Tips for Making a Mid-Life Career Change

Tips for Making a Mid-Life Career ChangeTips for Making a Mid-Life Career ChangeThe challenging economy has prompted more workers to make a mid-life career change. Its not easy to switch careers or transition to a new industry later in life. If youre an older student or are considering a mid-life career change, finding work can be even more difficult than it is for younger students.? Making a Mid-Life Career Change A mid-life career change can pose unique hurdles to employment and you will need to stand out from the crowd of younger candidates. Below are seven strategies for making a mid-life career change and finding employment in your new career field. For more information on making a career change, review these tips to making a career change and this career change advice from workplace experts across the country. Ways You Can Stand Out Academics. One way to stand out as a job candidate is through exceptional academics. Earning top grades and a high-class rank can help put you in the running for some of the most desirable jobs, despite your age. If you are in law school, law review participation can open doors to interviews that you might not otherwise win. In any educational program, participation in extracurricular activities such as student government, the school newspaper, or other activities can help you develop new skills and gain useful experience. Leverage Your Skills. Your previous work experience has provided you with a diverse range of skills that will likely transfer to (or from) a legal position. Leverage the skills from previous jobs to land a new role in your current field or to switch fields altogether. Emphasize those skills and any relevant experience in your resume, networking discussions, and job interviews. For example, if you are an attorney seeking to transition to a writing career, you might emphasize your law review experience, legal writing awards, and writing-intensive clerkships. Target the Right Employers. If your mid-life career change involves switching industries, be sure to target the right employers. For example, small law firms and public interest venues tend to be more open to second career lawyers than large law firms.Network. Whether you are still in law school or have graduated, networking with classmates, peers, teacher, and colleagues can help you learn about opportunities. Depending on the magnitude of your career change, you do not need to start from scratch in your networking endeavors be sure to use the networking contacts you have cultivated in your decades-long previous career(s). Job shadowing in which you follow in the footsteps of an employee in your target job for a day can help you make new contacts and learn about your desired position. Be sure to leverage online social networking tools as well. Craft Your Resume Properly. Craft your resume in a way that leverages the skills and experiences gained in your previous job to land a new role. For example, if youre making the lea p from sales to law, you might emphasize your ability to cultivate new business, your extroverted personality, and your marketing skills.Gain Relevant Experience. Nothing can propel your job search forward faster than experience in your new field. Employers want workers who can hit the ground runningand these days, they are reluctant to spend training dollars. Internships, externships, and clerkships are valuable ways to gain experience while in school. If you are changing careers but not returning to school, consider volunteering for an organization or cause related to your career goals. Temporary and contract work are also options. Remain positive. Mid-life career changes often focus on the negatives (Im too old, There are no jobs, I cant compete with younger workers.) A positive attitude will reflect well on you and help you shine in interviews. Rather than focusing on the downfalls of age, highlight to potential employers the competitive advantages you offer over younger workers such as maturity, stability, commitment, and reliability. If you believe in yourself, employers will too.

Earn a Higher Salary in 2018 by Moving to This City

Earn a Higher Salary in 2018 by Moving to This CityEarn a Higher Salary in 2018 by Moving to This City If one of your New Years resolutions is to take home a bigger paycheck, you might want to head west. According to Glassdoors latest Local Pay Reports , San Francisco had the fastest year-over-year rise in median cousine pay of all major metropolitan areas studied.Amidst a year of sluggish wage growth, median base pay in San Francisco rose by 2.0 percent compared to 1.1 percent nationwide. Beyond that, San Francisco also has the highest median base pay of all the major metropolitan areas studied. At $68,078, the median base pay in San Francisco is nearly $17,000 more than the national average.And if youre in healthcare, you may see an even more dramatic rise in pay.Jobs in healthcare are bucking the national trend toward slow wage growth, said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain , Chief Economist at Glassdoor. The fastest pay growth in our December report was medical technolog ist with a scorching 6.2 percent year-over-year rise in median base pay. Similarly, emergency medical technician, certified nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, pharmacist, and pharmacy technician all experienced year-over-year pay growth of 2.0 percent or above in December - well above the overall 1.1 percent pace nationally.And of course, San Francisco is home to many jobs and companies in tech - one of the three fields that dominated the highest paying jobs in December, along with healthcare and professional services, Chamberlain said.A word of caution - San Francisco does have a notoriously high cost of living. And although some (like yours truly) would argue that you get what you pay for in terms of incredible food, culture and natural beauty, its probably wise to make sure that an increase in salary would outweigh the increased expenses. But with many high-paying tech companies, fast-growing wages and nearly 73,000 open jobs , you might just strike proverbial gold. Want to learn more? Check out theLocal Pay Reports infull here .

How to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your Employer

How to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your EmployerHow to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your EmployerIt is a fact of professional life that someone must choose you to be successful. Usually, this someone is your immediate babo, and it pays to do everything in your power to make yourself valuable to this important individual. Success, Power, and Politics in the Workplace Before diving into a number of ideas on making yourself even more valuable to your boss, lets explore the issue of someone needing to choose you to be successful. More than a few people have suggested that this thinking discounts the importance of individual determination and hard work. A polite pushback is that nothing replaces or minimizes the need for these behaviors- they are essential for success. However, for your efforts to pay off in an organizational setting, your hard work must be recognized and appreciated by some person or some group able to choose you to do more. Yes, power and politics play a role i n your success, no matter how hard you work. Senior managers select individuals for aufsteigen or advancement based on how much they trust him/her to make good decisions to lead initiatives or manage teams. This trust is cultivated through experience working together and ample evidence that the individual under consideration for advancement displays consistently good judgment when it comes working with others, solving problems, setting priorities and creating results that help the organization. Since many advancement opportunities are stretch assignments for us- larger in scale and broader in scope than our prior experiences- this factor of trust is critical. The individual extending the new opportunity to us is trusting that we will grow safely and quickly into the role. Given the importance of trust and the power your boss has to select you for more, it is essential for you to help make his/her decision an easy one when it comes to considering you for new opportunities. Strive to Understand and Support His Goals Nothing says I care and I am committed more than striving to understand and support your bosss priorities and goals. Not every boss is forthcoming with their own professional goals and personal aspirations, so you may have to dig just a bit. Use the rationale that you want to ensure your goals align with her goals. Ask clarifying questions. Communicate at the Right Volume Every manager has slightly different communication preferences. Some appreciate detailed, regular updates. Others are more interested in noteworthy exceptions. Pay attention to the cues, including interest or boredom and adjust accordingly. And it never hurts to ask How often and what detail do you prefer that I communicate with you? Be Careful With the Water Cooler Conversations The magnetic attraction of gossip is potentially toxic to your career. Steer clear of most of these group gatherings and their negative banter. Nonetheless, it pays to keep your ears and eyes op en looking for the nuggets of truth often present in workplace gossip. If you learn that people are confused over the firms direction or latest strategy, this is important information for your boss. Filter out the he said/she said gossip, but dont discount the talk that highlights organizational shortcomings and opportunities. Save Her From Unwelcome Surprises No one loves a negative surprise, least of all, your boss. If you see or sense something going wrong, run, dont walk to share this information. Your advance warning will enable her to help mitigate the problem or at least plan how she will share it with her boss and others in the organization. Always Go in With a Plan The most destructive words to your credibility with the boss are, What do you think I should do? Purge that phrase from your lexicon and remember to always enter the bosss office with a plan- preferably two options with one preferred. Be prepared to support your recommendation. Build Bridges Across the Organization Whether yourecognize it or not, you are an ambassador for your boss, reflecting on his or her reputation and ability to select and develop good people. Act accordingly. Armed with context for your bosss priorities, attempt to build allies and represent those interests in the spirit of strengthening the organization. Also, work hard to understand the priorities of other leaders and groups and ensure that your boss has this intelligence to apply to her own efforts. Show off Your Work Without Being Obnoxious Smspecies professionals master the fine art of showcasing their successful results without crossing the line to obnoxiousness. Modesty is not your ally when it comes to building credibility for advancement. Make certain to share the spotlight with those who helped bring about your good results. Develop a Reputation for Developing Others Nothing reflects better on a bosss selection of you for a promotion than your proven ability to also develop great talent. The Bottom-Line for Now Ignoring the realities of power and politics in your organization is nave. Recognize the power your boss has in choosing you to be successful and act accordingly.

Jobs and Social Media--From the Other Side of the Desk

Jobs and Social Media--From the Other Side of the DeskJobs and Social MediaFrom the Other Side of the DeskWhen youre searching for a job, its easy to develop tunnel vision. In the flurry of jobseekers Twitter accounts, RSS feeds, and email alerts, it can be useful to take a step back and remember that on the other side of all your efforts are people puzzling over how to reach the best possible recruits. Sometimes, their recruitment strategies arent so different from the ones youre using to find a great position.Looking at the search from the other side of the desk (or the screen) may help you get a better feel for the companies youre hoping to join- including their strengths, cultures, and challenges. And understanding the mindset of employers can help you communicate your value as a potential employee and problem-solver.Social Media Recruiting Brave New World In a recent study we conducted of 500 professional service firms, we found that 55% of companies use the Internet to recruit new employees.Social media recruiting is an easy, inexpensive, and increasingly common way for companies and job seekers to connect- and its becoming more and more effective. In fact, according to a Jobvite 2012 survey, 1 in 6 job seekers say they found their current job through social media. Maintaining a professional social media presence shows employers that you understand contemporary communication channels, and puts you in a space where more and more companies are turning for recruits.But what about those companies that dont use the Internet to recruit- or at least not yet? Well, our study found that 66% of firms plan to increase their ansprechbar marketing budgets this year. Those budgets include recruitment companies recognize that the future is online, and theyre moving toward it. Job seekers do well to stay ahead of the curve.And heres the beauty of professional networking with social media these days, you can send a signal that reaches beyond the digital domain. By using p latforms like LinkedIn to extend your professional network, you can communicate your expertise (and availability) to a wide range of professional contacts. Even if a contacts company isnt hiring, they may know someone a former colleague, say who is. That contact of a contact might not have been actively recruiting online, but that doesnt mean you cant reach them with online tools.Company Content A Glimpse InsideThese days, many savvy companies regularly produce content that educates their audience and helps both buyers and potential recruits understand the company- who they are, what they know, and what they do. Think company blogs, videos, and ebooks - often filled with valuable industry-related educational content. This is called content marketing, and companies social media recruiting frequently coincide with their content marketing efforts.As a jobseeker, you want to understand potential employers as well as you can. So make use of their content. What exactly does Company A do ? What sort of clients do they serve? Firms websites and social media feeds may provide valuable insight. Social media can offer subtle glimpses into the working culture of a firm. If you see occasional photos from corporate events and parties, these might tell you something about day to day life at the company. nachrichtensendung bulletins- awards won by the company, major contracts landed, the development of an exciting new product- may help you understand the companys focus and direction.Thinking Like a MarketerCompanies are using content marketing to communicate a lot of things, including their unique identity and their place in their particular industry. But one of the most important things theyre trying to do is demonstrate their expertise. Keep these goals in mind as youre marketing yourself. How can you demonstrate your unique expertise and show how it aligns with a companys needs?Social media is a fantastic opportunity to engage in industry conversations. Platforms like Twi tter and LinkedIn Groups give you the opportunity to communicate directly with professionals in your field. If you take the time to ask thoughtful questions and offer informed opinions to your social media channels on a regular fundament, you will start to appear on the radar for your industry. Then, when you do post a job advertisement, you will already have made a professional connection- and this could be the basis for an ongoing relationship.Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D., is Managing Partner at Hinge, a marketing firm that specializes in branding and marketing for professional services. Hinge is a leader in rebranding firms to help them grow faster and maximize value. Lee can be reached at LFrederiksenhingemarketing.com or 703-391-8870. Read More Weird Interview Questions That Google, Dell, and Amazon Ask Vaults 2014 Consulting Rankings are Here Is Business Outlook Improving?

Un-Answered Problems With Resume Leadership Exposed

Un-Answered Problems With Resume Leadership Exposed Just take a look at the work description, in case you have this, and customize your resume accordingly. As the recruiters check whats up-front and center, its important to put the most significant info in an executive summary. Put your very best foot forward in your summary and support your skills with experience, and youre going to be on your way to a job that you love. Always study the work description carefully and note the particular skills required. There are 3 predominant types of resume templates. Choose whether you will use the format of contemporary resumes or that of a standard expert profile. You will see the format composed of different resume sections. The 2 sections also utilize different bullet point styles. The peak of your executive resumes very first page is deemed prime real estate. As a C-level executive, an on-line website offers you an opportunity to be noticed and offer your audience an opportunit y to understand, like and trust you. Developing a great resume can feel like an intimidating job, but it doesnt need to be. In your resume, be certain to bring a title to it. For a lucky few, you might not have even had to interview whatsoever, landing positions and promotions by your network alone. You want a resume sooner or later in the hiring process for a standard, recognized job search currency. To put it simply, utilizing a Blank Resume To Print speeds up the practice of producing a winning resume and ensures that it is going to stick out in the application procedure. Infographic resumes seem nice, but you also have to be concerned about applicant tracking system computer software. When people are seeking a position in an organization, there are specific skills that the employers will be searching for on the resume. The next five skills have come up in nearly every leadership discussion Ive had. Each form of job demands particular abilities, qualifications and expe rtise. Submitting a resume to reveal youre a valuable education leader is important to securing interviews. Leadership has to be in your DNA. Effective leaders are able to communicate and collaborate with individuals from all possible levels. The important thing here is moderation. Your resume often is going to be the very first opportunity youve got to leave a great impression with a possible employer. Even when youre a great worker, but you may be not able to present the principal points in your resume correctly, you might miss the chance. Everything in your resume must align with what theyll be searching for in candidates. If you select the classic chronological style, youll use your previous jobs and your history of accomplishments to demonstrate your upcoming potential. Resume Leadership Explained In addition, you can learn more on the subject of executive careers and hunt for executive management jobs on Monster. Our completely free executive resume will be handy to you. You only need to make sure you position your resume so it is aimed toward the advertising executive job title. Begin the executive summary with your private branding or leadership statement. The Fight Against Resume Leadership Each form of resume has its advantages and disadvantages. Your resume design needs to be clean, easy-to-read and ought to draw attention to key info. Most jobs require that you have a fundamental comprehension of computer programs including Excel and Microsoft Office, and skills in world wide web navigation, social networking sites and email systems. Resume Leadership and Resume Leadership - The Perfect Combination Amid an out of satiate move you want to go to observe a property which youre truly inspired by. Obviously, there are dozens and dozens of unique fonts to pick from, but not all them are befitting to use on a resume, so picking one is extremely important to be in a position to land work. A realtor can aid your turn in a wide selecti on of various ways. While he can help you locate the ideal home in your value range amid your out of state move they are additionally useful for different reasons. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Resume Leadership Strong leadership is all about much more than simply telling everyone what to do. The very first important point to remember when writing an effective resume is to be aware of the purpose of it. Effective leaders can get stuff accomplished in a timely fashion and make sure their employees are receiving the work-life balance they will need to remain energized. Presumably, Donald had no clue what was going to transpire.

Will A Second Job Put Your Career at Risk or in Overdrive

Will A Second Job Put Your Career at Risk or in Overdrive According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association,reported on Aol.com, 48 percent of women and 43 percent of men feel they are under paid, which is no surprise given the fact we are at the back end of the recession during which many employees have seen pay freezes or below inflation pay rises. In fact, according to Worldatwork the global average 2.2 percent pay hike that the world saw in 2009 in the dark depths of the recession was an unprecedented low. So with substantial pay rises out of the question, many economically squeezed workers are looking at alternative sources of income such as a second job with studies showing that around 5 percent of the workforce may be moonlighting (or performing second jobs). But, there has in the past been a negative association with moonlighting with it being seen as a little illicit and being born out of economic desperation. But, it doesnt always have to be this way, as if done well, moonlighting can not only boost your income but be a stepping stone to a better life and career. And so how can you moonlight in an effective and career enhancing way?Call me boring, but to start with you need to check your employee handbook and make sure you comply with any company procedures around taking a second job so you dont put your main job at risk. If your employer has reservations on you taking a second job you could use this as an opportunity to open negotiations for a pay rise, promotion or additional hours within your current place of work.You should be aware that you will most likely experience a 50 percent decline in productivity after you have worked 40 hours in a week and there will be a general decline in productivity after you have overworked for four weeks in succession. Youll also be at greater risk of burnout. This burnout risk can be reduced if your second job is materially different to your main job. Lets say you work at a desk with figures all day, then your second job might involve you working outside doing something more manual. Working in a different field is a good political play too, as there is much less chance of a conflict of interest occurring with your current employer.So, there is no doubt that doing a second job can boost your income and help you reach your financial goals in the short term, but its not a sustainable long-term strategy to work 50-60 hours a week, as you are likely to burnout and damage your health. This is why I believe that there should be a wider plan to your moonlighting, e.g. you are doing it for a few years to achieve a known goal, which should be that you dont have to hold down a second job. This means that you could be acquiring experience or training in a new job area where you can eventually earn more money you are getting more money to fund an entrepreneurial business venture to buy a home, etc .The point is that working a second job is really only a temporary strategy and should not be considered a long-term approach. It should ideally be a tactical tool to enable you to reach a short/medium term goal or to get into a position where you dont need to work in a second job.