Career,
Counseling and the Advisor

Career, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual's "course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work (and sometimes also formal education).

Occupation, is an activity that you occupy yourself with; usually it is the productive activity, service, trade, or craft for which you earn a regularly pay check.

Simply put, your career is what you are, and who you become; your occupation is what you do during the process of becoming who you are. Job, Occupationally, or Professionally speaking.

I draw the correlation of career and occupation for this point, there was a time not so very long ago when career or career change were words and truly meant nothing more. During that period of time, (in the 20th Century) you might go to work for some one or a company, work through an apprenticeship, or be a college graduate and stay in that ONE position for the entirety of your working Life. Often, during that era your occupation was who you were.

Today, is a whole different set of perimeters. Occupation is the definition of certain job skills and the job titles. Your career has become this living, multi faceted part of your work and life. You have a plethora of choices laid out before you. Like; a wide range of potential professions, and, with more educational choices it has allowed an individual to plan, or design a career or careers.

It is not uncommon for adults to have dual or multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professional identities have become hyphenated to reflect this shift. Okay now what; here come the career counselor and the advisor, some times you need a little input from someone out side your sphere of influence and relationships.

These Career professionals, have many tools that help them, to help you, help yourself. Big examples, counseling and the career assessment. The assessment are tests that come in a variety of forms and rely on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

The assessment can help individuals identify and better articulate their unique interests, values, and skills. The counseling that goes on with the advisor, the career counselors, executive coaches, career development centers, and outplacement companies is where they will administer the career assessment tests to help their clients focus on careers that closely match their unique personal profile.

The counseling, advisor assess the interests, personality, values and skills, this helps them to explore more options for the individual. A key component in this assessment is the added resources that becomes available for the decision making tasks related to choosing a major occupation, whether it is transitioning into the world of work or further professional training.

Career assessment tests, help the individual understand how their personal attributes have an impact on the potential success and satisfaction related to the different career options they have. The assessment of some or all of these attributes are used by various organizations, such as a university career service center,outplacement companies, corporate human resources staff, executive coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and the guidance counselor to help the individual make a better career decisions.

Now, as to the size and shape of these assessment tests. Some assessments are quantitative in nature and measure the key attributes believed to influence an individuals potential success and satisfaction with a career. Others are qualitative exercises designed to help individuals clarify their goals and preferences.,

Where does all this lead too? Hopefully some clarity for those who are in the beginning, middle or the end stages of a career change. First I would say that something of this importance requires that you take your time, know what your options are and methodically work through each step. Ultimately this is all about you, what is the right thing for you. Here is a sobering thought, it didn't take you a day to get to where you are, it took years. Give yourself the days, weeks, or months to do this right.

I would like to introduce to you Steve Errey, he has written an article on the things that we have been discussing, and he has done a marvelous job of dealing with the career change. Here is that article.

5 Ways to Make a Cracking Career Move
By Steve Errey

Something that comes up time and time again when people come to me for help is 'What's my next career move?' There are so many choices out there (which is part of the problem) and it can be tougher than a bag of hammers to figure out what to do and where to go next. That's why I want to share with you 5 strategies for figuring out your next career move and for making darn sure it'll be a cracking move for you.

Look at Your Wiring

Your brain has billions and billions of neurons connected to each other by even more synapses. I'm not going to count them. These synapses are the pathways of the brain and they enable information to flow freely and allow you to think and do. Some of the synapses will be like motorways, throwing huge amounts of information around really quickly, while others will be like a little country lane blocked by a tractor - not very effective.

The stronger pathways will be the things you're best at and it's by capitalizing on how your brain's wired that you'll get your best results. In the real world that means that the things that come naturally to you (your talents), the things you're best at (your strengths) and the things that mean the most to you (your values) are hardwired into you, and those are the things that you excel at.

Talent

A talent is something that comes naturally to you and can be any recurring pattern of feeling, thought or behavior that you can apply to get a positive result. It tends to be something you do without even thinking about, something that seems to come spontaneously from the top of your head, something that's always exerted a 'pull' for you or something that might feel like a whole bank of switches have been flicked to the 'on' position when you use it.

Strength

A strength is a combination of your skills, experience and talents. A strength is something that you're able to do at a consistently high or near-perfect level of performance. It's the accumulation and application of what you've learned works well, the skills that you've worked at and gained, and the talents you've always had. It's likely that you derive some kind of inherent satisfaction from doing it and maybe you can picture yourself quite happily doing it repeatedly.

Value

Your values are ten thousand feet down inside you, right at the very core of who you are. They're the building blocks, the foundations and cornerstones for you, and are the things in yourself, in others or in the world that are most important to you. You know those times when you've felt really alive, on top of your game or buzzing? Those are the times when one or more of your values are being honored, and you can get more of that by living according to them.

Find What's Always Been There

When I was around 6 or 7 years old I remember being asked by my primary school teacher what I wanted to be when I grew up. I reflected for a moment and torn between two options I replied 'I'm not sure. Either an artist or an inventor'. I had two pictures - one of me in a huge studio, being swept along in the moment as I created magnificent works of art that would make people weep, and another of me in a lab coat with crazy hair surrounded by bubbling test tubes and all manner of electronic devices as I used everything I knew to build Something Amazing (TM). Those two sides have always been there for me (typical Gemini) - the art and the science, the creative and the logical, the head and the heart.

As a 6 year old boy I'd identified that both areas were hugely important to me, and those two areas persist for me to this day. A day when I can use my logic and my creativity is a great day because I get to use the things that have always been there for me.

I share that with you because having work that includes the things that have persisted for you is absolutely critical in terms of loving your work and getting more out of it. Ignoring those themes and dismissing what's always been there for you is ignoring who you are and who you've always been, and it's a surefire way for you to be unfulfilled in your work. It's critical to know what those persistent themes are, because you can then integrate them into what you do, both in and out of your work.

Explore what persists for you and look for ways to use, integrate and play to those themes.

Who'd Be the Best?

Who would you love to work for? Forget for a moment about what you'd be doing, think about which companies and organizations you'd love to work with or for. Which organizations push your hot buttons? If you could work for any company, who would it be?

Thinking about the ideal company to work with or for (as an employee, a contractor, a consultant, etc.) sets you free to look at companies you respect, admire and who do something that you can connect with. That already ticks a whole load of boxes and sets you ahead of the game.

8 out of 10 people land their next job through a personal contact rather than an advertisement so this is a great way to learn about and pursue opportunities. Get clear on those organizations you'd love to work for, find out the name

of someone in the right place in the organization and send in a killer letter and CV. Don't fall into the trap of thinking 'But why would they want me?' or ''What the heck would I do for them?' and research their different fields of work or look into filling a skills gap with some training. You never can tell how things happen sometimes, and you've got nothing to lose.

Turn It Inside-Out

Too many people start off by thinking in terms of job titles, but I tend to think that should come later in the job searching process. I always ask people to create their next job from the inside-out by looking at what the job would involve and what they'd be doing, rather than operating within the confines of a title.

So think about it, what would your ideal job involve? What skills, talents, strengths, values, passions and interests would you be using that would make it a great job? How would you be working ? In an office? By yourself or in a team? What kind of people will be around you? Are you out on the road? Are you working from home? Are there deadlines? How do you make your contribution? What's fun about the work? What's fulfilling about the work?

And on, and on, and on. The point is to create your best job by looking at the size and shape that your ideal job would have. Quantify what you can, think about the framework you'd be working in and the boundaries or deal breakers you have. Think about what would light you up in your work and what would make you proud.

Job titles can limit how you think and where you look for work. By creating your next career move from the inside-out you're painting a picture of what you'd love to have and how you'd love to be working, and that's a fantastic template to apply to any job search.

Ask Someone Else

Sometimes it feels a bit like you're banging your head against a wall or wading chest deep through lumpy custard. In those times it's good to take yourself out of your normal environment for a while to kick things up and freshen yourself up, and getting an external perspective can help enormously.

Look at who you've got in your network of colleagues, ex-colleagues, managers, employees, friends, associates, family, etc. and see what they think you'd be great at. Ask people what they can see you doing for a career, or ask them what they think you'd be great at. Getting that external perspective may just give you an idea or put a name to something you've been struggling to identify. You can also ask them what they think your strengths are, and even go as far as asking them to be honest about who they think you are and how they see you.

By the way, there's a fantastic tool that I used some time ago to help get that external perspective and that I'd recommend you take a look at. It's called 360°Reach and is the first and leading web-based personal assessment tool that helps you get the real story about how you are perceived by those around you. The results I got were worth their weight in gold and after being made redundant in 2001 it really helped me shape what I did next and how I did it (i.e. this!). Click the link here - rel=nofollow www.reachcc.com - and click on '360°Reach - Personal Brand Assessment' for more on this great tool.

About Steve Errey

Steve Errey is the author of the Truly Confident Living Home Study Course. He's a confidence coach with hundreds of clients under his belt from all around the world, articles in magazines on both sides of the Atlantic and regular expert slots on television and radio. Earlier, he was a Project Manager in e-Business, traveling the world helping organizations deliver on the Internet promise. He has been through redundancy (when the Internet bubble burst), depression and a debt management plan. Steve is also writing his first novel.

Visit his website and blog at www.theconfidenceguyonline.com.Article Source: 5 Ways to Make a Cracking Career Move

Thanks Steve that was a very helpful and informative article.

Now that you have decided to make this career change, and you have a professionally done resume, what about the interview. This step in the career move is as important as any other. Many jobs are either gotten or lost in the interview.

Be prepared, my friend Anand, has a very professional and informative website that will be of great value in the interviewing process. This is what Anand, has to say about the, Interview Questions. Preparation is the key to any successful interview. While it is impossible to guess exactly what you will be asked during an interview, you can prepare yourself by developing answers to the most common interview questions.

Well there you have it, my career changing friends find the path that is right for you, work with an advisor that understands where you want to go and will help you get there.

My final thought on this, you are looking to make a major change in your life don't be the stumbling block to your new successes, be willing to accept sound advise and move forward. If you only rely on how you have done things and look only to those that you know; you may not get what you are looking for. You may just end up with more of the same but in a different ship.

As always my friends until we meet again

I'll see ya when I see ya

Robert

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