|
Back to School for a Career ChangeQ. I hate my job as a computer consultant. I am ready for a career change. The aptitude tests say I should be a recreation specialist. I like the idea but I dread returning to school for a new degree. A. Before you invest in a degree, try out the new career. A test drive will tell you more than any pencil-and-paper test. Find two or three people who are doing what you want to do and ask to spend a day or a week with them. If you like what you see, visit a few schools or universities that offer degrees in your area of interest. Ask for names of people who have graduated one, three and five years ago. Ask the alumni, "Did this degree help you get your job? Advance in your job? "Would you have done better with a degree from another school? Or would you have done as well with a degree from a lower-ranked school?" Don't stop until you have talked to six graduates -- maybe more. Talk to students, not faculty. Professors must support their own programs, even when they want to say, "You can do better elsewhere," or, "This program is a waste of your time and money." And these days, anyone with a title like "Admissions Director" or "Enrollment Management" may be trying to make a sale, not offer objective guidance. Investigate several options. You may find an equally satisfying career that offers on-the-job training. You may find an educational program that takes less time or comes with a stipend. No degree program offers a magic bullet. Ultimately you may win the job and career success by your power networking as well as you social, interpersonal and technical skills.There are many paths to career fulfillment, not just one. I offer one-to-one consultations on career strategy. From Back to School: A midlife career guide About The Author Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com. "Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294 |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES 20 Ways to Advance Your Career To survive and thrive in today's competitive environment, it is not just what you know. You also need to be competent. You must stand out from the crowd - be memorable, impressive, credible, trusted and liked. Gray Hair, Black Prospects If you're reading this article, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that discrimination has become much more sneaky than in the past. No one comes out and say, "We're not hiring you because you're too old." Instead, discrimination is subtle and equally damaging. The 4 Job Search Facts You Need To Know! Are you harboring bitterness or anger towards your current or past employer? Job Hunting Tips: Staying Active Unemployment is depressing: financial pressures stress you out, looking for work is humiliating, and your fragile self-confidence reels under the blows of indifference and rejection. How to Deal With Workplace Inflexibility You've been a model employee: responsible, industrious, creative and productive. You've gone the extra mile time and again, with a smile. How To Get Promoted - Take Control Of Your Destiny! It Is Up To You Job Search -- One of the Secrets of a Trade Show A trade show is a great place to network, look for a job, find a new employee or develop a partnership. Stay At Home Moms No Longer Struggling To Make Ends Meet It is hard to be a stay at home mom. You deal with a lot of pressures that most people would not understand. Aside from the cooking, cleaning and kids, you also have the feeling of inadequacy, if you are anything like me. I Love being able to stay at home with the children and I no longer mind the household chores, but I still feel like I am not holding my own. Im sure it's the independent me that strives to do it all. I want to do all that and still make my own money. Offer Letter Limbo Recently we concluded the placement of a Senior Sales Representative for a publicly traded company. The role was ripe with potential as the company products were being widely embraced by current and new customers. The recruiting process went smoothly as the candidate progressed through several rounds of face to face interviews with company executives. Stepping Stone Jobs What we name something matters. Taking Charge During An Interview! Perhaps you've found yourself in the position of seeking a new position due to a layoff, cutback or downsizing and are now facing the interviewing process. As scary as that may seem, one of the most critical points to remember is that just because you're sitting in the seat opposite the potential employer doesn't mean you have no control. There are a number of ways for making the interview a more equal experience and the first starts with knowing you have the right to ask questions. Are You Busy Living or Dying? If you are not busy living, then you must be busy dying. Most of us do this subconsciously and are unaware of which side of this equation we reside on. It must follow then that if you have lots of money, you are probably busy living and living well. Everybody wants more money. But is it the money itself or is it the freedom it buys? Lots of money = lots of freedom. Electronic Resume Writing Tips That Boost Your Interview Appointment Success Electronic Resume Writing Tips That Boost Your Interview Appointment Success A Bit of Pollyanna "Stop being such a Pollyanna," a trusted, more experienced colleague counseled as we took the long route back to my office. He had just witnessed my project idea annihilated as co-workers eagerly argued why my idea wouldn't work, where it was flawed and why it shouldn't be funded. Despite naysayers in the room that day, I believed it was worth pursuing. Ultimately, it did receive funding and became, in time, a successful endeavor. A bit of Pollyannaism got me though. Resume Writing Tips Resume Writing doesn't have to be a solo gig Avoid a Three-ring Circus with These New Interviewing Strategies I referenced the circus because I just finished another interviewing book that recommends asking for the job before leaving the interview. I can envision up to 15 qualified professionals each asking the interviewer for the job. If each asks for the job, doesn't that make the question null and void ? cross out each other's great gesture? If everyone jumps through the same hoop, performing like a good little circus monkey, what's going to set you apart from other candidates? Write And Get Hired Want to get hired faster than up to 97% of other job seekers? How To Get a Job Offer From Every Interview About four years ago a friend told me one night that she had an interview the next week and was looking for some comfort as she was extremely nervous, as most people are about interviews. I thought back on my my carreer and realized that in the nine year of my career I had been to thirteen interviews and, more importantly, that I had received a job offer from every one of those interviews. I did not accept all the offers, but the point is that I had not once been to an interview without getting a job offer from it. Dissatisfied With Your Job? Stop Putting Your Attention on What You Dont Want! If I were to ask you the percentage of time you spend thinking about what you don't want, what would it be? And the percentage of time thinking about what you do want? Surviving Office Politics It's your first month in a new position and it's rougher going than you'd anticipated. You feel like an outsider and you're miserable. |
|
|
Copyright © Advancing Women (TM), 1996- 