Career Lander

You know that crunching numbers, manipulating data and attending daily meetings are not for you.

You do not want to end up a starving artist; instead, you want to get paid for self-expression.

You want to leave that cubicle or airless office and find your natural creative rhythm.

It is possible–there are good careers for creative people.

Copywriter

Most copywriters are freelance writers. They frequently adjust their workday to suit their clients’ schedules and may work evenings and weekends to meet production schedules.

Many operate their businesses from home using computers, either as part-time or full-time work.

A copywriter is very flexible in what she writes; she is able to write technical software manuals or create advertisements.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the employment of writers is expected to grow 10 percent through 2016.

Interior Designer

Interior designers plan the indoor spaces of almost every type of building, including offices, shopping malls, restaurants and private residences.

They can read blueprints, understand building and fire codes and use CAD, or computer-aided design. Read the rest of this entry »

A consultant is a professional in a particular area who has several years of experience and who offers expert advise on matters relating to the profession in question.

Consultants may be self-employed and are brought in on a temporary basis to offer their knowledge on a range of topics with the goal of improving the performance of a company, advise on a case or help organizations adapt to new government regulations.

Health Care Consultant

Health care consultants offer an analysis of the operations within a medical facility. To understand the inner workings of a hospital, consultants review case files, shadow employees, interview staff members and review technology programs.

After completing an analysis, consultants advise medical facilities to change protocols, reorganize infrastructure, cut personnel or improve communication methods.

To work as a health care consultant, individuals can pursue certification through the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants.

Legal Nurse Consultant

Legal nurse consultants (LNC) work with an attorney and assist during medical-related cases. These consultants are hired to decipher medical terminology and testify during court cases and depositions.

While on the stand, legal nurse consultants use their medical background to offer expert testimony.

To work as a consultant, legal nurse consultants must be registered nurses and pass an LNC certification course through the National Association of Legal Consultants.

Business Consultant

Business consultants are hired to evaluate a company’s business practices and make recommendations on how to improve overall performance.

Duties may include analyzing financial records, examining communication methods and reviewing information technology equipment.

Consultants must have strong communication, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Prospective consultants must have an educational background in business and an opportunity is available to earn the certified management consultant designation through the Institute for Management Consultants. Read the rest of this entry »

When you are out of a job, looking for work can easily become a stressful, full-time search. Getting a job over other qualified candidates is never a guarantee, but following these job search tips will improve your chances.

Attitude

Attitude is one of the most important influences for job-seekers. Employers want people who are energetic, positive and optimistic about the future.

When you are out of work, you may very well be in a negative state of mind, but work hard to stay positive, and at the very least, inflect positivity in your actions and attitude whenever you are around possible business connections, and especially the staff at a company you interested in.

It can be hard to stay positive if you’ve been looking for work for months and had many interviews that didn’t pan out, but allowing a disaffected attitude to creep into your demeanor will hamper your job search and interviews.

Don’t act desperate to get a certain job, even if you are; employers want to hire people who seem confident and seem to have many options.

Vary your Approach

When the job climate is tough, it’s not enough to look for a job using one or two channels and expect employers to come to you with offers. For instance, the internet is a powerful job search tool that also allows you to post resumes for prospective employers, but even if you use several different job search websites, you shouldn’t limit your search to the internet.

Attend local job fairs and networking events in your field whenever possible. Also try cold-calling companies you’re interested in. You might not be that likely to get a job through a cold call right away, but it might put you on the company’s radar, and allow you to put your name or resume in the company’s files as someone to call when there’s an opening.

It is also important to get together with friends and business contacts in your industry as often as possible. Many jobs are secured through networking and personal connections, so keep your job search in the thoughts of friends and colleagues by staying in touch. Read the rest of this entry »

Competency-based interviews are becoming more and more prevalent as companies want to be more certain of a candidate’s qualifications before committing to their hire.

These types of interviews involve questions that put a greater emphasis on evaluating the behavioral skills as well as applicant’ technical skills based on how they respond to certain work-related situations.

There are several things an applicant can do to make sure they’re prepared for this style of interviewing.

Revisit

Think carefully about the details of your previous jobs. Go down the list of each job entry on your resume and make notes about any significant accomplishments or tasks that could celebrate your level of competency for the position you’re applying for.

Rehearse

Prepare responses to questions that will involve your ability to problem solve, manage conflict and be a team player in challenging situations. If you’ve had actual experience with this, then draw from what really happened.

The more real-life experiences you can use to construct your answers, the more genuine you will come across to the interviewer.

Review Requirements

Read the job description very carefully. Plan to discuss the how and why of handling a situation involved with each major responsibility of the position.

For example, for management positions you could discuss how you would solve scheduling conflicts between associates. If “strong team player” is a requirement, prepare a response that describes what you would do when you’ve caught up on all of your work for the day. Always be ready to identify the action that would lead to the most positive outcome in a work-related situation.

Congratulations, you have an interview! Few life events are as nerve-wracking as the job interview. Everything you’ve done up to this point has been to gain the interview.

Pre-interview preparation is essential and will help you succeed at obtaining a job offer.

Adjust Your Attitude

Reduce your anxiety by adjusting your beliefs and attitude. Don’t think of yourself as being in the hot seat with the interviewer passing judgment.

Instead, see yourself as a partner in the process. Both you and the employer are evaluating your fit for the job and the company.

Research the Company

Research the company and the industry. Use your contacts and the Internet to find out about the company and current trends and issues in your field.

Assemble Your Interview Portfolio

Assemble a package of information to present to the interviewer. Include your resume, samples of your work, letters of reference, and any awards or recognition you have received.

Have a Dress Rehearsal

If possible, stake out the company to see how the staff dress. Then go one level higher when selecting your interview outfit. Grooming should be impeccable but refrain from using highly scented products.

Map Your Route

Be punctual. Arrive 10 minutes early. Map your route and identify any potential issues such as parking or construction.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practice answering typical interview questions. Anticipate what questions might be asked and prepare answers that highlight your experience and skill for the job. Practice out loud to become comfortable with talking positively about yourself.

Often, a job interview has several stages. Most likely, it will include a phone interview. Here’s how to succeed at one.

1. Be in a quiet place. A noisy setting can be distracting and unprofessional.

2. Use a land line phone. Cell phones can break up and lose their signal at the most inappropriate times.

3. Use the speaker instead of holding the phone up to your ear. This will keep your hands free to take notes. Also, it will feel more like a real interview if you don’t have to keep a device attached to your ear the entire time.

4. Place a mirror in front of you. You can monitor your facial expressions and feel like there is someone in front of you.

5. Dress as if you were going to an interview. This can put you in the right state of mind.

6. Smile when you speak. This may sound irrelevant, but that smile will change the way you sound. You will sound positive and upbeat.

7. Stand up. This will give you more confidence.

While they may seem overwhelming, job fairs can be an effective element of a job search. During the event, you can introduce yourself one-on-one to hiring managers and human resources representatives from a variety of local companies, all in one room.

To achieve success at any job fair, you must first understand the tips and tricks of the trade including preparation, job fair strategies and follow-up.

Preparation

Before the job fair, review the website for the event. Particularly review the list of companies and write down which ones you would like to target first.

Consider the job fair as a half-day series of interviews. Print at least 20 copies of your resume to hand out to companies who are seeking your skill set. However, be aware that many companies will tell you to apply online; in this case, you must grab their business card and the name of the representative during the event.

Another effective job fair technique is to have your own professionally printed business card that contains your contact information on the front and a brief “mini-resume” displaying your skillset on the back.

Prepare questions you would like to ask the employer, and review answers to questions they may ask you. Practice interviewing skills such as maintaining eye contact, shaking hands and focusing on the specific job opportunity.

Strategies

When you arrive at the job fair, don’t enter the first line you see. Take a few minutes to walk around the room and find your targeted employers. Then get in line and wait your turn. Use your wait time wisely.

Rather than standing in a daze, strike up a conversation with the people in line with you. Ask them what they are looking for and whether they’ve had success. This type of networking may lead you to a booth where an employer is eagerly seeking your skills.

When you reach the company representative, introduce yourself with a smile and a handshake. State your name and your job title, and ask if they have any available positions that match what you are looking for.

The key here is to keep the conversation concise, since others are waiting in line for the employer. Remember to grab a business card for the next and perhaps most important step of all: the follow-up.

Follow-Up

The follow-up is something all too many job fair participants overlook. At the end of the conversation, tell the employer that you will follow up in one week.

When contacting the company, be sure you identify yourself as having spoken to the employer at the job fair. Ask about the status of the position and restate your skills and experience and how they relate to the job opportunity. Always maintain tact and diplomacy in your correspondence.

As technology continues to grow and impact the business world, careers in information systems are rapidly increasing.

Accounting information systems are one career option that is needed to ensure that all financial information flows through companies timely and accurately.

Careers

Several different careers are available in the accounting information systems (AIS) industry, from database administrators to software technicians.

Large companies have several individuals employed to ensure that the AIS runs smoothly during normal business operations.

Education

As the AIS career field has grown, several colleges and universities have added degrees wit h AIS concentrations to help educate students in this field. AIS degrees prepare students for career option like IT auditors, system consultants, and data security analysts.

Growth

According to the US Bureau of Labor, the expected job growth in this industry is expected to grow 37 percent during 2006 to 2016. This growth rate far exceeds the growth rate of most traditional industries.

Wages

According to a Robert Half compensation survey, AIS specialists earn $47,500 to $69,000 annually. Database administrators earn $70,250 to $102,000 annually.

Certifications

Several AIS companies offer certification for their database products. Earning these certifications allow individuals in AIS careers to earn higher pay and specialize in certain systems.

At other times we talked about how to handle interviews work and how to prepare your resume . As you know in these two steps in addition to see your expertise and experience, it is also important to emphasize your strongest qualities and talents that fit the professional profile they seek. And the first step to this end, we emphasize and know what we are good.

Getting a good job, as ingredients required to detect these personal qualities that make a difference to turn into a fortress and then in a job competition. Since the true test for a candidate to demonstrate they meet, they know what your talents are and how they add value to work.

Talent can be defined as a recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be applied productively, according to a definition of Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, psychologists and authors of the book “Discover Your Strengths”.

In order to know your talents, you can start by taking the time to answer these questions:
- What are you doing well? What you always compliment?
- Why are recognized quality (a) by your colleagues, boss, family, friends and teachers?
- In what situations very well and you feel uncomfortable in what (a)?
- In what context make a difference?
- What work have you felt most comfortable with what people and colleagues, and why?

Another activity that works is to ask how you look around you friends and family. Questions about what items are your “strong” and what are the weaknesses.

To make visible the talent , we must be attentive to the spontaneous and immediate reactions that must deal with any situation, mentioned in his Buckingham and Clifton. In addition, other “clues” that can help you, like having your desires and present what you learn quickly or causes satisfaction.

So you know, think about what are your talents and do everything possible to make them look especially in job interviews so they can be a key to a possible job.

With a rate of unemployment of 21%, Spain is one of the countries of the Union is feeling the effects most of the international financial crisis. But beyond lamentations, this reality should serve for many companies looking for solutions that help increase productivity without any cost.

Although it may seem absurd at first, such a measure would shorten the time spent at lunch. Spain has one of the longest working hours in Europe according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), a circumstance that can be caused, among other things, a marathon lunch that begins at two in the afternoon and lasts for two hours. This slowdown in the working day causes many Spanish are forced to stay at work until 20.00.

What if companies decide to put a limit on lunch?

Probably, it could leave the office at five or six in the evening, saving companies maintenance costs in their facilities (heating, lighting, etc..) And also allow workers with a better balance between work and family life . On the other hand, people could go to bed early, improving the quality of life and focus on working with the benefits that this implies for a company.

In return for all this, more than one may think that large cities can lose vitality, but the curb so frantic activity marked by a work which occupies the entire day, people will enjoy more during the weekend and above all make it easier and easier reconciliation.