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CVBud Launch - Press Release

CVBUD PRESS RELEASE

CvBud, the brainchild of one of the UKs number one Recruitment Consultants, Sean Smith has been launched. Developed by BamsBoard (UK) Ltd and operating throughout the UK with over 30 job search tool local & regional websites, further expansion plans to follow into Europe later this year.

CvBud is an innovative recruitment tool that allows job seekers to submit their curriculum vitae in a matter of minutes and have it automatically sent out to relevant recruitment agencies and potential employers in a matter of minutes. Once a CV is matched the details of the position, agency and their details are sent to the candidate. This simple yet effective tool saves hours of filling out forms as well as the costs of seeking out recruitment agencies, postage, stationary and travelling. Using an extensive database of bona-fide recruitment agencies and employers that have been verified and vetted CvBud is breaking new ground in the employment sector and looks to be a bigger success than BamsBoard JobBud that became the largest Job Board in Wales in a matter of only six months.

Other products and recruitment tools include a free Video CV service, CV writing services and Interview4; another ground breaking development enabling interviews to be conducted via live video feed with record functionality thus eliminating costly overheads; travel and time consumed using conventional face to face meetings. Furthermore CvBud will be a lifesaver for recruitment agencies who in an aggressive market are struggling to meet quotas due to competition, locale and inability to compete with the larger recruitment agencies.

The major selling point of CvBud is that it is completely free to use for both job seekers and recruiters. Further recruitment and job search tools are under research and development and the future is looking bright for BamsBoard (UK) Ltd as well as the progression of the recruitment sector as we move forward in the digital age of social media recruitment technology. SMRT

BamsBoard announce their management team

BamsBoard (www.BamsBoard.co.uk) who have recently launched www.CvBud.co.uk an innovative free recruitment job search tool that allows job seekers to submit their CV to literally hundreds of interested recruitment agencies and potential employers in minutes and whom only eight months ago launched JobBud.co.uk, already the biggest Job Board in Wales, have announced their experienced winning management team.

·         CEO; Sean Smith considered one of the UK’s leading recruitment consultants with over 14 years’ experience and a passion for SMRT (Social Media Recruitment Tools) His innovative and ground breaking job tool applications has been the backbone to his success within the online recruitment sector. He founded Sean Smith & Associates with his (then) life-partner, Rugby & Big Brother Star, Gareth Thomas. Sean developed JobBud (www.JobBud.co.uk) that BamsBoard launched and that within six months became the biggest Job site in Wales. Sean Smith himself has over 260,000 loyal social media twitter followers. (@SeanSmithAssoc)

·         Chairman; Stephen Beverley, a partner with a highly respected Mayfair Law Firm and with over 25 years’ experience within the Corporate and Commercial sector. Stephen is considered an expert in the field of company commercial legal matters including Litigation, Employment Law, media law and Dispute Resolution.

·         Director of SMPA; Nick Harrington who is one of the UK’s leading Recruitment Directors, bringing his vast experience and entrepreneurial flair from the Recruitment Industry to the table. Nick is also the Managing Director of the Eximius Group, one of the largest & fastest growing specialist executive search companies in the UK.

·         Director of Online Development; Paul Robinson who carries several years of experience in both SEO and Social Media having consulted to major gaming companies, brings his expertise to the development of all aspects of the sites developments of their Social Media and Search Engine Optimisation.

With a strong management team in place BamsBoard are paving the way in Social Media Recruitment Tools, providing the very best in services to jobseekers and recruitment agencies with their Social Media Platform set to reach a phenomenal half million followers over the next month. Not only are they developing and creating new job search tool applications, but are offering a life-line to recruitment agencies who can tap into the huge resources in place that BamsBoard have already built allowing positions to be filled by potential job seekers matching the required skill sets within the ever growing aggressive employment sector. The company have also recently been granted the UK license for the highly innovative ‘Interview4’ , that offers live & recorded video interviews via a centralised portal, an essential recruitment tool for recruitment agencies attracting candidates from abroad.

Further information may be found at www.BamsBoard.co.uk or by emailing us at media@bamsboard.co.uk

Sean Smith to Launch free Cv Distribution tool

Gareth Thomas ex-Boyfriend Sean Smith in major Jobs Launch

Sean Smith, former Boyfriend to Gareth Thomas is the brains behind CvBud which has been developed by BamsBoard (UK) in partnership with Inteli Graphics and is due to launch later this month.

The first fully automated CV distribution service of its kind in the UK, CvBud provides individuals seeking new jobs, looking to further their careers or seeking jobs in specific locales to submit their CV to a free search service that uses an extensive validated database of suitable recruitment consultants to match their requirements to their needs such as type of work, locale and skill sets.

CvBud not only saves time for candidates, eliminating hours and hours of filling out forms, but using their innovative system gets their CV’s in front of literally hundreds of suitable recruitment agencies within minutes matching the required criteria. What is even more astounding is that it is completely free to use.

CvBud provides the very best in job searching and matching software, providing candidates with information of each recruitment agency to which their CV has been submitted, thus allowing follow ups and keeping a detailed record of their employment search.

Every time a candidate is registered with CvBud their basic details are also tweeted with a link to their CV providing real time information for recruiters and potential employers.

As well as the ideal tool for job searchers, CvBud offers recruitment agencies an increased candidate flow, which in an ever increasing aggressive market will help increase recruiters' bottom line. With more and more recruitment agencies going out of business due to candidate shortage CvBud should be considered an essential recruitment tool to attract new candidates and more importantly successfully fill vacancies. Recruiters are able to log into CvBud and specify the types of CVs they require and will receive them within minutes of a matching submittal.

Other BamsBoard products include the highly successful JobBud.co.uk which within six months of launch has already established itself as the biggest and most successful Job Board for jobs in Wales. Built on the backbone of Social Media, a worldwide trend that is here to stay, JobBud provides employers and recruitment agencies with free unlimited jobs advertising as well as access to the innovative Interview4 platform, enabling interviews to be conducted via live video feed with record functionality thus eliminating costly overheads, travel and time consumed using conventional face to face meetings. JobBud has already over 200,000 social media followers.

As well as an expansion program seeing JobBud and CvBud break into Europe in August and International markets by 2013; BamsBoard (UK) together with partner Inteli Graphics are currently working on several more innovative and cutting edge recruitment applications and free job search tools specifically designed to improve the lives of both jobseekers and recruitment consultants.

The man behind these innovative products, Sean Smith is regarded as one of the UK's leading recruiters, specialising in publicly funded legal recruitment. Sean only works on an exclusive basis  and is retained by several of the UK’s biggest firms of solicitors such as Duncan Lewis.

Sean Smith is an ex-boyfriend of former Welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas. Sean finished the couples two year relationship earlier this year. Smith, 42 also terminated Big Brother Contestant Thomas's directorship from Sean Smith & Associates on the same day. Sean is no stranger to the limelight. Sean, who has always been open about his colourful past hit tabloid headlines again three months ago when it was revealed that 5 years ago, he was wrongly imprisoned in a South African Jail for 19 months where he suffered rape and torture. He fled South Africa having been freed on bail, allegedly with the aid of the British Government. Sean Smith ended his relationship with Gareth Thomas (LOCOG Olympics Ambassador) in February 2012. With over a quarter of a million Twitter followers, Sean Smith recently revealed he had signed a book deal to write his biography.

As a business advisor to BamsBoard (UK) Ltd, Sean Smith understands the business of recruitment and the importance and influence of Social Media; bringing them together is a natural transition not only giving job seekers the very best chance of securing their ideal position but also throwing a life line to small recruitment agencies that without access to these free tools could see their doors permanently closing.

Top Stories

A Popularity Wave for Careers at Sea

Opportunity is high at sea for those seeking employment, and there are a number of reasons for this.

With the expansion of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), the MSP fleet is growing from 47 to 60 ships. There is also growth in the U.S.-flag cruise ship industry. Because there are so many different types of vessels, there is a range of choices that is unmatched. That means as employees working under contracts between maritime companies and the Seafarers International Union, merchant mariners have the opportunity to sail on a wide variety of vessels, including deep-sea cargo vessels and military support ships, where mariners continue to support U.S. troops in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Also in the opportunity mix are Great Lakes vessels, cable ships, tugboats and passenger ferries.

The place for many American men and women who set their sights on setting sail is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The state-of-the-art school, affiliated with the Seafarers International Union, offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation-from entry level to license preparation to academic support.

In addition to academic support, the school offers GED and college degree programs. In fact, many of the maritime classes can be used for college credits.

Since its opening in 1967, approximately 145,000 students have trained there. The apprentice program blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. It consists of three phases, including 90 days aboard a U.S.-flag ship. That particular phase has helped boost the industry's retention rate-approximately 75 percent of students who complete the entire program are still sailing four years later.

At any given time there are 100 trainees at the school-some in Phase 1, others in Phase 3 (Phase 2 is at sea).

Based in Piney Point, Md., the school's training free job tools include bridge and engine simulators, the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and a culinary lab.

The Monster of a Leadership Challenge: The Creature that Ate your Career

In the 1964 movie, "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster", King Ghidorah was a gigantic, dragon-like creature that came from outer space.  It had three heads on long necks, bat-like wings, no arms, and twin tails.  It terrorized Tokyo until Godzilla, in a role reversal as protector rather than destroyer, defeated it in a terrible battle and chased it back into outer space.

As a leader, you don't have to go to the movies to face Ghidorah.  You do it every day.  Ghidorah is the three-headed monster of fear, failure, and self-doubt.  How you deal with the triple threat will determine to a great extent how your career develops.

Though fear, failure and self-doubt are each separate, they cannot be separated: The prospect of failure can lead to fear of failure, and fear of failure can lead to self-doubt, which closes the cycle by leading back to fear of failure.

Of course, this is not strictly linear.  Three-headed Ghidorah is comprised of any number of combinations.  For instance, self-doubt may lead to failure or failure may lead to self-doubt, which leads to fear.

Don't concern yourself with the combinations that can afflict you.  Concern yourself instead with how to deal with Ghidorah.  The first thing to understand about how to deal with the monster is that if you're NOT dealing with Ghidorah,  you're doing something wrong.  Leadership is not about living an easy life for ourselves but a hard life for other people and for the organizations you serve.  Fear, failure, and self doubt are a natural outcomes of good leadership.

That's especially so for leaders who are trying to motivate people to meet extraordinary challenges.

You'll never know how good you are as a leader unless you are motivating others to be better than they think they are. In that endeavor, you'll inevitably get at least some of the people angry.

Most people are settled into a comfortable status quo and resist and resent being challenged to break out.

But if you aim to get great results, people not only have to be pushed but more importantly, they must be challenged to push themselves.

So, if you're not getting some people angry with you over the pushing, you're doing something wrong as a leader, you're not challenging people enough.

The second thing is that if you face Ghidorah head on, you'll find that fear, failure and self-doubt are your benefactors; for Ghidorah can be your partner in achieving limitless results.

For instance, I worked with the CEO of a company that proved results are limitless.  In the 1930s, the company was making tea bag paper.  Over the years, they kept changing and improving their products so today they are making high tech thermoplastics.  Going from making tea bag paper to high tech thermoplastics involved innovation, hard work, and great leadership.  My bet is that  fear, failure and self-doubt were driving factors in that three-generation, results-are-limitless evolution.  

Don't simply overcome Ghidorah.  Instead, use Ghidorah -- use fear, failure and self-doubt as your results-partner.  To do so, you need to cultivate your inner, submerged strengths.

An assault by Ghidorah is an opportunity for us to manifest strengths we did not know we possessed.

"I'm afraid I might fail." – We can manifest perseverance.  

"I doubt if I can do this."  -- We can be innovative.

"I have failed." -- We can evince patience, tenacity, and resilience.

My leadership processes, which today may look simple, clear, and robust, were developed with my grappling countless times with Ghidorah.  There is not a process I teach that did not have its birth in a failure of one kind or another.  Often, I really didn't understand the process until I first failed in trying to put it into action.  I have to give Ghidorah much of the credit for their success.

Over time, as we keep manifesting our strengths in the face of Ghidorah's assaults, we tend to avoid getting carried away by appearances or our mercurial desires but instead will gradually actualize a centered leadership.  The more we assess our strengths in times of affliction, the more easily assessable those strengths become.  

But that's not all.  Here's the final secret: We manifest these strengths not just for ourselves but also for the people we lead; for when we face Ghidorah, we show others the path; and in doing so, help them tap into their own inner strengths, creating a motivational bond between you.

King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate costume, with a team of puppeteers controlling the beast's many appendages.  When tough challenges call forth Ghidorah in your leadership, you may see that the creature is, similarly, not substance but the dazzle of our minds and emotions, reminding us that leadership begins not when we grasp at outward appearances but when hold to our center and the resources flowing from that center.

A Home Business Centre - Work from Home

If you want a home business career an internet home business is a very viable alternative.

Article Body:
Having a home business career has become a real possibility with the dawn of the Internet. This brought about the beginning of a new way of life for many people. Instead of struggling to make ends meet with a low paying job, now you can have a business career at home by operating your own Internet business. This is not a difficult task and the cost of getting everything set up is not at all high. You can stay at home, work when you like and dress how you like with a home business career.

Many people shy away from the idea of a home business career because they feel it means door-to-door selling or managing home parties to sell products. With the advances in technology, you can have your own turnkey Internet business with just the click of your mouse. Getting started with this type of Internet home business does mean you have to do a little research to find out what it is that consumers want to buy.

Online shopping makes it possible for you to have an Internet home business career that you operate from home. With the convenience of the online retailers being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, more and more consumers shop for just about everything they need through the Internet. An online pharmacy, for example, is a very profitable type of turnkey Internet business as is selling hard to find products, such as plus size clothing.

The wealth of information available on the Internet about various turnkey businesses and how you can get started right away is overwhelming. You do need to find a home business career in something that you really love, whether it is jewelry, address labels, or hot tubs. Anything and everything is sold on the Internet and setting up your own website is the first step involved in having your own home business career. You can write articles to lead in to each product and link to another company if you wish to become an affiliate and make money this way. Either way, a turnkey Internet business is profitable.

You do have to be patient because success with a turnkey Internet business does not happen overnight. You do have to build up the website in the search engine rankings so that people looking for the product you sell will find it. In addition to setting up your own home business career with an Internet site, you can have Google ads that pay you every time someone clicks through on one of them. Having a home business career is an excellent way to have more leisure time, but you do have to put in time getting it started.

So if you want a home business career an internet home business is a very viable alternative.

A Freelancers Guide to Choosing the Perfect Work-at-home Career

If you want to work part-time or full-time from home, you must decide whether or not working being your own boss is right for you. Next, you need to consider what type of freelance work you want to do. Freelancers can tap into many opportunities, both online and offline. Having a successful freelance career starts with evaluating your own skills and requirements in a job and then finding the right match.

Sometimes the best place to start with your freelance career is where...

If you want to work part-time or full-time from home, you must decide whether or not working being your own boss is right for you. Next, you need to consider what type of freelance work you want to do. Freelancers can tap into many opportunities, both online and offline. Having a successful freelance career starts with evaluating your own skills and requirements in a job and then finding the right match.

Sometimes the best place to start with your freelance career is where your staff employment had ended. Many people find they can become independent contractors in the field in which they previously worked. You can use your previous work experience as a launching pad for your freelance career. Some ways to use your experience include: finding a company that hires people in your field to work from home; or using your previous experience to become an “expert” freelancer in your field; or starting a business related to your previous field.

Some people look at their freelance careers as a way to break out of their old job. If you’d like to try something completely different, there are many opportunities for entry-level work as a freelancer. Many of these jobs deal with telephone or online customer service. When you work as a customer service agent from your home, you need a reliable Internet connection and a working phone. Companies also hire medical transcriptionists, data entry professionals, and virtual personal assistants to telecommute.

If you want to start your own freelance business, the opportunities are very vast. You can start with a direct sales company and sell products from an established brand to friends and neighbors. You’ll make commissions through your sales and by recruiting other people to sell the products. There are hundreds of direct sales companies that offer everything from aromatherapy products to candles to cooking supplies.

Another option for starting your own freelance business is offering a service in your community. Day care center operators, florists, professional organizers, freelance writers, and hairdressers all have the option of working at home, among many other professions.

Many people turn to the Internet for a source of freelance income. The World Wide Web offers a plethora of job opportunities. You can offer your services online as a freelance web designer, writer or virtual assistant. You can also start an online store that sells your own products. An excellent resource to learn about launching a freelance career is Andy Anderson’s book or audio book, “How to Make Money from Home as a Freelancer,” published by PaydayPublishing.com.

Decide first what type of job you’d like to do and then work from there. If you are truly a people person and need to get out each day, direct sales or a local service business might be right for you. If you are the type of person who goes online a lot and is comfortable with the Internet, try finding a job or starting your own freelance business on the Internet. If you like the comfort of having a weekly paycheck, look into telecommuting positions.

Once you’ve decided what category of job you’d like, do some research on what it takes to be successful at that type of business. If you feel you are drawn to one particular business or company, then sit on your decision for a week and see how it feels. Imagine what your life will be like as you take on the duties of that job. More importantly, be realistic with yourself about how much time you can devote to your business. Finding the right match isn’t hard when you thoroughly consider your options.

A Career in Webinar Hosting

If you're still marinating the thought of a second income generating project, how about a job in webinar hosting? Your ebullience and charisma will carry the whole thing, even if you failed a screen test at Fox Pictures. How about trying it?


What is Webinar Hosting?

If you're beginning to be confused about all that jargon calling a webinar by many names then stick to this definition - a webinar is just like your face-to-face seminar but it's on the web. A palette of software tools make it possible to use webinar hosting features like sharing files and exchanging ideas on real time.

What actually goes on during a webinar? During the web based activity, participants or presenters can use audio conferencing just using their computer speakers, show off their computer screen for product live demos and use the recording mode for playback.

Webinar hosting becomes easier when the tools allow for registration and presentation of survey polls and animation. In the workplace, knowledge about the variegated features of web hosting can earn you the admiration and envy of techno-phobics. You can shop around for small and medium businesses needing techies to manage their webinars. See the potential?

For starters, you can tell your potential customers that they need to have a computer, Internet access, and a phone line just for the webinars. Suggest headphones so they can free their hands during the live discussions. At this point, you can also encourage them to avail of promotional discounts on gadgets to save them money - if there are offers flooding the market.

Starting Your Career

Don't be intimidated by the big companies providing hosting services for webinars. Not that you are going to invent a software, you'll just provide technical service for those starting out or testing the viability of web conferencing.

You can smuggle a slice of the pie into your own plate. But how? Enterprising people have great ideas. First, you'll market yourself after you've mastered the software, then sell your ability to small and medium businesses struggling in the technical fog.

You can serve as the webinar facilitator to relieve workers from having add-ons to their already long list of to-dos. Talk to the company head about the advantages of having you around. You can help them reach a larger audience, help them reduce travel cost, and spruce up their PowerPoint presentations.

You can also walk them through the maze to show how they can efficiently streaming files on their desktops and much more. By just showing them around, you'll gain their approval to handle their webinar hosting. By adjusting your schedule you can have that extra income by just staying at home too.

Sometimes business ideas are hard to come by and if you've hit on something it should be new and relevant to the times. Being your own business is appealing but opportunities are far and in-between. Why not strike when the iron is hot?

If the idea of a career in web hosting on the side is appealing, start brushing up on the etiquettes of web conferencing. Go web hopping and look for more great ideas and tips to develop your expertise. You're selling yourself as a consultant and an expert; you can't afford to slip on your first outing.

A Career in Fashion Photography

We see them everywhere, in Magazines, on the Run Way, in advertisements on TV. They are the slender women strutting their stuff or extra ordinary Beauties with their sultry looks flashing their pearly whites while wearing the newest Styles from the hottest Designers. We are talking about the fashion models of today, yesterday and tomorrow. They are everywhere we look, but who brings them to us? Their images are captures with care and precision, patience and that special look for style, color and lighting composition. I am talking about the fashion photographers.

In the fashion circles famous names like Mario Testino (easily one of the hottest names out there) and Eva Mueller (photographer for Fashion Magazine Allure) are just as sought out if not more then those men and women sauntering their way into our conscious.


High salaries and glamour’s Lifestyle of hob nobbing it with the rich and famous might be the dream of many young shutterbug, however it is not easy to reach the golden Staircases of the well-known fashion houses and magazines. For every one talented photographer, hundreds are left panting at the sidewalk, only dreaming about the moment that their photo will be chosen.

Here are a few tips for the novice and dreamer of dreams in getting started in fashion photography. Study your subject. You can never learn enough. Read and look at any fashion Magazine you can get your hand on. There are fantastic books on Fashion and fashion photography available. Amazon.com has a true treasure trove available.

You need one or two good cameras, tripod and a lighting system. Always make sure that you have plenty of film and batteries available. SLR and digital cameras take different photos, so make sure you find the best for your job.

When submitting your work, hopefully to give a chance you have to have a portfolio on hand, just in case the editor of the fashion magazine wants to see samples of your work. I assure you if they consider working with you that is going to be a fact.

The sharp, bright images of a 4X5” transparency show of your work to its best effort. If you have already had a publication, no matter if, it was a small neighborhood magazine/paper or a contest a tear sheet (literally a sheet you tore out of the magazine) works well. If neither is at hand a good high quality 8 X 10 “is acceptable as well. You want to make sure that you have a minimum of 20 photos in your portfolio and preferably different styles. You want to show your expertise in full figure or just partial body parts.

Remember, fashion includes jewelry and accessories. Sometimes a watch from a famous maker on the slender wrist of a beautiful woman is a good fashion shoot. If you are applying for the job, be prepared to leave your Portfolio behind for an extended period of time, sometimes as much as a couple of weeks. I would advice you to make copies and have several on hand. This comes in handy when showing your work to many different people for consideration for fashion work.

In the time of modern technology, it is good to display your talent as a fashion photographer online as well. Set up a website; submit your photos to contests. Submit them to an online fashion gallery. This helps with getting your work seen and people can see what type of work you actually do and can do for them.

Most editors are looking for your personality in the photos you take. Each fashion photographer captures the soul of the fashion and its model differently. There are a couple of very good “how to get started” websites on the net. You might wish to start out with http://www.fashion.net/howto/photography/ or http://www.stylecarrer.com/fashion_photographer.shtml. Most importantly, if this is your dream job, don’t give up. Keep trying and I hope to see your images on the cover of my next hot fashion magazine.

A Career in Culinary Arts

Many people who choose to explore the culinary arts sometimes have a pre-disposition for Culinary Arts Training, and some do not discover their interest and talents for this field until later in life. It is necessary to have creativity if you want to be a chef. You will need to be creative with the recipes and ingredients as well as plate presentation. One thing a chef is responsible for is coming up with new and exciting dishes. A great sense of creativity can help accomplish this and help you find new ways to prepare old standards. You will also need creativity when dealing with your staff. It is often the responsibility of the chef to manage not only his kitchen staff, but front of the house staff as well.

The only real way that you can become a good chef is to put a great deal of effort into honing your culinary skills. To do this, you must obtain professional Culinary Arts training from an accredited school. You will need to study the art of cooking, preparation, and presentation. In Chef School you will learn from books and practical Culinary Training.

No chef even became "great" without spending a lot of time mastering his craft. Chefs are always mastering new skills with constant practice. As a budding chef yourself, you need to be prepared to put effort into learning the craft, as well as spending a great deal of time doing so. If you want to make the kind of money that goes with any successful profession, you will need to spend long hours to get the experience you need to become a great chef.

Melissa Steele, EducationGuys.com Senior Writer <br>
Find <a href="http://www.educationguys.com/Culinary-Schools.php" target="_new">Culinary Degrees</a> Near You!

A Career in Medical Transcription: Is it for You?

You’ve very likely heard of someone who is making a good living as a medical transcriptionist. He or she might even be working from the comfort of their home. And you’ve probably asked yourself if this might be a career option for you.

It may well be. Let’s take a look at the facts.

What exactly is medical transcription? In the course of their work, doctors and other healthcare professionals make dictated recordings of various things including physical examination observations, patient history, operative reports, referral letters, discharge summaries, observations regarding imaging data and so on.

A medical transcriptionist listens to these recordings and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, etc. She listens to a segment of recording, pauses the playback and keys in what is said before moving on to the next segment. She may do some editing for better grammar and clarity.

The transcribed document is sent back to the health care provider who then reviews it for accuracy and gets it signed. These documents become part of the patient’s medical history records and perhaps insurance records.

To be effective at this job, you should understand medical terminology well. That includes anatomy, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, treatment assessments and more.

Many distance education programs, colleges and vocational schools offer post-secondary training in medical transcription. Having a degree is not essential. With a home-study course, you can usually pick up the necessary knowledge within a year, often in less than nine months.

You can find work in hospitals, laboratories, physician’s offices, firms offering transcription services, government medical facilities and so on. Working from home is also a possibility and many employers offer work-at-home options for transcriptionists. Apart from that, many individuals work as independent contractors.

With experience, it is possible to move into supervisory positions, which include editing work, teaching, consulting, etc.

What equipment would you need, if you wanted to do medical transcription at home? Not very much -- a computer with a medical spellchecker, printer, a transcriber and reference books are about all you need. To help you save on the actual typing, a word expander utility might help. If you are on a tight budget, buy second hand equipment will do just as well.

Medical transcription work does call for certain skills and mindset. Apart from basic computer skills, you must be detail oriented. If detail work bores you to tears, this might not be the career for you.

You must know typing, although speed will come with practice. You should also have excellent listening skills and grammar skills.

If you’re planning to work from home, it is essential to be comfortable with working alone and meeting deadlines. You must be a self-starter who can work consistently without being driven by a boss.

Given the growth in health practices and hospitals and the need for standardization of records, the demand for medical transcription services is likely to keep growing. You should carefully analyze the pros and cons of this field before venturing into it. Medical transcription provides a rewarding and fulfilling career for many people and it can do the same for you too.

A Career in Graphic Design

Lets start at the top and work down. Art directors, or Creative Directors are responsible for a creative team that may design work for magazines, television, advertising graphics, websites, or on packaging. A creative team can consist of layout artists, graphic designers, photographers, copywriters, and menial staff to do the work. An Art directors job is to make sure that each of these workers do not slack off down the pub and complete their work to a deadline and to the client's needs.


Creative Director
Lets start at the top and work down. Art directors, or Creative Directors are responsible for a creative team that may design work for magazines, television, advertising graphics, websites, or on packaging. A creative team can consist of layout artists, graphic designers, photographers, copywriters, and menial staff to do the work. An Art directors job is to make sure that each of these workers do not slack off down the pub and complete their work to a deadline and to the client's needs. Art directors also make major decisicions along the lines of should the background be slate grey or cobalt blue, issuing dictates and changing their mind several days after a deadline has passed - leaving co-workers resolutely glum about their position in the grand scheme of things. Art directors will inevitably have come from some kind of marketing or sales background and need no prior graphic design knowledge or skill.

Senior Designer
A Senior Designer is mainly concerned with the visual aspects of a company and will probably have been promoted on the basis that she is fun and a 'great team player' (despite this being far from the case). A Senior Designer will usually insist on having a larger widescreen monitor than the rest of the team which will be decorated variously with fluffy pink bits marketing people send through on a daily basis. A Senior Designer will be involved in the elements of a company’s look such as business cards, stationery, packaging design, media advertising graphics, promotional design, and sticking up pictures of topless 'hunks'.


Graphic Designer
The job of a Graphic Designer is to provide a new and exciting way to express the key information of a company or product through a dynamic image or use of typography. Graphic Designers take the scant information given to them by the client and using the internet to scab some free clip art, fashion their own ripped off logo designs in order to fleece the client for all they are worth.

Layout Artists and Artworkers
The engine room of the design world. These scumbags have been buried away with their dusty macs for decades, remorselessly churning out pages and layouts. Inevitably some clueless muppet will send over a 100 page brochure layed out in microsoft word and it will be the Artworkers thankless task to make it publishable. They will need to recognise a font at 50 yards, be able to colour correct the dreariest of images and take a good bollocking every now and again to keep them on their toes. The Artworker must have the ability to design magazines, design brochures, design flyers, design books and design posters. He harbours murder fantasies.


Illustrators
Illustrators generally speaking will have long greying hair and be influenced by prog rock. Working from home among the dungeon and dragonns figurines and manga comics they will attempt to put their own unique spin on whatever brief they are given. What you will be presented with is a semi clad girl with oversized boobs. You will have waited several weeks for this. You will never learn from previous mistakes.

Web Designers
Web designers create the pages, layout, and graphics for web pages, they will be technically minded to the point of absurdity. They will insist on using c++ coding language to impress other geeks and will beaver away doing whatever it is geeks do for hours on end. Web designers also design and develop the navigation tools of a site which will for design websites involve tiny text that makes your eyes bleed. Web designers are far too clever for their own good and should never be encouraged.

A Career in Accounting

Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants do much more than the generic presumptions; they compute costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.

The career is a highly momentous and versatile. The field is usually divided into three broad areas: auditing, financial/tax and management accounting. Audit: Work in audit involves checking accounting ledgers and financial statements within corporations and government.


Budget Analysis:
Budget analysts are responsible for developing and managing an organization’s financial plan.

Financial:
Financial accountants prepare financial statements based on general ledgers and participate in important financial decisions involving mergers and acquisitions, benefits/ERISA planning and long-term financial projections.


Management Accounting:
Management accountants work in companies and participate in decisions about capital budgeting and line of business analysis.

Tax:
Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements and develop tax strategies involving issues such as financial choice, how to best treat a merger or acquisition, deferral of taxes, when to expense items and the like.

Various levels of skill are apportioned dissimilarly amongst the divisions which implies that depending on your position their will be specific demands on your adeptness, while average
speaking skills are requisites for all areas; the ability to synthesize varies from throughout each. Audit accounting requires a medium level of skill, tax and financial demands a low level of skill, and Management accounting a high level of proficiency.

Entry level accountants can expect a very team oriented environment. Often they will start as a junior member of a team responsible for auditing an important account or preparing financial statements. It is imperative that junior members learn to pull their weight, and function as a capable, effective, and useful member of the unit. Anyone interested in the field can prepare for a bright career.

According to the bureau of job statistics their have been considerable increases in job openings, reflective of the fields growth and competitiveness. With the right skills and education this growth establishes the possibility for an incredibly profitable career.

Top firms include KPMG/Peat Marwick, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Anderson, Price WarterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton, BDO Seidman, and McGladerly and Pullen. College graduates seeking entry level positions should consider employment with these firms. Most people do not make partner at public accounting firms but the experience and training can be excellent.

From there, many move on to careers with an accounting focus in business or government. Ambitious talented accountants can advance their career with the acquisition of skills and experience along the way and subsequently enjoy a very successful career.

A new Life A new Career

For many the idea of retirement comes with the automatic translation that it means that you will stop working is just not acceptable.  For many, retirement from work is equivalent with no longer living.  If you have been a productive worker all of your life and someone asked you what your dream retirement might look like, you might respond “to work” because you may be one of those people for whom work is what gives meaning and purpose to life.

It isn’t fair for us to impose the same standards of retirement on everyone.  To say that to enjoy your golden years, you must take up fishing, start sleeping until noon, sit in a rocker and watch the day go by and gradually turn into a senior citizen would to many be the same as sentencing them to life in prison without parole.  So for many it’s very possible that working would be the thing that would make your retirement meaningful.

Still others must continue to work into their retirement years because they did not or could not prepare for retirement.  Whatever the situation, there are some adjustments that should be made to shift to a retirement career that you can continue to do well into your senior years. 

You can get a running start on your retirement planning if you find that a career change is appropriate later in life.  Many times we do find that the career we are in may either be changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up, it’s too physically demanding when you are older or in some other way that job has become a “young man’s game”.  If that has happened to you, you can get a jump start on finding a career that you can stick with well into your retirement years, that career can be an income generator that might never go away.

It is not at all uncommon for men in their later years to start a new career.  Perhaps you just want a career where you can use the creative side of you and one that can be a natural transition into retirement.  Perhaps you reached the maximum vesting of your retirement account with a job you held for decades so you can “retire” from that job with full benefits and funding and still start another career that you can take on into retirement and keep doing as you enjoy the fruits of retirement as well.

Many times the skills and knowledge you learned in the business world during your first career can transition you into a lucrative consulting career late in life.  One way to explore this option is to think of the venders who sold goods and services to you when you were in your previous career and contact them to see if you might now represent their services as a former satisfied customer.  If you had specialized knowledge and training in how to use their software or a technical product, that training which your former employer paid for can now transition into an exciting career as a sales representative or sale support for the very companies who once had you as a customer.

The internet can also open up worlds of money making opportunities that you can use to land work or sell something you may have made by setting up your own web site and learning how to promote yourself online. Many cottage industries have taken off and been hugely successful just getting what you do out into cyberspace.  For example, if you are talented at making beautiful artistic pottery, you can create a line of pots that is perfect for sale over the internet.  You can work with a skilled internet web developer and marketer to get your product out on the internet and before long, you might have more orders than you know what to do with all flying out through your web site which is collecting the money and filling your back account up with all the profits.

The ways you can create a new business in your retirement years are only limited by your imagination.  And once you have a good new career going that you can continue well into your retirement years, you won’t have many of the worries other retired people have.  You can enjoy the freedoms of a retirement lifestyle and made plenty of money at the same time.  And that’s a great combination.

A Career in Fashion Photography

We see them everywhere, in Magazines, on the Run Way, in advertisements on TV. They are the slender women strutting their stuff or extra ordinary Beauties with their sultry looks flashing their pearly whites while wearing the newest Styles from the hottest Designers. We are talking about the fashion models of today, yesterday and tomorrow. They are everywhere we look, but who brings them to us? Their images are captures with care and precision, patience and that special look for style, color and lighting composition. I am talking about the fashion photographers.

In the fashion circles famous names like Mario Testino (easily one of the hottest names out there) and Eva Mueller (photographer for Fashion Magazine Allure) are just as sought out if not more then those men and women sauntering their way into our conscious.

High Paychecks and glamour’s Lifestyle of hob nobbing it with the rich and famous might be the dream of many young shutterbug, however it is not easy to reach the golden Staircases of the well-known fashion houses and magazines. For every one talented photographer, hundreds are left panting at the sidewalk, only dreaming about the moment that their photo will be chosen.

Here are a few tips for the novice and dreamer of dreams in getting started in fashion photography. Study your subject. You can never learn enough. Read and look at any fashion Magazine you can get your hand on. There are fantastic books on Fashion and fashion photography available. Amazon.com has a true treasure trove available.

You need one or two good cameras, tripod and a lighting system. Always make sure that you have plenty of film and batteries available. SLR and digital cameras take different photos, so make sure you find the best for your field.
When submitting your work, hopefully to give a chance you have to have a portfolio on hand, just in case the editor of the fashion magazine wants to see samples of your work. I assure you if they consider working with you that is going to be a fact.

The sharp, bright images of a 4X5” transparency show of your work to its best effort. If you have already had a publication, no matter if, it was a small neighborhood magazine/paper or a contest a tear sheet (literally a sheet you tore out of the magazine) works well. If neither is at hand a good high quality 8 X 10 “is acceptable as well. You want to make sure that you have a minimum of 20 photos in your portfolio and preferably different styles. You want to show your expertise in full figure or just partial body parts.

Remember, fashion includes jewelry and accessories. Sometimes a watch from a famous maker on the slender wrist of a beautiful woman is a good fashion shoot. If you are applying for the job, be prepared to leave your Portfolio behind for an extended period of time, sometimes as much as a couple of weeks. I would advice you to make copies and have several on hand. This comes in handy when showing your work to many different people for consideration for fashion work
.
In the time of modern technology, it is good to display your talent as a fashion photographer online as well. Set up a website; submit your photos to contests. Submit them to an online fashion gallery. This helps with getting your work seen and people can see what type of work you actually do and can do for them.

Most editors are looking for your personality in the photos you take. Each fashion photographer captures the soul of the fashion and its model differently. There are a couple of very good “how to get started” websites on the net. Most importantly, if this is your dream, don’t give up. Keep trying and I hope to see your images on the cover of my next hot fashion magazine.

8 Types of Golf Course Jobs for Career bound individuals

Many golf enthusiasts decide not to pursue a career in the field because they are afraid there are not enough jobs available.  However, the golf industry is quite large, and with such a variety of possible positions that no one who has chosen golf as a career need fear unemployment or underemployment.

The possible positions listed below represent golf course jobs, only a small slice of what is available in the golf industry.

Many golf enthusiasts decide not to pursue a career in the field because they are afraid there are not enough jobs available.  However, the golf industry is quite large, and with such a variety of possible positions that no one who has chosen golf as a career need fear unemployment or underemployment.  The possible positions listed below represent golf course jobs, only a small slice of what is available in the golf industry.

Golf course training and instruction:  Golf is an incredibly popular sport, which means that there is always a wealth of aspiring golfers seeking instruction.  Many golf courses keep several instructors on staff.  Providing training right there on the golf course means convenience for customers, more money for the golf course, and, of course, more jobs for professional golf experts.

Clubhouse food service crew and management:  One of the types of golf course jobs that no one ever thinks of is food service.  However, restaurant-quality food and drink is often the cornerstone of a golf course clubhouse, as it offers refreshment and creates a comfortable atmosphere.  Golf course jobs focused around clubhouse food service include the kitchen's crew, chefs, wait staff, and management.

Grounds care:  The entire existence of a golf course is dependent on the condition of the grounds.  Therefore, some of the most important golf course jobs are related to grounds care.  Chemical technicians handle the fertilization and other chemical care of the grass, while irrigation specialists ensure that the grass is well watered.  A turf manager or groundskeeper oversees all of the grounds care personnel.

Equipment operation and maintenance:  The daily business of running a golf course requires the use and maintenance of many pieces of equipment.  Golf course jobs usually include equipment operators, who are overseen by an equipment manager.  A maintenance team, including crewman and a maintenance manager, keep the equipment in good working order and handle maintenance scheduling.

Golf merchandise sales and store management:  A merchandise store is another important facet of any thriving golf course and clubhouse.  An on-site store provides a convenient place for members to purchase equipment and clothing.  Personnel needed to run the store usually includes sales associates and at least one manager.

Human Resources personnel:  As you are no doubt beginning to see, a successful golf course represents a coming together of many different employees.  As with any such workplace, a successful golf course usually includes a team of Human Resources personnel.  These professionals handle tasks such as the hiring of new employees for available golf course jobs.

Public Relations or advertising personnel:  As a thriving business, many golf courses must also manage a great deal of public relations interactions, such as advertising.  Golf course jobs therefore include positions to handle the writing of advertisements and video scripts, the photographing of the grounds for colorful ads, and a spokesperson to handle all communications with the press.

Golf course management and ownership:  A golf course is a well-oiled machine, but in order for all the moving parts to remain in good working order, there needs to be a manager to oversee it all.  The manager may also be the golf course owner in some cases.

As you can see, there are many golf course jobs available.  The careers described here are only the tip of the iceberg.  The golf industry also includes areas such as pro golfing, tour planning and management, and luxury golf resorts.  With the range of positions available throughout the industry, no one trained for a golf career need ever worry about not being able to find a job.

 

7 ways to network your way out of a job and into a home based career

Do you think networking can only be used to find a new job? Not true. Networking is often an overlooked opportunity to find a way out of the rat race. If you want to look for a work at home career, connections can be a key to rapid success. Get the inside tips and discover 7 ways to network your way out of a job.

Everyday you can read articles about how people network and find another job. You can find countless numbers of books and articles on how to create relationships to find jobs that might not otherwise be known. But what about people who don’t want to work?
    
I am not talking about a lazy person without any ambition. The person I am referring to is the unemployable, the serial entrepreneur or corporate refugee. If you are currently working in a job and what you want is not another job but to become a work at home entrepreneur networking can still be for you. 
                 
Here are 7 networking strategies you can use to catapult your work from home career.

1. Create your own Board of Directors. IBM and Microsoft are not the only ones who should have a boardroom team. As a home based business owner you want to have a group of people who you can meet with, mastermind and get advice from.
  
Often times they may see skills and talents in you that you might not recognize. Once you have identified what your business goal is you have the opportunity to leverage the power of six degrees of separation. Six degrees of separation is the principle that anyone on earth can be connected to another person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five relationships apart.

2. Join Networking Organizations for Entrepreneurs. Successful business owners like to connect with each and expand their relationships. Look for organizations that have business owners in the same area of interest as you. Don’t just see them as competitors. Look for opportunities that you might be able to assist them in some way. Here are a couple of groups to consider:

The Chamber of Commerce
BNI (Business Networking International
Le-Tip
Rotary International

Each of these organizations have different personalities and cultures. Attend a few meetings before you call one of them home. Know what you ultimately want. Basil S. Walsh states, “If you don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”

First establish in very specific detail what you are going to achieve. Did you notice that I said going to achieve? Life will give you exactly what you expect from it. Start with the end in mind.

Now is the time to dream big and visualize what your life will look like when you are a successful business owner. Don’t worry about the how. Simply set goals by asking yourself some key questions such as:      
      
A. What would I love to do even if I did not get paid for it?
B. How many days will I work each week?
C. What type of work from home business am I interested in?
D. Where will I live?
E. What do I like to do?
Determine what you need to happen to get out your job. Do you know how much you need to make in your business to leave your job?  What is your financial freedom number? Your financial freedom number is the amount of income you need to have coming in passively each month to cover all of your expenses.

One of the reasons you want to know this is when you are looking at home based business income opportunities you want to choose one that has the profit potential you want and need. If your financial freedom number is £5000.00 per month you don’t want to choose a business that does not have the potential to net that on a passive basis.

As you are networking and meeting new people you can analyze the business opportunities that arise from a totally unemotional point of view because you are clear about your goals.
    
3. Remember it is better to give then receive. One of the biggest problems I see with networking is most people go in it to see what they can get first before they give. Always look for a way to be of service to the people that you meet first. There is a universal law of reciprocity. You will always get back more than you give out. As you get to know people think about how you can help to enrich their life or help them towards their goals.

If you read an article or run across something that might be of help to them send it. When you have a genuine interest in others success you are blessed through your giving.

Some people call it karma and others say you reap what you sow. My life’s experiences have been blessed more than I could have every imagined whenever I give.

So look for ways to contribute. You may be able to do this in a variety of ways:

a. Volunteer to work with them some way.
b. Introduce them to people in your network that could help them.
c. Send notes or articles that might be areas of interest or    
could help to increase their business.

4. Learn how to joint venture or strategically partnership. One of the fastest ways to get out of your job, launch a business or simply make some money is to create a joint venture with someone.

Joint Venturing is a way to take either yourself or two other people who could profit from working together but simply did not have the relationship. You profit from making the connection.

For example you know a veterinarian has a large practice with a list of over 700 clients. You also have a relationship with a new pet groomer in the city who is trying to increase his business. You put the two together and every time the pet groomer gets a new client due to your structuring this deal you get paid. We call this mail box money. Money comes in your mail box whether you work or not.

5. Set up a written networking plan. I am amazed at how much time and effort people will spend to find a new job. However, when it comes to designing a plan to exit the rat race they do it almost haphazardly. You will be much more effective if you have a written plan. The plan does not have to be elaborate. Here are some of the basic things you want to cover:

a. What is my goal?
b. Who do I want to meet?
c. What events should I focus on?
d. How often should I be networking?

6. Attend seminars and boot camp events. Specialized knowledge is one of the keys to being successful in a home based business. When you attend boot camps and seminars you able to surround yourself with like minded people as well as learn from the experts.

However, if you really want to make these educational experiences profitable do three things:

a. Introduce yourself to at least 3 people and get their cards. Ask them why they are there and what they hope to get out of the event. Exchange numbers and ask, “What is the single most important thing you need help in making your business venture successful?”

When you ask this of someone else you will genuinely get to know someone and you may be able to help them. In addition, out of respect they will want to know more about you and a new relationship may be formed.

b. Go to lunch with someone you meet at the seminar and tell them the things you learned so far and will implement. There is something about speaking your goal out loud that will make it real. If you immediately implement one single action every time you learn something the results will grow exponentially.

c. Introduce yourself to the speaker. Sometimes this can be difficult if the event is large. However, if there is a book signing buy their book so while they are signing it you can ask one question. My question is, “What is the single most important skill you contribute to your success?”  You might like my question or you can come up with your own. The point is you have a great opportunity to network and learn from someone who is a master at their craft. Seize the opportunity.

7.Have a goal for every networking opportunity. Simply going to an event and "working the room" almost never yields any measurable results. Before you attend any event know what you want your outcome to be in advance. Are you going to meet specific person? How will you insure your introduction? Make sure you have crafted out a plan and enlist support from someone to help you execute if needed.

For example, if you want to meet someone ask the host of the networking event if they know the person and if they would be willing to introduce you. Your chances of success are almost guaranteed due to the nature of the event.
    
Networking is often an overlooked opportunity to find a way out of the rat race. If you want to look for a work at home career, connections can be a key to rapid success. Get the inside tips and discover

Criteria for deciding which career test is for you

One of the best ways to determine your career direction is to complete a career assessment. Yet there are literally hundreds of career tests out there. Is a career test the same as an aptitude test? What about a career personality test? This article clarifies the differences and presents 7 criteria for deciding which career test is best for you.
“I used to feel depressed at work, hate my boss, and was sometimes so bored that I actually fell asleep at my desk!” --- career test taker

If this sounds like you, then it’s probably time to consider changing jobs or careers. But before you can make your career change, you need to figure out what you want to do.

One of the best ways to get clear is to complete a career assessment. Yet there are literally hundreds of career tests out there. Is a career test the same as an aptitude test? What about a career personality test? This article clarifies the differences and presents 7 criteria for deciding which career test is best for you.

#1  Career test vs. personality test
Is the assessment specifically designed to provide career guidance?

Personality tests only tell you about your character traits whereas a career assessment gives specific career advice. Of course, it helps to know whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert and perceive by sensing or intuition. Personality tests such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram are quite useful as background information. Making the leap from simple awareness of your personality type to specific career strategies is very difficult, however. If you want a new job or career, it’s better to take an assessment that is specifically geared to providing career guidance.

#2  Specific vs. general
Does the career assessment give concrete recommendations that you can use immediately rather than vague observations that are open to interpretation and not actionable? Aside from the change itself, the hardest part of changing careers is narrowing down your choices. But if you don’t get specific, you won’t be able to take action. A good assessment should not be general like the astrological horoscopes in the newspaper.

#3  Motivation rules: why motivation is a better indicator than aptitude or personality
Does the career assessment measure motivation?
Motivation is a far better career indicator than skill or personality because what you like to do is what you WILL do and what you will get very good at (if you aren't already). Why force a square peg into a round hole?

When you base your decisions on what motivates you, you'll probably feel much more fulfilled, and be much more successful, too.

#4  Where’s the beef?
Even if you’re a vegetarian, you’ll want “meaty” results! A good career assessment should include hard data, as well as sufficient detail and explanation to help you interpret the results.

#5  Do you believe it?
Is the career assessment scientifically valid? An effective career assessment should have a high predictive reliability. Such things can be measured statistically. Anything over 95% is quite good.
Statistical validity is important for a number of reasons. Obviously, you want to feel that the assessment provides an accurate picture of what motivates you and you don’t want to be misled by grossly inaccurate results. But another point is that when the results are believable this provides a boost to your self-confidence. In my case, I was relieved and encouraged to see from my results that I had chosen the correct career path. It was a kind of confirmation or validation: “Whew! What a relief!”

Remember that ultimately it’s up to you to decide whether a set of results makes sense or not. However, it helps to use a highly reliable assessment.

#6  Can you get from A to Z?
Are additional tools available to help you take your results and develop a clear career roadmap for yourself?

Honestly, a lot of people take career tests and get brilliant insights. Unfortunately, many of these same people are never able to turn their insights into results. What’s needed is a support infrastructure of materials and people to help you apply your results over time.

#7  Is it fast?
Even in the internet age, there still are a lot of tests that you can only take on paper. It takes 30 minutes or even over an hour to take the test. Then you have to wait while the test is scored and processed. You may only get your results after several days or weeks.
Personally I prefer career tests that I can take online and that give me my results immediately.

Conclusion
A career test is just a tool and just one step on your career change journey. Nonetheless, it’s worth spending some time to understand what types of tests are available and which is best for you. Just remember that even the best career test is only a tool. It’s up to you to take charge of your own career.

 

6 ways to pinpoint your perfect career

Have you ever felt stuck in your career?  Employee stress and burn out can account for a lot of dissatisfaction in your life.  After all, you are at work some 8 hours a day or more.  That’s 1/3 of your day if you don’t count sleep.  That’s a long time to be dissatisfied.

If you feel stuck, here are 6 great ways to find your ideal career:

    1.   Brainstorm on a sheet of paper - I’ve talked about this before and it’s a strategy I use all the time.  Take a pad of paper and write down at the top your objective in question form.  Then, simply list out 20 answers to your question.  For example, you could write “What should I be doing with my time and life?”  Then stay seated for a half hour to an hour coming up with answers to that question.  The key to this exercise is coming up with 20 answers - don’t quit until you have 20 answers.  You can repeat every day until you get the answer you seek. 

2.   Ask 3 close friends - Sometimes our friends know us better than ourselves.  While meeting with one of your friends, mention you are at a crossroads in your life and career.  Ask what they think you’d enjoy doing.  You might be surprised at how easily they can zero in to your strengths and abilities and report a perfect job area.

3.   Ask your boss and coworkers - much like your friends in the example above, your boss and coworkers most likely see you in a way you do not see yourself.  In fact, they are likely most familiar with your strengths and weaknesses in the work environment.  Compile all the answers you get from them and see if there are any common threads you can explore.

4.  Call a headhunter - If you are searching in your career, it’s likely you have a Cv.  Sometimes you can catch a headhunter or recruiter during their slow times and meet with them to pick through what you might be good at.  I’ve done this at different times in my life and the people seem open to talking with people.  After all, if you don’t get paid, they don’t either.  The ideas I get are usually good.

5.  Take a career assessment test - There are several sites on the Internet you might be able to take one of these tests for a fee.  But using my ‘headhunter’ tip above, many headhunters have this software and don’t mind you taking the test in their office.   I’ve taken these tests two times in my life and they usually take an hour or two, but they are thorough.  They ask you to answer a series of questions about what you are good at, what you like to do, what you prefer doing over what you don’t.  If you take one, you will likely see some new exciting areas to explore in your life.

6.   Keep a journal - Do you keep a journal?  If so, read through, looking for common threads in your writing.  Keep your eyes peeled for trends and activities you like as well as don’t like.  In fact, finding examples of what you don’t like and what frustrates you is almost as important as finding what you do like.  For example, if you hate an overwhelming boss, you’d probably like a self-directed position.  If you hate nosy coworkers you’d probably prefer your own office. 
Discovering what you really want to do with your life is the most important decision you can make.  We spend 1/3 or more of our lives at work.  So figuring out the right career is important to keeping that 1/3 of our lives happy and productive.

 

6 factors of career success

Title:
6 Factors Of Career Success
Word Count:
674
Summary:
What do employers look for in potential employees? That was the question that was posted recently on a career discussion forum online. Naturally, for each different position, the particular answers to that question would be different. However, there are some common skills that employers look for in all employees, whether the employee happens to be a network engineer or a fry cook.
In-Demand Skills for Success
1. BASIC SKILLS‚ Reading, writing and arithmetic! Believe it...

What do employers look for in potential employees? That was the question that was posted recently on a career discussion forum online. Naturally, for each different position, the particular answers to that question would be different. However, there are some common skills that employers look for in all employees, whether the employee happens to be a network engineer or a fry cook.

1. BASIC SKILLS‚ Reading, writing and arithmetic! Believe it or not, a good portion of high school graduates (and some college grads) do not read at an 8th grade level and cannot do multiplication in their head. Employers are seeking employees who can read well, can write coherently, and who can calculate mathematics in a business environment (fractions, percentages, etc.) Add to that the modern basic skills of keyboarding skill, basic computer knowledge, and ability to use most computerized tools (e.g. fax machine, basic word processing program, etc.) to round out the basic skill sets needed for employment success.

2. PERSONAL SKILLS‚ Can a potential employee speak well? Can he/she answer questions of customers in a positive, informative manner? Can the prospect provide good customer service? While not everyone has an outgoing sales' personality, successful employees can communicate in a non-confrontational, positive manner with their coworkers, team members, subordinates, management, and customers. Being able to work well with others is a vital skill for success in all jobs.

3. JOB ATTAINMENT‚ Job search is a process that requires a great deal of dedication and attention to be conducted successfully. It follows the old principal that many veteran programmers refer to as GIGO ‚ Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you put lousy effort in, you will receive lousy results. Employers are seeking employees who know how to present themselves in a positive manner and who display enthusiasm and knowledge about the companies they approach. Not only do candidates get evaluated on their skills and experience, but also on how they are approaching the job search. Enthusiastic candidates with fewer skills have an even chance of getting the job as dull candidates with better skills.

4. JOB SURVIVAL‚ Now there's a hot topic in this period of layoffs. Who gets the ax and who doesn't is often a matter of numbers, but it is also often a matter of performance. Employees who have consistently demonstrated their worth, taken initiative, and made themselves a valuable asset to the company have lower incidences of being downsized than employees who put forth mediocre or average effort in their jobs. Surviving within a company through layoffs or moving up the career ladder is a success skill that is learned and is consciously cultivated among successful professionals.

5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT‚ As all high tech and engineering pros know‚ it's learn or burn in today's work environment. Attaining new skills, applying new concepts, updating established skills is an absolute necessity to succeed in today's work force. The successful individual is constantly attending seminars, taking classes, attaining training on new products or releases, and otherwise learning new skills that will keep them marketable in their careers. Successful people are lifelong learners. Employers are looking for people who have the training necessary to fulfill their needs.

6. CAREER DEVELOPMENT‚ Career Development differs from Professional Development. Professional Development is learning while Career Development is a planning and goal setting process. Successful individuals design a career plan with written goals for short term and long term. They lay out the steps needed to move their careers from Point A to Point B within Time Frame C and plan how they are going to achieve those steps. Successful people have someone to whom they are accountable for their progress and who will monitor their success in achieving their goals. Employers are seeking individuals who (believe it or not) wish to commit to the company for a long period of time. Good career progression is a high selling point of candidates to prospective employers.

How do you measure up? Do you have the 6 In-Demand Skills for Success? Feel like you need some help?

Career Paths - Acountancy

There are many different careers in the field of accounting ranging from entry-level bookkeeping to the Chief Financial Officer of a company. To achieve positions with more responsibility and higher salaries, it's necessary to have a degree in accounting as well as achieve various professional designations.

One of the primary milestones in any accountant's career is to become a Certified Public Accountant or CPA. To become a CPA you have to go to college with a major in accounting. You also have to pass a national CPA exam. There's also some employment experience required in a CPA firm. This is generally one to two years. Once you satisfy all those requirements, you get a certificate that designates you as a CPA and you're allowed to offer your services to the public.

Many CPAs consider this just one stepping stone to their careers. The chief accountant in many offices is called the controller. The controller is in charge of managing the entire accounting system in a business stays on top of accounting and tax laws to keep the company legal and is responsible for preparing the financial statements.

The controller is also in charge of financial planning and budgeting.  Some companies have only one accounting professional who's essentially the chief cook and bottle washer and does everything. As a business grows in size and complexity, then additional layers of personnel are required to handle the volume of work that comes from growth. Other areas in the company are also impacted by growth, and it's part of the controller's job to determine just how many more salaries the company can pay for additional people without negatively impacting growth and profits.

The controller also is responsible for preparing tax returns for the business; a much more involved and complex task than completing personal income tax forms! In larger organisations, the controller can report to a vice president of finance who reports to the chief financial officer, who is responsible for the broad objectives for growth and profit and implementing the appropriate strategies to achieve the objectives.

10 Career Change Myths

If you dream about having a different career, but don't act on that dream, you may be operating under the assumption of a career myth. In this article, I expose 10 myths, sayings you've heard before that simply are not true. Let's explore them.

Career Myth #1: You can't make a living doing something you really, truly love

This is the grand-daddy of career myths, the belief that you can't have a "practical" career doing something that you were passionate about. It has to be one or the other.

This myth is rooted in fear. Fear that we have to sacrifice our happiness to make a living. Don't buy the myth that you can't earn a living by doing what you love.

When I first started coaching, I heard from plenty of people that it would be very difficult to make a living doing this work. I just decided to find coaches who were successful, and to learn from them (simple, eh?).

If you find yourself buying into this myth, consider this question - As you look back on your life, what will you regret more? Following your passion or following your fears?

Career Myth #2: It's a tough job market/economy

Even when the newspapers and other news sources say that unemployment numbers remain steady, that job growth is at a standstill, or that we're experiencing slow economic recovery, not to mention downsizing and outsourcing, don't believe it.

It's a myth because it doesn't reflect the whole story, the fact that that it's a different job market today. It's a changing economy. How we transition from job-to-job is different. Recruiting practices have shifted. So the job market has changed, but that doesn't necessarily make it tougher. What makes it tougher is that we've been slower to change. We've held on to old practices and old behaviors. That's not to say that old ways still don't work, but they're just not as effective.

So I challenge you to just believe that it's a perfect job market for you to find work. I've had my college students try this, just for a week, and, more times than not, several of them find job leads or make important connections during the week.

Career Myth #3: Changing careers is risky

What's riskier than leaving what you know to pursue the unknown? Changing careers means leaving behind a piece of your identity - your "I'm a lawyer" response to the "what-do-you-do?" question. It might mean admitting to yourself that you made a mistake with an initial career choice. Or it might mean acknowledging that you're unsure of what's next. And smart people always know what's next, right?

Nope. Successful career changers often don't have a plan. In Working Identity: How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality by Herminia Ibarra, she provided evidence that waiting until you have a plan is actually riskier than just doing and experimenting.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, is riskier than not changing careers if you're longing to do so. Here's why: The longing won't go away. It will always be there, under the surface, waiting for you to do something about it.

Career Myth #4: Always have a back-up plan

Sometimes having a back-up plan is the smart and prudent course of action. Back-up plans are so grown-up and responsible. But what happens when you're standing with one foot in and one foot out? In my experience, we usually close the door and retreat. We are reluctant to commit to ourselves, and we end up denying ourselves the satisfaction of playing full-out, getting dirty and sweaty. We end up with feelings of regret and the nagging "What if?" question.

Back-up plans diffuse our energy. Diffused energy equals diffused results. Give all that you've got to your dream/passion/risk and you've got a better chance of being successful.

Career Myth #5: There's a perfect job out there for everyone

How long have you been searching for yours? You just know, deep inside, that there's an ideal job that's perfect for you out there. It matches your personality, skills, and interests to a tee. And it pays well. If only you could figure it out. If only you knew what it was.

Is there a perfect job out there for you? No. And here's the good news - there are more jobs than you can imagine that would be "perfect" for you. Chances are you've even come very, very close to a few of those perfect jobs already. So what happened? And how do you recognise one of these so-called "perfect jobs"?

Ever see the perfect gift for someone, but it was months till his or her birthday? Then when you go to find the item later, you can't. Another lost opportunity and you, once again, berate yourself for not buying it when you first saw it.

So maybe you've run into a perfect job in the past, but because of the timing, you passed by the opportunity. Or maybe you were so focused on something else, that you missed an obvious clue. Instead of dwelling on the past, which you can't change, vow to keep your eyes open and to look beyond the obvious.

Career Myth #6: Asking "What's the best thing for me to do?" is the right question

This is one of the most common questions asked when considering a career change or a career move. It seems like a logical analysis - weigh the pros and cons and evaluate the balance.

Do not ask yourself this question!! It rarely leads you to the answers you're seeking. It will lead you to feeling overwhelmed with options (sound familiar?), or feeling like you have to choose what's practical over what seems to be impractical.

The question that will lead you to answers is simple (but not easy!!) It is "What do I really want to do?" This is a very different question than "what's best?"

Career Myth #7: If you don't like your job, you're probably in the wrong career

Cause and effect, right? One way to tell if you're in the right career is whether or not you like your job. If you're dissatisfied with your job, it's probably a sign that you need to re-examine your whole career choice. This is frequently what I hear from new clients who have decided to work with a career coach. They know something isn't right because they don't like their jobs. Their natural assumption is that their dissatisfaction is a symptom of a larger underlying issue - their career choice.

This is an example of false logic. Not liking your job might be telling you you're in the wrong job. It doesn't necessarily mean you're in the wrong career. It doesn't even mean you're in the wrong job. You could just be working for the wrong person or the wrong company. It takes a skillful approach to discern the source of discontent, and I think it's very hard to do it on your own

Career Myth #8: Everyone needs a mission statement

Do you know what your mission is? Mission statements are supposed to guide us, keep us on track, and help us move forward. But what if you don't have one? Does that mean you're destined to never fulfill your potential career-wise?

A client who was a successful professional contacted me because she was at a career crossroads. She felt that if only she could find her mission in life, she would know which career path to take.

She had a clear goal for coaching - find her mission! Instead, the most amazing thing happened. She decided that she didn't need a mission. She chose to trust that she was already fulfilling her mission statement, even though she didn't know what it was. After the client shifted her focus from finding her mission to living her life, an amazing opportunity came her way and she pursued it.

Here's a little tip: If your mission statement is elusive, stop chasing it. Be still and let it find you. And in the meantime, keep living your life and see what happens.

Career Myth #9: Expect a career epiphany

When you see a link to "Find Your Dream Job," do you immediately click on it to see what's there? Do you look at every "Top Ten Career" list out there to see if anything catches your interest? Do you know your MBTI type? If you do, you might be falling prey to the career epiphany myth.

I'd love, love, love it if most of my clients had a career epiphany that indicated to them, in crystal-clear terms, their next step. Instead, I see career "unfoldings" or a journey of discovery much more regularly. That is, being willing to not ignore the obvious, the pokes, the prods, and listen carefully to the whisper within. Yep, forget harp music and angels, for most of us, the career epiphany is a quiet whisper.

Career Myth #10: Ignoring your career dissatisfaction will make it go away

Oh, if only this worked in the long run!! Granted, it does work at first. When you find yourself beginning to question your career, you'll find it's rather easy to push the thoughts aside and pretend they aren't there. You know what I'm talking about: the "what ifs" and the list of regrets.

Over time, the random thoughts become nagging thoughts. You spend more and more time daydreaming about options. You build your list of reasons to ignore your growing career dissatisfaction:

• You're too old.
• You don't want to take a pay cut.
• You don't want to go back to school.
• You missed your opportunity 5, 10, 15 years ago.

With clients in this situation, we work on identifying and challenging these fears. Sometimes the fear of change remains, but there becomes a greater commitment to living than to feeling the fear.

Challenge

So now that you know that one or all of these myths have been holding you back, what are you waiting for?