Rising unemployment rates in the recent past have made hunting for a job a guerilla search. The good news is that while most sectors in our economy have suffered cutbacks in employment, many of them are now back in business and are ready to hire. Here’s what you should be doing.

• Still in college or heading there? You have the opportunity to make the smart career choices now that can hone your skills for the job opportunities that are in greater demand today.
• Already employed? Now is the time to consider upgrading your credentials with a course that could augment your skills and qualify you for promotions or a new career.

Careers that Show Excellent Growth Prospects

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, certain sectors of our economy are showing more optimistic signs of growth.* To enhance your job marketability, below are a few career options you should consider pursuing in 2011.

Healthcare. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re looking for the likelihood of job security, this could be the place for your skills. During the recession, the healthcare industry was one of the few industries that actually hired more people. Plus, employment rates have been rising in almost every field of specialization. Career options are open in nursing, healthcare management, medical assisting, and accounting in hospitals and long-term facilities.

Energy Sector. As gas costs continue to rise, focus today has turned to saving energy and discovering alternative fuel sources. Opportunities lay ahead in marine, wind, and solar energies, carbon management, and more.

Business Administration. Business will always require administrators and managers, and opportunities are growing. Sales and customer service representatives are also in demand. Plus, with business gone global, more multinational companies are looking for people who are willing to travel or relocate to different parts of the world.

Information Technology (IT). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT is one of the fastest-growing job markets.** There is a huge demand for a top-level, higher-end IT workforce, which includes talented systems designers and software developers. Internet publishers have good job prospects as well. The IT industry is dynamic, and a bright future could lie ahead for those who can keep up with the pace of information technology.

Good News for Fresh Grads
The job market for fresh grads is growing. Entry-level job postings for candidates with less than one year of experience have increased by 13 percent from the previous year at the end of 2010.***

Courses can prepare you both practically and academically to face real-life challenges in today’s job market. There are a wide range of degree programs to consider in order to pursue a career in any of these growing fields, including health sciences degrees nursing administration degrees, information technology degrees and more.

*United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Statistics.” dol.gov/dol/topic/statistics/index.htm
**”Fourth Quarter 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report” Beyond.com, Inc. beyond.com/Media/BeyondcomCareerTrendAnalysisReport-4QT10.pdf
***Koc, Edwin and Mimi Collins. “Job Outlook 2011: College Hiring Outlook Positive in All Regions.” NACE. naceweb.org/Press/Releases/Job_Outlook_2011__College_Hiring_Outlook_Positive_in_All_Regions.aspx

California College San Diego (CCSD) has trained graduates for new careers since 1978. CCSD, located in San Diego, offers associate’s, associate of occupational studies, and bachelor’s degrees in healthcare, business, and information technology, and master’s degrees in healthcare and business. CCSD also provides college degree programs that can be completed in faster-than-traditional time with its FastFlex option.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6355604

For people who are serious about their career, continuous career training is essential. The more professional their career, the more important career training is. Lawyers need to be up to date with the law, doctors need to be up to date with medical knowledge and treatments, and computer systems analysts need to keep track of all developments in the computer world, and in that of their particular markets; their careers demand it, otherwise they become incompetent.

Even for those who have studied hard at college, school and university, study of some form or another is unlikely to come to an end once they take their first career step. That “study” will be most likely to come in the form of career training, focused study and practical training related specifically to their chosen career. Those who take that training most seriously, and apply what is learnt in practice, are those who are most likely to go on and do well in their careers.

In a profession, career training is an absolute essential, otherwise negligence is an increased possibility as time goes on. However, it is not just in professions that career training plays an important role. Almost every job will undergo change in a fast moving world, and staff need to be trained to meet those changes.

Another reason career training is important to an individual is for their own career progression. Even if the industry they are in never changed, career training could play a key part in how they progress their careers through promotion. Competitive environments in particular will demand that an employee will need to undergo as much career related training as possible to further their career.

Sources of Career Training

Your career training might, over the years, be a mix of compulsory and voluntary training. he most likely sources are:

1. Your Employer

Larger employers will probably have a training department, or at least a training manager, with responsibility for employee training. Coming from your employer, this training is certain to be job and career related.

Many people may regard any training course their employer organises as something to avoid if at all possible, as if it were an imposition. Those who are truly interested in furthering career, either with or via that employer, would be well advised to welcome such career training with open arms and get the most out of it.

2. External Self Arranged Training

Those with a serious intent about their future career may wish to seek training opportunities beyond those offered by their employer. Career related courses may be available to you during vacations, weekends or evenings.

Any course that provide you with extra knowledge related to your career will enhance your knowledge and potential to succeed. however, it is worth bearing in mind that seemingly unrelated courses may help. Subjects such as computing and finance seep into just about any career choice these days, so new skills in those areas could stand you in good stead, especially in a management role.

When considering taking the initiative in your training, it is a good time to consider whether you are in the precisely right career. By developing your skills over wide areas, you may find yourself better placed for a career change later, should you want to.

3. Online Career Training

Whatever your current or future potential career, there is a fair chance that you will learn more of what you need to know, and acquire more of the skills you need to acquire, online. Depending on your chosen career, formal online career training may be available to you, so it is worth searching extensively for appropriate courses.

4. Other Home Study Courses

Distance learning is big business, and there are some long established companies who provide home study courses for many careers, from dog training to computer programming, police work to accounting. These top companies all have an online presence, so the internet is a good place to start your search.

This career development and training article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner and part author of the Routes To Self Improvement website.

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Career development plans, in the past, were outlined for an employee by the employer. Employees began employment in an entry-level position and, with increased seniority and additional training, worked their way up through the organization. Career development plans work differently today. Unfortunately, many organizations no longer outline it. Career development plans are up to each of us individually. So how can we create our own career development plan?

This question reminds me of a job I had in which I was required to travel across the nation setting up city-wide seminars. I drove a semi-truck to cities throughout the nation loaded with all of the equipment and materials for conducting the seminars. I set up for the seminars and became the Seminar Assistant Coordinator for the week. Headquarters sent out a staff of five employees who did this. We covered 35 states and averaged 3-10,000 people at each seminar.

It did not take long to notice there were holes in the communication between the “field” staff and headquarters. I was constantly missing information and materials needed. Because I knew the field process and had developed relationships with the staff, it was not difficult for my boss to say “yes” when I approached him about a new position for myself that would give support to the field staff in conducting these seminars. I had identified the problems and knew how to change and correct them because I had lived through the process. Those in the field easily backed my suggested new position because they needed the support and wanted the process to run more smoothly. They knew I could get the job done. This new position came about because I saw a need and had a solution.

I created a new department (Seminar Support Services) and grew the support staff for this Department to 8 employees. So where is the opportunity for career development in your position or at your organization? It lies with you and your creative resources and your observations of what needs to be done. What are your creative resources? The most important is what you enjoy doing!

Here are four career development plan perceptions that will help identify how to jump start your career:

Career Development Plan Perception #1 – Be a resourceful employee.

Find ways to create opportunities but at the same time solve a problem or create value to the organization. As you develop more challenging work for yourself and succeed, your worth to the organization increases. This gives you “the right to be heard” when performance and salary increases are discussed.

Career Development Plan Perception #2 – Know how the organization feels about you and your work.

Always be open to communication and initiate it. If needed, meet with your boss on a monthly basis and talk about your development. For example, ask if you are still on target in your development plan or what things need more work to keep your development plan on track. Stay in charge of your career development. Always ask what you are learning from the position, organization, and experience. If you do not feel you are moving forward, then you are probably losing ground.

Career Development Plan Perception #3 – Do not get too comfortable.

Even when a position is easy and comfortable for you, if it is not a good fit for your success patterns, you are settling for less. Do not settle for less than you can do or accomplish. I have a friend who says that if she is not in an uncomfortable situation, then she is not growing or learning. So she constantly puts herself in uncomfortable situations such as attending a networking event alone. If you get complacent about your work, the organization will do that too. Find a culture that energizes and challenges you.

Career Development Plan Perception #4 – You have been in the position so long now that you do not care about it, or about how you look when you show up for work.

In fact, winning the lottery is your way out of this dead end job. BEGIN TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN YOUR CAREER AND LIFE! (Yes, I meant that to be in all caps!) If you are in this situation, start writing your exit plan and start exploring other ideas and opportunities.

Bottom line – do not settle for less in your career. Our work involves too much of our time and lives to settle for a complacent, boring or non-challenging position. Create a career development plan to move forward. Have more than one plan of action. If Plan A is to create your own position at the company, then go for it. If that plan goes belly up, try Plan B which might be to move into another area that can increase your experience for that next step up. Always have a plan and keep moving forward!

Visit http://www.activ8careers.com for other free career articles.

David Hults author of the book “From Cornered To Corner Office” Overcoming the most unexpected obstacles that stand between you and your career dreams – http://www.fromcorneredtocorneroffice.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1276555

When promoted to a management position for the first time most of us tend to go overboard in assuming responsibilities, supervision, of subordinates and general high handedness. These can prove to be drawbacks that undermine our position.

Many first time managers get promoted to that position by virtue of their ability to do well in their jobs. They carry the same attitude when assuming managerial roles and this can be a setback for their career.

Some first timers tend to assume more control or responsibilities than what they are liable for and this can get them caught on the wrong foot. For instance one such manager proceeded to implement cost-cutting measures without consulting his supervisor and ended up being dismissed as part of a cost-curbing measure. Besides overreaching like this can rattle your superior and close the options for any future promotion.

If you believe that once you are a manager you must get better at what you were doing earlier because that is what got you here, then you cannot be more wrong. Being a manager entails acquiring new skills while enhancing the previous ones. You may have to do bit of unlearning too. In fact, in your new role you should be training people to do what you were good at earlier. If you try to do your earlier job and also fulfill your managerial responsibilities you will end up being over stressed.

When promoted as a manager, remember that your earlier peers or friends will now have to work under you and both of you may the shift in relationships a little difficult. Do not make the mistake or decline in productivity in your subordinates and try to cover for it just because they are friends. Besides your pals may tend to take it easy just because one of their earlier colleagues is their new manager. Covering for your friends may land you in trouble with the management because ultimately you are responsible for the performance of your team. After a promotion spend the first few days on how the relationship with your earlier peers and now subordinates is going to change and how best you can get work done from them and maintain balance in the relationship. You have to draw the lines to establish your authority and credibility. Do not start assuming that your decisions are the most correct and you know the best. Your highhandedness will make you unpopular with your team and they may refuse to cooperate with you. Your arrogance will let you down.

To get powerful and effective tips on workplace related problems visit http://workexpert.co.cc/ a website full of tips and advices from expert workplace managers, where you can learn about workplace problems

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1371866

It does not matter if people have worked at the same job for twenty years or one day, the one thing most have in common is thinking about a job promotion or career advancement. There are no short cuts to getting a promotion but people definitely have to get rid of their bad habits for career advancement success.

To achieve your career advancement goals means getting rid of bad habits for career advancement that hurt your success chances, such as having a poor work attitude.

Never volunteering to help any of your coworkers or boss, doing personal things during office hours, talking back or showing annoyance when asked to do a task are bad habits that need correcting.

Bosses are more likely to promote people that are pleasant, willing to help others, make personal calls on their break or lunch hour, and use their time wisely. During business hours, never use the telephone for personal calls unless it is an emergency.

Being late for work constantly, coming back from breaks or lunch late, abusing annual or sick leave, and leaving early are very bad habits for career advancement prospects.

Dressing inappropriately and poor grooming are definitely bad habits for career advancement success. When management or employees do not dress appropriately for work or let their personal grooming habits slide, their chance of career advancement is very slim.

Dressing for success shows that they take pride in themselves and the company. Break poor grooming habits by setting aside enough time before work to do the necessary personal grooming required.

There is nothing worse than having a conversation with someone that has bad breath or someone with hair or clothes that look like they just crawled out of bed. Work on changing these bad habits for career advancement opportunities.

Being honest with yourself and others is always the best policy. Being honest means being aware of your true weaknesses and strengths, admitting your mistakes, and being sincere and genuine.

Never talk behind people’s backs, take credit for things you did not do, or intentionally hurt coworkers and put them down to build yourself up.

Try to persist on getting rid of bad habits for career advancement success.

You can also find out more on Bad Habits for Career Advancement [http://findyourdreamcareer.info/advancement] by visiting our Career Advancement Guide website.

Click here [http://FindYourDreamCareer.info] to discover everything that you always wanted to know about Careers and Recruitment but NEVER dared to ask!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/715145

Most people will agree that when it comes to career advancement, the ladder to success can be a steep one to climb. One of the ways to improve your career advancement opportunities and be a step ahead of your rivals is to work harder and do some serious planning and preparation.

In an average person’s working career, it is estimated that most of use will make between six to ten jobs or career changes, hence the reason why career advancement is absolutely necessary. You have to be sure that your employer is aware that you are looking for career advancement.

Experts believe that the most suitable time for you to pursue a new job or career advancement is when you have been employed for some time but find your existing position to offer less challenges. Start off by seeking a higher-level promotion within the company, or if there are no career advancement opportunities in your existing workplace, you can begin to look for a new job somewhere else.

Here are some ideas and tips for helping people looking for career advancement opportunities.

There are several ways to increase your value within the company or organization such as seeking more responsibilities or additional work and offering to help other teams, departments or advisory boards. This is a great way to show how dedicated and passionate you are to the company or industry.

Have a meaningful, direct conversation about your career advancement future with your boss, stressing your desire to meet the company’s job performance goals and your own personal career goals. Find a trusted advisor and mentor for career guidance and information, either within or outside the business, as studies prove that they directly influence many company promotions.

Develop strong people and social skills such as being amiable, outgoing, friendly, and an effective and clear communicator with outstanding listening skills plays an important role in gaining your coworkers, boss’s and outside influences respect. These skills also help you in self-promotion or selling yourself by letting people know about your job skills and successful activities, which could help you in your career advancement plans.

Use your effective communication skills to let the influential people know about your career advancement or promotion seeking plans. Always look professional by being well groomed and dressing appropriately. Your work reputation is exceptionally vital so act in a professional manner by being professional and cooperative regardless of the situation.

People interested in career advancement should always continue to learn, gain new knowledge, keep up with the recent developments and trends in their line of business, and be innovative. Always have a current, up to date resume available, as you never know when you might need it.

You can also find out more on Career Advancement [http://findyourdreamcareer.info/advancement] by visiting our Career Advancement Guide website.

Click here [http://FindYourDreamCareer.info] to discover everything that you always wanted to know about Careers and Recruitment but NEVER dared to ask!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/715159

Career opportunities are looked for by many people, some of whom are looking for a new job and others who want new opportunities with their current employer. New job opportunities can introduce fresh challenges on a day to day basis and a higher yearly salary; this is mainly why people are always looking for new careers and employment.

Many employees look at getting new skills and retraining to further their career prospects and open up more career opportunities. There are various ways to get new career opportunities and the article you are reading will discuss some of the ways in which you can improve your prospects of new job opportunities.

More training and further qualifications allows the employee to progress to higher levels within the company that he or she works for and achieve new career opportunities. It gives the employee new skills that they can use for more challenging tasks and can open up new career opportunities in the form of internal promotion or going to work for other companies, or changing their entire career direction.

The company will sometimes pay for employees to attend the courses as the company will get the benefits of this as well as the employees. Promotion to a new and higher job is what many individuals do to develop their job opportunities. This is a career opportunity that, with the right advice and determination, can result in higher pay and a greater job satisfaction.

It is a always advisable to speak in detail to your employer, past and present work colleagues and employment advice consultants in order to gain their opinions on what you can do to give yourself new job opportunities and also to get positive ideas on how you will be able to reach these goals in the time frame that is most suitable for you.

James Copper is a writer for Computeach where you can find the career changing microsoft courses they provide

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5408849

In her article “Disappearing Jobs,” Cindy Perman takes a look at previously in-demand jobs that appear to be vanishing and the factors-outsourcing, technology, the economy-contributing to their extinction.

There’s no doubt that certain industries are changing rapidly, and that some career paths might never regain the prominence or prevalence they once had. But from their ashes, a whole new set of careers are emerging: careers that utilize the same skill sets, but that will be in demand well into the future. If you were interested in entering any of the careers that are now on the decline, or were employed in one of these careers, fear not. There are a whole crop of options within the same industry you can choose from instead

If you were interested in journalism…
With the internet taking a bite out of print and broadcast media’s advertising revenues, the major newspapers and news channels aren’t hiring the way they used to. But if journalism, writing, and reporting are your passion, this doesn’t mean you can’t find a career in this field. You may just need to think outside the box.

One of the reasons the face of journalism has changed so much in the past few years is the growth of social media. With Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs becoming quick and dependable sources of information, those who want a news/journalism career can explore jobs that embrace these technologies. Positions such as social media manager, content manager, video journalist and blogger can be a great place to start.

If you were interested in office administration…
Office administrators used to be the people who really made an office run, with their multi-tasking skills, attention to detail, and ability to know everything that was going on. According to the BLS, however, this career is among the top 30 fastest-declining careers. As technology makes it easier to process, store, file, access and retrieve information, those that previously performed these tasks aren’t in demand the way they used to be.

But if you were a part of this field, or wanted to be a part of this field, that doesn’t mean you can’t take your administrative skills and utilize them in an entirely different, and equally rewarding, career. Within the healthcare field, there is a growing need for those who can help process information, standardize data, work with multiple databases, and coordinate with large, inter-departmental teams, as medical records are converted into an electronic format. You may want to look into health information technologist, health information management, or medical billing and coding specialist careers, which can build upon your administrative skills and give you entry into the rapidly-growing healthcare field.

If you’re interested in law…
Law has always been a popular career choice, so popular, in fact, that competition for positions is going to be increasingly competitive in coming years. The BLS estimates that growth will remain at the national average for these careers, but with larger-than-average graduating classes will mean more people are competing for the same amount of jobs. Becoming a lawyer, in other words, will be more difficult than ever in the near future.

If you are thinking about law school, you may want to explore other careers in the criminal justice field that offer more employment opportunities (and don’t necessarily require 3 years of law school and the related student loans). With more and more companies looking to cut costs, for example, the hiring for paralegals and law clerks is up, so much so that the BLS projects employment opportunities to grow 28 percent between 2008 and 2018.

If you’re interested in the stock market…
Was Gordon Gekko your idol? Have you been dreaming of college graduation just because you couldn’t wait to get to Wall Street and try your hand in the stock market? Well, as you probably already know, stockbroker and other finance jobs aren’t as stable or as profitable as they once were.

But if green is your thing, there’s a new industry emerging that will allow you to play the markets and save the planet at the same time. Don’t believe me? Check out the career opportunities for carbon credit traders, who help companies purchase and sell carbon-emissions permits. Similar career paths include environmental economists, who observe and predict the market for renewable energy and other energy alternatives, and energy brokers, who buy and sell energy for their customers.

If you were interested in auto repair…
For car aficionados, working in automotive repair, opening up your own body shop, and spending your day around cars might have been the ideal job. But as cars become more and more reliable, and as more people turn to public transportation to save money, automotive repair jobs aren’t as lucrative or as common as they used to be. The BLS estimates that opportunities for repairmen and technicians will grow more slowly than average in the next decade.

But if you’re good with machinery and good with your hands, there are still plenty of great career opportunities for you. With the hybrid car market growing, there are more opportunities for those mechanics that become qualified as hybrid technician. The growing green industry offers a variety of other green mechanical jobs as well, including solar installer and wind turbine engineer positions.

Noel Rozny writes the bi-weekly career blog mypathfinder for the myFootpath website. myFootpath is a resource to help you in your search for a college, degree program, career, graduate school, and non-traditional experiences. Visit www.myfootpath.com to start your college or degree program search.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5206782

In this article I will be covering some tips that can be used to make and choose a good career opportunity. These are most often overlooked due to the sharp increase in career choices seen in today’s market. New career opportunities swarm the internet, particularly home-based businesses, promising financial freedom and a break from the daily nine to five grind. So how can one sort through the thousands of possibilities? Here’s some advice that might be helpful:

You, as a very smart person, will recognize the value of having all the necessary tools at hand to be successful. Good career opportunities will provide all of those necessary tools for you, or at least help you attain them. Your success will be important to that career field, so adequate support should be readily available to you. Remember, your success is also their success.

What are some basic questions to ask? When deciding which career opportunities are right for you, consider these following questions to help you make your decision. Some basic questions you should ask yourself are:

1. What is the initial financial investment?
2. How much competition is in this particular career market?
3. Are my competitors successful?
4. How much time am I willing to invest, and is it enough time to make my particular career successful?
5. What is the current demand for this type of work? What are the trends for future demand?
6. Does this career opportunity spark my interest?

It is important to ask lots of questions before dedicating yourself to one thing. Remember, not all career opportunities are equal, and not many can promise success, so don’t hesitate to find out as much information as you can from as many sources as you can. With the use of a computer and an internet, all the information you need is right at your fingertips. Legitimate career opportunities should be more than happy to answer your questions; the ones that don’t should be red flagged.

Always remember, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do not be shy! It is important, to your success, to make sure you have all the information you need to know before beginning any career opportunity. Finding great career opportunities can be very exciting. The information you receive will have a great deal to do with whether this opportunity sinks or swims. Make sure you take the time to research carefully and understand what a key role it will play in your success.

Rebecca Baird
Real Money Real Fast Systems, LLC
Centennial, CO 80112
http://www.newstartrealmoneyrealfast.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3503956

It is very important to know what career options are available for one to choose a field from. Every individual has his or her own calibre and potential. There are many career options open for the youth. One of the most important and flourishing careers is in the health care sector. This sector has a wide arena of job opportunities to provide with and lot of options to choose from.

Health care industry:
There are more than 500, 000 medical institutes which include dentist, physicians and health practitioners. There are also super specializations like that of cardiology, neuro -surgery, conito urinary surgery, gastroenterology and many others.

Due to the discovery of new ailments the requirement in the health care industry is increasing. Highly trained professionals are required to study the problems closely and find solutions to them. Health care industry is the fastest growing industry after IT (information technology).

One needs to be completely devoted and committed towards one’s work and should be a logical decision maker. There would be times when quick decisions would have to be made, in such circumstances one has to act quick and logical. Good memory and recollection ability are important pre-requisite. Confidence is the most important key in order to earn trust and goodwill with the clients. One should also possess the ability to concentrate hard on the work and not get deviated by trivial distractions. Emotion should take a backseat, while at work.

Job prospects
There are job opportunities in hospitals, both private and government, polyclinics, medical colleges, health practitioner, nursing home, health department, diagnostic laboratories, dental clinic and ophthalmic clinics. One can also work in the health and research department.

Remuneration
The more specialized you are the more pay you get. Doctors and scientists get a higher pay than the medical assistant. In the United States 10 percent of its income is spent on health care industry, thereby making it the most preferred profession among the people.

Top colleges
The Institute of Health Management Research -IHMR (Jaipur), TATA Institute of Social Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Research AIIMS (Delhi), IMS, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya University Indore, Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration Hyderabad and Institute of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Management and Research – IPHMR Calcutta.

There fore, there are many career options for students, and health care provides a lot of job opportunities for them and a secure future too.

For additional ideas to help you get started building your career options, To get more career option like Career in Health Care, Career in Physiotherapy and in other field.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6012157