their pasts.
Here are some of the branding questions that keep career-changers up at night:
• "I'm accomplished and credible in my traditional field, but there are no jobs in that field anymore. That's why I'm changing careers -- but why would a hiring manager choose me over somebody who's already worked in their function and industry?"

This is how to network your way to a new career

• 2-minute read •
The office holiday parties are over. You drank, you schmoozed, you exchanged business cards, and hopefully you left before things got weird.

So now that it’s back to the daily grind, it’s time to turn that pocket full of business cards (and those vague memories of brief chats in festive settings) into real relationships.

But where do you start?

“I approach networking as a way of solving problems,” says Kelly Hoey, author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships in a Hyper-Connected World. “Think of it as making yourself visible for the things you want to be known for.”

How to find a career mentor while you’re still in college

• 2-minute read •
Pop quiz: What do Mr. Miyagi, Yoda and Professor Dumbledore have in common? Aside from being pretty badass film icons, they’re each incredibly gifted mentors.

True, the chances of meeting someone who can transform you into a karate master or Jedi Knight are slim. But you can find a mentor to help show you the way forward.

“A mentor can help you establish your career direction and set long-term goals,” says Beth Zefo, co-author of Grad to Great: Discover the Secrets to Success in Your First Career.

And the great thing about being in a college environment is having access and exposure to so many people who are more than qualified to help guide you through the job search process, and later, the working world.

How to convince a potential employer you want to downshift your career

• 2-minute read •
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “career trajectory”? Most likely, you’re thinking of career advancement. That kind of trajectory is admirable because it shows professional progress. You’re movin’ on up.

But what happens when you want to go in the other direction? Family obligations, your personal well-being and shifting priorities can all cause you to need to slow down.

5 Ways To Tap Into Career Intuition

• 2-minute read •
Do you believe in intuition? Do you realize you can tap into your own future and "see" your next successful career step?
Perhaps you're smart, successful, practical, realistic and don't believe in what you can't see. But then why are you in this mess? Why are you rethinking your life? Why are you afraid?
You carry the solution to all of your problems right inside of you. It's called intuition. And usually, whatever problem you think you have in front of you - is actually your solution.

How To Build A Career (And A Life) That Won't End In Regret

• 2-minute read •
“The only thing I’ve ever failed at is retirement,” lamented a former CEO from a multi-national apparel company. At 57 years old, my former client was facing the hard reality that he wasn’t prepared for life outside his job. That’s because he’d never built a life outside his job.

Are You on the Right Career Path?

• 2-minute read •
Regardless of what career level you currently find yourself in – seeking a new opportunity, unemployed, leaving school – asking yourself if you are on the right career path is one of the most frequent questions job seekers ask themselves throughout their careers. While the answer to this question may seem insurmountable at times, employing a strategy where you dissect the question. Breaking it down step–by–step may help.

12 tips to be courteous to your co-workers (that you should already know)

• 2-minute read •
THERE ARE MANY UNSPOKEN RULES IN THE WORKPLACE.
If you've ever had a roommate or a sibling you've had to share a living space with, you may have learned the hard way not to push the boundaries of common courtesy too far. Similarly, there are many unspoken rules in the workplace as well — so pay attention and exercise civility to the people you have to spend most of your waking hours with.

Here are 12 tips to be courteous to your co-workers that you should, hopefully, already know.

6 Key Supports to Have in Place for a Midlife Career Shift

• 2-minute read •
A career change later in life is more common than you think.
Changing careers is more common than you might think. After a time, the excitement and novelty of a job, or even an entire industry, can wear off and we realize we need a change. Perhaps new management or protocol/procedures help to push us toward the decision. Maybe, changing careers (often during our mid-30s to early 50s) is about chasing a dream, old or new; and who needs a better reason than that? For one reason or another, a lot of people decide at some point along the way to shift careers. It can be an exciting and ultimately rewarding choice, but it's important to make the proper preparations before taking the leap. Here are a few key supports to have in place before making a midlife career shift. 1. Be certain this is really what you want.

How to Take Your Career in a Totally Different Direction

• 2-minute read •
Transferrable skills and patience go a long way toward making a major change.
I graduated college with a degree in agronomy, thinking I would work in agricultural or environmental science. But after I graduated, I realized I would much rather be a newspaper journalist — something I had never taken a single class on. I had some work experience in college, so it wasn’t totally far-fetched. Some years later, I made another decision to switch careers — this time from journalism to marketing.

Use Free Time Wisely, It Could Help Your Career

• 2-minute read •
Great opportunities don’t always happen during business hours.
When you’re off work, you might not be thinking about building your career, but the activities you pursue in your free time can help you get ahead professionally, as well. I’m lucky in that I have a lot of crossover between “work” and “fun” in my life. I couldn’t tell you which is which most days. I’ve met tons of awesome people through community service who I’ve wound up working with. I consider a lot of the people I work with real friends, and we also engage in leisure activities together and I don’t give it much thought.

How outsourcing household tasks can help your career

• 2-minute read •
Shedding everyday tasks can free you up to focus on high-value work.
I believe in outsourcing. If someone can do something better and faster than I can, I delegate it when I can. This applies to my relationship with my accountant and my lawyer, as well as my housekeeper and mechanic, and it’s critical to maintaining my overall productivity and sense of balance in my life. This principle can help anyone who is looking to get ahead in their career — not just people who own their own companies, as I do

Advancing Your Career with Social Network Sites

• 2-minute read •
Should Your Boss Be a Facebook Friend?
The invites to join LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking sites are flooding your inbox from friends, colleagues, ex-coworkers, college classmates and even your boss. Do you accept them all or weed some out? And how can you build upon these relationships to advance your career?

Like much of our virtual existence, the rules for online networking follow those of the real world: Follow-up is key, flattery works and don't put something in writing if it could hurt your prospects.

How to answer the job interview question: ‘Where would you like to be in your career 5 years from now?’

Despite what you may think, there is a right and a wrong way to answer this age-old question.
When an interviewer asks you, “Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?” he or she is testing your level of ambition. Joseph Wessner, assistant general manager of Coughlin Printing Group in Watertown, New York, says despite its ambiguity, this question, when asked, does have a definitive answer.

Do job seekers care about an employer's brand?

Employers might not worry much about what job seekers think about the company brand, but perhaps they should. Job seekers do care about brands, and they aren't keeping their opinions to themselves.

A new survey by Inavero highlights the role a company's employment brand plays in its ability to attract and engage potential employees.

According to the 2012 Candidate Behavior Study, 35 percent of workers begin preparing for their next job within weeks of starting a new one. Why so soon? According to Kassandra Barnes, content and research manager the explanation is simple: "The job-search process never really 'shuts off.'"

The myth of the passive job seeker

We need to get rid of the words 'active' versus 'passive,'" says Kassandra Barnes, research and content manager. "They just aren't relevant words in the job-search landscape anymore.'' Barnes is referring to the findings of Inavero's 2012 Candidate Behavior Study, which highlights the behaviors and perceptions of today's job seekers.

How to escape an awkward networking conversation

There's nothing worse than being stuck in an awkward conversation at a party with no escape. After several painful minutes of talking about the weather and the latest football game, you finally blurt out, "I have to go to the bathroom!" and quickly run away.

How to identify a telecommuting-friendly job

Telecommuting has many benefits for both employees and employers. It helps workers save time and money and gain more flexibility, and it can increase a company's efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.

How to network via social media

Facebook is great for staying in touch with friends, sharing funny cat videos or seeing what an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend is up to, but can it help you get a job? Absolutely. Social-media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are great platforms for networking and keeping up with industry trends.

Job searching in a mobile world

Forgot to turn the lights off after you left your house? Your phone can turn them off for you. Want to deposit a check into your bank account? Your phone can take care of that. Interested in capturing videos and pictures of your family vacation? Your phone can email the album to your family and friends.

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