1NCE

The Do’s and Don’ts of Changing (staffing) Careers

By Tony Jacowski

 Changing your career will require careful planning and determination. Before you make the leap to another job, let’s first take a look at the do’s and don’ts of a career change.

Here Are the Do’s

DO Jot down a plan for a change in your career. Be clear and honest with yourself as to what you want and where you want to be. Clearly think about what you are passionate about, where your interests lie and come up with a strategic plan. Be confident and project yourself positively.

DO Research the field you are interested in getting into. Ask yourself if you are ready to take on new duties and responsibilities. You need to put a lot of effort into executing your plan.

DO get some advice for the career change from experienced professionals. There are many books in the market that can guide you during this stage in your life. You can seek out for a mentor who can point you in the right direction.

Changing a career is a challenge and must be undertaken carefully.

DO get a part-time job in the field you wish to enter while you are still with your current employer. Doing so will help you learn and understand more about the new field and if you really have what it takes to succeed in it.

By doing this, you will get a clear and better understanding of the work and expectations of that field. You can also take a course that will give you in-depth knowledge about your new career. By taking a part-time job and an educational course, you will gather both knowledge and experience that will help you land a better job.

DO Get in touch with people in the same line of work. Increase your professional network by attending events and letting people know about your search. While doing so, let people know that you are looking for a job within that field.

Once you are sure what kind of job will suit you best, DO start looking for top employers in that industry. Gather as much information as possible. Tailor your resume towards this new industry.

When you are looking to change careers, you need to focus more on your skills as well as convince the potential employer that you will be an asset to their organization.

Here Are The Don’ts:

DON’T make a career change because your friends or colleagues have. Give careful consideration to your motivation for changing careers. Never make a change because you do not get along with your colleagues or boss.

DON’T let insecurity hold you back from exploring a new career. Do not forget to take the advantage of your previous qualifications and work experiences. Also, don’t make the change if you are not sure about it

After considering the above do’s and don’ts you will find it easy to make your decision. It will require hard work and determination - but you can be successful!

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution’s Six Sigma Online offers online six sigma training and certification classes for six sigma professionals including, lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Your Network For Employment Opportunities Online

Tough Interview Questions and Answers
By Lucy Evans

 Give an example of working with a team member who did not do their fair share of the work load, and explain how you addressed the situation?

This question has many potential pitfalls that need to be considered. Remember that the question is about a co-worker, and not a member of your staff, so factors you are unaware of may apply. Even if you give an answer that worked in a particular scenario, a clever interviewer can manipulate the situation to really test you. A common approach candidates take is to try to appear to be tough and dynamic giving answers like “I approached my colleague and told them that I was unwilling to do most of their work on top of mine, and their efforts improved”. A clever interviewer would counter this buy telling you how badly this approach could have gone. Your colleague could have health problems known to management but not you, and require help and support and not an aggressive approach. In answering this question, first show that you have tactfully tried to find out what the issue is. Next show an outcome where you provided support to your colleague and found a suitable resolution. It is important to show that you are proactive and diplomatic and that you did not need to involve management at any point in time.

How have you coped with working with people you didnt like?

It is possible to doge this question completely by claiming you cant remember working with anyone you had a particular dislike for. Most interviewers will not push you too hard on this point if you claim you have always got on well with colleagues, but it is unlikely that they will reward your cowardly evasion. The important thing with this question is to demonstrate how you saw through your dislike, and were able to operate in a professional manner. Try an example including someone that had a personality trait that is both positive and negative, such as a colleague that is annoyingly over critical. You could take the approach that after working with someone who is overly critical you began to realize that they did not intend to offend people by their criticisms, and that you found that their personality could be usefully used for checking important documents where everything had to be just right etc. Demonstrate how you earned respect for the person and came to accept them.

Why do you think you are suitable for this job?

This question is a golden opportunity to show you have taken the time to do research and that you have clarity of thought. Do not make assumptions about the job role and company, relate everything back to evidence. Firstly cross reference your experience with the job advert and job specifications and show how your experience fits what they have told you they want. Also try to mention as much relevant information you can about the company to show you have been interested enough to do some research.

Lucy is a freelance journalist writing for the Graduates Career graduate scheme.

job search engine

Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Your network for employment opportunities online. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.