Career
Choices
by: Scott Christianson
In this quickly changing
competitive market it's important to make the right
decisions in career choices for your life goals.
Question you need to ask yourself:
1.
How can I advance my career in the position that I
now hold?
2.
What are my options to change employers in the
future?
3.
Will the employer I work for offer me the same
dedication they expect from me?
4.
What are the possibilities the position I now hold
will be outsourced to another organization or
country?
5.
Will the salary I make allow me to enjoy retirement
in the future?
6.
Is my career choice in an industry that is growing
or shrinking?
7.
Is my career choice something I am willing to do for
the next 20-30 years?
8.
Where can I find more information about career
choices?
9.
What are the Top 10 outsource safe careers in the
market today?
10.
How do I market myself to achieve my career goals?
11.
Career and Personality Assessment Tests.
IMapMyLife
Myers-Briggs
Your Lifes Path
CareerTest
CareerTest.net
How can I advance my
career in the position that I now hold?
Knowledge is Power, but Networking builds
opportunities. Both of these is true, getting a
firm understanding of your companies goals and needs
and being available to help the company achieve its'
goals is by far one of the most important areas to
focus on. However making sure people understand you
are the one contributing to the achievement of those
goals can make you stand out in the crowd, don't me
shy. Also making sure that the people around you,
know you, know your contributions and know that you
are willing to take on new challenges and
responsibilities will usually get you in the
attention you need.
Networking-Networking-Networking
Not only within your organization but with
outside groups as well will help you build your
reputation. Several executives have said they hated
golf, but the CFO, CEO, and other leaders played it
on a weekly basis, don't be afraid to take up a
activity that you may not like, it may get you
around the people that can really make a difference
in your career achievements; one comment this writer
has heard over and over again is that more decisions
have been made on the golf course than have ever
been made in a boardroom.
What are my options to
change employers in the future?
Is your career specialized or generalized?
Will the employer I
work for offer me the same dedication they expect
from me?
Usually this is a questions that may be answered
from simply understanding the company philosophy and
its' true actions. Unfortunately, there are many
companies out there that spout “We Promote and Hire
from Within” this can usually be determined very
quickly at any organization by just being aware of
the changing personnel in an organization. Be aware
of your surroundings. If you notice a constant
change in the employee structure at your
organization, you may be at a “Churn and Burn”
company, unless you own the company or are one of
the executives, get out now.
What are the
possibilities the position I now hold will be
outsourced to another organization of country?
This is one of the scariest areas of a career
decision in today's market. With companies
constantly looking for new ways to save money and
cut costs, look at your own position and ask these
questions. Can my work be performed at a remote
location on the other side of the world, if the
answer is “Yes”. Then your position could be
outsourced and you'll have to face the fact that
many companies don't have the dedication to the US
market when it comes to cutting costs. Sadly
enough, it can be a “no brain er” for some decision
makers to think; if we can get the same result by
paying someone in a third world country paying $250
per week compared to paying $1200 per week in the
US, why shouldn't we outsource. This will and is
coming back to bite many organizations, because they
are finally seeing that they are also losing there
customer base due to the current high unemployment.
Will the salary I
make allow me to enjoy retirement in the future?
This is one of the biggest mistakes people make
in career choices, if a company is not willing to
care for your future; you're the only one that can
make a difference. Learn to live within your
means. This might mean not having all the pretty
things the stores have to offer, set aside a savings
plan for retirement, if you can't pay cash for the
things you want; maybe you really don't need it.
Remember life in most cases is a long race, follow
the example of the “Rabbit and the Hare”, you're the
one who has to cross the finish line.
Is my career choice
in an industry that is growing or shrinking?
With technology advancing the way it is this can
be a very difficult question to answer. Like the
alternate energy areas, this industry has expanded
and contracted partly due to public opinion and the
grip the oil industry has placed on price fixing,
when oil prices hit $126 per barrel in June of 2008,
many were talking about and investing in alternate
fuel sources, when the price drop to $33 per barrel
in January of 2009 investor quickly recanted their
positions. Today, due to the group conscience of
most Americans alternate energy sources and efforts
are probably here to stay.
You are the only one who can really determine
whether your industry is on an upswing.
Is my career choice
something I am willing to do for the next 20-30
years?
This is an area you really have to look at hard.
What is your goal, what excites you, and what you
love to do?
A lucky man once told me about his job and said
“I love every minute of it, I'm excited to
go to work every time, its' fun”
Hopefully you can find a position much like this
one, but you have to answer several questions for
yourself. Do I really love what I am doing? Does
it excite me? Does it challenge me? Hopefully you
already found that position, if not, dig deep into
your mind and heart and find what really excites
you. Even if can't make the money you would like to
make, would you be happy? Sometimes, LESS is MORE.
Where can I find
more information about career choices?
We have listed several career areas you can
research; some of the best areas for reference
material is the
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
The Daily Galaxy , and
Career Guides for the Future .
What are the Top 10
outsource safe careers in the market today?
This is a very difficult question to answer, and
none of the answers have a true guarantee. Here are
some questions to ask; can the job be performed
sitting at a desk, can the job be performed working
at a computer, can the work be performed answering a
phone, does the position require no face to face
interaction. If any of the answers are yes, the
position has the ability to be outsourced.
According to respected organizations the
following career areas would least likely be
outsourced to other countries; CEO, Medical,
Teaching, Security, Government, Defense, Restaurant
and Catering, Retail Sales, Automotive Service,
Electrician, HVAC, Plumber, Veterinarian careers and
real estate sales. For the sake if being
informative here is a link that offers information
on some of the US companies that are the biggest
outsourcers in the industry today at
LovetoKnow .
How do I market myself to
achieve my career goals?
As mentioned earlier in this article Networking
is one of the keys to acquiring the position you
want. As in the past 20% of positions are filled
through job posting and classified ads, the other
80% are acquired though people you a acquainted
with, so get out and meet people in the same
industry you are interested in. This can be
accomplished by going to social events, user group
meetings, religious and volunteer organizations,
online social networks like LINKEDIN, SPOKE and
others. Secondly, don't be shy when it comes to
writing about your accomplishments in your resume or
CV, the one thing most employers do not what to see
in the intro statement or your resume is that you
are seeking a position that will allow to expand on
your past experience, yawn. Their requirement are
“What can this person do for our organization”, do
your research. Finally, to really be a mover and
shaker in industry today it is imperative that you
stay abreast of the changes in your market and
always seek new and better ways to keep yourself
educated.
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