“Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.6 million to 15.1 million, and the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8 percent.”
US Department of Labor Statistics, October 2, 2009

Who needs Halloween with this as our reality?

If you’re unsatisfied with your current job or career news about this job market may give you plenty of reasons to want to stay put.  Despite the bad news, and the fear, this is yet another justification for procrastinating.

Now is a great time to set yourself up for your ideal job. The path to achieving your ideal job can take some time, especially if you’re changing careers.

Here are some initial steps you can take starting now.  First, begin by identifying your ideal job and developing a target list of ideal employers.  Second, make yourself an ideal candidate.  Develop needed skills and experience to be the obvious choice to hire.  Third, begin building relationships with people who can provide a solid introduction to your future ideal employer.

The job news will get better as we create our path to a new future. If you get started on pursuing your ideal job now you’ll be in great shape to make it your reality quickly when hiring picks up.

Michelle and Kevin will be conducting a webinar for Westwood College on Tuesday, November 4, 2009!

This webinar will be specifically for students preparing to enter this job market and will be for Westwood College students only.

Want Michelle and Kevin to deliver their keen career transition strategies to your organization?

Just ask us at: admin@job-right.com

Be sure to include the organization name, area of interest, and how you can be contacted.

We’re rooting for your success!!

If you have recently been laid off or are perhaps desperately unhappy in your current career, then yes the time is probably right for a career change. On the other hand, if you’re doing well financially in your current career and can find some satisfaction in it, then you probably should sit tight right now given the current economic climate.

For those that do find the time to be right for a career change, there are definitely smart and not-so-smart ways to go about finding the right career path. First you should decide what resources you can marshal up to help – the best and most effective being your personal and professional network. Who do you know that can help you land a job or introduce you to someone else that can? Are you on LinkedIn or Plaxo? If you aren’t, you need to be. These sites offer tremendous networking opportunities for you when considering a career transition. They help you get in touch with past colleagues and meet new ones.

Another resource you can enlist is a career coach. While money may be tight if you are out of work during this process, sometimes a small investment can pay huge dividends in the long run. Plus, some career coaching professionals and career guidance tools aren’t that expensive. Some coaches offer a career test of sorts to help you determine what you are best at doing and perhaps what you should have been doing all along in your career. The career test will ferret out for you those innate or highly honed and marketable skills and attributes you possess and find ways or career paths to capitalize on those.

Whatever means, resources or career path you choose, just make sure they lead you down a road that will make you happy and fulfilled. Life is too short to be stuck in a dead-end job even if it pays the bills and then some. There is a lot to be said for mental happiness as a counterpart to financial wellbeing.

We all work hard and we all want to make enough money to be happy. But how many of us can say we are living the dream of walking down your ideal career path?

Not too many.

The reason for this is many of us find ourselves in a career path we would otherwise not choose to be in but we’ve allowed circumstance to put us there. Even in difficult financial times like these, it is not too late to make a career change for the better. In fact, in times like these it’s crucially important to make wise choices and not succumb to desperate thinking.
To help facilitate this thinking and drive, consider these simple rules for putting yourself and your needs ahead of your job, rather than the other way around – when contemplating a career change:

• Work serves life when it is a natural part of your existence that is a professional expression of your values, passions and interests.

• Life comes first. Who you are, what you care about, your most important relationships and the values, passions and interests that make you uniquely you, should come before anything else.

• Create clarity about what you want your life to look like now. Capture your vision and hold it with gentle ferocity. Firm flexibility is paramount since there are plenty of surprises, and you want to enjoy them!

• Work is a tool. The more aligned it is with your vision of your life the more fulfillment and enjoyment you will experience. Lesser alignment of work and vision sap your energy, foster frustration and encourage other self-defeating behaviors that lead further away from the vision.

• Everybody wins when work serves life. Working with passion and engagement is the desire of every worthwhile employee and employer.

• Transition is an opportunity – making work serve life is a fresh paradigm. To make it happen, you cannot simply live by default, letting others make decisions on your behalf. Take action, seek differently and put life first every day.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
- Albert Einstein

• It’s your job to believe in you. Whiners, victims, doubters and experts in self-limitation need not apply.