The waning of summer often means launching plans to make
a career move come fall. For those of us who still think
a year begins in September, the advent of fall can be
a time for new beginnings -- new school year, new
football season, new TV season -- and maybe a new job.
A good way to do some pre-planning for that
fresh start is to set goals and define what
you really value in a job and in your life. That's
what this Career Planning issue is all about.
We also launch an occasional feature,
Quintessential Reading: QuintZine's Review of Career Books.
Enjoy!
Our special Back to Campus Issue,
featuring an interview with Richard Nelson Bolles,
author of the best-selling career book of all time,
What Color Is Your Parachute?
As the popular 1996 film, Jerry Maguire, opens, the title
character is wrestling with a number of issues that make
him question who he has become. These issues offend his
set of values.
So, he writes what he calls a mission statement
that ultimately describes what he characterizes as
"the me I always wanted to be."
Though ostensibly writing about his company, Maguire
actually is defining his own values -- what he really wants
out of his life and career. Learn how you can clarify values,
set goals, and craft a mission statement that will guide
you as you launch your career or move into the next phase:
This Canadian site is particularly well-suited for
high-school and lower-level college students. The
career-exploration guide is especially comprehensive,
covering exploration of values, interests, skills,
learning style, and personality. It also guides users
in researching careers in which they are interested
and developing action steps for short- and long-term
career planning. The later research-oriented steps
are much better suited for Canadian users than Americans,
but they are still helpful to all. The 10-Step guide is
best completed in several sittings, but a very nice feature
is the fact that the site will "remember" and store what
you've already done, so you can simply pick up where you
left off the next time you go back. In fact, when our
Webmaster said he didn't like the fact that you have
to register at the site, it was pointed out to him that the
registration process enables the site to remember you
when you go back to complete the process.
Peter Vogt, the "Campus Career Coach" for the Campus Community
of Monster.com and president of Career Planning Resources tells how people often have their
career hopes and dreams thwarted or diverted by
three common beliefs/assumptions/perceptions:
He says: "Probably the three most common beliefs, assumptions, perceptions
are that 1) There are
"no" jobs in ___________ or
I'll "never" get a job in ___________ ,
2) I'll "never make enough [or any] money" doing ___________
for a living, and
3) Other people may be able to do ___________, but not me."
More than a decade ago, when Beverly Hill was downsized
from the company she was working for in Saudi Arabia,
she sent resumes to companies in Orlando, enticing many
of them to place overseas calls to her. Back in the States,
Hill found that employers were as interested in having her
prepare their resumes as they were in hiring her.
Eleven-thousand resume and career-coaching clients
later, Hill gathered the wisdom she had attained
from her years of preparing resumes for others into
40 Minute Power Resume, a volume packed with some great
tools for writing a powerful resume.
CareerFlex.com --
specializes in featuring job opportunities from progressive employers who offer family-friendly, flexible
work policies. Job-seekers can search for jobs or post your resume, as well as read employer profiles.
Free to job-seekers.
Hospital Jobs Online -- an
employment site that specializes in healthcare hospital positions for all professions. Job-seekers can post
your resume, view current job openings, and find useful career-related information and links. Free to job-seekers.
ITFIRMS -- a full-featured
career center providing IT professionals free resume posting and resources, as well as the ability to search a
wide range of dynamic consulting and full time IT positions. Free to job-seekers.
Nokri.com -- a global job site,
where job-seekers looking can
search for jobs by job function, industry, and location (as well as other criteria), as well as post your resume.
Free to job-seekers.
Find even more additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest
Additions section.
As if on cue for our career-planning issue,
Danielle writes: "I really need some help determining
my career for the rest of my life. I'm a 19-year-old female
who is extremely confused. I'm really good at math and
physics. Currently I am majoring in math and minoring
in physics to teacher for high school. Lately, I have been
reconsidering my decision.... Maybe I should be an electrical
engineer. I don't know what they do exactly, and I don't know
if it's a practical job for a female who wants to have a
family. I just want to be happy. If you could, please help me."
Read Career Doctor
Randall S. Hansen's advice here.
Deborah is in the process of a career change
from food service to project management but
still feels out of her league in her new
career field; she wonders if further education
is in order.
See the advice here.
Another reader has some significant gaps between jobs
and isn't sure how to minimize the gaps on his resume:
See the advice here.
And finally, a 36-year-old wonders if it's too late in life
for him to go to law school:
See the advice here.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Wondering why you got a rejection letter after
that last job interview? In her book, Real Resumes
for Job Changers, Anne McKinney cites the following
reasons (according to employers) that job hunters
are not offered the jobs they apply for:
Low level of accomplishment
Poor attitude, lack of self-confidence
Lack of goals/objectives
Lack of enthusiasm
Lack of interest in the company's business
Inability to sell or express yourself
Unrealistic salary demands
Poor appearance
Lack of maturity; no leadership potential
Lack of extracurricular activities
Lack of preparation for the interview, no knowledge about
the company
Objecting to travel
Excessive interest in security and benefits
Inappropriate background.
Asked to share a job-hunting secret that is not
widely known, Maureen Crawford Hentz says: "Give your
resume to people. Don't ask THEM for positions, but
instead ask them to pass on your resume
to anyone they hear is looking for a great candidate."
Maureen is an independent career and HR consultant and
new regular contributor to QuintZine; look for some
of her terrific articles this fall.
Speaking of identifying what we value in a job,
a new study by Wetfeet.com has found that women have very different
priorities than men when it comes to employment. Women demand good
benefits, stable business models, and team-oriented environments.
More than 1,600 undergraduates were surveyed, and Wetfeet.com found
that men expect to earn an average annual salary of $55,950 compared
to $49,190 for women. Other differences centered on bonuses, stock options,
as well as preferred type of company and industry.
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Pantsuits vs. skirtsuits for interviews
* Case-based and behavior-based interviews
* A Personal/Career Mission Statement
* Online Assessments
* How a SWOT Analysis can help you market yourself
* Interviewing: It's more fun than you think
* Graduate school for working professionals
* How to choose a college
* How to land an internship
* Temping
* How to make the most of an internship
* Job-Hunting for Disabled Candidates
* Build Your Career Through Volunteering
* Q&As with well-known career experts . . . and much, much more!
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QuintZine
A publication of
Quintessential Careers
Publisher: Dr. Randall S. Hansen
Editor: Katharine Hansen
ISSN: 1528-9443
