QuintCareers.com, a Great Site for Career Change Information

Time to recommend a great website for those of you planning a career change. Take a minute to hop on over to QuintCareers.com. They have a few hundred articles on the topics of college, career planning and job hunting. You could spend hours reading through the articles or jump over to the job posting and try to find the perfect fit. QuintCareers’ job board is run by the powerhouse, Beyond.com. When I checked today, Beyond listed 235,815 job openings.

Here a list of 10 important keys to career change success. These are from a QuintCareers article by Randall S. Hansen, PhD titled, The 10-Step Plan to Career Change.

1. Assessment of likes and dislikes.
2. Research new careers.
3. Transferable skills.
4. Training and education.
5. Networking.
6. Gaining experience.
7. Find a mentor.
8. Changing in or out.
9. Job-hunting basics.
10. Be flexible.

Coryan Update #3

Well, the website is coming along. I've been designing templates for the pages and trying to work some on content. I completed a page today that you may find interesting. It's called Current News Lists. I'm not nuts about the name, or the complete look of the page (needs some graphics). Nonetheless, I really like lists that are linked to on the page.

I've actually started making come small pocket change off the advertising on this blog. Nothing major, but it's a start. (Google restricts me from sharing the specifics.) I've included Google Adsense advertising on the Listonga.com website and just a couple days ago added some Amazon.com advertising. I like the look of the Amazon ads, but we will have to see if they pay off. I may add some Amazon links to this blog. I can select the specific ads, so I might promote some of the books that I have read.

Be sure to follow the progress at Listonga.com. And, if you have ideas, comments or a suggestion for a list, drop me an email at coryan@inbox.com.

Creative Advertising - Check It Out

I came across this site during a break today while using StumbleUpon. It is a collection of photos showing some very ingenious advertising campaigns. Check it out at Hemmy.com. Wow, the creativity that some advertisers have!

Researching Business Opportunities

Okay, if this is the first post you have read on U Turn Ahead, go to my December 2, 2007 post so you know what's going on.

I wish researching business opportunities was as easy as exploring career choices. Lack of information is not the problem. It's that much of the information on business opportunities is biased. Quality business forecast reports often cost money and the free ones are usually just trying to sell you something. But there is information out there, if we look.

Check out Tim Berry’s article “Market Research” on BPlans.com. His article give you several sources for starting your research on various business opportunities. It will require some work, but the time spent understanding the market and future potential is well worth it.

Write down the key information you learn about each industry during your research. Some questions you will want answered are:

1. Who are your customers?
2. How competitive is the industry?
3. What is required for startup?
4. What resources and skills are necessary?
5. What marketing strategies are effective?
6. Who are the potential suppliers?

Stay tuned. Next we will be looking at what we need to know about ourselves before making a career change. Then, finally, we will learn how to put all of this information together in a way that allows us to compare the various career choices and determine which options are best.

Career Change: Researching a Career Choice

When considering a career change, or even a first career, you need to gather information about yourself and the career. The idea is to find a good match, so you have to consider the career in light of your desires, strengths and abilities. For example, being a pilot may seem like a great career, but if you have a tremendous fear of flying….well, you see where I am going.

So, first let’s look at the questions we need to ask about the actual career. What do we want to know in order to determine if this work is a good match for us? Here is a short list of some of the key elements:

1. How much education is required?
2. What is the earning potential?
3. What is the future outlook for this type of work?
4. What is the typical workday like for this career?

And wouldn’t it be great if there was one place where we could research all of these questions for just about any career choice? There is, and it’s paid for with your tax dollars. Check out the U.S. Department of Labor’s online version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This handbook has been around for decades (I was introduced to it in the mid-seventies), but it is updated every year. The Department of Labor uses its extensive database of statistics to answer questions about the future potential for nearly every occupation imaginable. You can even find a career’s average salary, read helpful articles, or find other resources such as State employment agencies. To begin your career search, start here and enter a career choice.

Of course, the Occupational Outlook Handbook is not perfect. One shortcoming is the way that the handbook groups similar occupations. For example, a search of web designer redirects you to the broad category of “Computer Systems Design and Related Services”. Unfortunately, the information is not as helpful as I would have liked, so I had to research through other sources.

Keep notes of what you learn. This information will become handy as we begin examining how well each of these career ideas matches with your individual talents and interest. Next we will look at how to research business ideas.

Choose Your Career List Top Six

Okay, you’ve been writing ideas down for the past 24 hours. If not, read yesterday’s post and start immediately.

Take out that list and look it over. It’s time to pick the top six choices. WHAT? You don’t have six career choices on the list? Okay, keep writing down ideas until you have at least six. Take another day or two, if necessary, but we want choices.

Once you have selected your top six ideas, write them on another piece of paper. It is that list of six career ideas that we will be working with over the next week or two. But don’t throw away the original list. Put is away for future reference. I have mine thumb tacked to a board near my computer.

Oh, and if, at any time you decide to add another career to your list, go for it. You can drop and add as you wish. The idea is to have a manageable list of career options that we can begin to examine.

Place that list of top career choices somewhere accessible. Check back here in the next day or two to begin researching those choices. Or, better yet, subscribe to this blog and receive new articles in your email or on an RSS feed. Those buttons are on the top-right of this page.

Career Change Call to Action!

“First you write down your goal; your second job is to break down your goal into a series of steps, beginning with steps which are absurdly easy.” - Fitzhugh Dodson

Okay, before you read any further, grab a pen and paper…

I’m SERIOUS. Get up and find a functional writing utensil and a bare piece of parchment! Any crayon and napkin will do.

Okay, ready? I’m trusting that you have the required equipment. It’s time to take a first step toward changing your career (if you haven’t done so already). Don’t put this off.

Begin writing down every job or business possibility you have any interest in. Don’t worry if you have no idea how to become a dog catcher…if that is a career you find interesting, write it down. Keep this list with you for the next 24 hours and jot down any career that comes to mind. Consider including work that others have recommended. But most importantly, don’t censor your list until you have spent a full day writing down ideas.

Tomorrow we will talk about what to do with this list.