CareerBerg.com – Latest jobs Updates, CV Writing, Interview Questions

Career planning is not an activity that should be done once and then left behind as you move forward in your jobs and careers

Instead, career planning is an activity that is best done on a regular basis. You may already know that the average worker will change careers many times over his or her lifetime. http://www.careerberg.com

That is why, it is never too soon or too late to start your own career planning.

Career planning is not a tedious activity, not something to be dreaded or put off. It should be an activity that should be liberating and fulfilling. There should be goals to achieve in your current career or plans for beginning a transition to a new career.

As a whole, career planning should be a rewarding and positive experience.

Here, then, are some tips to help you achieve successful career planning.

1. Make career planning an annual event.

Many of us have myriad of other things on an annual basis, so why not career planning?

Find a day or weekend once a year and schedule a retreat for yourself. Try to block out all distractions so that you have the time to truly focus on your career — what you really want out of your career, out of your life.

By making career planning an annual event, you will feel more secure in your career choice and direction. You will be better prepared for the many uncertainties and difficulties that lie ahead in all of our jobs and career.

2. Map your path since last career planning

One of your first activities whenever you take on career planning is spending time mapping out your job and career path since the last time you did any sort of career planning.

While you should not dwell on your past, taking the time to review and reflect on the path will help you plan for the future.

Once you have mapped your past, take the time to reflect on your course. Note why it looks the way it does.

Are you happy with your path? Could you have done things better? What might you have done differently? What can you do differently in the future?

3. Reflect on your likes and dislikes, needs and wants

Change is one factor of life. Everybody changes, as do our likes and dislikes. Something we loved doing two years ago may now give us displeasure. So always take time to reflect on the things in your life that you feel most strongly about. http://www.careerberg.com

Make a two-column list of your major likes and dislikes. Then use this list to examine your current job and career path. If your job and career still fall mostly in the like column, then you know you are still on the right path; however, if your job activities fall mostly in the dislike column, now is the time to begin examining new jobs and new careers.

Finally, take the time to really think about what it is you want or need from your work, from your career.

Are you looking to make a difference in the world? To be famous? To become financially independent? To effect change? Take the time to understand the motives that drive your sense of success and happiness.

After all this has been done, you will see that the time given on your career planning is a time well spent.

I know it’s a bit early but if you want 2011 to be your best year ever, now is the time to set goals.

Before we decide targets we should look at areas we could set goals in. In order to give ourselves some balance try looking at an exercise called the wheel of life.

Draw a star diagram, with eight lines of equal length. Add titles to represent important areas in your life, e.g. Career, Finances, Physical, Relationships, Emotional, Educational, and Spiritual. I’ve only made 7 suggestions as many people have another very specific area in their life that requires particular attention.

For each of these 8 areas you’ll need to give yourself a score from 0 to 10 according to how happy you are with that portion of your life right now, 10 being extremely happy and 1 being not happy at all. Each line is a spoke and each spoke has numbers from 0 at the centre to 10 at the rim. Place a cross on each spoke according to that area’s score and join them up to create your Wheel of Life.

Would a car journey be comfortable if the wheels on your car were the shape of your wheel of life?

This exercise shows where we need to set goals. It helps us to see how out of balance we are and what areas to focus on in the coming year. We can set goals in any of these areas and we need to be very specific with those goals.

We aren’t looking to score 10 on every spoke but to achieve similar numbers on all spokes to create balance for a smoother ride. When I do this and set goals I can get myself back on track. If I then work hard towards those goals and get some more balance, then re-do the exercise, I come up with a different shape wheel and can set some more goals to get balanced again. http://www.careerberg.com

A career decision requires a lot of research and contemplation. You need to assess yourself and your interests in order to make the right decision, as there are many career options available today. However, if you are creative and you have a desire for a strong career option then you may give the entertainment industry a try. People have always amused themselves through various forms of entertainment and this industry has been growing exponentially. In the United States, this industry has been more about ‘industry’ and less about ‘entertainment’, as any project is a combined effort of a large number of people.

The entertainment industry holds opportunities for everyone. There are many career choices available in this industry, which offer an excellent chance to satisfy your creative urge and put your talent to optimum use. There are options for people who want to work behind the scene as well as those who want to be in the limelight. You can take part in creating good entertainment in any way you want, as there is place for all. The only factor you need to have is a creative bent of mind and a strong inclination towards art and entertainment.

Television And Movies: If you always dreamed of becoming popular and being in the limelight, then you can try for a career in this industry. If you have a penchant for acting, you can act in movies or television, or you can also work behind the scenes. You can become a part of the makeup and costume department if you are interested in dress designing and make up. You can also work on building movie sets or writing scripts for movies and television.

Music: This industry can help you in making a promising career in this field. All you need is talent along with a passion for music. You can either work for distribution or production. On the production side, you can work as a music director, playback singer, songwriter and composer, musician or technician. Production is for those who want to be involved directly in making good music. You can also work for music stores and radio stations in the distribution of music.

Designing And Animation: A creative hand and interest in designing can open up a career option for you in the entertainment industry. So if you are interested in creating characters through animation, computer graphics and web designing then a good opportunity is waiting for you in this industry. A good knowledge of digital graphic packages like Flash and Photoshop may land you in an animation studio where you can make the most of your creativity.

Dance: Dance and music are inseparable part of entertainment. This field has a lot of appeal and importance in this industry. You can be a choreographer or a back up dancer for any music group. If you have an interest in making costumes and equipment related to dance, then you can also make a career out here.

Print Media And Books: The opportunities that are available in print media are diverse. You can aspire to be a publisher, writer, reviewer or editor. The process that is involved in this media ranges from writing to publishing to printing and reviewing. Each process needs people who are not only talented but people who are creative and can deliver their best.  http://www.careerberg.com

So if you thought that the entertainment industry had a place just for people who are vying for the limelight then it is advisable that you give it a second thought. This industry not only provides you career options directly related to entertainment business, but also presents many indirect opportunities as well. You just need to have talent and dedication.

It is very important that you know yourself and what you want in life. Choosing what you want in life can only happen when you create a life based on your own particular design. This design reflects your own personal growth and the way you make them fall into different choices made by you in life, i.e. in relationships, career and jobs and so on.

Right Values, Right Goals
As mentioned, your first necessary step towards your personal growth should be to identify yourself and your likes and dislikes. You should clearly demarcate a line between your needs and wants in life. For your personal growth, it is very necessary that you strengthen your strong suits and talents, a gift which you can identify yourself best. Everyone wants to achieve the best in life, give a push to their career as well as personal life. This can only be realized when you strengthen your core abilities and achieve a higher personal growth in life.

You attitude towards life and society in general is based on some values. Your values automatically are reflected in the way you present yourself to others. This forms an important aspect of your personal growth. When you as an individual contribute more towards your society and community, inspire others through your learning and values, admire beauty and stay connected, you already achieve a different position for yourself, a position, which is unique, and a position that contributes to your emotional, mental and personal growth.

We always, as individuals, set some priorities and goals for ourselves. We lead our lives based on these priorities. However, it is very necessary that these goal oriented priorities do not off sync with our values and ideas. Try not to pursue goals for the sake of pursuing it. This stagnates your personal growth. Therefore, it is always better to write down your goals, which you yourself can identify with and match it up with your values that define your true self. By focusing yourself to a particular set of goals, you can really motivate yourself to achieve what you want in life. It allows you to stay focused, clear in life, and identify your true self in the pursuit of personal growth.

Experiment with Life:
Achieving your goals require commitment and a desire to work on those goals and spend time on them. Change can only take place when you are prepared to undertake certain risks and experiment with different aspects of life. This really shapes and contributes to one’s personal growth. Experimenting with one’s life is very important as it helps you in discovering many facets of life and simultaneously designs your life according to these experiences.

Remove the roadblocks that come on your way when you are designing your life according to your values and goals. Often people are unaware or unable in identifying and removing these blocks. They seek the help of a Personal Coach who helps them in exploring their opportunities, outside perspective and the possibilities of achieving their goal. They guide you through the necessary tools and structures that leave a profound and ever lasting impact on your life. In the long-term, you would reach the higher echelons of your personal growth.

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.

Whether you are male or female, a mom or a dad, balancing career and family can be really difficult. When you’re a woman, though, the choices you have to make seem especially difficult and the responsibilities all the more great. For some reason, women are guilt-ridden with their career decisions and the choices they make about working while trying to raise their children, providing nutritious meals for their family, keeping a respectable house and keeping their husbands happy. Last on the list, of course, is finding some time for themselves. So how does a woman find time to actually feel happy with her daily activities while keeping up with all of the responsibility?

First, take time to smell the roses! Literally, you can take time to smell the roses but you can actually do this with no flowers in sight. Every day, try to look around and appreciate what you have, taking in the sounds of your child’s laughter, the wag of your dog’s tail, the special glance of your husband as you tell a funny joke. Sometimes, the knowledge of what you have on your plate for the day will feel overwhelming, but a little perspective goes a long way. It may be a cliché and a very tired phrase, but it truly does work. People tend to get lost in the mundane, day-to-day “functioning” instead of really living their lives. For example, next time you are worried about fitting in your exercise with your child’s play date at Little Gym, forego the Little Gym and head out with your son or daughter for a run.http://www.careerberg.com

Strap the little one in the jog stroller or if he or she is old enough, ask them to put on the running shoes with Mommy and head outside! Once outside, you can literally stop to smell the roses. Just a few minutes of gratitude a day will work wonders for your soul and automatically make your life feel more balanced.

Along these same lines, try and give yourself some “me” time once a week. Once a week may not seem like much, but if you really allow yourself to soak it in and enjoy the time spent, it will make the stress of all of the rest of the hectic days melt away. Take a good block of time on a Saturday or Sunday – 2 hours, maybe – and mark this time in your calendar in pen, not pencil. Keep a standing appointment with yourself, and honor it as you would any other. Think you are too busy on a weekend to do this? You will feel much more productive the rest of the weekend allowing yourself this little ‘refresher’, rather than trying to cram some time in on a random Tuesday or other weeknight. For this special time, you can book a massage or a facial at your favorite spa. Take a couple of hours to go window shopping at your favorites stores, by yourself or with a friend. Take in a matinee with a couple of girlfriends. If your husband is willing to fly solo on a Saturday night, you can even book a girls’ night out once in a while and truly let loose! Even if your budget doesn’t allow for these activities once a week, you can lock yourself in the bathroom with a good book, a bubble bath and a nice glass of wine and feel good about your time alone – you deserve some!

Probably the most obvious way to balance career and family is to incorporate your family into what would otherwise be “work time”. If you have a short commute to work, for example, perhaps you can drive your kids to school each morning instead of having them take the bus. In the alternative, you could have your morning cup of coffee at the bus stop with them and spend a few minutes chatting about their day and what they plan to learn in school as you sip your cup of Joe and breathe in the morning air to mentally prepare for your own day ahead. If you normally exercise in the morning and leave the house very early, switch your workout time to lunch and leave the office to go to the gym, eating at your desk when you get back. You will have more time with your family each day and get a healthy break from your pile of papers to boot.

You may need to get a little creative with your schedule, but there are definitely ways to help balance career and family. Sometimes an extra few minutes each day or a once-weekly good block of time can go a long way in helping restore your peace of mind and help you feel less harried.

http://www.careerberg.com/

The New Year Resolution Reality.

After some casual digging on a Sunday afternoon, I discovered that only 40-45% of adults make resolutions each year. After one week, 75% of those people still have faith that they will make it through the next 51 weeks. However, this also means that 25%, sadly, convinced themselves that their goal was so not worth their time and effort. I am hesitant to admit that I have been one of those twenty-five percent for – oh – the past two decades or more. Oh well, “better luck next year,” I used to say.

The thrill of resolution making, for me, had been conjuring up the really great goal – which was enough work in itself. Reaching that goal had always been thought of as ‘almost’ impossible. After all, this is a classic case of man versus himself, and we are either the worst people to go head-to-head with or the best. Fact remains, we are always thinking about what is best for us, and will work tirelessly with the All Mighty Conscience to justify all our decisions… even if it means bowing out of a poorly thought-out choice.

Yet, there are some wonderfully strong-willed people whom have gone toe-to-toe with the beast and seen personal success — for 46% percent of January’s go-getters will still be dedicated to their goals after a whole six months!

That’s both impressive and promising. So how do we make sure that we are among the forty-sixth percentile?

1. “You will become what you think about.”

I’d like to say to set ‘realistic’ goals; however, your and my idea of a realistic goal could vary to a degree. Aiming for something a little more believable for you to achieve is okay; however, low-balling yourself in the process is not. If what you truly want is good enough for you to wish and dream about, then I would think it warrants the effort of manifesting, don’t you think?

2. Pre-plan your goal, and preferably not in the final hours before switching to a new calendar. Think it through. Think of everything that this goal entails – the pros and the cons. How will you handle yourself when you face a challenge – like, say, your negative days? How will you pick yourself up and keep going? Do you have support from someone else? Don’t let the possible obstacles stop you from achieving your goal; instead prepare yourself ahead of time with how you will handle them.

3. Write down your goal with all the bells and whistles. Write it in as much detail as your mind can conjure up. Hey, you are the one that has been dreaming of this very moment – you know better than anyone else what that looks and feels like. So write it down! Journalize affirmations such as “I deserve and am ready to receive…” or “I am so very grateful now that I…” You fill in the blanks. http://www.careerberg.com/

4. “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Baby steps, my friend, baby steps. If your goal is to shed twenty pounds in twelve months, then break it down into something less overwhelming. Focus on losing five pounds. Then the next five pounds and so on. The overall long-term goal doesn’t change just because you chose to reach it in increments.

5. Be kind to yourself. Cut yourself some slack by allowing a little leeway.

Should you cave one day and have the piece of chocolate you vowed January 1st to not have, know that this isn’t considered a condemnable breach of contract. A little slip isn’t a reason to say “better luck next year” and abort your mission.;) Consider it part of the accepting, learning, growing, and manifesting process!

As we embark on a brand new year of fresh ideas, big dreams, and glorious goals, I wish you all the very best with realizing your aspirations, as well as kindness to yourselves in the process.

http://www.careerberg.com/

You’ve got the itch to change jobs. This might be a good time to make the move. The Wall Street Journal has just reported, “Job-seekers from rank-and-file workers to senior executives are preparing their resumes for what may be the strongest fall hiring season in years.”

“Before you jump to a new job, be certain you have good, sound reasons for wanting to make a change,” advises Ramon Greenwood, senior career counselor at CommonSenseAtWork.com. “You may believe you can accelerate your career with a new job. You may be bored or running away from personal problems.”

First, ask yourself, “Are there things I can do to make my present situation more acceptable?”

Don’t be lulled into believing that the grass will necessarily be greener in another pasture. Or that a new pasture will be a great deal different from the one you are grazing in now.

Except in the most extreme reasons, do not leave your present job until you have another one firmly in hand. If it was ever true that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, it is when a job is concerned. Remember, it is always easier to get a job when you have one.

What Do You Want?

Take the time to figure out what you really want to do.

What will it take to make you happier? It is not enough to know what you want to change from; you need to know what you want to change to.

Be specific in answering these questions. Don’t allow yourself to be driven by a sense of vague malaise to make a change just for the sake of change. If you can’t spell out in writing the valid reasons you want to move to a new job and be equally specific about what you want that job to be, don’t set the process in motion. http://www.careerberg.com/

Recognize that you are contemplating a serious and difficult undertaking, even under the best of circumstances. There is always some risk to your present situation when you start looking around. What will your present employer think if the word gets around that you are “looking”? At best, the whole process is usually disruptive and can be traumatic for you and your loved ones. Determine that you have the courage to live with the dangers and uncertainties of making a change.

Survey the situation. Be sure there is a market for the skills you have to offer where you want to live.

If You Go, Go Full Speed Ahead

If, after giving the matter careful thought, you are convinced you would be better off in a new situation, go for it full speed ahead. The search for a new job is not a time for half-measures. To vacillate between courting new employers and sitting back in a coy mode, hoping to be courted, will surely breed frustration. Mount a campaign and invest whatever time and energy are required to reach your objective.

If you have something to offer that the market wants, you will find a new job. However, it will take time. There may come a point when you decide that by comparison your present situation looks quite attractive. So you may decide to stay put, at least for the time being. So don’t burn bridges behind you.

And don’t worry about there being a stigma attached to changing jobs. A lot of other people are shopping for new jobs at any given time. It has been estimated that today’s college graduates can expect that on average they will have held eight different jobs by the time they are 40.

In fact, some personnel recruiters argue that your resume will be stronger if it shows some changes in jobs, so long as the reasons for changing are positive.

http://www.careerberg.com/

http://www.careerberg.com

A Job is something you do to help pay your way through life. You don’t love a job you may not even like your job but you need to do it so that you can pay your way through life. There are people out there that may even have 2 or more jobs these days and they may not like any of them but yet they keep on doing it day after day.

Now a career is like a job in that it helps you get through life but a career is a job that you love. A career is where your passion is. It’s not just a job that you need to do. It’s something that will pay all your bills in life plus give you a feeling of satisfaction. I Read this book which explains the difference between a job and a career but I was still guilty of not realizing the difference..

A job may be something you do to get through school but a career is what you learned from that schooling. A career is what you have always wanted to do in your life whereas a job is something you may do to get you through that schooling. I have had many jobs in my life and only a few of those jobs were actually careers.

To better explain this a job is like putting your clothes on or doing the dishes. It’s something that has to be done but a career is like putting on a new suit or going to a nice restaurant. A career is not something that has to be done in order to get by but something that you are passionate about.You go to grade school when you are young because you have to but when you go to college it’s because you want the knowledge that will allow you to pursue what you want to do as a career. http://www.careerberg.com

The book that explains it be is by Ayn Rand, “The Fountainheads”. Rourke the main character wants to design buildings and houses which is his

career choice. At one part in the book Rourke get a job in a granite site, he does this so he can earn money to pay his way through life. With his career choice, that of an Architect, it doesn’t matter whether he makes a lot of money but it is what he is passionate about. He will work at the Granite Quarry until he succeeds at becoming an Architect.

If you want a great book to read then pick up a copy of either “The Fountainheads” or “Atlas Shrugged”. Both of these books will give you hours of entertainment plus they will even teach you a few things. I read these 2 books over and over again because each time I know that I will learn new things.

I am tired of just working jobs in my life and need to start working my career choice so that my life will give me some satisfaction. I have spent the greater part of the last 2 decades working mainly just jobs. Ways to pay most of my bills each month. If you don’t know what you are passionate about then visit a career counseling center and maybe take a test that will help you to discover where your passions are.

A Job is something you do to help pay your way through life. You don’t love a job you may not even like your job but you need to do it so that you can pay your way through life. There are people out there that may even have 2 or more jobs these days and they may not like any of them but yet they keep on doing it day after day.