Resources for Adult Career Planning and Transition
Welcome!
Success Discoveries’ team of researchers has brought the best of the best in free Internet resources to our clients. This site is intended to provide “high-value” information to help in career transitioning. We reference several of these links in our personal guidebook, My Career in Motion™. Scroll down the entire page to see the many helpful subjects we offer. Note to Young Adults: If you are entering the world of work for the first time, you may find our Career Exploration Resources for Students pages to be very helpful.
About Success Discoveries’ Career Coaching for Adults™ We offer a professional coaching program ideal for those in the workforce or in transition who want to re-evaluate their career direction or want to expedite their job search. To learn more go here.
Brian Kruger of CollegeGrad.com provides a few pearls of job searching wisdom in the video below. You’ll find a comprehensive list of Brian’s one-minute job search and interview-related training videos below.
When it comes to your job search, you can’t rely on online job boards to get you an interview much less get you a job offer. However, job boards can identify opportunities. Because there are way too many job boards, you need a one-stop search engine. WetFeet.com’s Job Search site is pretty impressive. Try it out.
1. Make Career Planning an Annual Event
2. Map Your Path Since Last Career Planning
3. Reflect on Your Likes and Dislikes, Needs and Wants
4. Examine Your Pastimes and Hobbies
5. Make Note of Your Past Accomplishments
6. Look Beyond Your Current Job for Transferable Skills
7. Review Career and Job Trends
8. Set Career and Job Goals
9. Explore New Education/Training Opportunities
10. Research Further Career/Job Advancement Opportunities
Career planning is not an activity that should be done once—in high school or college—and then left behind as we move forward in our jobs and careers. Rather, career planning is an activity that is best done on a regular basis—especially given the data that the average worker will change careers (not jobs) multiple times over his or her lifetime. And it’s never too soon or too late to start your career planning.
Career planning is not a hard activity, not something to be dreaded or put off, but rather an activity that should be liberating and fulfilling, providing goals to achieve in your current career or plans for beginning a transition to a new career. Career planning should be a rewarding and positive experience. Here, then, are 10 tips to help you achieve successful career planning.
1. Make Career Planning an Annual Event
Many of us have physicals, visit the eye doctor and dentist, and do a myriad of other things on an annual basis, so why not career planning? Find a day or weekend once a year—more often if you feel the need or if you’re planning a major career change—and schedule a retreat for yourself. Try to block out all distractions so that you have the time to truly focus on your career—what you really want out of your career, out of your life. By making career planning an annual event, you will feel more secure in your career choice and direction—and you’ll be better prepared for the many uncertainties and difficulties that lie ahead in all of our jobs and career.
Success Discoveries and The Nielson Group Partner to Provide Outplacement Services
The use of outplacement services by companies forced to layoff workers is growing according to Lee Hecht Harrison (see more in the video below). The Nielson Group, parent company to Success Discoveries and provider of organizational development, hiring and leadership effectiveness programs, combines its tools and strategies with the personal touch and professional coaching competencies of Success Discoveries coaches to provide high quality, client-focused job search coaching services to its clients.
Carl Nielson, Managing Principal of The Nielson Group and Chief Discovery Officer of Success Discoveries, states, “We see the current downturn in the economy differently. While some industries are facing a significant slump, our corporate clients tend to be in growth industries. Hiring might be a bit slower but you still have 90+% employment rate in most areas of the country. Finding and talking with key decision makers that have jobs available is not a difficult task when you take an intentional approach to the job search and everything that goes into preparing for that job search. We don’t see a company’s employment site with automated resume capturing to be a very effective strategy for getting your resume in front of the right person. We also don’t see employment agencies and search firms providing the answer either.”
Success Discvoeries and The Nielson Group are combining best practices to help individuals move quickly from unemployed to passionately employed. Our goal isn’t just to help a person find the next job. We see it as our goal to help a person find the next passionate thing to do. To find out more go to our Career Coaching for Adults offering page.
Microsoft and Monster.com Team Up to Help the Unemployed
4 Steps to Find the Right Job is a Microsoft Office Online Job Seeker resource. Microsoft has parntered with Monster.com to help those who are between jobs or wanting to change careers use Microsoft Office tools and Monster.com job search strategies. Watch the video for the quick tour of the 4 steps. Click on the image:
Terry Moran with ABC News on Career Coaching in a Tough Economy
A Video Moment showing Career Coaching in Action (Interviewing Skills)
ABC News’ Terry Moran covers the critical importance of “professional skills” and interviewing skills. If you are currently unemployed and looking for a next career opportunity take a moment to hear the messagees in this quick news segment.
So you have an interview lined up. Master the Interview is another CollegeGrad.com jewel of a resource that will help you prepare for any interview. Click on Read More to find a wealth of direct links to quick topics on interviewing to read.
CollegeGrad.com has developed a great resource for anyone looking to get hired and facing an upcoming interview. Check out dozens of free, short helpful interview preparation videos.
Could Ben Franklin find a Home at Your Company? The Challenge of “Renaissance Souls”
If you’re the sort of person who thrives on challenge, gets bored if you do the same thing too long, and really enjoy being a business owner because everything’s different, you’re not alone.
And if you’re the sort of person who likes things that fall into neat, clear categories, who wants to get really good at something and practice it to perfection, and who isn’t sure how to manage those who have to have a constantly changing environment, listen up.
Networking for Adults: Online Social Networks and How to Leverage Them
If you have teenagers or college students, you probably have heard of or looked at Facebook or MySpace. Well if you haven’t found them yet, there are social networking sites for adults. So why should you care? Because networking is a significant part of success. And online social networks can be very effective at meeting your needs -reap your rewards - if you’ve been doing a little sowing ahead of time. Two of the more popular are LinkedIn and Plaxo.
Wall Street Journal Video: How to Build a Job Network
How to Build a Job Network 9/21/2008 Boston University Professor Kathy Kram sits down with WSJ’s Jennifer Merritt and shares the skills needed to build good relationships at work. (Sept. 22)
The O*NET system is a unique, powerful source for continually updated information on skill requirements and occupational characteristics primarily for adult use. The link provided here takes you to the Career Finder site where you can put in a keyword and quickly zero in on possible jobs based on the key word. As an example, use keyword “Oncologist” or “Film Director” to see highly related information.
Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
For hundreds of different types of jobs-such as teacher, lawyer, and nurse-the Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you:
==>the training and education needed
==>earnings
==>expected job prospects
==>what workers do on the job
==>working conditions
==>In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more.
CareerOneStop is…
* Your source for employment information and inspiration
* The place to manage your career
* Your pathway to career success
* Tools to help job seekers, students, businesses and career professionals
* Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor ONET Occupational Research System
United States Department of Labor O*Net Occupational Research System
The O*NET system is a unique, powerful source for continually updated information on skill requirements and occupational characteristics primarily for adult use. The link provided here takes you to the Career Finder site where you can put in a keyword and quickly zero in on possible jobs based on the key word. As an example, use keyword “Oncologist” or “Film Director” to see highly related information.
