Pros and Cons of Changing Careers You Need to Consider

So you are in your 30’s now, but still aren’t sure if you’ve got the right career. The thought of changing careers just can’t get out of your head. What are you supposed to do now?

Before deciding to switch careers, know its pros and cons first.

PROs

1. You can quit a boring job.

If you have a job that makes you feel bored or unmotivated most of the time, then there is no reason you should keep it. There’s no way you can give your best in a job that doesn’t make you happy at all.

2. You can start anew.

In order for you to have a fresh start at something you love, you must have the courage to detach yourself from the stability you have at the moment. Though it might seem scary to be starting all over again, this should also excite you as you will be entering a new phase in your life and career.

3. You feel younger.

After you’ve switched careers, it is likely that you have to work with people who are much younger than you. Instead of getting intimidated, you should look at it as an opportunity to be young again. You will be impressed with how unique young people’s ideas are, and this will push you to go beyond your limits as well.

CONs

1. Having financial instability.

Ideally, you should have enough funds to prepare for times like this, but this is not always the case. Especially if you have a family to support, you simply cannot afford to not have a regular salary. Before you decide to change jobs or careers, be sure you have a plan as to how to keep your finances afloat.

2. You might be rejected.

If you’ve spent years in a career or job that’s irrelevant to what you are passionate about, it’s likely that you don’t have relevant work experience to show your potential employers. In this case, you need to be ready to face rejections. You may, however, start building your qualifications to be considered for the job you want.

3. You need to go out of your comfort zone.

When you change careers, you will have to do things you haven’t done before, meet people you haven’t met before, and so on. In short, everything is going to be new to you, and this could mean you having to go out of your comfort zone. For some people, this is very scary, and it could take time for you to adjust to your new environment.

Conclusion

Ideally, a person has to decide on what career path to take at the age of 20 or so, but this doesn’t mean that those who are in their 30’s cannot anymore choose another career for themselves. If you are seriously considering changing careers, you should plan your every move. It would help also if you can find a mentor who will guide you through this crucial stage in your career and personal life.

How to Deserve a Promotion in Your Employment Canada

If you’ve been passed over for a promotion in your organization too many times already, you must be feeling so frustrated and hopeless. You may also feel that your boss just doesn’t like you personally. You might also blame the politics in the workplace for your inability to advance in your career. But have you actually thought about whether you have the necessary skills and traits that will make you deserving of a promotion?

Here are the traits of a highly promotable employees (do a self-assessment to know if you are promotable or not):

HUMILITY

Humble people acknowledge the fact that they still have a lot to learn. As a result, they’ve got more potential to be better individuals and professionals. They are also not scared to ask questions, and they are always ready to take on any task assigned to them.

TEAM PLAYER

Majority of workplaces today encourage collaboration. If you want to get positive attention at work, you need to get along well with others. What’s good about a team player is that they know and acknowledge what strengths their other co-workers have that they may contribute for the success of the team. A team player also knows how to approach tasks to make sure everyone contributes to their success.

EMPATHY

An ideal and highly promotable person is someone who knows how frustrating it is to be unappreciated or ignored in an organization. Thus, they empathize with their co-workers, and they always try to find ways to help others overcome the challenges they are faced with.

ADAPTABILITY

An ideal employee is someone who is adaptable or flexible enough to deal with the changes in company policies or systems. They don’t get intimidated or discouraged by the fact that they are being made to do things they are not used to or familiar with. Promotable people are always ready for changes, and they even use these as an opportunity to develop new skills and be better as a professional.

ACTION-TAKERS

Promotable people don’t complain. They don’t focus on the negative things or problems around them. What they do instead is take whatever action is necessary to improve the situation in the workplace. Instead of focusing on problems, they find solutions. They also know how to put plans into action with effectiveness.

LEADERSHIP

A promotable employee is someone who displays great leadership skills. He or she does not shy away from any challenges, and instead take every challenge as an opportunity to show leadership. When it comes to voicing their opinions, they don’t hesitate either. They are highly passionate and knowledgeable about what they do. They are eager to hear other people’s ideas, and they share their knowledge as well.

If you want to success in your employment Canada, and to be considered for promotion, make sure you work on your skills and the above-mentioned traits.

Important Traits of Successful People You Should Develop Upon Choosing a Career

In any organization, there will always be someone who seems to know how to find their way up the corporate ladder. These are the people who keep getting promoted, and some of them even get promotions in a very short time. It is easy to assume that perhaps they are good friends with the boss, or they are just purely lucky all the time.

But when you try to analyze the habits and the career path of these people, you will realize why they always get a promotion. Here are some traits these people have that make them deserving of career advancement:

a. They are solution-seekers.

People who always get promoted have the ability to solve problems. Instead of complaining or criticizing, they figure out ways for improving the situation. When they identify a problem, they don’t just keep quiet; they speak up and suggest solutions. Thus, if you want to be noticed at work, be proactive and be a problem solver.

b. They don’t mind stepping out of their comfort zone.

The easiest thing to do is stay within your expertise and experience, because this is your comfort zone. Doing this, however, will not get you more experience and learning. For you to be considered for a promotion, you’ve got to show your willingness to take on assignments that others wouldn’t. You also shouldn’t mind doing something you are not very comfortable with.

c. They analyze their boss.

It is important for you to learn what your boss values both in business and in life. When you get this information, it will be easier for you to do things according to what your boss favors. You will get noticed easily, and this will also be an important step for you to learn how to succeed in business.

d. They focus on the bigger picture.

Successful people do not just accomplish their task for the sake of completing them. They know their daily tasks matter to the overall operations of the business, so they make an effort to do things right. By thinking of the bigger picture, you will be able to anticipate what has to be done even of nobody tells you.

e. They collaborate and treat people well.

Liking your coworkers doesn’t always mean you can work well with them. Being a team player is a special trait that requires some conscious effort. You’ve got to develop your team building skills so you won’t have a hard time working with other people.

To be successful in choosing a career, it is also important that you build positive working relationships with your colleagues. If you are targeting a management position, for instance, you will have to be a people-person to be successful. You won’t succeed in getting the support of your team if you can’t even gain their trust.

How Internships Will Help in Your Job Search or Changing Careers

Finding a company or an organization that will hire you as an intern is definitely an easier thing to do than trying to get a full time job with very little experience in your resume. Thus, it makes a lot of sense to apply for an internship in a huge company where you can get work experience that will attract future employers.

With gaining valuable experience in mind, here are the things you can do while you are an intern, so that you can make the most out of your time investment:

Take control of your role as an intern.

Interns are often treated like a regular worker, so they are asked to do things that regular employees do. However, it is also common for interns to be asked to do the most irrelevant and boring things in the office. You don’t have to experience this, though.

Remember that you are not on the company’s payroll, so you can be more proactive when it comes to asking for what activities you will spend time on. Think about what skills you need to develop, which will make you marketable in your field. Talk to your supervisor and ask if you could be assigned to work in a certain department or with a certain person. This way, you will gain the experience and learn the things that will be useful for your job search later on.

Participate in conferences and industry events.

Joining an internship program is also a good opportunity to build your network. Be willing to go to industry events where you can meet people in the field. Be sure to go there with your own business card indicating your position in your current company. You should also look presentable, and you must act in a very professional manner. You will never know who you will meet in such events, so you have to grab this kind of opportunity.

Get a thing or two from your coworker.

The regular employees in the company or organization where you are working as an intern are also a good source of information about the career you want to pursue, or the job you dream to have. Be friendly with them and don’t hesitate to ask about how they find their jobs. You would want to know if they like the workplace culture in the company, for instance. You can also ask how promotions are given in the company.

Such information might not be relevant to you yet, but they will at least give you an idea about how the company works and how its workers perform their jobs. Through this, you may decide if this is the right career for you, or perhaps you should think about changing careers at this early stage. Either way, this will help you make an informed decision about your career.

Why Is an Uncertain Career Path Good for Your Career Search?

When it comes to planning your career, experts would always emphasize the importance of having a clear career plan as well as taking the necessary steps towards the achievement of one’s goals. We all want to have a clear career path, but the truth is, it is easier said than done.

If you’re not quite sure about your career path, don’t panic. Aside from the fact that you are not the only person with this dilemma, there are good things you can get from experimenting in your career, such as:

a. You will gain good perspective.

Although experimenting, or jumping from one career to another, will not give you extensive experience in one field, it gives you a great opportunity to get many good perspectives. If you plan on becoming a manager eventually, having a broad perspective will work to your advantage because you are someone who knows what the different jobs of your employees entail.

b. You can eliminate bad career options.

When you experiment with multiple industries and professions, you will be able to eliminate those career paths that will never work for you. Since you will be spending some time in each position or job, you will somehow get an idea of which ones you may potentially pursue as a career, and which ones you will never ever do again because it’s just not a good fit.

c. You will develop transferable skills.

Whatever job you do, or industry you try, there are a lot of common skills that will enable you to succeed. Skills in communication, interaction, problem solving, and other transferable skills will be your big advantage when you apply for any work. These skills are hardly mentioned in job postings or job descriptions, but these are the skills that employers and hiring managers are always in search for.

d. You can know yourself more.

The best thing about experimenting in various industries or jobs is that you get to know more about yourself. You will have to deal with different situations and will interact with many different people, which will reveal to yourself who you really are and what you are capable of doing. This is very important especially when you start to get serious in choosing a career to pursue. When you know yourself well, you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and this gives you an idea of what careers will suit you and what will not.

Conclusion

A winding and uncertain career path is not always a bad thing. By experimenting, you get a lot of opportunities to try different things. What’s important is to always remember and carry the lessons you learn from all your experiences and use them as your guide in your career search.

Important Things You Must Convey in an Interview for Your Job Search Canada

There are many ways you can prepare for a job interview. In fact, there are a lot of tips you will find online that will teach you many tricks so you may have a successful job interview. But in the end, you are the only one who can answer the questions being thrown to you by the interviewees.

No matter what the questions are and whatever type of interview you get, what’s important is that you convey these important messages to the hiring manager or potential employer:

1. That you will have a positive impact even on your very first day.

It is important that you leave the hiring manager believing that you can make an impact in the workplace on your first day. To do this, focus on your relevant skills and experience, and make sure you connect them to the job you are applying for. This way, your interviewer won’t think that you need further training to be able to perform your job.

2. That you will easily get along and fit in with other workers.

It is important that you get along well with your coworkers, but more importantly, you need to fit in. Thus, it is important that you have a clear understanding of your role and what you should do in that role. During the interview, you’ve got to make sure the hiring manager sees that you perfectly understand the job and that you know what is expected of you.

3. That you are super enthusiastic about this job.

Passion and enthusiasm are two important traits that should never go lacking in any job candidate. It is important that you show your interviewers how passionate you are about the job or the company, and that you cannot wait to be part of their team.

Employers know that skills can be learned and acquired, but a positive attitude and enthusiasm at work will always be a rare trait that only the best employees have. Thus, this is what you want to show while you are being interviewed for the job.

4. That you are confident that you will be successful in the job.

Confidence is a very important trait that, unfortunately, not all of us have. When you know you have good things to contribute to a company, there is no reason for you not to be confident about getting a job and doing well in that job. You need to show everyone that you know yourself, especially in terms of what you can do to help the company succeed.

Let’s face it; everything here is easier said than done. And so, it is important that you be mentally prepared for your interview when you begin your job search Canada, so that you could leave the interviewer with a good and positive impression of you.

Looking for Toronto Jobs? Here Are Some Job Search Myths to Forget

It is unfortunate that so many job seekers begin their search for the right job with a lot of unrealistic expectations about how their job search will proceed and end. It is often because of these expectations that they end up being frustrated and disappointed in themselves.

If you want your job search to be less stressful and more likely to be successful, then it’s important that you not believe in the following myths. Instead, turn your attention and focus on how you may impress the hiring manager or your potential employer.

#1 – The right candidates always get through the automated system.

If you choose to submit a job application online, all your documents are submitted to a tracking system that is designed to screen out applicants based on job titles, dates, and keywords. According to statistics, out of every 1,000 applications sent online, only around 5 actually make it to the hiring manager’s desk. Thus, being the perfect candidate is not an assurance that even an automated system will pick you over the others.

This means that it is very important that you spend more time writing a good resume and cover letter. This is the only way you can increase your chances of being electronically picked.

#2 – You will get a response for every application you make.

Typically, hiring managers choose to contact only those candidates with the biggest potential of getting hired. These candidates are often contacted to be invited for an interview. While there are many companies that send automated response emails to job applicants, there are many also that will not even try to reach the applicants.

If you’ve waited for weeks or months already for a response from the company you applied for, you shouldn’t waste your time waiting for it. Even after you send the application, you should move on to other opportunities out there.

#3 – Your passion is enough to compensate for your lack of qualification.

Job descriptions exist because employers need to let people know what they are looking for, and what their hired employee will be doing on the job. While it is good that you are passionate about something, you cannot completely rely on it to be enough to convince the employer that you’re the right person for the job. Thus, it should be your goal to continuously learn and develop skills, so you could be considered well qualified for the job.

#4 If you’re meant for the job, you will have it.

It is good to have a positive mindset and attitude towards your job search, but it doesn’t mean that you can rely only on fate to get the job you want. If you want your application for Toronto jobs to be in the hands of the hiring manager, then you should make it happen. Don’t just sit there are wait for a development. Be proactive, use your network, and follow up on employers you’ve submitted your application to.