The week of November 15 - 19, 2010 has been designated as National Career Development Week, during this special month. This is an opportunity to celebrate you as you celebrate with us. I have been a member of the National Career Development Association for about 20 years and during that time I have met many people who say they could use some help developing their career. Many of those people have successful careers but feel they could be doing something more enjoyable or more fulfilling with their lives.
Sometimes those needs can be addressed by activities in which they are involved outside of work. Other times, those needs go unmet until/unless the individual consciously decides to make some changes. It is very easy to get 'caught up' in a title or position and be reluctant to let go of that in order to find more satisfying work. That is where you need to determine what is more important to you and decide what could serve as an appropriate direction for you to pursue.
If there is something missing from your life, I encourage you to figure out what could fill that void. It may mean finding some volunteer activity in which to become involved. It may mean making some changes in your work situation to add a bit more of what is missing. It may also mean making a change to a different employer or into a different line of work. If you could benefit from some guidance through that process, remember, it is National Career Development Month and there are career counselors who could provide assistance in your search.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A., is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, coping with an empty nest, and other life planning issues. She meets with individuals in person and on-line. Mary Ann is recognized 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. Please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/.
To contact Mary Ann, please call and leave a personal and confidential voice message at (513) 665-4444 x3 or send an email to YourCcareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Interviewing for Information (part 3)
My last entry provided some potential questions to ask as you conduct your interviews for information. There are just a few additional tips I would like to share with you. Not only should your interviews be scheduled in advance, but it is also a good idea to send a confirmation/reminder message to your interviewee. If you don't have their email address, it is OK to leave a voice message. Either way, that message should be sent at least 24 hours before your schedule meeting time, although a little more notice would be good.
In keeping with your professional approach to this process, you should also prepare your questions in advance of the meeting. Many people think about what kinds of questions they are seeking answers to as they are considering who they can or should ask. Depending on the individual's current position and background, there may be some questions they can't answer or at least not with the foundation of information that would be most helpful to you. So consider what you want to find out as you think about who you can ask to interview with you.
Also, as you are considering your questions, it is very important that you not ask things that could easily be answered by reviewing their organization's web site. (This point also applies to the questions you ask in employment interviews.) These days, almost every organization has a web site, some more sophisticated and detailed than others. You may be able to access it just by entering the company's name and adding ".com". Generally, if that doesn't work or if you aren't sure what that address is, you should be able to find it by doing a title search on line. It will also be more helpful if you write your questions so they don't have a straight "Yes" or "No" answer, but would indicate you would like the interviewee to share some of their insight.
Naturally, you would send a thank you note to your interviewee as soon after the interview as possible. It can be an email message, but a neatly handwritten note and sent via post mail is a very nice touch. It is good to include some comment about your discussion, perhaps a point you had not considered or some advice specific for you/your situation. If you have already been able to contact a person they referred you to, you may want to indicate that in your note as well.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest, and other life planning issues. She meets with individuals in person and on-line. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor (L/WC) by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
In keeping with your professional approach to this process, you should also prepare your questions in advance of the meeting. Many people think about what kinds of questions they are seeking answers to as they are considering who they can or should ask. Depending on the individual's current position and background, there may be some questions they can't answer or at least not with the foundation of information that would be most helpful to you. So consider what you want to find out as you think about who you can ask to interview with you.
Also, as you are considering your questions, it is very important that you not ask things that could easily be answered by reviewing their organization's web site. (This point also applies to the questions you ask in employment interviews.) These days, almost every organization has a web site, some more sophisticated and detailed than others. You may be able to access it just by entering the company's name and adding ".com". Generally, if that doesn't work or if you aren't sure what that address is, you should be able to find it by doing a title search on line. It will also be more helpful if you write your questions so they don't have a straight "Yes" or "No" answer, but would indicate you would like the interviewee to share some of their insight.
Naturally, you would send a thank you note to your interviewee as soon after the interview as possible. It can be an email message, but a neatly handwritten note and sent via post mail is a very nice touch. It is good to include some comment about your discussion, perhaps a point you had not considered or some advice specific for you/your situation. If you have already been able to contact a person they referred you to, you may want to indicate that in your note as well.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest, and other life planning issues. She meets with individuals in person and on-line. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor (L/WC) by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). Please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
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