| Jun 18, 2007 | The Career News | Vol. 7 , Issue 24 |
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| The Latest News, Tips and Tools For Your Career |
Comparing a job to self-employment
Abridged: AARP
DETROIT, MI -- Do you want to be self-employed? Get to use more creativity? Try for financial independence? More fully draw on your knowledge and skills? The U.S. Small Business Administration lists these as common reasons for wanting to start a business. However, successful entrepreneurs typically plan their new businesses for a year or more. Would you take a small-business start-up course or draft a business plan and get an expert to tell you how realistic it is?
A good place to start is to think through some comparison questions to start making your choice between a salaried job and self-employment. Include a list of the risks involved in achieving your goal. In some cases, the risks may be small. They would involve mostly the loss of your time and effort. Some ventures, though, would mean risking your life savings, your home, pension & health benefits, or even your personal relationships.
Additionally, consider these questions. Do you have the drive and energy to achieve what you want? Do your temperament and personality match those of business owners? Many business owners work seven days a week and take years to succeed. This could be just the challenge you need at this time in your life. Alternatively if you planned, could you get a better job at your company? Or a different job somewhere else? Would the results satisfy you as much as your own business?
Can't find a job? Consider starting your own business.
Staff Writer, The Career News
LAS VEGAS, NV -- Are you dissatisfied with the way you're being treated by your current employer? Perhaps you're an executive who has been displaced. You realize that your labors have been creating wealth for others but not for yourself. You've had the idea of owning your own business as a solution to these and other issues but you've heard all the horror stories about the failure rates of independent businesses. A franchise business may be the answer for you.
A successful franchise is a network of interdependent business relationships that allows a number of people to share a distinct brand identification, a successful method of doing business, and a strong marketing, distribution, and support system. If you would rather own a McDonald's than an independent burger drive-in, franchising may be right for you. In this case, we recommend you sign up for a complimentary consultation with FranChoice, the premier "matchmaker" of the franchising industry.
During your consultation, the consultants from FranChoice will help you identify franchise businesses that meet your criteria based on your goals, skills and preferences. Then they'll guide you through the franchise investigation process and answer all your questions. FranChoice is paid for by the various companies offering franchises to help them find suitable matches. To instantly sign up for your complimentary consultation, go to FranChoice now!
Taking a career detour
Abridged: StarTribune.com
ST. PAUL, MN -- Sometimes in order to land the job or career you want, you need to take a career detour. That means taking a job within an industry or field that can be a steppingstone to the career you really want.
Working a full-time, demanding job might be a way of building a financial stash prior to embarking on a new business venture for yourself. Or working a part-time or less demanding job might help you when studying toward another career. As long as you keep reminding yourself what the end goal is, a detour can be the right move.
When starting on a detour, make sure you are constantly challenging yourself and taking risks. Seek opportunities to stick your neck out and get noticed. You also need to be proactive about your goals and initiate discussions with your employers, promote yourself, and ask for opportunities to learn new skills or try out new projects. Keep in mind the ability to change industries and careers takes considerable patience and persistence, and typically the willingness to work for less income and perhaps in less ideal positions - to get where you want.
Tip for narrowing your job search
Abridged: StarTribune.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Take a little more time to put together an impressive cover letter, resume and portfolio that could target an employer you would really like to work for, and one that might offer more of what you really want. In other words, in order to find success, narrow your job search.
Focus on the transferable skills you most enjoy using and consider the environment in which they would most come alive. Know what you really want out of a job before starting the job search. By studying yourself first, you gain an advantage over others who are following the trail of jobs that they either don't have a chance of getting, or wouldn't want if they did get it.
Write down what you really want out of a job - money, good benefits, working for a large company, in a specific field and more. Then think of your skill set, and search for jobs that combine the most important factors you have listed. Prioritize what's most important, and analyze where you would be willing to negotiate or compromise. Find the job you want; don't take a job you need. By doing this you will gain an idea of where you would be most likely to find a good fit.
Work smarter to land the job you want
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- People may not realize this, but thousands of successful businesses are in desperate need of competent and skilled employees. These days, to land a job over the competition, you have to work smarter. The hard part is to get your resume read by the right people at the right time. Good jobs aren't on the market very long. To succeed your resume has to be available to the employer the moment they decide to fill a position.
One easy way to be found by employers who are looking to hire someone with your skills, is to post your resume on all the top career sites. As soon as an employer needs someone, this is usually the first place they look. While it's not the only job search activity you should pursue, it is a documented and proven method of the more successful job seekers.
If you want all the benefits without all the work, you can use a new service from Resume Rabbit to do it for you. You fill out one simple form and they'll instantly post your resume on over 80 job boards like Monster, Job.com, CareerBuilder, Net-Temps, Dice & more. You'll be seen by over 1.5 million employers & recruiters daily. It takes only 5 minutes to complete and saves 60 hours of research and data entry. Try it today, go to Resume Rabbit.
Making yourself irresistible to employers
Abridged: Star Tribune
ST. PAUL, MN -- If you've been passed over for promotion, rejected for the job of your dreams or lost enthusiasm in your current career, maybe it's time to go back and add the skills and education that would make you irresistible to employers.
"We see many adult learners return because they are passionate about a career change and opportunities for advancement," says Dara Hagen, director of career services at Century College. It's becoming very common for students to return to school because without it many are not eligible for a promotion and, in some cases, would not even be eligible to apply for the job they now hold.
Lack of a bachelor's degree can also limit your ability to move to other opportunities, which is becoming increasingly important. Once you have a degree, your career options take off. Returning to school does take sacrifices, and it is hard work, but the sense of satisfaction and the skills developed can pay off not only in career progression but in your own level of satisfaction with your life.
Online universities offer convenience and higher pay
The Career News
NEW YORK, NY -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau the difference in lifetime earnings between a high school diploma and bachelor's degree is a million dollars. Add on a master's degree and you can expect to earn an additional half a million dollars in earnings. Those with professional degrees earn much more - about 4.4 million dollars during their working life.
Jennifer Day, Chief of the Education and Social Stratification Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau says, "In 1999, average annual earnings ranged from $19,000 for high school dropouts, to $26,000 for high school graduates, and $45,000 for college graduates and $99,000 for the holders of professional degrees. That includes medical doctors, dentists, veterinarians and lawyers.
If you think that the only way to earn a degree is to spend gobs of money and traverse across a complicated college campus, taking anywhere from two to eight years to get your Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's or even doctorate degree...think again. With advances in technology, you can now get your degree online, from an accredited university in your spare time and from the comfort of your own home. To learn more about available schools & programs, and instantly request complimentary course catalogs of the ones you like, go to this website.
Business schools teach the art of persuasion
Abridged: The Washington Post
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ever come out of a meeting wishing that you, too, could persuade people the way that silver-tongued co-worker of yours can? Many workers assume that their powers of persuasion are innate. But recent research shows that these skills can be learned. And not only can they be learned, but they should be learned for today's workplace.
The workplace has changed from a hierarchical structure to a more horizontal one, with teams of people of various positions. Workers are expected to be involved in many decisions and help push a company's agenda, no matter their title. In the past, "you could give people orders," said Robert Bontempo, a professor at Columbia Business School who will teach a course on persuasion in the school's executive MBA program. "Now, even in the military, you have to work in cross-functional teams."
More business schools are building soft skills such as persuasion into their curricula. "There are those who are going to be gifted in certain things," said Scott Koerwer, associate dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. But even if people aren't naturally persuasive, they can learn to be more so. "In order to have an effective, valuable society, you need these skills," Koerwer said.
Government grants fund education & businesses
Staff Writer, The Career News
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Last year alone, over $30 Billion in government grants were awarded to people like you. Over 20 million people get government money every year. Approximately 1,000,000 entrepreneurs will get money to start or expand an existing business. About 6,000,000 get money to go to college. And 10,000,000 will get fully paid help and training for a better job.
Jackie Smith of Maryland was in a dead end job until she received over $30,000 from the government to get a degree in tax accounting. With her degree, she was able to get a better paying job. Many people never apply for these grants, and an enormous amount of money goes unclaimed because of not knowing where to start or the misconception that there's too much red tape involved in getting a grant.
However, as a taxpayer and U.S. citizen or resident, it's your legal right to access this money. The great thing is it never has to be paid back -- and it may be easier than you think to apply. In fact, there are many people from all walks of life who receive a government grant and other benefits every day. To learn how you can receive at least $25,000
