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Many people go into careers and jobs without thinking if this is suited for me or 5 to 10 years later they realize this is not what I expected.

Many individuals spend months or even years not happy with their careers. Some may take any available job while others may follow in their parent’s footsteps. This may work out for some but many others never discover their true career skills and are dissatisfied with their jobs.

Careful career planning is essential in fulfilling one’s job search that will give years of work enjoyment and satisfaction. If you are going to work it might as well be something you like to do and skilled at doing. Knowing what your skills are and what you are good at is the starting point in choosing the right career. You will unlikely be completely satisfied in your career unless you use the skills you enjoy and are good at.

Ask yourself some questions such as: What interests do I have? What sorts of people would I like to work with?

Don’t confuse an ideal job with a job title. You might enjoy working in one place and hate working in another. Both could have the same job title but be entirely different jobs.

Let’s say you were looking for a job as a sales person or a teacher, these would be job titles. The ideal job within the salesperson category could be in retail sales, real estate, manufacturing sales representatives, car sales, etc. A teacher might teach kindergarten, elementary, middle, or high school students. Or a teacher might teach adults or special need individuals how to read and write. So don’t choose a job just by its title but by the different job areas under the title that fits your interests and skills. People are more likely to stay in a career and be successful if it suits their interest and skills.  http://www.careerberg.com

It would be wise to spend extra time thinking about what type of work you want to do. Some key factors to consider when planning a career is your skills, interests, earnings, location, work environment, kinds of people you like to work with, etc.

You may have to go back to school for more education, but don’t let that hold you back from that ideal job. Education and earnings go hand in hand. The more education you have the more money you are capable of earning. Although earnings are important, liking your work is equally important.

Having a college degree is definitely a plus in career planning, but many trade, technical and other schools offer similar opportunities to individuals without a college degree.

A well trained electrician, plumber, police officer, auto mechanic, computer repair technician, tool and die maker among many others can do very well in today’s economy. There are many jobs that only require one or two years of training. Many companies and organizations have on the job training while paying your salary. People in sales, small business, self employment and other job areas do quite well without a college degree, although for better positions more education is often required.

Your career will most likely change over the course of your life no matter how much career planning you do. That makes it important for you to recognize what you are good at and develop those skills throughout your life. As your interests change you may want to develop new skills.

Good career planning is very important, but it should be done in the context of what you want to do with your life.

Are you in an active job-search, but have no job? Are you having troubles finding a job?

Not long ago, one of my former students contacted me in despair. It was six months after graduation, and she still hadn’t found a job. I started thinking about some of the common roadblocks to a successful job-search, and I came up with this list of 10 important questions. Still haven’t found a job? Ask yourself.

Are you networking?
Job-seekers today can’t rely on passive methods of job-hunting. You have to meet people and tell as many of them as possible that you’re looking for a job (be specific). Take your resume everywhere and give it out to everyone you can. Try informational interviewing; it’s a highly effective form of networking.

Are you limiting your search?
Are you relying strictly on want ads in the newspaper? Or have you decided that Internet ads will be the source of your next job? Don’t search in only one sphere. Only a small percentage of job-seekers find jobs through either print or Internet want ads. So where do they find them? See Question No. 1 — through networking. But don’t even limit your search just to networking; incorporate every form of job-hunting into the mix. Get some hints in our tutorial, Job Search 101.

Are you targeting employers most likely to need your skills?
A really effective job search begins with comprehensive employer research and development of a list of employers to target. Based on various research criteria, you can target companies you most want to work for, companies that are likely to have plentiful openings in your field, and/or companies in particular need of the skills you have to offer. Once you’ve researched them, you can approach them using various job-hunting techniques:

• Sending cold-contact inquiry letters the impress the employer with your knowledge of the company.
• Using your network to uncover people with an “in” into your target companies.
• Informationally interviewing people in your target companies.
• Watching for print and Internet want ads from the companies (but not relying solely on these ads).

Are you spending enough time job-hunting?
Many experts believe job-hunting should in itself be a full-time job. If you’re in school or employed while seeking a better job, your time may be somewhat limited. But you should put as much time as you can into it. Try to contact people in your network every day with the goal of setting up interviews with your contacts or people they’ve referred you to.

Do you follow up after sending out your resume?
Do you just send your resume and cover letters out into limbo and hope for the best? Or do you make a follow-up call or send follow-up e-mail to see if you can schedule an interview appointment? Those who proactively follow up are much more likely to get interviews.

Are you even getting interviews?
If you’re following up but still not getting interviews, the problem could lie with your resume or cover letter. You may want to get a professional to review them. A good source is your college career-services office. Even if you’re long out of school, these offices often serve alumni, sometimes for a fee. Or consult a professional resume writer.

How are your interview skills?
If you’re getting lots of interviews but never make it past the interview stage, your interview skills might need some polishing. Have a friend conduct a mock interview with you and critique your performance. Better yet, find a professional in your field to mock-interview you. And the best choice is to see a professional career counselor who can not only critique your performance but also videotape it so you can see for yourself how you appear to others. Our interviewing resources may also be able to help you.

Do you send thank-you notes after interviews?
It’s just common courtesy. Though a thank-you note won’t make or break your job search, it might. Let’s say the hiring decision is between equally qualified candidates. One sent a thank-you note, and the other didn’t. Odds favor the candidate who thanked the employer for his or her time

Do you follow up after the interview and thank-you note?
If you’ve sent a thank-you note and haven’t heard anything by the time the employer said the hiring decision would be made, by all means call. Be polite but persistent. This kind of follow-up shows your interest in the job.

Have you asked what you’re doing wrong?
After you receive a rejection from an employer, do you ask what you did wrong or what you could have done better? Granted, most employers won’t give you a straight answer; they’re afraid of getting sued. But occasionally you’ll find a sympathetic person with whom you may have had good rapport in the interview. If only one person reveals something that can give you a more effective approach to your job search, it will have been well worth asking. If you are rejected, also be sure to let the employer know you’re still interested in working for the company. That technique has paid off for many a job-seeker when the person the company hired didn’t work out