Resolving a New Job

We are fast approaching the end of another year and this may be the time you make your New Year's resolutions. Many people would like to change jobs or do different work in 2008. If you are sharing those thoughts, now is a good time to write out what you resolve to achieve in the new year.

So spend some time thinking about what it is that you would like to change. If you feel you need to change the tasks you do on a regular basis, you should consider what else you could do for the same employer. If you believe that you want to continue with the tasks you do, but need to change the environment in which you do it, you probably also need to look outside your current organization. You are definitely not alone in your thinking. Before you take any action, I encourage you to make a plan for the change you would like to implement.

Write a goal statement - explaining what your new situation will include - in as much detail as possible. Your goal should be something that is doable, even if it requires some stretching, or learning new skills, or acquiring new knowledge. Include a time frame by which you will accomplish it. This is where some people lose motivation - they look at their goal and figure they will never be able to find time to accomplish it while they are working full time.

It helps to write out your objectives or the steps that you will take to move you closer to achieving your goal. You should also include time frames for your objectives. Many people find they need to break some of their objectives into small, bite-size pieces of things they can do when they have just 15 or 20 minutes to devote to something on their goal to-do list. By having those small pieces identified already, it will make it easier to actually accomplish one of them when you have those few minutes to work on your goal.

Create some type of method to keep track of the objectives as you achieve them - or if you need to make adjustments to them. It can be a simple list with your overall goal as the title and each objective identified by a different letter. That way, each smaller step for each objective can be numbered, perhaps in the order they should be completed. For example, if you are planning a job search, you will need a resume and brush up on your interviewing skills, among other things. So, the resume might be objective B. Then finding your current resume would be item B1. Revising that resume would be item B2; typing the revised version would be B3, and so forth. Some people will create flow charts or something with graphics, showing how they will get from here to there. The format does not matter, what matters is that you create your plan and have it written out in some readable form.

It is generally helpful to have a plan that can help you keep on track toward accomplishing your goal. By writing it out, you can become clearer in what you need to do. Besides, as long as it is just in your head, it is not a real plan, but a dream. You can plan now to make 2008 great!

Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Check out her web site at http://www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.

Do You Find It Hard To Make A Career Decision?

Some of the people I work with say they find it hard to make a career decision because they have so many career dreams. Some of them find themselves thinking there are so many things they could do that they don't want to eliminate any of their options. If this is your situation, I urge you to keep in mind that, depending on your age, you may have a few, or several, more opportunities to make career changes. Just because you decide on one direction today, that does not necessarily mean that all of your other career possibilities will be gone forever.

Research indicates that more people are changing jobs every 3 to 4 years. Of course, not everyone will fit that statistic, but the average person will probably work in as many as eight (8) to ten (10) jobs during their lifetime. The basic idea is that you will likely make several more job changes. So, although each decision about a job or career change should be well considered, you will likely have more opportunities to make those kinds of decisions.

Generally, career management begins with knowing yourself - the things that interest you, the skills you possess, the work values that are important to you, and other personal factors. Most people also need to expand their knowledge of the world of work, or at least have information about the occupations they are considering. Look for areas where the skills, values, etc. you possess are required by the occupation(s) you are considering. There are no guarantees, but the more knowledgeable you are, as you make your decisions, the more likely they are to be sound decisions that you can easily live with.

Mary Ann Davis, is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC).

Check out her Web site at http://www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.

Are You Stuck?

If you feel you are stuck in your job because there is nothing else you could do, I encourage you to put on your creative cap and think about different things you could do. Start by making a list of activities you have done that you enjoyed. These could be things from your work life, community or church activities, or other aspects of your personal life. If you feel your job has changed over time and you no longer enjoy most of the tasks you do, also list the previous tasks you did that you enjoyed. Spend some time creating your list, and then begin identifying the common themes in the activities you identified. Does it include planning the project, creating something, helping people, etc.? Review that information to get ideas about activities that you may want to include in your new work situation. Then work on creating a list of career possibilities that would include your preferred activities. Include all careers you can think of - even if they are not your most attractive options. Just knowing that you have options can help you expand the list of possibilities for serious consideration. Once you have narrowed your list of possible career directions, you may need to do some checking to find out what the actual requirements are for each option, skills needed, values that may be met in that type of work, and other important factors. Then you can eliminate any options that would require more preparation than you are willing/able to undertake. Work through your remaining list to prioritize the potential career directions you have identified and develop your plan to achieve that career or occupational situation. Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions. She is recognized as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.

Do You Have the 'I Hate the Thought of Monday Blues'?

If you are one of those people who 'hate the thought of Monday' and returning to work long before the weekend is over, maybe you should consider making a change. If you are a football fan, perhaps you have noticed those commercials advertising the next Monday night game on television days before it will take place. They are trying to get fans excited about the Monday night game even before the weekend games are played. In many ways, that's how you should feel about going to work on Monday. You should be excited about it, not dreading it. At least you should be ok with it. Now, I know some of you may think that being excited about going to work on Monday is unrealistic and would remind me of the joke that ends with, 'that's why they call it work!' But just think of how much better you would feel if you looked forward to going in to work, or at least didn't dread it. Time passes too quickly to spend your life dreading something that you spend so much time doing. I was at a conference recently and one of the speakers said that anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of Americans are unhappy in their jobs. That is a very large group of people. If you are in that group, I would encourage you to think about what you could do to change that. Do you need a different job, a different employer, or a different line of work? Maybe you feel it is all of the above. Whatever your situation, you know that life is too short to spend it being miserable at work. Make a promise to yourself to do something about your situation and start developing a plan now. If you don't take care of yourself, you may not be around to take care of anyone else. Do it for you. Mary Ann Davis, M.A., is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions in-person (in Cincinnati, Ohio) and at a distance. She is recognized as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3, or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.

Expand Your Vision of Your Future

Why do I encourage you to expand your vision of your future? Because so often when people think about a job change, so many of them think that since they have done a particular type of work for years, that is the only kind of work they can do in the future. Other people believe they cannot compete for certain jobs because they do not have experience in that specific type of work. Still others believe they have few work related skills because they have been homemakers or otherwise have little experience in the world of work. Others just figure there is nothing else they could do. If you have thought that your only change could be just the same kind of work with a different employer, I encourage you to expand your vision of your future. Career research indicates most people will work in more than 5 or 6, as many as 9 or 10, different jobs during their lifetime. So career change is the rule these days, not the exception. It is important that career changers expand their vision of their future so they increase the career options they consider. Some people have not made a real decision about their career direction, but just "fell into" something. Many people made their career decisions based on very limited information, such as what their parents or other family members did or people they saw on television. There are thousands and thousands of job titles and new jobs are being created all the time. So, you may need to expand your thinking to avoid eliminating potential career options that may be a good fit for you. If you are a person who has stayed in the same job for years because it is "comfortable", you should not let a fear of limited possibilities, or a dislike or fear of change keep you form pursuing something different. If you are someone who thinks work is intended to be difficult and should not be satisfying, it is possible to enjoy your work. If you are staying with a company just because of your years of service, you may find there are alternatives that would be more satisfying for you. The other reality is that jobs are not guaranteed and there is often little to prevent your employer from deciding your services, or that of your work unit, are no longer needed. Many people are working much longer and are selecting occupations they would not have thought possible previously. We typically spend so much of our lives working that if we could do work that is satisfying and enjoyable, that positively impacts other ares of our lives too. Expand your visions of your future and look for ways to turn that picture into reality. Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions. She is recognized as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.

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November is National Career Development Month

November has been designated as National Career Development Month, and as a career counselor, I encourage you to take some time this month to think about your current career situation. We no longer work in a time when people are hired by a company and stay there 30 to 40 years until they retire. Certainly the individual initiates some of those changes, but in some cases, the employer initiates the changes. There are no guarantees when it comes to the world of work today. If there is something you have often dreamed of doing, is this the time you investigate it as you identify your career options? There is some indication that perhaps the majority of workers in the united States would not say they are happy in their work. Research indicates most people will change jobs as much as 7 to 9 times in their work life, so career development is not just a one-time thing. If you are one of those who are not happy in your work, I encourage you to take some time to think about your situation. Many adults have not really thought about their career direction, but have gone along with things as they came up. If that describes you, perhaps now is the time to give consideration to your career direction. Career development generally involves four large steps, which may need to be repeated several times throughout your life. The first step of career development is knowing yourself. Although many adults think they already know themselves, when asked to identify their strengths and those skills they do well and enjoy, that may be difficult to do. I encourage my clients to identify their skills and abilities, interests, personal strengths, values and personality traits, as well as other factors, as they make a composite of what they know about themselves. Some are able to to do so pretty much on their own, but many people prefer to do some formal career assessments. The second step in career development is learning about the world of work. We tend to make decisions about career directions based on very limited information, but there are thousands of job titles and most people only know about a small percentage of them. In today's technological world, more of the jobs being created are things we had never dreamed of before. The third step of career development involves making decisions - looking at what you know about yourself and what you know about the world of work and looking for areas of overlap. So you would identify those occupations that include some of the things of interest to you, require at least some of the skills you possess, and allow for the use of some of the traits and strengths you possess. Once you have made decisions regarding occupations that would be a good fit for you, then the fourth step in career development is developing and implementing a plan to achieve the career goal(s) identified. Your plan may involve continuing your education, becoming involved in community activities or volunteer work, starting your own business, and/or launching a campaign to make a career or employment change. Whatever your plan involves, it helps to take time to develop it in detail, so that you are more likely to complete it. There is no magic wand when it comes to career development and managing your career and going through these steps may not excite you, but if the end result is a career direction that does excite you, then it will have been worth it. And, as research indicates, if you will likely have more opportunities to make career changes later in life, then the better you get at doing the steps, the more thorough your career decisions and plans can be. My hope is that this may serve as incentive to help you take some action during National Career Development Month. If you need assistance through the steps of career development, it is available. No mater what you age, you should still work toward achieving your career goals. Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing career coaching and counseling for life's transitions. She is recognized as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Check out her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com. To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com