Week 12 - The Game Changer

Typically at some point in life one will make a pivot in their career field. This may not be true for some, but most tend to alter their careers in some way. Changing a career sounds not only difficult but scary at the same time. I mean you work so hard at a certain profession or title, to wake up one day and change your entire perspective of how you want to work. Although this may be a scary thought, it is usually done. In the tenth chapter of What Color Is Your Parachute, by Richard N. Bolles, he describes five ways to change or choose careers.

The five ways can all be used, or only one, all depending on how effective the strategy is per individual. Overall, all five ways can be quite useful to someone who is looking to make a pivot in their career.


1. The Internet
Going on line can be very helpful when it comes to changing careers or even looking for a new job. The internet has countless websites that post career openings, allowing one the biggest way to search for a new position. Another great aspect is that the internet will also give you information about the companies, and past employment reviews.

2. Tests
Taking a test has always been rather intimidating, as you are nervous to see how well you scored. However, a career test is more than just passing and failing. Taking a career test will highlight the areas that you like, while also pointing out the areas you may not be the best in. You can take this information and select a career based off your scores. However, taking a test does have some flaws, just keep that in mind if you are deciding in taking a career test.

3. The Flower Exercise
In a past blog, I have covered the entire flower method, so you can shoot over to my previous blogs if you are interested in partaking in this exercise. Basically the flower method has one list out some general things about them, creating the building blocks of themselves. Next, it has you follow some more steps to develop a list of possible options

4. Changing in Two-Steps
Bolles states that if you are looking to change careers you should do it in two steps. For example he says that if one is an accountant for a television program and they now want to go into medical reporting, they should split it up into two steps. If one tries to jump from career to career they may get shot down. However, if one were to go into television reporting, then later on go into medical repotting, they may have an overall easier time.

5. Trending Jobs
Lastly, the market is always changing, which can be a good thing as it creates the needs for other jobs. If you are looking to make a career change, do some research on new and upcoming jobs. Forbes states from statistics in 2013 the top five trending jobs were; software developer, accountant and auditor, market research analysts and marketing specialist, computer systems analysts, and human resources and training and labor relations specialist.


The world is always going to be changing which creates the need for new careers. Keeping your eyes open to new and upcoming jobs can help if you are in the market to change careers or just obtain a job in general. If you are planning on changing careers but confused on what you should do, try just one of the five tips that Bolles suggests. Hopefully everything works out for you!
 -STURCO

Week 11 - Dealing With Disadvantages

This blog post it going to be discussing chapter nine from What Color Is Your Parachute, by Richard Bolles. The title of that chapter is "How to Deal with Any Handicaps You Have". Bolles opens the chapter talking about going on a job interview, being turned down, leaving one to question themselves on the disadvantages they have, or as Bolles calls it - Handicaps. First I do not think that word handicap is appropriate. Yes, Bolles states that handicap means disadvantages, however in society today the word handicap quickly makes one think of major disabilities one has.


Next, Bolles going onto detail about describing something that stood out. These disadvantages we have should not hold us back from employment. For example he was saying that if one is def, then they can be handicapped as this is a disability that can hold them back from performing at the workplace. Although, lets say someone is overweight, this should not be a handicap to one, unless it stops them from having a good work performance. He tries to lift people up in a way, making them see a different side of the picture. Its like the analogy of the glass being half empty or half full

Also, Bolles also encourages the reader by saying that they should not feel discouraged if they do not have the skills that other may. He makes a good point by saying that if there were a total of 4,000 skills in the world and the average person has 1,300 skills, then that still leaves them missing the other 2,700 skills. Although the average person may be missing more than half of the skills that are obtainable, they still are unique on their own. He states that just because one is lacking a skill, or "handicapped" should not create fear in one to hold them back from employment as everyone else in the world lacks certain skills also.


What I liked about this chapter is that is allows one to see things differently. Yes there is basically an endless amount of skills one can learn and master, yet everyone is not the same. This is what makes one unique from one another. So this makes me think that I may not be the same as one of my co-workers, yet that is a good thing. By being different, and having a different skill sets creates a stronger team synergy. I think its good that people are not all the same and have the same skills. Everyone in the workplace brings something different, this allows for creativity and better problem solving.


One should not feel discouraged when going on an interview if they think that they are at a disadvantage because of their looks, shape, appearance, skills, ect. They should keep in mind that its good to be different than others in some ways. If one does have a certain disadvantage that they are not happy with then if it is reasonable then they can work on improving it. Like being shy for example. Growing up I would say that I was a shy kid, but I quickly saw that being shy was not a good thing. I started to be more expressive and tried to be more extraverted when the time was appropriate. Now I can say that I am nowhere close to being shy like I once was. Just remember that its good to be your own self. Stay positive and have self-esteem and you will do great on job interviews and the workplace.
-STURCO

Week 10 - Choosing Where to Work

This blog is following up on the previous blog, containing the information about the "flower"method to find out what you want to do. Upon completion of the flower one may analyze their answers and know immediately what they want to do with their career and life. For some there is more steps to follow. The additional steps are from chapter eight of What Color is your Parachute, by Richard N. Bolles.

Step One - Find What Career or Jobs Your Flower Sprouts To

First, choose your top three Knowlegdes, or fields of interests. Next, select your top five Transferable Skills (All Verbs). Once doing this you will want to ask friends, family, and co-workers too look at your top selections and give their opinion of what jobs they suggest based off your answers. Helpful or not, make sure to collect all of the data. After collecting all of your data circle any of the job or careers that stand out to you. Now its time to do some information digging. 

Step Two - Testing the Careers

In this step you will be taking all of your circled suggestions and following up with people in this field. You will be asking them questions to see if the job is in fact tailored to you and your wants/needs. Bolles suggests asking the following questions,

"How did you get into this work?"

"What do you like the most about it?"

"What do you like the least about it?"

"Where else can I find people in the similar field of work?"

These questions will help get a better insight in the possible career choices. 

Step Three - Finding Out Which Organizations Have Such Jobs

Here you will want to think outside of the box to find alternative routes. For example if one wanted to go into teaching they may think that going to a school is their only option. Wrong. Be creative and think or do some research. For example if one wanted to be a teacher there are many possibilities; corporate training and educational departments, workshops, foundations, private firms, teaching assistants, military, fire or police training and so forth. Just try to think of other options, or "kinds of places" as Bolles says. 

Step Four - Which Places Best Fit You

Taking a look at all the possibilities select the locations that you would want to work for. Referring back to the teaching scenario, if you know you would never be interested in police or fire training do not select it as a place to work. 

Step Five - Research The Company

Before approaching a company or organization for employment, do some homework about them. Find out what the company's beliefs are. Look for employee satisfaction. Is there room for growth within the company. Just make sure to find out if the company you want to approach is going to be compatible with your interests and needs. 

It is important to follow these additional steps in order to truly get an understanding of what it is you want to do for a career based off of your personality. No one would want to get up and go to work every day if they dreaded waking up every morning. and having the feeling of being stuck at work. You can always change your career choices down the road, but for the time being, find a job that attracts you to want to become the best that you can be.
-STURCO

Week 9 - The Flower

This blog post will have a focus on chapter 7 from What Color Is Your Parachute, written by Richard N. Bolles. The title of the chapter is, "You Need to Understand More Who You Are". But what does that mean exactly? What more can there be to know about ones own self. According to Bolles, there is a flower outline that allows one to get a better grasp on understanding who they are.

The flower outline will help one acquire an "inventory" of who they are, which will help later down the career road. Completing the flower outline may take some time to do, however he says it will be very beneficial. First, by doing this you will be able to describe yourself in six unique ways, which would help across multiple job markets. Second, this will help you describe exactly what you are looking for. Also, you end up with a picture of a job that you actually want, one that excites you to wake up each morning. Another great thing about completing this outline is that you will be able to walk into an interview and tell an the employer exactly who you are. Knowing who you are  will make you stand out against the competition when it comes to describing yourself, as you're not fumbling your words trying to come up with something.

The flower outline is composed of six petals in total that are strictly about you. After filling in all the petals, you will have this fully blossomed flower that is a presentation of who you are.

Petal One: "My favorite knowledges of Field of Interests"

Petal Two: "My Preferred Kinds of People to Work With"

Petal Three: "What I Can Do and Love to Do"

Petal Four: "My Favorite Working Conditions"

Petal Five: "My Preferred Salary and Levels of Responsibilities"

Petal Six: "My Preferred Places to Live"

Complete the flower so you can get a better understanding of who you are. It will be most worth it when it comes time to describe who you are.

-STURCO

Week 8 - Alternative Job Hunting

This blog post will focus on chapter six from, What Color Is Your Parachute 2016 by Richard N. Bolles. The title of this chapter is "What to Do When Your Job-Hunt Isn't Working". From the beginning of this book it has focused on the traditional way of job hunting, states Bolles. The traditional way being that you massively post and send out your resume in hopes of receiving some sort of response. Well if this has not worked for you do not give up!

Bolles discusses 12 alternative ways to hunt for a job, with the main focus on what he calls "The Parachute Way". Coincidentally the parachute way has a 86% success rate. Meaning that out of every 100 people this way will only fail for 14 people, triumphing for the 86 others.

So now you may be wondering what is this way and how can I prosper from it. Bolles states, begin with yourself instead of the market, find out what you love to do. After figuring that out then begin searching for organizations that are tailored to you. Next, no more sitting around and waiting for a vacancy to become available. Approach the organization with yourself and not a resume.
Yes this may be harder, require more work, and takes more time; but it will be more rewarding.

Overall you are looking for your dream job, how is this a bad thing? It's not. Who would not want their dream job. When preparing this way you need to just work on understanding yourself as your homework. That is easy enough. The parachute way is without a doubt an easy alternative so far.

When it comes time to actually going to the organization it could be a little nerve-wrecking, but don't let that stop you. The easy route is not always the most rewarding. At the organization you want to find a person that will either be able to give you the interview you are looking for; Or a person who will be able to set you up with a person who will interview you, this is known as a "bridge-person".

Now you have your interview, hoping all went well. In the interview you want to listen 50% of the time and ask questions the other 50%. Working your way up to the final interview you will want to discover if this is the company you want to work for. At the end of the final interview you decided you want to work there Bolles suggest to ask, "I believe that I could be a real asset to the you. Given all we've talked about can you offer me this job?" Doing this will provide closure within the interviewing process.

Of the other 11 alternative ways, the parachute way has the most success rate. Thus, give this a shot first if the typical traditional way does not work. Speaking from experience, I  actually used this method - yet I did not know it was called the parachute method. Let me just say, I was one of the eighty-six, It worked and I got the job.

Good Luck,
-STURCO

Week 7 - Salary Negotiation

Hello Everyone !

When it comes to obtaining a new job it is crucial that salary is discussed. Otherwise when payday comes, one will be highly disappointed. This blog will focus on chapter 5 from What Color Is Your Parachute 2016 by Richard N. Bolles.

The chapter is titled The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation, however I will only be blogging about the top three that I found most insightful.

1 . Never Discuss Salary Until the End of the Whole Interview - 
The interview process itself can be difficult enough, but it is important to remember not to discuss the salary you want until the end. There is a good reasoning behind this according to Bolles.

• Not until they've gotten to know who you are 
• Not until you know who they are
• Not until you know what the job entails and its requirements
• Not until you have decided if you really want to work there.
• Not until the final interview

If you have not covered these basic bases in the interview process, it is still too early to tell them the salary you want. For example look at the first bulletin, "Not until they've gotten to know who you are", if you tell the employer the figure you are looking for then the entire interview you may be just a number to them.

2. During Salary Discussion DO NOT Be the First to Mention a Figure - 
The reasoning behind this is that you can completely shut yourself out of an opportunity to make decent figures. Example being, you say a figure that is anywhere between $5,000-$10,000 below what they had in mind, you have now lowered your pay drastically. that can be a loss of $15-$30k over a three year span.
A good counter move when they as you what you want is: "Well, you created the position, so you must have some figure in mind, and I'd be interested in first hearing what that figure is".

3. Salary Research 
Before going into an interview do some salary research so you are not blindsided or taken advantage of. If one does not know what the company has to offer figuratively speaking, then one will not receive the optimal amount they are seeking. If you want to win a salary negotiation then you have to do research. This will allow for one to get an idea of the salary range of either the position or within the company. Don't be the person that walks in and gives the lower figure of the spectrum because you didn't do your homework. Plus lets say you are able yo get an extra $5,000 added to your salary that is an additional $10k within the first two years of employment excluding bonuses and raises.

If you want to pass go and make a little extra cash, follow these three easy steps.
-STURCO
 

Week 4 - Eight Million Job Postions Available Each Month

You may be raising your eyebrows and thinking to yourself, "really, 8 million available jobs each month", yet the statistic comes from the title for Chapter 3 of What Color Is Your parachute. For those who are having a difficult time finding a position or those looking to advance to something else, keep in mind that there are always other opportunities available.

 

The United States Government runs a survey called JOLT, which stands for Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (www.bls.gov/jlt). The survey reported that in December 2014 5,148,000 people found jobs and 5,028,000 vacancies remained. Mathematically that comes out to over ten million available positions for that month. Statistics also go to show that this is typical for the U.S. on a monthly basis.

JOB-HUNTING IS NOT A SCIENCE IT IS AN ART: Keep this in mind when looking for a job, some people put too much into job searching, where some it comes more naturally. Know how to market yourself. First like said in previous blogs, clean up your personal accounts by removing anything that will have a negative effect on you when looked by a potential employer. Secondly, make a good first impression. If you do not already know this quote, repeat it a few times until it sticks in your head, "You only get one chance to make a good first impression". When it comes time for your interview, dress professionally and come prepared.

If you're now thinking that if there roughly ten million jobs available how do you obtain just one of them. Do not be discouraged if you have failed. Even Walt Disney failed before he succeeded. The point is there are opportunities out there, you just have to put the time in for the results you want (just like anything in life).

http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2016/dp/160774662X/

Good Luck !
-STURCO