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When it Comes to Career Development, No Excuses This Year!

January 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Anthony Fasano

I know, I know the economy still stinks and companies still aren’t hiring. Companies who haven’t laid people off have cut salaries and promotions and have no opportunities for advancement. I SAY SO WHAT? There is absolutely no excuse for you not to advance your career this year.

Think about what career development really is. Your career is what? Your degree? Your license? Your salary? No, No and NO! Your career is YOU! Yes in some instances, your resume will get you a job, but it won’t help you keep it. YOU are ultimately who companies hire. So if your career is YOU, then career development is simply developing yourself.

Now that we straightened that out, what are you doing to develop yourself right now? Are you pursuing certifications that will give you more knowledge and credibility in your industry? Are you improving your communication and public speaking skills? Are you building meaningful relationships in your industry? Are you using LinkedIn to build a solid professional network? We have loaded our facebook fanpge with articles that will give you ideas of things you can do, right now. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Professional Development Tagged With: ,

How to Get Noticed for the Right Reasons: Three Career Advancement Principles You Don’t Want to Forget

September 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

John Morgan

Featured Guest Blogger: John Morgan of Pounding the Pavement

John Morgan writes for the up-and-coming career blog, Pounding the Pavement. In his free time, Mr. Morgan also tackles topics related to online career training for Guide to Career Education.

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to be predisposed for success in the workplace? I’m not talking about business superstars—the superrich or super-successful giants like Warren Buffet or Steve Jobs—but the more down-to-earth successes that we see around us all the time. These are our colleagues and carpool companions who, though on the surface may seem no different from the rest of us, seem to have an uncanny ability to get recognized more quickly than others and to be offered opportunities for advancement that pass us by.

In our current competitive job market, it can be difficult to feel like we have what it takes to get ahead. Some people just seem to have that extra charisma that we wouldn’t know what to do with if it hit us in the back of the head. Nevertheless, there are certain, common-sense but easily forgotten principles that, when put into practice, stand out to employers and supervisors and can help pave the way to advancing your career.

Here are three time-tested principles for standing out at work: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Professional Development, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Can You Stick It?

February 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Follow me on my journey to become a great engineer.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williammerunka

Throughout life, we encounter situations that are challenging and unavoidable.  When in this situation we have two options, fight or flight.  While our ego may tell us to fight and work through it, we usually take the path of least resistance and run away from the situation.  One of the most common times for this to occur is when looking to find a new job or changing the direction of your career.  With the economic recession playing a major role on the employment field over the past year, it has been easy to choose flight and make excuses for why we have not achieved the career goals that we set for ourselves or found that new job after being laid off.

Oftentimes I hear people saying that it’s not about what you know, but who you know.  Personally, I don’t believe in this mindset.  In my opinion it’s about what you do that will help make, break, or stall your career.  Yes, it helps to know people in positions of authority amongst the company or field that you are trying to get into.  However, just having a neighbor or 3rd degree friend who’s the lead engineer for the civil engineering department is not going to get you the job.

You need to impress in that person’s mind that you are worthy of their time and that you could be a valuable asset to their team and their company in general.  While you have the advantage of knowing the person, you still need to go in and seal the deal.  Your career is not going to come to you, you need to find that passion within yourself and pursue your career.  What makes you special and better than Mr. Smith who submitted their resume through the company’s website last week? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Career Goals Tagged With: , ,

Professional Societies: How Important are they to Career Advancement?

February 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I have seen quite a few discussions on this topic as of late in the social media arenas, so I figured I would give my input, being that I have always been very involved in professional societies.

I am a firm believer that your career advancement is strongly related to the relationships you build in your industry.  I have built many solid business and personal relationships through professional societies.  Not only has this helped advance my career, but it has made my career very enjoyable. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Professional Development Tagged With: , ,

What's That Smell? A Stagnant Career Perhaps?

February 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: Angela Cristina Negro
The Professional Careerist, Managing Your Career Through Personal Development – Helping young engineering professionals navigate the choppy waters of building a career
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/angelacnegro

It happens to everyone.  The minute you land your new job, you’re so excited.  Your heart is racing, you have this desire and drive to do your best, you’re putting in extreme effort to show your boss you were the right hire and you’re off…you feel exhilaration, you feel excitement, you feel unstoppable.  Slowly, the novelty of the job wears off.  This can take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years.  But the newness does eventually subside.  And with the loss of its sheen, the job becomes more and more of just that…a job.  Eventually, you find yourself in the offensive place that no one ever wants to admit they occasionally find themselves in, that smelly gutter that runs parallel to everyone’s career, the …R…U…T…

So, how do you know you’ve fallen in?  Well…I really only go by one rule.  You know you’re in therut when: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Career Goals, Professional Development Tagged With: ,

Take Charge!!

January 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured Guest Blogger: William Merunka
Follow me on my journey to become a great engineer.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/williammerunka

Whether you are just starting out in your career, or you have some experience in your field, there will come a time when your career will seem to hit a brick wall.  This can be caused by a number of situations including: not being able to land a job upon college graduation, layoff at work, or even lack of interest at work due to change in responsibilities and/or work load that make you feel that you are not using your experience or knowledge.  Instead of sitting back and letting time and faith lay the path for your future, you need to step up and initiate change.  Here are a few things that you can do to help your career when it seems to come to a halt: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Development, Training Tagged With: , ,