The 2014 Ultimate Career Guide

Transcription

1 The 2014 Ultimate Career Guide Contents: 1. Explore Your Ideal Career Options 2. Prepare For Your Ideal Career 3. Find a Job in Your Ideal Career 4. Succeed in Your Ideal Career 5. Four of the Fastest Growing Careers in Career Advice for Women 7. Environmental Careers 8. Entrepreneurial Careers & Jobs with Flexibility

2 Introduction Love your career, and you ll never work another day in your life. This career guide is your step-by-step guide to finding and succeeding in your ideal career. Notice we didn t just say career. We said ideal career. That s because the first step in planning a career is to find the career that you re best suited for. Your ideal career. Your ideal career is among your top jobs when you sign up for a MAPP career package. After you take the MAPP career test, we ve sorted around 900 jobs in order of your unique test results. If you don t already know what career(s) you re best suited for, that s really the best place to start. Hate Your Job? You re Not Alone If you hate your job, you re far from alone. According to a recent survey, eight in 10 Americans feel stressed about their job. Finding a job you love is one of the quickest ways to reduce stress. When you hate your job, it can be hard to love your life, because your job is a big part of your life. Loving Your Job Can Help You Live Longer Sticking it out with a job you hate? If you re staying at a job you hate because you feel you can t do any better, chances are you re making yourself sick in the process. Numerous studies show that unhappy employees with no emotional bond to their workplace experience call in sick more often and experience emotional exhaustion and depression. According to a study of 5,000 men, over the course of 30 years, work stress causes up to 10 percent of strokes. And those with more responsible and stressful jobs had an even higher risk of stroke up to 38 percent! Clearly, this study makes the point that if you love your job, your chances of living healthier for longer increase dramatically. Do You Really Hate Half of Your Awake Time? Almost half of your waking hours is spent working. If you don t love what you do, that time is wasted. What better way to improve your life overall than to gain 40 extra hours of fun time each week? Your dream job doesn't have to be fantasy. You can make it happen. How the MAPP Career Test Works The free MAPP career test provides a personalized and exhaustive analysis of your skills, your career personality and your ideal job matches. If you haven t taken it already, take it today. Did you know that your results are unique to you? No one else has your exact same test results. Plus, the MAPP test is scientifically proven and professionally respected, used by over 8 million people in 53 countries. You'll tap into your true skills, motivation and career personality so you can discover or re-discover what you re truly good at Assessment.com 2

3 The MAPP assessment is one of the most comprehensive career assessments available. And unlike most other career tests, which can only be administered by career counselors, the MAPP can be taken anytime by anyone and interpreted without the need for trained professionals. You get a insightful narrative and graphical portrayal of your results, which serve as your personal guide to making sound career choices. Your Ideal Career Is Waiting for You After you take the assessment, we sort through 900 job types to find the ideal matches to your career personality. When you sign up for a MAPP career package, you can see which careers you re best suited for. You may be pleasantly surprised by the careers we ve found are a great fit for you! Ready for a Career You Love? Your career is your ticket to a more satisfying and fulfilling life. In this guide, our goal is to provide important information, resources and ideas on how to take your career to the next level, and in so doing, gain personal satisfaction in the work you do every day. Your Friends at Assessment.com Home of the MAPP Career Test 2014 Assessment.com 3

4 1. Explore Your Ideal Career It s easy to lose sight of the big picture as you go to work every day. But there's a bigger and better career waiting for you. You just need to recognize and nurture your talents -- and ultimately turn them into a career you love. Here are our three most important tips for picking a career you'll love: 1. Take the MAPP Test (If you Haven t Already) The MAPP career test identifies the skills, experience and personality traits you possess and matches them to jobs that match those characteristics. We sorted through 900 careers to find those you would be most successful at. Be sure you sign up for a career package to see which careers are the best for you. 2. Remember your Passion All too often we find ourselves stuck in a career path we never chose. Look back at your life and remember your passions. What did you love to do? What were you most interested in? What were your preferred environments? For example, look back at your time in high school and remember what you loved doing the most. Perhaps it was sports, or band or debating. Remember how good it felt to excel at that? That s the same feeling you want in your career. In today s job market, self-knowledge is the most important piece of a successful job search. In short, if you know where you re going, you have a much better chance at ending up where you truly want to be. 3. Redefine Yourself Now define what you want to be your ideal life s work in a few words. What immediately comes to mind? What would family and friends say you re really good at? How would you like to be able to introduce yourself? This may take a long time to compose and refine. Here s where the MAPP narrative can be really helpful. Highlight those sections that really nailed you. Then use these sections in writing your new profile or biography. Write two versions: one version that describes you now, and another that s aspirational what would you want others to read about you a few years from now? Once you come up with your new description of who you are now, you can use this everywhere, from your resume to your social media profiles. Then modify it as you take courses, work at various jobs and gain more life experience. This is a work in progress, because your life and career are also works in progress. Career Decision Making/Matching Now it s time to make some decisions. Align your self-assessment results with your career options and choose a field or job on which to focus your efforts. After you ve taken the MAPP and signed up for a career package, this part is considerably easier Assessment.com 4

5 If you re like most people, decision-making can be very anxiety provoking, especially when it comes to planning out the career you could have for the rest of your life. Here are some tips for narrowing down your options and making a wise career decision: Summarize the skills and interests you possess from the self-assessment. List your career options. (After you take the MAPP test, we sort 900 jobs in order for you.) Evaluate your options. List the pros and cons of each. Don t rule anything out. Select two or three favorites. Research your options by talking to people in those positions (see our networking advice in the next chapter). Your career decision can easily change over time as you deal with trade-offs and new factors arise. But a decision about which career to focus on is the first big step to a rewarding life and career. Remember, focus is not just about what you do, but what you don t do. Try not to waste valuable time on things that don t matter or that aren t going to help you in your career. You ll then have more time to focus on those activities that will enable you to get ahead in your career. And the more effort you invest, the more likely you ll succeed at getting better and better jobs in your ideal career. Take small, manageable steps to move your career forward. Don t try to do everything at once. Don t try to do it alone. Ask for help from family and friends. If you get stuck, seek the help of a career development professional. You can find career development professionals by going to the National Career Development Association. In the next chapter, we discuss how to prepare for your ideal career, including how to determine what education and training you ll need (if any), creating a killer resume and LinkedIn profile, and key tips on networking Assessment.com 5

6 2. Prepare For Your Ideal Career Once you ve decided what career you want to pursue, you need to prepare for how you ll land a job in your ideal career. The goal at this point in your career process is to: Determine what (if any) education and training you ll need Fill in the gaps in your education Research industries and companies Create a killer resume and LinkedIn profile Network like crazy Do You Need to Go Back to School? Going back to school can be expensive as well as time-consuming. If you re thinking about going back to school, you ll want to get as much out of it as you can. Always keep your end goal in mind when you register for courses. Ask yourself these key questions before you hit submit on a class registration form: 1. Will My Current Employer Pay For My Education? If you re happy with your current employer but are limited by your education, your company may pay for your training, books and mileage. Many employers have continuous learning policies. Tell your supervisor you want to learn the skills needed to expand your horizons for your current and future employment. However, if this isn t an option, remember that your career is your ticket not only to your happiness, but also to your future earning potential. So it may be well worth investing money in college courses and professional development programs. Also consider other learning opportunities, such as attending a trade show or convention, joining a MeetUp group, and any other opportunities to grow professionally. 2. Does My Career Require This Course? Learning for the sake of learning is great, but you ll want to keep a clear focus on how this course will better position you in your ideal career. Reach out to professionals you admire in your field and ask questions such as: Which courses helped you most in your professional life?, Which courses do you wish you had taken? and What s the one course everyone in this field absolutely must take? 3. How Will This Course Build/Challenge My Skills? College is all about building your skill set. Carefully consider what personal and professional skills will be developed in each course and challenge yourself to build on your weaknesses and refine your strengths. Take at least one writing intensive class no matter what your focus, because communication is vital for every professional. Also consider classes that require public speaking to build your confidence. And take classes that challenge you and force you to leave your comfort zone. It s good training for life later on Assessment.com 6

7 Research Industries and Companies You can find a wealth of information online on the industries and companies that you re interested in. Here are some helpful links that may help you focus your online research: American City Business Journals 40 business newspapers in major city markets all across the U.S. covering the latest business news. Corporate Information Up-to-date financial information on the leading publicly traded companies worldwide. Department of Labor Information on jobs, wages, unemployment matters, health plans, etc. Hoover's Information on 900 different industries and 85,000 different companies U.S.A. Jobs Current job openings with the U.S. Government. Yahoo Finance Leading source of financial news and research. Seven Vitally Important Resume Tips When you re on the job hunt, standing out is essential. Your resume is one of the most essential tools in your career kit. If you re looking for a new job, or just looking to move up with your current employer, you need an exceptional resume. Your resume can make the difference between being rejected or getting to round two. Lots of sites give you valuable advice about how to build a killer resume. About.com shows you several different types of resumes along with samples, and offers valuable advice on what to include in your resume and how to use keywords to get your resume found online. In addition to this valuable advice, be sure to check your resume against these seven vitally important resume tips: 1. Check for Formatting, Spelling and/or Grammatical Errors Since you have about seven seconds to impress someone with your resume, you'll want to make sure your key information is easy to read and free of spelling errors or other grammatical mistakes. Regardless of the industry you re in or the job you re applying for, a resume that has even one grammatical error can make you seem sloppy or lazy and could cost you the job. First, run your resume through a spell check but double-check it yourself in case you accidentally accepted an incorrect word. You could even have a grammatically gifted friend edit it.. Read your sentences and statements out loud to make sure they make sense. Get the complete 2014 Ultimate Career Guide to see the remaining six vitally important resume tips and many other incredibly important tips on getting a job in your ideal career! PLUS, we ll give you a coupon code worth the price of this guide off of any Career Package. You can t lose! 2014 Assessment.com 7