4 Steps to Launching Your Career in 2012 (333 hits)
The end of the year is the perfect time to assess you. During this time you are able to evaluate your current position and where you want to be next year. Your ultimate goal next year may be to graduate, get hired, get promoted, or start your own business. To find a career that is right for you, it is important to know a lot about yourself. You may feel as though you know everything there is to know about you. It can be very surprising to discover that you may have overlooked or taken for granted qualities you possess or need to improve upon.
Assessing your past and present will help you make informed decisions about your future. Too often you forget about your past accomplishment from previous work history or college experiences. Reflecting upon the past gives you a sense of where you have been and where you would like to go.
Assess Your Past Experiences: Be flexible.. try one of the following:
Make a list of all your important career events. (Tasks, responsibilities, awards, and accomplishments)
Think in a chronological order, taking the most recent job you had and working backward. (Identify tasks, responsibilities, awards, and accomplishments for each job) This can also be done if you are a current college student.
Display your education accomplishments (acceptance to a program or school, grades, extracurricular activities, and special projects)
List Volunteer activities and community involvement. Were you a member of a committee? Elected office or board?
Career events What skills and experiences do you have that would interest an employer? Write down scenarios in which you gained or used those skills.
Its time to Assess Yourself: Take Assessments
Assessments are tools to help you explore yourself. They can be based on skills, interests, values, or other traits. These traits are then matched to a broad list of careers. Assessments are key to a successful career exploration; they are the first step in finding out what best fits you. When selecting an assessment provider it is important to consider the following questions.
1. What does it measure?
2. Who developed the assessment? Are they a trusted source?
3. Is it a proven tool? Has it been validated?
4. What will the results look like?
Tools and Resources for assessments:
The Skills Profiler identifies skills and matches them to jobs.
http://bit.ly/7WBfqr
A FABULOUS RESOURCE **** Employ-ability Checkup provides a snapshot of your employ- ability http://bit.ly/FSam6
Time Management is Key
We live in a microwave society. Everyone wants to have it right now with a serious time crunch. The most effective person, are planners. It does not matter if you have 20 minutes or 20 years, knowing how you spend your time- your life- will help you make the best career decisions.
Take a moment to think about your perception of time. It is important that you realize that you wont have time or energy to do everything that fits on a calendar. Maintaining a healthy diet and taking time to relax is important. Blocking off time for me time allows gives you time to check off task accomplished. Do something that you enjoy the most.
Inventory. Make a log of what you do with your time. Think about what you do that is satisfying and what isn't. Try to understand how your use of time affects your life. Think about the changes you might make to use the time you have differently.
Make priorities. Write down everything you want to do. Rank the items on your list by how important they are to you. Estimate how long the important items will take and add the important details to your calendar so you can follow your progress.
Evaluate. Occasionally revisit your perception of time and review the list of everything you want to do. Remove the things you have finished or no longer want to do. Add the new things you want to do. And always remember the importance of having time to relax and reflect.
Set Career Goals: Ideas to Create Career Goals
Think about your interest and skills. Complete assessments to get more detailed information.
Think about occupations you might like. Be sure to research the responsibilities, task, and salary.
Think about goals you have: family, personal, career
Try new experiences before making them part of your career. Take an internship, a part-time job, or shadow someone
Create short and long-term goals. Make a list of all possible goals and prioritize.
Establish a network: Professors, Managers, Co-workers
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