tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62953637649666433942024-03-19T01:49:23.110-07:00The Best Career EducationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-35397046665906515922012-07-24T14:04:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.831-07:00Improve Self-Esteem Skills & Self-Management: Job Skills Part 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUY4ys1Vm2F1M-nGr1NZHb6pofQAYZMfqIUYb4q2BfRemvoMNDIFmK9coOji0Fk_O2jhYSJYLuPLv_M50ico6WyUoiHq87TGjoJ1VxnJ8vfAC4I9RNlWa4vUtF-N23UlQ5NJ7k7tJP0bJx/s1600/iStock-boysuperhero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUY4ys1Vm2F1M-nGr1NZHb6pofQAYZMfqIUYb4q2BfRemvoMNDIFmK9coOji0Fk_O2jhYSJYLuPLv_M50ico6WyUoiHq87TGjoJ1VxnJ8vfAC4I9RNlWa4vUtF-N23UlQ5NJ7k7tJP0bJx/s320/iStock-boysuperhero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Learning how to identify and improve your beliefs, handle setbacks, and show responsibility are <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Skills for the 21st Century</a>. In Part 5 of this <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">6 part Improving Job Skills series</a>, we look at <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/personal_qualities.html" target="_blank">personal qualities</a>, like self-esteem, self-management and responsibility. We'll recommend ways to strengthen yours. First, visit the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/index.html" target="_blank">Career Key</a> website article on <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Skills</a> for a quick overview and free download of the 17 Foundation Skills.<br /><br />Foundation skills related to <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/personal_qualities.html" target="_blank">Personal Qualities</a>:<br /><br /><b>Self-Esteem</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Understand how beliefs affect how a person feels and acts;</li><li>"Listen" to and identify irrational or harmful beliefs you may have;</li><li>Understand how to change these negative beliefs when they occur.</li></ul><br /><b>Self-Management</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Assess your knowledge and skills accurately;</li><li>Set specific, realistic goals;</li><li>Monitor progress toward your goal.</li></ul><div>Practice self-management skills by using the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_decision/high_quality_decisions.html" target="_blank">ACIP decision making process</a> at the Career Key website to choose or change careers - or use it for any important life decision you are facing.</div><div><br /></div><br /><b>Responsibility</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Work hard to reach goals, even if task is unpleasant;</li><li>Do quality work;</li><li>Display high standard of attendance, honesty, energy, and optimism.</li></ul><div>This may seem obvious, but we all have encountered people in school or at work who show a lack of responsibility. Think critically about your own work or efforts - do you care about what you do? How you treat others? Are there personal standards you could improve? <i>Everybody wants others to think they are responsible, but the real person who's important in this is you.</i></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Recommended Activities</b></div>Because there is so much to say about self-esteem skills, I'm primarily focusing these recommended activities on that job skill in this blog post.<br /><br /><b>Self-Esteem Skills</b><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Low self-esteem can have several negative impacts - you are less likely to choose an occupation that fits your abilities and your work-performance will suffer. Low self-esteem also affects your relationships with others and your health.</span><br /><br />Your beliefs control how you feel. As William Shakespeare said, <span style="background-color: white;"><i>"There is nothing either good or bad by thinking makes it so."</i> </span><span style="background-color: white;">This simple but powerful idea explains why your self-esteem is positive or negative. So understanding your beliefs and being able to change them is critical to improving your self-esteem skills, enabling you to handle the inevitable setbacks and difficulties of working.</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Think of a time when you have had a setback or disappointment at work or in school. Apply this <b><span style="color: blue;">A-B-C approach </span></b>to it:</li><ul><li>A: What was the <span style="color: blue;"><b>A</b></span>ctivating event? What started the experience?</li><li>B: What <b><span style="color: blue;">B</span></b>eliefs did you have about it?</li><li>C: What were the <b><span style="color: blue;">C</span></b>onsequences of your belief about what happened? How did you feel about it?</li><li>Example: Sam, a second-year social studies teacher, is trying a new way to teach students about the U.S. Constitution. When he tries it out, the students find it confusing and frustrating. Instead of thinking, "Why can't I do things right? Why didn't I see this wasn't going to work? What a waste of time!," Sam thinks, "I'm disappointed, but I will learn from this and try something different next time."</li><ul><li>A: Sam tried a new learning activity that confused and frustrated his students.</li><li>B: He believed, "It will go better next time. It's not the end of the world."</li><li>C: He felt disappointed but was willing to try something different another time.</li></ul></ul><li>Think of a setback or disappointment that you feel you did not handle well (It may be the same one you chose above). Learn and practice these skills:</li><ul><li>Understand how your beliefs affected how you felt and acted. </li><li>Listen to what you said about yourself to identify irrational or harmful beliefs you may have.</li><li>Understand how to avoid these negative beliefs and substitute positive ones.</li><li>Keep a "Thought Log" by writing 3 columns on a piece of paper: A: Activating Event, B: Beliefs, C: Consequences: Feelings and Behavior. The next time you have an emotional event or encounter a disappointment, evaluate what happened using this Thought Log.</li></ul></ul>Learn to look for and avoid these common irrational and harmful beliefs that cause low self-esteem:<br /><ol><li><span style="background-color: white;">I am a <i>bad, unloveable</i> person if someone rejects me.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">I am a <i>bad or worthless person</i> when I act weakly or stupidly.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">I <i>must</i> be approved or accepted by people I find important!</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"><i>I can't stand</i> really bad things or very difficult people.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"><i>I must do well</i> in everything I do or it is <i>terrible</i>.</span></li></ol><div>(from A. Ellis, 1992, in L.K. Jones, <i>Encyclopedia of Career Change and Work Issues</i>, pp. 242-246, The Oryx Press.)<br /><br />You may also find this article on "<a href="http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-catastrophizing/" target="_blank">catastrophizing</a>" helpful.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Bottom Line:</b> Having positive, realistic beliefs about life is the key to success. By believing in yourself and your ability to improve, learning from your mistakes and "bouncing back" from disappointment you show self-esteem skills. You will be successful.</div><br /><br />Previous posts in this series:<br />Part 1: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">Getting Started with Job Skills: 3 Reasons to be Optimistic</a><br />Part 2: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-2-not-so.html" target="_blank">Improving (Not So) Basic Skills</a><br />Part 3: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/improving-job-skills-part-3-thinking.html" target="_blank">Thinking Skills</a><br />Part 4: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-skills-improving-job-skills.html" target="_blank">People Skills</a><br /><br />Next week - the final wrap up with "Identifying Your Motivated Skills: Skills You Enjoy Using the Most."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-57822908791487742502012-07-17T12:35:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.857-07:00People Skills: Improving Job Skills Series Part 4<div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH586hVrCRqtK4rNAhXkSN563WoOM1ySlCSFMcH6nSa98zxScaGewmEyoE1ofuDxeVXEC4PEiAtgtVsD2xseaFNHDfq4fQeEvCpLOUoBXIfYWsBBabhUZ3025ly2JsbF9791cgP0Vdeuy2/s1600/Designers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH586hVrCRqtK4rNAhXkSN563WoOM1ySlCSFMcH6nSa98zxScaGewmEyoE1ofuDxeVXEC4PEiAtgtVsD2xseaFNHDfq4fQeEvCpLOUoBXIfYWsBBabhUZ3025ly2JsbF9791cgP0Vdeuy2/s320/Designers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/people_skills.html" target="_blank">People skills</a> </b>are required in all 21st Century jobs - a big part of the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Job Skills</a>. Whether you work from home, in an office, or out in the field, you come into contact with all kinds of people: customers, co-workers, and supervisors. Many people you work with look different from you, have different life experiences, and different education levels. You'll need to work with them to help your team, your employer, and your customers be successful. <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/free_agent_worker.html" target="_blank">Free agents</a>, people who have marketable skills, master and excel at people skills.<br /><br />This blog post will help you get started with improving these skills. If you haven't already, start with Part 1 in this improving job skills series:<a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank"> 3 Reasons to be Optimistic and Get Started</a>. Below, I'll describe the different people skills and then suggest activities to improve each.<br /><br />There are 5 types of people skills:<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Social skills, </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Negotiation skills, </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Leadership skills, </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Teamwork skills, and </span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Skills handling cultural diversity.</span></li></ul><span style="background-color: white;">To see descriptions of these skills, visit the </span><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/people_skills.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">People Skills</a><span style="background-color: white;"> section of the </span><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Foundation Skills</a><span style="background-color: white;"> article on the Career Key website, or download the </span><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Foundation Job Skills handout</a><span style="background-color: white;">. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Below are activities to improve your people skills that you can tailor to your <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html" target="_blank">career interests</a>. </span><br /><br /><b>Social Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Teaching requires well-developed social skills. Teachers must challenge students to think critically and express themselves. At the same time, they must be sensitive to students' needs and encourage them. Find a topic interesting to you and an opportunity to teach others. Friends, family, community organizations, business networking groups all offer these opportunities.</li><li>Choose a volunteer activity that requires you to work with a child or adult who needs help. This will require you to show understanding, friendliness and respect for the feelings of others. You'll also need to take interest in what people say and do and why they think and act as they do. It may be visiting a church member in the hospital, a <a href="http://www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx" target="_blank">Boys and Girls club</a> mentorship opportunity, or an outreach activity with a local service organization like the <a href="http://www.ymca.net/" target="_blank">YMCA</a>, <a href="http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php" target="_blank">Lions</a> or <a href="http://www.rotary.org/en/Pages/ridefault.aspx" target="_blank">Rotary International</a>.</li></ul><br /><b>Negotiation Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Get real practice negotiating and resolving conflicts by volunteering for a local conflict resolution, peer mediation (some schools offer it), or mediation program. Often, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediation" target="_blank">mediation</a> is used to help people resolve minor legal disputes so if you are near a courthouse, contact them to see if they have any mediation programs who need volunteers. Most of the time, you do not need to be a lawyer to serve as a mediator for these programs but you will be given training, sometimes free or at low-cost.</li><li>Think of a conflict at home, in school, or at work that you feel you did not handle well. Mentally re-create the incident, writing down what happened and think of reasons why it was not resolved satisfactorily. What goals did you share with the other people involved. If you had the same conflict today, how would you handle it differently to feel better about the outcome?</li></ul><br /><b>Leadership Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Take part in an activity that interests you that requires you to look beyond the work you do yourself, where you consider how well everyone and everything is working. For example, volunteer with an organization that needs help expanding and improving its services with current resources. Neighborhood cleanup, community event organizers, and environmental organizations are good examples. They always need people to help and ideas for reaching out to the community. They offer ways for you to justify ideas, persuade others to adopt them, and to implement them - leadership!</li></ul><br /><b>Teamwork Skills</b><br />For activities to improve teamwork skills, read my previous post "<a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/02/6-critical-teamwork-job-skills-and-how.html" target="_blank">6 Critical Teamwork Job Skills and How to Develop Them.</a>"<br /><br /><b>Cultural Diversity Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>With a partner, play a word association game with the terms below. Choose one term from the list below. For one minute, you and your partner(s) write down all the terms from this list that you associate with the term you chose and anything and everything that comes to your mind when you think of that term.</li></ul><div>Asian American male unemployed person</div><div>African American female employed person</div><div>Hispanic rich person nonprofessional </div><div>Caucasian poor person professional</div><div>Native American middle-class elderly person</div><div>disabled person homosexual fire fighter</div><div>lawyer doctor nurse</div><div>teacher engineer college graduate</div><div><br /></div><br />In doing this activity, you identified your stereotypes, the beliefs you have about classes or groups of people. These beliefs can be positive or negative. Everyone has them. Unfortunately they often mislead us and can be harmful. For example, not that long ago, people believe that occupations like airplane pilot, scientist, and police officer could only be done by men. Today, we know these were untrue but these stereotypes kept women out of these jobs for a long time. Are there any careers you are not considering because of stereotypes? People still view nursing and some other health care occupations with lingering stereotypes.<br /><br />Stereotypes and assumptions about racial groups are also harmful. Be aware of your own stereotypes about people and how they can mislead you. You can avoid letting your stereotypes harm others or your relationships with them.<br /><br /><ul><li>Read a magazine or online media source for another culture or ethnic group. Write about what you felt about what you read or saw. You can also try this with political media - if you watch MSNBC or read the Huffington Post, try reading Fox News or reading a more conservative news source. (and vice versa!) </li><li>Start a conversation with someone different than you, like someone from the list in the first activity. You can do this on the bus, at a social gathering, or at work. Later write down what interesting things you discovered about this person and whether what you discovered agreed or disagreed with what you thought about the person before your conversation.</li></ul><br /><span style="background-color: white;">See how the careers that interest you require people skills by conducting </span><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/information_interviewing.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">informational interviews</a><span style="background-color: white;">; ask people what skills are most important in their work. </span><span style="background-color: white;">That will help you build skills around a specific career path. These articles will also help you gather career information:</span><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_occupations.html" target="_blank">Learn About Occupations</a><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_jobs_interest.html" target="_blank">Learn More about the Jobs that Interest Me</a><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills.html" target="_blank">Identify Your Skills</a><br /><br />Activities in our most popular e-book, "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_best_job.html" target="_blank">What Job is Best for Me?</a>" also helps you focus your career development efforts with skills.<br /><br />Previous posts in this series:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">Part 1: Getting Started with Job Skills: 3 Reasons to be Optimistic</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-2-not-so.html" target="_blank">Part 2: Improving (Not So) Basic Skills</a><br />Part 3: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/improving-job-skills-part-3-thinking.html" target="_blank">Thinking Skills</a>: Improving Job Skills<br /><br />Next week: Part 5: Improving Personal Qualities - Yes, it is possible...<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-88122582186064763622012-07-09T13:46:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.896-07:00Improving Job Skills Part 3: Thinking Skills<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFUha-qUier68o7yzbsJNK3IgsBbBO1S4sO0hmifbjCcj-2IxOZb6poRRihujFcwrAP8a4zqNEJ4umTs26FbPk1wvl82yAGO5v7-gHZGhQfMLppciwGGzvBR1ZwBsY56ize7aGgzIbZU5/s1600/Occupational+SHI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFUha-qUier68o7yzbsJNK3IgsBbBO1S4sO0hmifbjCcj-2IxOZb6poRRihujFcwrAP8a4zqNEJ4umTs26FbPk1wvl82yAGO5v7-gHZGhQfMLppciwGGzvBR1ZwBsY56ize7aGgzIbZU5/s320/Occupational+SHI.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example: Solving a workplace safety problem...</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/thinking_skills.html" target="_blank">Thinking Job Skills</a> include creative thinking, problem-solving skills, decision making skills, and visualization. In this part 3 of 6 blog series, we'll explore ways to improve these skills, the second group of <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Job Skills</a> found at the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/" target="_blank">Career Key</a> website.<br /><br />Avoid any occupation or job that simply requires following instructions and little training; employees in those kinds of jobs can be easily replaced. To see examples of these types of jobs, see<a href="http://www.onetonline.org/find/zone?z=1&g=Go" target="_blank"> O*NET's Job Zone 1</a> (little to no preparation needed) and some listed in <a href="http://www.onetonline.org/find/zone?z=2&g=Go" target="_blank">Job Zone 2</a> (some preparation needed).<br /><br />When you use thinking skills, you are more valuable as an employee. When you recognize and define problems, invent solutions, and think of better ways to do something, you are marketable. You'll be a more powerful "free agent"; learn more about how to adopt a "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/free_agent_worker.html" target="_blank">Free Agent Outlook on Work</a>."<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/thinking_skills.html" target="_blank">Thinking Skills</a> </span>are the second group of <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Skills, skills all jobs require in the 21st Century</a>. They are:<br /><br /><b>Creative Thinking</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Use imagination freely;</li><li>Combining information in new ways;</li><li>Make connections between ideas that seem unrelated.</li></ul><br /><b>Problem-Solving</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Recognize problem and identify why it is a problem;</li><li>Create and implement a solution;</li><li>See how well the solution works and revise if needed.</li></ul><br /><b>Decision Making Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Identify goals;</li><li>Generate alternatives and gather information about them;</li><li>Choose the best alternative;</li><li>Plan how to carry out your choice.</li></ul><div><i> See this skill applied to <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_decision/high_quality_decisions.html" target="_blank">how to make a career decision</a>.</i></div><br /><br /><b>Visualization</b><br /><br /><ul><li>See a building or object by looking at a blueprint, drawing or sketch;</li><li>Imagine how a system works by looking at a schematic drawing.</li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>Activities to Strengthen Thinking Skills</b></span></div><br />These will help you get started; if you are working on <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html" target="_blank">choosing a career</a> or <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/changing_careers.html" target="_blank">changing careers</a>, think about how these skills are used in the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html" target="_blank">career options</a> that interest you.<br /><br /><b>Creative Thinking</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Keep a weekly journal of creative ideas. Record each week any problems you notice in an environment like school, church, an organization you volunteer for, or at work. Are there any processes that don't work very well? Create a solution to the problem. At the end of a couple of months, go back and read your journal, identifying problems you would like to work on. Create solutions and present them to a class or to people you work with. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your solutions?</li><li>Create a new business idea based on your interests and knowledge. How would you market it? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business idea? (product, service, etc.) Present your ideas to friends or a class for their feedback. Create a marketing hook, ad or catch phrase for your idea. Maybe <a href="http://www.self-employmentkey.org/" target="_blank">being self-employed</a> is for you?</li></ul><br /><b>Problem-Solving</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Identify a problem using the activity in bullet #1 above under Creating Thinking. Research the problem, gathering as much information as you can. Do you know what the problem really is? List everything you know about it - maybe you know more than you think. Contact people who know something about the problem. Gather and organize all your information before taking action.</li><li>Choose a complex problem and make a problem-solving action plan. Breaking down a complex problem into smaller chunks can help solve it. Write down all the steps needed to solve a problem can make a larger problem more manageable. </li></ul><br /><b>Decision Making Skills</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Narrow down your career choices using the four steps in Career Key's <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_decision/high_quality_decisions.html" target="_blank">High-Quality Decision Making</a> article.</li><li>Identify several decisions you made this week. For example, what you ate, where you went for entertainment, whether you purchased something, or who you invited to a social event. Record what you thought about these decisions: what were the consequences? Did you make the best choice? Could using a decision-making process help you make a better decision the next time? Is there a major life event choice you face right now where that process could help? (changing jobs, choosing a college, having a baby, etc.)</li></ul><br /><b>Visualization</b><br /><br /><ul><li>Draw a road map from your house to your school or workplace without looking at a map. Add street names and important landmarks.</li><li>Put together a model, item, or toy using instructions (you may do this already!) Legos, model kits, and DIY craft kits are a few ideas.</li><li>Design the floor of a dream house or apartment, creating a blueprint using grid paper. Each quarter or eighth inch block can be 1 foot. Visualize walking through the house. What are your plans' advantages and disadvantages? Are the bedrooms properly placed away from noise? How is the traffic flow?</li></ul><br />Make sure to learn how the careers that interest you require these skills by conducting <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/information_interviewing.html" target="_blank">informational interviews</a>. That will help you focus your energies on building skills around the problems and ideas related to that career. These articles will also help you gather career information:<br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_occupations.html" target="_blank">Learn About Occupations</a><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_jobs_interest.html" target="_blank">Learn More about the Jobs that Interest Me</a><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills.html" target="_blank">Identify Your Skills</a><br /><br />Previous posts in this series:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">Part 1: Getting Started with Job Skills: 3 Reasons to be Optimistic</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-2-not-so.html" target="_blank">Part 2: Improving (Not So) Basic Skills</a><br />Next week: <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-skills-improving-job-skills.html" target="_blank">Part 3: Improving Your People Skills</a><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-71495215624850565042012-07-02T17:01:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.885-07:00How to Improve Job Skills - Part 2: (Not So) Basic Skills<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtQuZ8J7i2JUpO2iPAjTGglTqp8cI4X287qCRhyphenhyphendwVI7Z97iPsq_FzjqhwHE0L2y7ZtWECl1YVDfppTKzzGcpOEc6sXGVDyHai5D7EDovsmccmyF6JLSDU-DICFsF0jWZ7bRAo1dbXdeA/s1600/iStock-coffeeshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtQuZ8J7i2JUpO2iPAjTGglTqp8cI4X287qCRhyphenhyphendwVI7Z97iPsq_FzjqhwHE0L2y7ZtWECl1YVDfppTKzzGcpOEc6sXGVDyHai5D7EDovsmccmyF6JLSDU-DICFsF0jWZ7bRAo1dbXdeA/s320/iStock-coffeeshop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">In part 2 of 6, we’ll talk about ways to strengthen <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/basic_skills.html" target="_blank">basic job skills</a> – in ways that are relevant to students and adults <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/changing_careers.html" target="_blank">changing careers</a>. Before you brush aside “basic skills” as too “basic” for you, take a closer look at them. For example, writing skills means more than just the ability to handwrite a sentence. It includes using the computer to communicate ideas and information.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Download the list of skills and their description in the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Job Skills handout at The Career Key website</a> if you haven’t already. Our affordable printable e-books “<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_how_parents_help.html" target="_blank">Parent’s Role…</a>” and “<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/smartcareerdecisions.html" target="_blank">Advice and Actions for Smart Career Decisions</a>” contain this handout – your <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_shop.html" target="_blank">eBookstore</a> purchase help support our public service mission.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In the workplace, people use these skills differently than in school – in ways you may not have thought about. There is more to learn than you might think. If you’re just joining this <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">series</a>, I recommend starting with our <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">optimistic Part 1</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue;">Basic Skills</span></b> are the first group of <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Skills</a>, skills all jobs require in the 21st century. They are (<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">click here for the more complete Foundation Skill descriptions</a>):</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Reading</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Read for detail quickly and accurately;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Find meaning of unknown or technical words and phrases; and</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Use the Internet and computers to find information.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Writing</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing – on paper and using a computer;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Record information completely and accurately;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Check, edit and revise documents for correct information, grammar, etc.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Using a computer to communicate information.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Math</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Use numbers, fractions, and percentages to solve practical problems;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Read tables, diagrams and graphs;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Use computers to communicate data and ideas.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Speaking</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Organize your thoughts and explain how things work, procedures to follow;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Speak clearly and use the appropriate tone and level of complexity for your audience;</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Ask questions when needed and answer questions from the audience.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Listening</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Listen carefully to what someone says and how they say it, to understand the content and the feelings the speaker expresses.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Respond to what a person says in a way that shows you understand them.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue;">Real-Life Example using all the Basic Skills– Police Officer. </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">When called to a domestic violence incident, the officer listens carefully while interviewing witnesses and mediating disputes. The officer explains to the parties what happens next in the process, especially if someone is arrested or a child is put into protective custody. The officer records and submits witness statements by laptop computer using the Internet. The officer can be questioned in court by lawyers and judges about the accuracy of that information.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Math skills come into play especially if the police department uses <a href="http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=1839&issue_id=72009/" target="_blank">data-driven policing</a> (<a href="http://youtu.be/8YQYXXESRJ0" target="_blank">see a video here</a>). An officer is asked to gather data (location, type of incident, etc.) that is then used to make a graph or visual used to find relationships between types of crimes and location. An officer could be asked to interpret that data. Officers also use math skills in accident reconstruction; they measure the accident scene and show visually how the accident likely occurred.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: blue;">Activities to Strengthen Basic Skills</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">These activities are a starting place for you - come up with your own that are the most relevant to a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html" target="_blank">career option</a> that interests you.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Reading</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Go to the library and pick a magazine you might not normally read but has an article that interests you. For example, you might not read the <i>Economist</i> or <i>Vanity Fair </i>but you see an article about a type of business or politics that interests you. Read the article carefully, finding words that you don’t know or are uncertain what they mean.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Try to figure out the word's meaning from the surrounding sentences or context. If you need to check your answer, look it up in a dictionary.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">You’ll find that most of the time you can figure out a word’s meaning by “reading for meaning.”</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Use an Internet browser to search for a business near you, like a type of restaurant. What search terms work the best in finding a restaurant?</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Is there a difference between browsers? (Try Chrome, Safari or Bing) Do quotation marks around words make a difference?</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Practice reading ideas and picturing them in your mind.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">The next time you read a story, try drawing pictures of the people and the settings. Try looking up individual houses or condos for sale in your neighborhood on a real estate website. After reading the description, picture the house in your mind without looking through any online photos of it. Go look at the house and see how it differs from what you pictured.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">What information was left out of the ad and why?</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;"> Also try the graph creation exercise listed below for improving math skills.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Writing</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Create your own front page news article based on an event (real or fiction). Use your favorite newspaper as an example. Write a catchy headline and include photos with captions relevant to the article.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Go to the <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/" target="_blank">Grammar Girl website</a> and read the “Top 5 Tips” box. Have you ever used the wrong word by mistake?</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">What rules do you have trouble remembering?</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Pick one problem you keep having and practice creating sentences that use the words correctly.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Math</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Learn how to create a graph. Ideally use a software program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs that you would normally be using at work.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Pick a fun subject you’d like to learn more about. For example, what animal moves the fastest? (the cheetah, at 70 mph) Find the speeds of six other animals and create a graph with the data.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Explore a topic of financial literacy (See </span><a href="http://www.financiallitnow.org/" style="background-color: white;">www.financiallitnow.org</a><span style="background-color: white;"> for topics, resources)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Learn how to answer questions, like, if I make a $300 purchase with a credit card with 18% APR interest, how long will it take me to pay of the loan just making a minimum balance payment of $20? (<a href="http://www.financiallitnow.org/learn/using_credit/credit_cards/plastic_power_or_peril.shtml" target="_blank">18 months at a total cost of $340</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Can you find a <a href="http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/credit-cards/credit-card-payoff-calculator.aspx" target="_blank">calculator</a> on the Internet that will help you answer that question? </span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Speaking</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Practice speaking in front of mirror, where you will see what others see. Notice your facial expressions, posture, eye contact, and gestures. Any interview should be practiced in front of a mirror until your answers become natural and easy.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Record yourself talking with a friend or giving a presentation. Most cell phones and computers have a way to do this.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">When you playback the recording, listen for “you know”, “like” or other mannerisms that are not as professional as you would like. Do you moderate your voice? In making improvements, focus on one thing at time. Practicing in front of a mirror or rehearsing a speech or answer several times will help.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Listening</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;">Find a partner to help you.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Use <a href="http://www.taftcollege.edu/lrc/class/assignments/actlisten.html" target="_blank">active listening skills</a> as your partner describes an emotional situation. Try summarizing and restating to your partner what they said and how they felt, without being judgmental.</span></li><li><span style="background-color: white;">Watch a newscast or television show with your partner.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Afterwards, summarize the plot, describing the major characters and what they did. Ask your partner to critique your summary.</span></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I hope this gives you ideas for creating your own activities to practice these skills, connecting them to the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html" target="_blank">careers that interest you</a>. Imagine how these skills might be used in a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_jobs_interest.html" target="_blank">job that interests you</a>. Conduct an <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/information_interviewing.html" target="_blank">informational interview</a>with someone in that career and ask him or her how they use those skills in their work.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Next posts:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/improving-job-skills-part-3-thinking.html" target="_blank">Part 3 of 6: Improving Your Thinking Skills</a>…<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-skills-improving-job-skills.html" target="_blank">Part 4: Improving Your People Skills</a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Previous post:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-1-of-6-3.html" target="_blank">Improving Job Skills, Part 1 of 6: 3 Reasons to be Optimistic</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-27842402386077266102012-06-27T16:12:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.822-07:00How to Improve Job Skills - Part 1 of 6: 3 Reasons to be Optimistic and Get Started<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVR_BBovnqdoioMG5-mpWcn8zEgh3dRuLHF6eIf6FG4ZgOfaTcXnkiR6TxhQqmFearrhqHhezkew6UELSmDFMPmwr6g_NAz2cpD2HYvho_IfliJ59_hquDlUWFB1JpDbrG9_rUdCcsGZt/s1600/IMGP7839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVR_BBovnqdoioMG5-mpWcn8zEgh3dRuLHF6eIf6FG4ZgOfaTcXnkiR6TxhQqmFearrhqHhezkew6UELSmDFMPmwr6g_NAz2cpD2HYvho_IfliJ59_hquDlUWFB1JpDbrG9_rUdCcsGZt/s320/IMGP7839.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How strong is your foundation?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="MsoNormal">This 6-post blog series will help you improve and strengthen <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html" target="_blank">Foundation Job Skills</a>. Whether you are just starting to explore your first <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/index.html" target="_blank">career</a> or an adult <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/changing_careers.html" target="_blank">changing careers</a>, all jobs require the 17 Foundation Skills (<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/TheFoundationJobSkills.pdf" target="_blank">free download for non-commercial use</a>*). In the series, one blog post will cover each of the four groups of Foundation Skills, recommending free or low-cost activities to strengthen them: </div><div class="MsoNormal">- <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/basic_skills.html" target="_blank">Basic Skills</a>;</div><div class="MsoNormal">- <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/thinking_skills.html" target="_blank">Thinking Skills</a>;</div><div class="MsoNormal">- <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/people_skills.html" target="_blank">People Skills</a>; and </div><div class="MsoNormal">- <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/personal_qualities.html" target="_blank">Personal Qualities</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Look at each Foundation Skill – do you think they are accurate? How would you rate yourself for that skill? (Compare yourself to others of the same age) How does someone use that skill in a career you’re considering? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Start thinking about Foundation Skills, how you can improve yours and show an employer you have them. By the end of this blog series, you’ll also be able to<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills.html" target="_blank"> identify your motivated skills</a>, those you enjoy using most, and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html" target="_blank">how to choose a career</a> that makes the most of them. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Even if you have little job experience or have been under-employed, you’ll be surprised how adding to and improving your skills result in a big payoff.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3 Reasons to be Optimistic<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">People want to help you.</b> Family, teachers, counselors, community volunteers, religious leaders, and workers want to help. You just need to ask. Ask them about their jobs, the skills they use, and people they know. If you don’t ask, no one can help you.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Learning requires action – and the good news is taking action is under your control.</b> If you don’t do anything, you won’t improve and nothing will change.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Each activity you do, each week, you will improve.</b> You will feel more confident and have something to show for your work. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In case you need more motivation to improve your skills, take a look at median pay for these occupations with different skill levels:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Unskilled </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">(High School Diploma or Less)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Amusement & Recreation Attendant $18,650</div><div class="MsoNormal">Cashier $18,820</div><div class="MsoNormal">Food Service Workers $19,270</div><div class="MsoNormal">Driver/Sales Worker $22,770</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Medium Skilled </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">(on the job training, vocational school or associate’s degree)</div><div class="MsoNormal">Acute Care Nurses $65,950</div><div class="MsoNormal">Barbers $24,190</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chefs, Head Cooks $42,350</div><div class="MsoNormal">Diagnostic Medical Sonographers $65,210</div><div class="MsoNormal">Plumbers $47,750</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Source:<a href="http://www.onetonline.org/find/zone?z=1&g=Go" target="_blank"> O*NET Job Zones 1, 3 data, 2012</a></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I could list pay for highly skilled jobs but you get the picture. It doesn’t take a huge jump in education and skills to make a big difference in wages.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Up Next Week... </span><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-improve-job-skills-part-2-not-so.html" target="_blank">Part 2: (Not So) Basic Skills</a>. </b> Practical ways to improve your Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Speaking and Listening Skills.<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/improving-job-skills-part-3-thinking.html" target="_blank">Part 3: Improving Your Thinking Skills</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-skills-improving-job-skills.html" target="_blank">Part 4: Improving Your People Skills</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">*If you would like to purchase a license to use the Foundation Job Skills commercially (or financially support our public service work), visit our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_shop.html" target="_blank">eBookstore</a> to purchase these handouts and e-books you can print:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/smartcareerdecisions.html" target="_blank">Advice and Actions for Making Smart Career Decisions</a>; and </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_how_parents_help.html" target="_blank">How Parents Can Help Their Children's Career Development</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-85695419318582351302012-06-25T14:46:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.893-07:00College and Career Success: Is Your State a Leader or Laggard?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmH9KVcpSdkBUj9q81Uzws5T8Ehb3M6m_8LcbI7ogVNl_ofePMtKHdcsdMyu1wg04e31p1CuZRs56lx67l5gVJqbJMend4mMYZBsQXFyw9H0xHyFJI5hESm52RGqQURfOlvPT8X4ariKp/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-06-25+at+1.58.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmH9KVcpSdkBUj9q81Uzws5T8Ehb3M6m_8LcbI7ogVNl_ofePMtKHdcsdMyu1wg04e31p1CuZRs56lx67l5gVJqbJMend4mMYZBsQXFyw9H0xHyFJI5hESm52RGqQURfOlvPT8X4ariKp/s320/Screen+shot+2012-06-25+at+1.58.05+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Promising <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html" target="_blank">careers</a> require some <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html" target="_blank">post-high school training and education</a>; students and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/parents_role.html" target="_blank">parents</a> need to be educated consumers. While there is a lot of criticism about graduation rates and unsavory recruitment practices at for-profit colleges, there is plenty of criticism to go around for public colleges' performance. <br /><br />The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) just released its "<a href="http://icw.uschamber.com/reportcard/" target="_blank">Leaders and Laggards" State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education</a>. Be sure to click on your state's individual report card and overall <a href="http://icw.uschamber.com/reportcard/recommendations/" target="_blank">recommendations</a>. <br /><br />You can see a summary of findings on the <a href="http://blog.careertech.org/?p=6451" target="_blank">Career Tech Blog</a> - these are the three that stuck out the most to me:<br /><br />"<b>Four-Year Completion Rates</b><br />In most states, only half of students at four-year public colleges complete a degree, in 17 states, less than half of all first-time bachelors-seeking students complete a degree within six years";<br /><br />"<b>Two-Year Completion Rates</b><br />...more than half of states have a two-year completion rate at or below 25 percent"..: and<br /><br />"<b>Linking Postsecondary Data to Labor Market</b><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Only 22 states have systems in place to track the success of graduates once they enter the labor force and to make those data public..."</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">While others focus on big-picture, long-term, bureaucratic change (good luck!), I'm more focused on how we can help individual students, parents, and counselors improve their chances of success now. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><b>The best practical takeaway from this report is for students and parents to learn their state's strengths and weaknesses in providing education. </b>If nothing else, you'll know what to look for and avoid, and what to expect as far as your state's performance. And when you go through the process of choosing a school or program, you'll know to ask for more information about graduation rates and support for students looking for a job post-graduation.</span><br /><br />I don't know that I've given up on government for problem-solving (or trust the for-profit sector to do it either) - but it's clear to me that if you are or have a child in secondary school or college right now, it's up to you to help yourself <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html" target="_blank">choose a career</a> or <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html" target="_blank">college major</a> you won't regret. Gathering the best quality information you can is part of <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_decision/high_quality_decisions.html" target="_blank">making good decisions</a>.<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-21240715927190451092012-05-11T13:21:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.816-07:00My Mom's Careers: A Celebration<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyYLspffscWExKTfIr5SGv2ah6FhEYMJX_cCPWBO4H2pitK9Y_PiriCjG-0v42LWnXuoix7XcYfDs5gZRnLT43qTg8cUVvvz1Lk7NGH6Yg5ccYtCZsL92EVA3l-fjmKHSgJWW61_dn18V/s1600/ESL+student+1b-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyYLspffscWExKTfIr5SGv2ah6FhEYMJX_cCPWBO4H2pitK9Y_PiriCjG-0v42LWnXuoix7XcYfDs5gZRnLT43qTg8cUVvvz1Lk7NGH6Yg5ccYtCZsL92EVA3l-fjmKHSgJWW61_dn18V/s320/ESL+student+1b-1.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeanine Wehr Jones, ESL Teacher</td></tr></tbody></table>I'd like to take a moment to celebrate my mom's career paths: mother, elementary school teacher, librarian, ESL teacher, and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/" target="_blank">Career Key</a> supporter (helping my father, <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/about_ck/the_author.html" target="_blank">Dr. Lawrence K. Jones</a>). Thanks to her, I had a great childhood and an excellent role model. Being a mom, making a living, and keeping a household running smoothly is challenging. To read the whole story of Mom's career choices, please see my original <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2010/05/thank-you-to-my-mom-and-moms-everywhere.html" target="_blank">Mother's Day post in 2010</a>.<br /><br />But I left out a critical part of the story - her part-time Berlitz International position <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/adult-literacy-and-ged-teachers.htm" target="_blank">teaching English as a Second Language (ESL)</a> while raising my brother and me. During that time, she had students from Japan, Egypt, Taiwan, El Salvador, Pakistan, and other countries. She loves other cultures, different types of people, and learning their stories. <br /><br />I remember as a kid having potlucks at our house with her students, sharing wonderful ethnic foods with friendly and warm company. I know Mom enjoyed sharing her knowledge of Turkish cooking too.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhWRmtvpIWsW32wx5K33cPQ3FnKbIUoZQeNAD_C6o_W7bj0j_OXcEbCQn4OaywWt2bGyzh7-X9UvC1VqkyOiCi9ymzM9uk4xxQP6LXpWx6f58ttw2sZFmVTURyv-LWk-QrQnz_kJGq0WY/s1600/ESL+student+1ba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhWRmtvpIWsW32wx5K33cPQ3FnKbIUoZQeNAD_C6o_W7bj0j_OXcEbCQn4OaywWt2bGyzh7-X9UvC1VqkyOiCi9ymzM9uk4xxQP6LXpWx6f58ttw2sZFmVTURyv-LWk-QrQnz_kJGq0WY/s320/ESL+student+1ba.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeanine and her ESL students</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Mom's vivacious personality wins over even the most shy of people; her humor is infectious. So in the classroom she was able to liven things up while helping people feel comfortable learning a language in a different cultural world.<br /><br />So I wish Mom a Happy Mother's Day and say thank you for working so hard to help other people while making our family and Career Key successful.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3u9K3S-uahDV4IDULw2h56VOoNNliJvVrRwbmYkNzFz1zIp0kGYR3kXHtxw6kmORgeldrfhj4EzqS83291DtEcHZEcw6PLBL43HnKykah6mzzfVE90D6mmmve87r0d-z_aAedRwhuUSo/s1600/istanbul_international_counseling_congress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3u9K3S-uahDV4IDULw2h56VOoNNliJvVrRwbmYkNzFz1zIp0kGYR3kXHtxw6kmORgeldrfhj4EzqS83291DtEcHZEcw6PLBL43HnKykah6mzzfVE90D6mmmve87r0d-z_aAedRwhuUSo/s320/istanbul_international_counseling_congress.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Mom, Dad, and I, with our Vietnamese and Saudi Arabian <br />Career Key partners, at the International Counseling Congress in Istanbul, 2008</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-63160169883829248012012-04-12T13:34:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.878-07:00Will You Be Shut Out of Popular Education and Career Choices? 3 Tips for Career Planning SuccessWhen <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/career_options/changing_careers.html" target="_blank">changing careers</a> or <a href="http://careerkey.org/index.html" target="_blank">choosing a career</a>, you may be considering a career option in which many people are interested. What if a required education program has too many applicants, a lot of prerequisites, or is just very selective?<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Competition to get into some education programs required for in-demand careers can be stiff. Funding is being cut for community colleges and public universities, making the situation worse. Take, for example, these statistics for a top career options like nursing:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.aacn.nche.edu/" target="_blank">American Association of Colleges of Nursing </a>says 75,000 qualified nursing school applicants turned away in 2011. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Dig deep into <a href="http://careerkey.org/index.html" target="_blank">choosing a career</a>, <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html" target="_blank">college major</a> and training program – <b>as early as possible. </b>And once you know what’s involved and the better prepared you are, the better your chances of getting into the program you want. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>3 Tips for<a href="http://careerkey.org/index.html" target="_blank"> Career Planning</a> Success:</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">1. <b>Fully research your career options, including related occupations. </b>Reading these Career Key articles will help:</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html" target="_blank">Getting Started</a> (3 Steps to Choosing a Career) </li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_occupations.html" target="_blank">Learn about Occupations </a></li><li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_jobs_interest.html" target="_blank">Learn More About the Jobs that Interest Me </a></li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><i>How can you find similar occupations?</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Explore careers in the same <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html" target="_blank">Holland personality type</a> and Career Key work group in Career Key’s “<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html" target="_blank">Match Your Personality with Careers</a>” article. You can also do that during the Career Key's valid <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html" target="_blank">career test</a>. If you are short on time or money, there may be similar occupations requiring fewer years of education. Maybe that career can be a stepping stone on the way to a final career goal.</li><li>Click the “similar occupations” tab at the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/" target="_blank">Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) </a>entry for a career. Try it with <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Pharmacists.htm" target="_blank">pharmacist</a>.</li></ul><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Example:</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Career Key’s career lists, Pharmacist is found in the “Health Sciences” group under the <a href="http://careerkey.org/test/freetrial/careers.do?action=careers&goingTo=investigative" target="_blank">Investigative personality type</a>. See all the related careers and groups.<br /><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAe17frxMpGXlISFFOmJzpIKnN9W2gkHuhyphenhyphenUML850j8S4DF9Nh4WZBihENYbOJT9zcNRvh7m7sHPE-2sgP5xNKAN_vzkz9G4S4GtfaEQ7xmbeevTReZRP17DmlhmfPz2ApBM9E1mFtZgU/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-04-12+at+1.20.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAe17frxMpGXlISFFOmJzpIKnN9W2gkHuhyphenhyphenUML850j8S4DF9Nh4WZBihENYbOJT9zcNRvh7m7sHPE-2sgP5xNKAN_vzkz9G4S4GtfaEQ7xmbeevTReZRP17DmlhmfPz2ApBM9E1mFtZgU/s400/Screen+shot+2012-04-12+at+1.20.11+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OOH Entry for Pharmacist</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">2. <b>Fully research your education options, including different types of degrees/programs and the schools that offer them. </b>The OOH will be a big help, especially the tabs “How to Become One” and “Contacts for More Info.” Make sure the program environment, what we call “<a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/holland_college_major_environments.html" target="_blank">college major environment</a>” <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/personality_college_major_match_why_important.html" target="_blank">fits your personality</a>. We recommend many ways to <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/learn_more_college_major_environments.html" target="_blank">learn more about these environments</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>How do you find good quality information about education programs?</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Usually under the OOH's tab “Contacts for More Info,” it will link to a national association of the colleges or program providers for the required education and training programs. Rely on that organization website first before consulting commercial sites you find via Internet searches for “_____ degrees”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">For example, the OOH's “Contacts for More Information” for Pharmacist links to the <a href="http://www.aacp.org/Pages/Default.aspx" target="_blank">American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy</a>. Under Resources and Student Center “Is Pharmacy for You?” I found a huge “<a href="http://www.aacp.org/resources/student/pharmacyforyou/admissions/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Admissions</a>” section with lots of informative FAQs and a whole free PDF book “Pharmacy School Admission Requirements” you can download.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>CareerOneStop’s “<a href="http://www.careerinfonet.org/edutraining/" target="_blank">Education and Training Finder</a>” can help you find information about education programs required for specific occupations located in your state, region or zip code too. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">3. <b>Have a back up plan if your first choices do not work out.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you make a high-quality <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/your_decision/high_quality_decisions.html" target="_blank">career decision</a> (follow the link for 4 steps to follow and a free Decision Balance Sheet download), you’ll know what your backup choices are, information about them, and their pros and cons. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Even though it may cost more money to apply to more, less attractive schools, it's worthwhile insurance against rejection and disappointment. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And if you are unable to get into any school you are considering, working in the same industry that interests you (say Healthcare) but in a different occupation than you originally envisioned may open your eyes to new careers and opportunities you hadn’t known about.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s a challenge to stay positive and confident when career planning in a difficult economy. Adopting the <a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/career_options/free_agent_worker.html" target="_blank">Free Agent Outlook on Work</a> may help – particularly principles 5 and 6:</div><div class="MsoNormal">5. Be Loyal to Yourself and Your Family, and</div><div class="MsoNormal">6. Think “Right Thoughts.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-28080409882344378672012-04-02T11:19:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.826-07:00Career Key Career Test & New Career Information Links to the 2012-2013 Occupational Outlook HandbookThe Career Key's valid <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/" target="_blank">career test</a> and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/" target="_blank">online career assessment</a> now links to the latest <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/" target="_blank">career information</a> from the new 2012-13 <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm" target="_blank">Occupational Outlook Handbook</a> (OOH) released late last week. When Career Key test takers create their personal job option list of matching occupations, each job or career is linked with career information (job requirements, education and training, salary, etc) from the new OOH.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKSyzK4gfUGnQUCz1EgxgNOaEiLhPw7ydRRez_7quncHkYAwh1o8a-Tf_t7CNoAxDq0TwfXwDDf5FuO7xOBFPhCJzr6utlFpAyEkrWmTFik6mMh7iQbzmNOnTgyRIjaXhByvo2NZaKPNC/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-04-02+at+10.43.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKSyzK4gfUGnQUCz1EgxgNOaEiLhPw7ydRRez_7quncHkYAwh1o8a-Tf_t7CNoAxDq0TwfXwDDf5FuO7xOBFPhCJzr6utlFpAyEkrWmTFik6mMh7iQbzmNOnTgyRIjaXhByvo2NZaKPNC/s400/Screen+shot+2012-04-02+at+10.43.09+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New entry and look for "High School Teachers" in the Occupational Outlook Handboook.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Our career information update was also made to one of our most popular articles, "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html" target="_blank">Match Your Personality with Careers</a>." It shows hundreds of occupations by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html" target="_blank">Holland personality type</a> and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html" target="_blank">Career Key work group</a>. Users of our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_ck_test_english.html" target="_blank">paper-pencil Career Key career test</a> often use this article to get online career information about matching careers and jobs that interest them.<br /><br />Best features of the new OOH, in my opinion:<br /><br /><ul><li>It's easier to read, with the most important information clearly up front in the summary. (Pay, Education, Job Outlook);</li><li>A Tab format for browsing with easy to understand labels like "What They Do" and "How to Become One";</li><li>More attractive, photo-heavy listing of "Similar Occupations,"</li><li>The content in "What They Do", "Work Environment," and "How to Become One" - the details are practical and helpful, truly giving a flavor of the work environment.</li></ul><div>We have preferred the career information in the OOH to the O*NET for quite some time. There are some content differences and advantages to using both, which I explained in a June 2011 post:</div><div>"<a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/comparing-top-career-information.html" target="_blank">Comparing Top Career Information Resources: Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*NET's My Next Move.</a>"</div><div>Taking into account the new OOH look, my advice for exploring government career information is still the same: </div><div><ul><li>Start with the OOH for better detail and quality of information; the new OOH format just makes it a lot easier to explore and navigate. </li><li>Use the O*NET (or America's CareerInfoNet) for links to more specific, local (state and metropolitan area) salary and education information. </li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-9664392827707472352012-03-29T01:00:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.901-07:00Join Career Key on Facebook to Share Fun, Interesting Career Choices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Starting today, <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/index.html">Career Key</a> is inviting our fans on the<a href="http://www.facebook.com/CareerKey"> Career Key Facebook page</a> to share success stories about people and their career choices who they think showcase <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's Theory of Career Choice</a> in action. Our first suggestion is a person who combines his Social/Artistic personality with an occupation he created -- "Educating Rapper" - come watch the video! Sound interesting? Come and participate (we are offering free Career Key products to early birds). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Embracing Facebook's new timeline look, Career Key's Facebook page has recently changed so if you haven't visited in awhile or haven't visited us yet, please do! I worked hard to figure out Facebook's new look so I appreciate any feedback.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5oDWzrE4pvRHGIlGncOa6PGOfELqvLkoeWZZZGE70gW4RHesD3jj1gJXjp3sTlLkf-g3CEMhMmzHS0u_Y17oUjCNgBjlaB-QLK_EJYP1jR95Yl0z4QUs2JMD5KEyksfSWZwyn4EcWigT/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-03-28+at+10.41.45+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5oDWzrE4pvRHGIlGncOa6PGOfELqvLkoeWZZZGE70gW4RHesD3jj1gJXjp3sTlLkf-g3CEMhMmzHS0u_Y17oUjCNgBjlaB-QLK_EJYP1jR95Yl0z4QUs2JMD5KEyksfSWZwyn4EcWigT/s400/Screen+shot+2012-03-28+at+10.41.45+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, if you "Like" us or leave comments, I promise we won't spam you (Honestly, we don't know how. I'm too afraid to offend people anyway). We post about 2-3x a week - but we try for quality, not quantity. So you won't be bombarded with messages in your news feed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you're big on social media, we have a Twitter Account too: <a href="http://twitter.com/TheCareerKey" target="_blank">@TheCareerKey</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thank you for engaging with us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-58321610990844974452012-03-27T11:12:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.861-07:00Exploring Career Clusters and Career Pathways by Holland Personality Type<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcVP6da4VuUq3r5Y8INmRhLDraTXZM6GoonYGO9736p6H-t54Xox6iJSx3_6ylJwXuL2xZKYkfrXsg53RkJViKJ7hnF_BkC8s_rvs3C10D853Fp4XY0kHe60oHEYNj1iiWovJWxYeCRhB/s1600/Career+Key+Career+Clusters+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcVP6da4VuUq3r5Y8INmRhLDraTXZM6GoonYGO9736p6H-t54Xox6iJSx3_6ylJwXuL2xZKYkfrXsg53RkJViKJ7hnF_BkC8s_rvs3C10D853Fp4XY0kHe60oHEYNj1iiWovJWxYeCRhB/s400/Career+Key+Career+Clusters+Map.jpg" width="307" /></a>Need to choose a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">career cluster or pathway</a>? If you'd like choose one based on your interests and strongest <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland personality types</a>, look no further than Career Key's "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">Choose a Career Cluster, Field or Pathway</a>" article.<br /><br />The article guides you through the five steps of a good decision, including a free downloadable Career Key map of Career Clusters (see right).<br /><br />You can also explore occupations listed by Holland type and <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key work group</a>, and their assigned career clusters.<br /><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/realistic_clusters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Realistic Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/investigative_clusters.html" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Investigative Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/artistic_clusters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;">Artistic Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/social_clusters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Social Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/enterprising_clusters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Enterprising Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.org/asp/education_options/conventional_clusters.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Conventional Occupations and Their Career Clusters</span></a><br /><br />You can check off the occupations you like and bookmark or print the page to keep. When you "mouseover " the clusters at the right of each page, it shows you the career pathways for that cluster in a shaded box. Below is an example showing the pathways for the Architecture and Construction career cluster:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QrVi-JRBF11hh9VtMH9uRV00bb1v2ox5MsZSH8qsJHCAGH1luS1auXEik5r8ivKgUo7rejcHCfWQCNkcwIwHyz6JPMLfLZ6xpOnEH38TwQ9qOTzimdXXeP-wBjzggm_-A6xwv0u0Jdnb/s1600/Conventional+Clusters+Screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QrVi-JRBF11hh9VtMH9uRV00bb1v2ox5MsZSH8qsJHCAGH1luS1auXEik5r8ivKgUo7rejcHCfWQCNkcwIwHyz6JPMLfLZ6xpOnEH38TwQ9qOTzimdXXeP-wBjzggm_-A6xwv0u0Jdnb/s400/Conventional+Clusters+Screenshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Like many others do, please take advantage of our "Share This" menu to email or share these pages on social media.<br /><br />If you haven't taken a valid assessment of your Holland types yet, please take the Career Key <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">career test</a>. To see all the career pathways for the occupations and clusters you identified, you'll find them in our affordable 118 page PDF eBook, "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/5_steps_to_choosing_career_cluster_pathway.html">5 Steps to Choosing the Right Career Cluster, Field, or Pathway</a>". There is a special discount when you purchase the test and eBook together.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-17699185336756591222012-02-09T12:47:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.806-07:006 Critical Teamwork Job Skills and How to Develop Them<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeOeywBG1GFNDe_A3r1P4XdtJ2xKqvRTHsoIGIxxgF-t1fSwFx9iqKamvxKpGTfIaxbdT9U0bSTEewf5CiGBpSy5qD5Dy922N9MGB9tcogu9PRRpkfjQZxA0uxAlojB6cYL65mV6z37Zr/s1600/iStock_000006249838XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeOeywBG1GFNDe_A3r1P4XdtJ2xKqvRTHsoIGIxxgF-t1fSwFx9iqKamvxKpGTfIaxbdT9U0bSTEewf5CiGBpSy5qD5Dy922N9MGB9tcogu9PRRpkfjQZxA0uxAlojB6cYL65mV6z37Zr/s320/iStock_000006249838XSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/people_skills.html">Teamwork job skills</a> </b>are necessary to getting hired, according to almost 80 percent of employers in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)<a href="http://www.naceweb.org/s10262011/candidate_skills_employer_qualities/"> Job Outlook 2012 survey</a>. You need them, whether or not you are a “people person” and regardless of your career choice. The trick is to pick group activities you like with people holding similar interests to you. (Sound familiar? Think of people, leisure interests and work environments associated with your strongest <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland personality types</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what are Teamwork Skills and how do you develop and use them in your career and job search?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, read our quick overview of<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/foundation_skills.html"> Foundation Skills</a> and understand generally what they all are. You can download a free PDF of the 17 Foundation Skills for non-commercial use. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In particular, look at the<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/people_skills.html"> People Skills</a> and the six “Teamwork” skills:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ol><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Working cooperatively with others;</span></b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contributing to a group with ideas and effort;</span></b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doing your own share of work;</span></b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Encouraging team members;</span></b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Resolving differences for the benefit of the team; and</span></b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Responsibly challenging existing procedures, policies, or authorities.</span></b></li></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What kind of activities could you do to develop teamwork skills? Think about getting involved (if you aren’t already) in the community, a business, or in a school group. Here are some ideas to spark your creativity:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Business</b>: Organize a small business – it could be baby-sitting, yardwork, or a website selling custom T-shirts. Working in a business with someone else, no matter how small, requires all the teamwork skills.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Church</b>: Participate in a team-oriented volunteer project in the community, help organize and put on holiday events, help supervise a donation drive (toys, food, diapers, etc).</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hobbies</b>: If you like building (or the idea of) legos or robots, find a local group – sometimes sponsored by a large local employer, and join in to participate and help with contests and exhibitions, organize a scrapbook accessories exchange at a local scrapbooking store, join another bike fanatic/mechanic to organize a spring "DIY Bike Fix Up" clinic.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Sports</b>: Get a group together for a charity run or walk, Serve as a volunteer coach for kids’ sports, help organize meets and games, fundraise for a charity league, participate in a school or master’s level sport.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Music</b>: Form a band, organize and give (free, fundraising) concerts or help musicians do so, volunteer for a music therapy program.</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>School</b>: Do a group project - either as a class assignment or create one, get involved in student government, start a new club, participate in service learning or volunteer groups, join a peer mentoring or tutoring group.</span></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obstacle course or Outward Bound-type program.</span></b></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">BONUS</span>: Many of these activities also help you develop other Foundation People Skills like Social, Negotiation, Leadership, and Cultural Diversity skills.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once you develop teamwork skills, learn how to talk about them in a job or internship interview using the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills_4.html">“PAR” method</a>. Practice with another person or in front of a mirror how you would talk about your skills with an interviewer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more job skills help at <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/">The Career Key</a> website, visit these articles:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Identify Your Skills</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/free_agent_worker.html">The Free Agent Outlook on Wor</a>k</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-60548601537091633652012-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.866-07:00Personality-College Major Match Research in NCDA's February Career ConvergenceThe <a href="http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/home_page">National Career Development Association</a> (NCDA) looks at "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/personality_college_major_match_why_important.html">personality-college major match</a>" in the February issue of its web magazine <i>Career Convergence</i>, in the feature article, "<a href="http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/55619/_PARENT/layout_details_cc/false">Research Reveals that Personality-Major Match Strengthens Students' College Success.</a>" In it, Career Key author <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/about_ck/the_author.html">Dr. Lawrence K. Jones, NCC</a> describes the impact that personality and Holland's <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/holland_college_major_environments.html">college major environments</a> have on college performance.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u7TtfElLntYQt0gvQoq7Ly3nyyIlyCv5QUFxXhyeQsY6E46xGCn_Z_506PaleySqJQ-yABNEsGlxPNJo3D7GZTuPP1W2cue8UaaiZWGjgvkOMv8WZ3M-fpJJ8GczX4lkz0TrPkMAxWd-/s1600/personality-college_major_match_student_success_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u7TtfElLntYQt0gvQoq7Ly3nyyIlyCv5QUFxXhyeQsY6E46xGCn_Z_506PaleySqJQ-yABNEsGlxPNJo3D7GZTuPP1W2cue8UaaiZWGjgvkOMv8WZ3M-fpJJ8GczX4lkz0TrPkMAxWd-/s1600/personality-college_major_match_student_success_sm.jpg" /></a><br />The article also refers to two important, free white papers in an e-book format that explain the research and how to apply it to career and education decisions:<br /><br /><ul><li>"<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/Personality-College_Major_Match_Guide_Professionals.pdf">Personality-College Major Match and Student Success</a>"(2011), (cover at left), a 28-page guide for professionals, and</li><li>"<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/personality_college_major_match_research.pdf">Choosing a College Major Based on Your Personality: What does the research say?</a>" (2010), a 29-page guide for students, adults returning to school, and parents. </li></ul><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-7215306361129064802012-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.888-07:00What Job is Best for Me? 2012 Career Decision E-Book Now Available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFyFCPZy2qVvxifXC37zjKDsoU2ZmMW96-oByavcsU6H3vG2TuOSm-L8ADur9KM47tm9d4ctt06mp4yjLYWRSFoeUa4ssXx_B5kNU2eDB-B0XPtdwCMfuI-UZ38mmSsUepR5CvvnRnVqQ/s1600/What+Job+is+Best+2012+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFyFCPZy2qVvxifXC37zjKDsoU2ZmMW96-oByavcsU6H3vG2TuOSm-L8ADur9KM47tm9d4ctt06mp4yjLYWRSFoeUa4ssXx_B5kNU2eDB-B0XPtdwCMfuI-UZ38mmSsUepR5CvvnRnVqQ/s1600/What+Job+is+Best+2012+cover.jpg" /></a></div>"<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_best_job.html">What Job is Best for Me? How to make a decision you won't regret</a>," our most popular <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_best_job.html">career decision</a> e-book, has just been updated for 2012, expanded to 97 pages.<br /><br />In "What Job is Best for Me?" Career Key author Dr. Lawrence K. Jones guides people through their career decision, relying on methods, information and techniques based on the latest research and career counseling practices.<br /><br />The e-Book includes recommended activities for the critical four steps to choosing the right career:<br /><br /><ol><li>Consider all the <b>A</b>lternatives,</li><li>Weigh the <b>C</b>onsequences of each,</li><li>Search for <b>I</b>nformation about each choice, and</li><li>Make details <b>P</b>lans.</li></ol><br /><br />In the 2012 edition, we added two new sections of advice related to education: "Choosing a College Major" and "Learning about Training and Education Options." Readers can take advantage of recent research on <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/personality_college_major_match_why_important.html">personality-major match</a> and learn how it fits in with choosing a career.<br /><br />You can purchase "What Jobs is Best for Me?" for $8.95 in our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_shop.html">eBookstore</a>. When you add The Career Key <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">career test</a>, you get a 20% total discount over separate purchases: both for $14.95.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-13719638196238291292011-12-13T16:51:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.804-07:00Career Clusters, Career Pathways & Our Updated E-Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ancC_5D5Z7iXB7AVfZSCzPLXwdDLCnJTBeZXg55b6ZLt2NQnz_aSOqdP-pHn1Ayu662vn_IYrN0VrT5tffqJ8z1f0j7jzRSg3pdg1k8rEAArQOsurm93B2pzhO3M1cy8tw43dQbOAX7z/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-12-13+at+1.21.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ancC_5D5Z7iXB7AVfZSCzPLXwdDLCnJTBeZXg55b6ZLt2NQnz_aSOqdP-pHn1Ayu662vn_IYrN0VrT5tffqJ8z1f0j7jzRSg3pdg1k8rEAArQOsurm93B2pzhO3M1cy8tw43dQbOAX7z/s320/Screen+shot+2011-12-13+at+1.21.38+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>"<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/5_steps_to_choosing_career_cluster_pathway.html">5 Steps to Choosing a Career Cluster, Field, or Pathway</a>" has just been updated. It includes the most recent updates to <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">The Career Key test</a> and the most recent assignments of Career Clusters and Career Pathways found on<a href="http://www.onetonline.org/"> O*NET OnLine</a>.<br /><br />Found in our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_shop.html">eBookstore</a>, "5 Steps" costs $9.95 with a special discount for purchasing both the Career Key test and the e-Book together.<br /><br />Career Key's approach is to use its valid assessment of <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's six personality types</a> to match students to occupations, then to the clusters and pathways related to those occupations.<br /><br />Our e-book is the only one that matches students' interests in this way. We also have a free online article called "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">Choosing a Career Cluster, Field or Pathway</a>" with a free downloadable Career Key Map of the 16 Career Clusters.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">16 Career Clusters and 79 Career Pathways</a> are not organized by interests (but <a href="http://www.careertech.org/career-clusters/">by industries and required skills, knowledge</a>). So it's important to give students a scientifically valid way to match their interests to occupations within those clusters and pathways.<br /><br />I uploaded to YouTube a video overview of Career Key's Career Clusters and Career Pathways resources, including the new version of the e-book.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Mk3UogX7Mcw" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />If you are interested in Career Clusters and Career Pathways, you might read these related blog posts:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2010/09/career-clusters-interest-survey.html">Career Clusters Interest Survey Validity Questioned by Study</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-ncda-article-on-using-career.html">NCDA Article on Using Interests to Organize Matching College Majors, Career Clusters and Pathways</a><br />NCDA (National Career Development Association)<br /><br />Please see the related press release, "<a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/careerclusterspathways/ebook/prweb9039668.htm">Career Key's Updated e-Book Enables Students to Choose the Best Career Cluster and Career Pathway.</a>"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-65607455072938380172011-11-21T13:50:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.882-07:00The Career Key Career Test Adds New OccupationsWe just updated the <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/match_personality.html">career options</a> and occupations listed in The Career Key <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">career test</a> to keep pace with changes in our economy and the world of work.<br /><br />For all six <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland personality types (RIASEC)</a>, test takers will get to choose from:<br /><br /><ul><li>Occupations with a real future, most with a positive job outlook; and</li><li>A variety of occupations with different skill and education requirements.</li></ul><br />Here are a few samples of new occupations we added:<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Realistic</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos244.htm">Railroad Yardmaster</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Investigative</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos305.htm">Network Engineer</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Artistic</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm">Medical and Scientific Illustrator</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Social</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm">Nurse Informaticist</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Enterprising</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos014.htm">Medical and Health Services Manager</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Conventional</span>: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos283.htm">Production, Planning, or Expediting Clerk</a><br /><br />These occupations were also added to our self-scoring, <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_ck_test_english.html">paper-pencil version of The Career Key test</a>, found in our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/ebookstore/ebook_shop.html">eBookstore</a>.<br /><br />Other related and helpful Career Key articles:<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/getting_started.html">Getting Started Choosing a Career</a></li><li><a href="http://career%20change%2C%20changing%20careers/">Career Change, Changing Careers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/identify_your_skills.html">Identify Your Skills</a></li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/military_to_civilian.html">Military to a Civilian Career</a></li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html">Choosing a College Major or Training Program</a></li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_development/parents_role.html">How Parents Can Help</a></li></ul><div>Here is the full PRWeb press release announcing the new <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/careertest/careeroptions/prweb8981495.htm">career options in our career test.</a>..</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-78278284414320226312011-11-09T13:55:00.000-08:002012-08-11T14:09:02.891-07:00Green Careers: How to Choose One in this Economy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq0yTyw4QFUR01w67KRBjWT1N7GOwFN_yNc_zkqJyUaDhknY8K5Y1DlLfrCLua2MZfPYBq17qqPExSwSSPLRU5uAUPKy3baLoGctV9F7Hx4LGevihrUv2_Xso7OMykjnI0n9Qy8LPs3Cf/s1600/iStock-bonsaitree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq0yTyw4QFUR01w67KRBjWT1N7GOwFN_yNc_zkqJyUaDhknY8K5Y1DlLfrCLua2MZfPYBq17qqPExSwSSPLRU5uAUPKy3baLoGctV9F7Hx4LGevihrUv2_Xso7OMykjnI0n9Qy8LPs3Cf/s320/iStock-bonsaitree.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>If you are exploring <b>green careers</b> and care about the environment, try following the tips in our newly updated web article, "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/green_economy_jobs.html">Green Economy: Match Your Personality to Green Jobs</a>". In addition to showing you how the green economy impacts you, the article gives you 4 steps to follow in your career decision-making.<br /><br />It shows nearly two hundred Green Jobs by Holland personality type and recommends you look at other career options that make "green" contributions, like teachers and clergy.<br /><br />Don't limit yourself to thinking that a "Green Job" only means occupations like "wind turbine technician" and "solar panel installer." If your strongest personality types are Artistic or Social, there are plenty of green contributions you can make.<br /><br />First, match your interests to occupations, then brainstorm ways your green values can fit in. What can you do with a nursing degree that might be "green"? What about focusing on <a href="http://www.whatispublichealth.org/">public health</a> or <a href="https://www.aaohn.org/">occupational health</a>? For more ideas on how to learn about your career options, visit our <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/green_economy_jobs.html">Green Jobs article</a>.<br /><br />Even though the Green Economy has gotten a fair amount of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/us/19bcgreen.html">negative press</a> recently, with the solar panel manufacturer <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/solyndra/index.html">Solyndra's bankruptcy</a> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/10/04/04greenwire-green-jobs-training-program-falls-short-should-85450.html">use of Federal green job training dollars</a> topping the news, I don't think it means green jobs are not promising. Here's one NYT commentator who thinks <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/opinion/krugman-here-comes-solar-energy.html">solar power is more than a "hippie fantasy."</a> The current job market and economy is challenging for just about any industry other than software and Internet commerce.<br /><br />Regardless of one's politics, global warming and impacts on humans of environment factors are not going away. And I wouldn't wait for a clear job outlook prediction in this politically charged and slow economy. Besides, you may be living in a nursing home by the time the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/business/global/us-solar-manufacturers-to-ask-for-duties-on-imports.html">boxing match between China and the U.S. solar power industries</a> is decided.<br /><br />Don't wait for others to give you a green light.<br /><br />My favorite green economy and green career information links:<br /><b>Government</b><br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/green/greencareers.htm">Occupational Outlook Handbook Green Careers</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetcenter.org/green.html">O*NET Green Economy</a><br /><a href="http://www.careeronestop.org/GreenCareers/FindEducationandTraining.aspx">CareerOneStop's "Find Education and Training"</a><br /><b>Industry</b> (I'll be updating this shortly - but until then, check the industry associations for careers you're interested in, like alternative energy, environmental health, etc.)<br /><br />See also our PRWeb Press release on <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/greencareers/careertest/prweb8953414.htm">Green Jobs</a>.<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-38610208471917570262011-11-01T14:44:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.841-07:00How to Choose an Encouraging College Major Environment that Leads to Success<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgyoStT3SLIYfzAfpq8Evf9Fqmiylw3cGoFSy4t17dxVpEHZm_cVqKDdtDlDPJQdGLZGia49BYK1VDw_Y1e9WPNe3Slff1hfZ-D5I6W3NiFp8MMgja467cpFVlAufS2dYqo8J9OBfVsri/s1600/Anatomy+Professor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgyoStT3SLIYfzAfpq8Evf9Fqmiylw3cGoFSy4t17dxVpEHZm_cVqKDdtDlDPJQdGLZGia49BYK1VDw_Y1e9WPNe3Slff1hfZ-D5I6W3NiFp8MMgja467cpFVlAufS2dYqo8J9OBfVsri/s320/Anatomy+Professor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When you <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html"><b>choose a college major</b></a>, you are also choosing an environment- with surroundings and conditions that an encourage and discourage you.<br /><br />For you to be successful, research shows that you should choose a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/holland_college_major_environments.html">college major environment</a> compatible with your Holland personality.<br /><br />To learn about how professors create this environment, and how to learn more about whether it's the right personality fit for you, visit Career Key's new 3 part series of self-help articles:<br /><br /><br /><br /><ol><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/personality_college_major_match_why_important.html">Personality-College Major Match, Why it is Important</a> - recommendations on matching your Holland personality to majors;</li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/holland_college_major_environments.html">The Holland College Major Environments</a> - how they are created and a description of what the six Holland environments are; and</li><li><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/learn_more_college_major_environments.html">Learn More about College Major Environments</a> - practical, concrete steps you can take to investigate the environments that interest you.</li></ol><div>Be sure to explore Career Key's other articles on college major advice, like:</div><div><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html">Choosing a College Major</a></div><div><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_advice_liberal_arts.html">Liberal Arts, Humanities, and General Studies Majors</a></div><div><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">Choosing a Career Cluster, Field or Pathway</a></div><div><br /></div><div>and our related free PDF e-books:</div><div><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/personality_college_major_match_research.pdf">Choosing a College Major Based on Your Personality; What does the research say?</a></div><div><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/pdf/Personality-College_Major_Match_Guide_Professionals.pdf">Personality-College Major Match and Student Success: Professionals Guide</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-12903106844186636482011-10-31T11:31:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.799-07:00Love Halloween? Business Opportunities and Self-Employed Side-Career Ideas<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzEkqupxvoq9eK9sZe1nkIMfX8PIlHaMoDTya9t80rIKsRSTe9pIli6GXzJBsQTGhoHsYmA2oh2IL9ZZ8w0wViAsDV_lbbpX3J4wUgjEDq_3EkblEQrhBrzXp5pyE06DFjNrb_kuvHBxZ/s1600/IMGP8129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWzEkqupxvoq9eK9sZe1nkIMfX8PIlHaMoDTya9t80rIKsRSTe9pIli6GXzJBsQTGhoHsYmA2oh2IL9ZZ8w0wViAsDV_lbbpX3J4wUgjEDq_3EkblEQrhBrzXp5pyE06DFjNrb_kuvHBxZ/s320/IMGP8129.JPG" width="288" /></a>If you love Halloween – I mean, really LOVE it – you might consider a <a href="http://www.self-employmentkey.org/">self-employed</a> side business centered around the holiday. According to <a href="http://valuevillage.com/Savers-Press-Room.aspx">Value Village</a> (a popular Halloween destination retailer), the average family of four will spend $300 to celebrate the holiday. To learn more about Halloween economics, both in the U.S. and Canada, check out these links:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessopportunities/a/halloweenopps.htm">About.com’s Halloween Business Opportunities article</a>;</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />National Retail Federation’s <a href="http://blog.nrf.com/2011/10/31/even-snow-wont-stop-americans-from-celebrating-halloween-tonight/">“Big Blog” post on Halloween Econ</a> this year, with a related CNN video</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><a href="http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1197">National Retail Federation consumer spending study results</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><a href="http://valuevillage.com/Savers-Press-Room.aspx">Value Village’s Press Kit for its annual online survey results</a> (Trends and Survey Data)<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.intuit.com/money/top-five-halloween-businesses-profiting-from-the-great-pumpkin/">Top 5 Halloween Businesses</a>, from the Intuit blog<br /><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/the-halloween-industrys-evolution-to-a-6-billion-industry_n_1064334.html">Halloween Industry's Evolution to a $6 Billion Business</a>, from the Huffington Post</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you don’t love Halloween, you might browse the <a href="http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&id=543">Holiday and Consumer Trends News</a> at the National Retail Federation website for ideas about other holidays.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span id="goog_1209102035"></span><span id="goog_1209102036"></span>As you can see from the above photo, I am probably not the best potential customer, encouraging my son’s idea to “make my own [crow] costume.” Being a crow and the wing design were his ideas – not bad for Pre-K engineering. Cost: zero. Added bonus - his black turtleneck outfit could conveniently convert to a Steve Jobs costume in case of costume malfunction/destruction.<br /><br />For the record, this year our family spent $30 on Halloween candy, $30 on pumpkins and $30 on two trips through corn mazes. Shows where our priorities lie: gourds, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-maps-and-related-promising-careers.html">navigating maps (but you knew that already)</a> and stuffing ourselves with leftover candy….</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Happy Halloween!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-48259593073874059782011-10-05T11:53:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.852-07:00Promising Conventional Careers 2011: Administration, Health, and Records<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrM6bY7kFMHjuKeXBOkIWsege4zv8JoXy-8v6XHyDbx6O1eoKTQ0wTNdeTf5DA0xN1gdztjjBCWB-DWJtfoBdtkFaebHMLvZ3bOxiWgGoLkPafuhzlsytizbnMYdb4cJlJadMemef8GWh/s1600/Medical+Secretary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrM6bY7kFMHjuKeXBOkIWsege4zv8JoXy-8v6XHyDbx6O1eoKTQ0wTNdeTf5DA0xN1gdztjjBCWB-DWJtfoBdtkFaebHMLvZ3bOxiWgGoLkPafuhzlsytizbnMYdb4cJlJadMemef8GWh/s320/Medical+Secretary.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you're a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Conventional personality type</a>, employers are looking for your structured, orderly approach to records, numbers or machines in many promising careers. <b>Administrative careers</b> involving mathematical detail or the ability to work well with material or records processing systems are in demand. In the last post of this 6 part series, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising 2011 Careers that Match Your Personality</a>, we list occupations compatible with the Conventional Holland personality type.<br /><br />We recommend starting with <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Part 1, our introduction and tips on how to use this Promising Careers list</a>. To see promising careers for the other five Holland personality types, see our other posts in this series:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Realistic Careers</span></a>, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Investigative Careers</span></a>, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-3-art.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Artistic Careers</span></a>, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-4-social.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Social Careers</span></a>, and <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-5.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Enterprising Careers</span></a>.<br /><br />The world of Conventional occupations has greatly changed in the last 50 years. Paper handling and filing occupations of the past have disappeared with better computers, information technology, and outsourcing. But if you combine the needs of a more high-tech world with analytical skills and attention to detail, you will find Conventional jobs that pay well and have a positive job outlook.<br /><br />Combining an occupation (from any personality type) with a growth industry (health care, information technology (<a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/3-steps-to-finding-promising-career-in.html">see my previous post on high-tech in particular</a>), energy, and materials moving and processing) is a recipe for more job opportunities.<br /><br />When researching career information, make sure to use BOTH the O*NET (occupations below link to it) and the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/">Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)</a>. There is a link to the OOH at the end of each O*NET occupation page. Read <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/comparing-top-career-information.html">this previous post about their different advantages and disadvantages</a>.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">Promising Conventional Careers </span>by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key Work Group</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html"><i>Holland's Theory of Career Choice and a description of the Conventional personality type</i></a><br /><br /> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>643</o:Words> <o:Characters>3667</o:Characters> <o:Company>Career Key</o:Company> <o:Lines>30</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>4503</o:CharactersWithSpaces> 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LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Mathematical Detail</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2011.00">Actuaries</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-3011.00">Bill and Account Collectors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-3021.00">Billing and Posting Clerks and Machine Operators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-3031.00">Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1199.01">Energy Auditor</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1071.01">Computer Security Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1051.00">Cost Estimators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1061.00">Database Administrators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2099.03">Investment Underwriters</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-3031.02">Mapping Technicians</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.04">Web Developers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.03">Network Designers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Financial Detail</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2051.00">Financial Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Material and Records Processing</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-5011.00">Cargo and Freight Agents</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-5011.01">Freight Forwarders</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1081.02">Logistics Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2071.00">Medical Records and Health Information Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Administrative Detail</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2041.02">Clinical Data Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1072.00">Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/31-9091.00">Dental Assistants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-6011.00">Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.05">Web Administrators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-6013.00">Medical Secretaries</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3031.00">Purchasing Agents</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Regulations Enforcement</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.02">Compliance Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.01">Environmental Compliance Inspectors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.04">Government Property Inspectors and Investigators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.02">Licensing Examiners and Inspectors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-4099.01">Quality Control Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.07">Regulatory Affairs Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2099.02">Risk Management Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><!--EndFragment--><br />For ideas on how to learn more career information about the occupations and jobs that interest you, visit these Career Key website articles:<br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_occupations.html">Learn More About Occupations</a><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_jobs_interest.html">Learn More About the Jobs that Interest Me</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/3-steps-to-finding-promising-career-in.html">3 Tips to Finding a Promising Job in High-Tech or Any Growth Industry</a><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-49538348802649277912011-09-30T14:32:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.855-07:00Promising Careers 2011 Part 5: Enterprising Careers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmmt-y7Cs-suDOFYHRhOiFLt1MvHvFcnjxou2jRYo2vwpemoKJAFq_q8ixUezSV1t91aHgq4PZ5oFmJ7N1IL8g8-LgIATmlbKZ-hK1DKE_d1285vdBSuSQYd-YbPBszMzXa5PNY3ouCW0/s1600/Financial+Advisor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmmt-y7Cs-suDOFYHRhOiFLt1MvHvFcnjxou2jRYo2vwpemoKJAFq_q8ixUezSV1t91aHgq4PZ5oFmJ7N1IL8g8-LgIATmlbKZ-hK1DKE_d1285vdBSuSQYd-YbPBszMzXa5PNY3ouCW0/s320/Financial+Advisor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Explore these promising <b>Enterprising career options</b>, and consider how you might combine them with a growth industry (see my previous post on <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/3-steps-to-finding-promising-career-in.html">finding careers in high growth industries</a>). In part 5 of our series, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Careers 2011</a>, we focus on careers compatible with <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's Enterprising personality type</a>. <br /><br />While business, finance, and sales careers took big job loss hits in the last few years, you can see how much of a difference it makes to be in the right industry.<br /><br />For example, real estate and banking have had massive layoffs and restructuring this recession. But it's different story when you look at similar Enterprising careers in finance, business, management and sales jobs in growth industries like health care, technology, and the green economy. No job is perfectly secure, but an aging population and the continued importance of energy makes managing projects and manipulating (in a positive way, right?) systems in these fields more promising.<br /><br />To learn more about how to use this list and what "promising" means, please visit <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Part 1</a>- our introduction and <b>4 Smart Strategies for Career Planning.</b> We recommend starting with our valid <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">career assessment that measures Holland's personality types, The Career Key test</a>. You'll also want to explore the careers for other personality types that fit you (see list at the post's end).<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-size: large;">Promising Enterprising Careers</span> by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key Work Group</a><br /><br /><i><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's Theory of Career Choice and a description of the Enterprising personality type</a>:</i><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Sales and Purchasing</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1199.03">Customs Brokers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3099.01">Energy Broker</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3021.00">Insurance Sales Agents</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-4011.00">Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing,Technical and Scientific Products</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3031.03">Securities and Commodities Traders</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3031.00">Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Finance</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2011.01">Accountants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2011.02">Auditors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3031.01">Treasurers and Controllers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3031.02">Financial Managers, Branch or Department</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.03">Investment Fund Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2052.00">Personal Financial Advisors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Business Administration</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1011.00">Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-1011.00">Chief Executives</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-1011.03">Chief Sustainability Officers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9111.01">Clinical Nurse Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9121.01">Clinical Research Coordinators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9021.00">Construction Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1071.01">Employment Interviewer</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-1021.00">General and Operations Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1081.00">Logisticians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.06">Logistics Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.08">Loss Prevention Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1071.02">Personnel Recruiters</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3051.01">Quality Control Systems Manager</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.04">Supply Chain Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Government and Public Administration</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-4012.00">Curators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Regulations Enforcement</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2061.00">Financial Examiners</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2099.04">Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9199.01">Regulatory Affairs Managers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Legal Practice and Support</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/23-1011.00">Lawyers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/23-2011.00">Paralegals and Legal Assistants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Promotion</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3031.00">Public Relations Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Other promising careers by Holland personality type in this series </b>(there will be links when posted):</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Promising Realistic Careers</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html">Promising Investigative Careers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-3-art.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Promising Artistic Careers</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-4-social.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Promising Social Careers</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/promising-conventional-careers-2011.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Promising Conventional Careers</span></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-18457322347853516622011-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.812-07:00Promising Careers 2011 Part 4: Social Services, Nursing and Education Careers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFSXM-c5CO-SjQu7_JcKuXhCjPQv12StWBTUX9DLDN5F6thpZ8URjsxENFJ8SBPWLgA3JgPi3MY71w-C4K8GBoXqmRQcj-WA4kALvXYG3n9ees32xzjO-Zo0DuLDRhr5SUo10eHIjIrGU/s1600/iStock-maleteacher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFSXM-c5CO-SjQu7_JcKuXhCjPQv12StWBTUX9DLDN5F6thpZ8URjsxENFJ8SBPWLgA3JgPi3MY71w-C4K8GBoXqmRQcj-WA4kALvXYG3n9ees32xzjO-Zo0DuLDRhr5SUo10eHIjIrGU/s320/iStock-maleteacher.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Are you interested in promising social careers, like different <b>careers in social services, nursing and education</b>? In part 4 of our <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Careers</a> series, we list careers that are compatible with <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's Social personality type</a>, linking them to career information from the U.S. Department of Labor. Our series has one post for each Holland personality type.<br /><br />For the introduction and 4 Smart Strategies for Career Planning, feel free to start with <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Part One of our Promising Careers</a> series. It also has a description of what we consider to be a "promising" career.<br /><br />When you click on each career, you'll see career information from the <a href="http://www.onetonline.org/find/">O*NET</a>. But while they have good information about skills required and local job openings via CareerOneStop, I highly recommend you either click on the "Sources of Additional Information" at the bottom of each O*NET occupation page - the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/">Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)</a> specifically, or visit the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/">OOH</a> separately to search for the occupations that interest you. The OOH has much better education and training information than the O*NET (<a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/comparing-top-career-information.html">see my previous post comparing the two</a>). Using both sources is ideal.<br /><br />If Social Services interests you, you might download this excellent new (September 2011) PDF from the Occupational Outlook Quarterly called "<a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2011/fall/art03.pdf">Helping Those in Need: Human Service Workers.</a>"<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Promising Social Careers </span>by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key Work Group</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html"><i>Holland's Theory of Career Choice and a description of the Social personality type</i></a><br /><br /><i><b>Social Services</b></i><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1021.00">Child, Family and School Social Workers</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-2011.00">Clergy</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1061.00">Emergency Management Specialists</a><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.03">Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1022.00">Medical and Public Health Social Workers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1023.00">Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1014.00">Mental Health Counselors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1011.00">Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Nursing, Therapy, & Health Promotion</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1111.01">Acute Care Nurses</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1111.02">Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-9091.00">Athletic Trainer</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1111.03">Critical Care Nurse</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2021.00">Dental Hygienists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-9099.02">Genetic Counselors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2099.02">Hearing Aid Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1051.01">Informatics Nurse Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1122.01">Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists,and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2099.04">Nurse Midwives</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1199.03">Nurse Practitioners</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/31-2011.00">Occupational Therapist Assistants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1122.00">Occupational Therapists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-4051.03">Patient Representatives</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/31-2021.00">Physical Therapist Assistant</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1123.00">Physical Therapist</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1124.00">Radiation Therapist</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1111.00">Registered Nurses</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1126.00">Respiratory Therapists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Child and Adult Care</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2061.00">Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Education and Library Services</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2021.00">Elementary School Teachers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-9031.00">Instructional Coordinators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2022.00">Middle School Teachers, except Special and Vocational Education</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2011.00">Preschool Teachers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2031.00">Secondary School Teachers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-3021.00">Self-Enrichment Education Teachers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2041.00">Special Education Teachers, Pre-K, Kindergarten, Elementary</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1073.00">Training and Development Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Sport, Recreation and Fitness</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-3099.01">Adaptive Physical Education Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/39-9031.00">Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><b>Explore other Holland personality types in this series</b> (I will add links when they are posted):<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Promising Realistic Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html">Promising Investigative Careers</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-3-art.html">Promising Artistic Careers</a></span><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-5.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Promising Enterprising Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/promising-conventional-careers-2011.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Promising Conventional Careers</span></a><br /><br /><b>Related Blog posts</b>:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/3-creative-approaches-to-gathering.html">3 Creative Approaches to Gathering Career Option Information</a> (using nursing as an example)<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/3-creative-approaches-to-gathering.html">5 Ways to Channel your Inner Career Choice Optimist - Being Realistic but Optimistic</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2009/11/job-outlook-for-careers-matching-social.html">Job Outlook for Careers Matching the Social Holland Personality Type</a> (2009)<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-4079968777982150422011-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.848-07:00Promising Careers 2011 Part 3: Art Careers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4sKgMKfk6GRTcLI-2hNh-_YhmKiBA3tylOSgy7XCuAfGUaO6H7lgwNPd0aHzz54JMGdjXE3cePe1cr0K1T_QV6Ho8VRKtPmdXI618v4F0bNaVoI4Z0eD2uFkXV08svvNRQhyphenhyphen5SYd6O_R/s1600/iStock-potter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4sKgMKfk6GRTcLI-2hNh-_YhmKiBA3tylOSgy7XCuAfGUaO6H7lgwNPd0aHzz54JMGdjXE3cePe1cr0K1T_QV6Ho8VRKtPmdXI618v4F0bNaVoI4Z0eD2uFkXV08svvNRQhyphenhyphen5SYd6O_R/s320/iStock-potter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Are there promising<b> art careers </b>for Artistic personality types out there? You bet. In part 3 of our 6 part <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Careers 2011</a> series, we list careers that are compatible with <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland's Artistic personality type</a>. Visit <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">part one</a> for an introduction and tips for "how to use" this list.<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, there are few Artistic jobs given a "bright outlook" by the U.S. Department of Labor. Maybe if you lived in Renaissance Florence, creating art would be considered a "growth industry," but in today's world, pursuing an Artistic career with a living wage requires - well - a little creativity.<br /><br /><br /><b>Expand your career options: Combine your Artistic interests with other strong interests</b><br />One way to expand your Artistic career options in a creative way is to combine your Artistic interests with other strong interests you have. For example, when you take <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">The Career Key test</a>, we recommend that you explore at least your two strongest personality types indicated by your test scores. Make sure you read this <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">short summary of Holland's Theory</a> that explains the relationship between personality types and which ones are more compatible than others.<br /><br />Common combinations of top two strongest types might be:<br /><b>Artistic and Investigative</b><br /><b>Artistic and Social</b><br /><br />So we added a few Investigative and Social careers that can have a strong Artistic aspect to them. For a complete list of promising <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html">Investigative Careers, go to Part 2 of this series</a>. For Social Careers, I'll post that list later this week and link it up.<br /><br /><br /><b>Combine Art with a Growth Industry</b><br />While they may not have a large number of job openings, you may be able to find your niche in growing industries like the sciences and healthcare. Try combining:<br /><br />Photography with the sciences: <b>Scientific Photographer</b><br />Illustration with the Health Sciences and Medical Field: <b>Medical and Scientific Illustrator</b><br />Graphic design with Computer Science: <b>Video Game Designer</b><br /><br /><br />Last caveats:<br /><ul><li>A few of these careers did not meet the U.S. Department of Labor's "bright outlook" standards but have at least an average or above average rate of growth if data is available.</li><li>You can combine artistic interests with the commercial world in ways that you might not have thought of - and in ways that satisfy your values. Keep an open mind. </li><li>Make sure to read the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm">Occupational Outlook Handbook summary on Artists and related occupations</a>. It will be updated in late March 2012 (from 2010) but is still relevant now.</li><li>Self-employment is common in the arts. Learn more about <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/self_employment.html">Self-Employment here</a> and whether self-employment might be right for you at the <a href="http://www.self-employmentkey.org/">Self-Employment Key</a> website.</li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Promising Artistic Careers </span>by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key Work Group</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html"><i>Holland's Theory of Career Choice and a description of the Artistic personality type</i></a><br /><br />Literary Arts<br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos319.htm">Technical Writers</a><br /><br /><i>Visual Arts</i><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1011.00">Architects</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-1024.00">Graphic Designers</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1012.00">Landscape Architects</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-1014.00">Multi-Media Artist or Animator</a><br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos264.htm">Scientific Photographers</a><br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos092.htm">Medical and Scientific Illustrators</a><br /><br />Communications<br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/27-3091.00">Interpreters and Translators</a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Promising Social Careers with a strong Artistic aspect (SA)</span></b><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1011.00">Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-3021.00">Self-Enrichment Education Teachers</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2011.00">Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2021.00">Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-2041.00">Special Education Teachers, Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary School</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1073.00">Training and Development Specialists</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Promising Investigative Careers with a strong Artistic aspect (IA)</b></span><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3091.01">Anthropologists</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1021.00">Biochemists and Biophysicists</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3041.00">Sociologists</a><br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.13">Video Game Designer</a>; learn more in "<a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2011/fall/art01.pdf">Work for Play: Careers in Video Game Development</a>" in Occupational Outlook quarterly, September 2011 PDF article.<br /><br /><br /><b>Explore other posts in this series </b>(I will link to them as they are posted):<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Promising Realistic Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">Promising Investigative Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-4-social.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Promising Social Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-5.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Promising Enterprising Careers</span></a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/promising-conventional-careers-2011.html">Promising Conventional Careers</a><br /><br /><b>Related Blog Posts</b> on Artistic Careers that might interest you:<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2008/08/in-considering-self-employment-think-of.html">Self-Employment and Artistic careers </a>- including my grandfather's story as an artist (illustrator and sculptor)<br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2009/09/career-and-job-outlook-for-artistic.html">Artistic Careers Job Outlook</a> (2009)<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-6194265599173975932011-09-23T10:20:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.872-07:00Why Maps (and related promising careers) Still Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmFivTOVBVuWwejvu-Wr4YyFFOUgfDbkKUS_4HtA98aMxuEXkRCylkc34z5f_R5755OeFJGhWtKhnu2hGJ_NFY9ahki_LIbEIyHkf25iqiUxnir1Akn7_vsvGY1tb-Em4r7ic6OdHVyxL/s1600/iStock-compass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmFivTOVBVuWwejvu-Wr4YyFFOUgfDbkKUS_4HtA98aMxuEXkRCylkc34z5f_R5755OeFJGhWtKhnu2hGJ_NFY9ahki_LIbEIyHkf25iqiUxnir1Akn7_vsvGY1tb-Em4r7ic6OdHVyxL/s320/iStock-compass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>As I was working on the blog's new <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Careers</a> list, I came across several map related occupations (see list below) and I admit thinking at the time - really? I love maps and nautical charts and prefer using them to GPS, but I admit I was a little skeptical about promising job outlooks for careers in geography and cartography.<br /><br />Then this morning I heard this fascinating public radio program (KUOW Seattle): "<a href="http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=24592">The History and Adventures with Maps with Ken Jennings.</a>" (The podcast is free) It really made me think about maps' roles in history and where we are going now with Google Maps and technology. The program gives insight into why maps are still relevant today. <a href="http://ken-jennings.com/">Ken Jennings</a>'s infectious enthusiasm about maps makes for a great interview. If you liked the movie "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Treasure_(film)">National Treasure</a>" and making history come alive, you'll enjoy it.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Careers</a> involving maps...</b><br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos040.htm">Cartographers and Photogrammetrists</a> (<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Realistic Personality Type</a>)<br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos040.htm">Mapping Technicians</a> (Realistic)<br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos040.htm">Surveying and Mapping Technicians</a> (Realistic)<br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.07">Geographic Information Systems Technicians</a> (Investigative)<br /><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.06">Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists</a> (Investigative)<br /><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos315.htm">Geographers</a> (Investigative)<br /><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Promising Realistic Careers</a><br /><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-2.html">Promising Investigative Careers</a><br /><br />For more tips on learning more about certain occupations, visit our website article, "<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/learn_occupations.html">Learn about Occupations.</a>"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6295363764966643394.post-37638004127631838192011-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:002012-08-11T14:09:02.836-07:00Promising Careers 2011 Part 2: Investigative Careers that Fit Your PersonalityOur <b>Promising Careers 2011</b> list continues with the second <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html">Holland personality type</a>, Investigative. If you score high in the Investigative personality type using a <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/take_test.html">valid Holland career test</a> like <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/">The Career Key</a>, then consider these promising careers that fit you. You'll find careers in science, technology, engineering and math: a.k.a. "STEM" careers.<br /><br />To catch the intro to this 6 part series, including what we consider a "promising career", 4 Smart Strategies for Career Planning, and how to use our career list, see <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html">Part 1: Promising 2011 Careers that Match Your Personality</a>.<br /><br />To explore the other Holland personality types, see <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-in-2011-that-match.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Promising Realistic Careers</span></a>, <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-3-art.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Promising Artistic Careers</span></a>,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"> <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-4-social.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">Promising Social Careers</span></a></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/promising-careers-2011-part-5.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Promising Enterprising Careers</span></a>,</span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/promising-conventional-careers-2011.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;">Promising Conventional Careers</span></a>.</span> And to see lists by personality type of<a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choose_college_major.html"> college majors and training programs</a>, <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/career_options/green_economy_jobs.html">green jobs</a>, <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/education_options/choosing_career_cluster_field_pathway.html">career clusters and pathways</a>, visit The Career Key website.<br /><br />Make sure that when you click on each one below to see career information from U.S. Department of Labor's<a href="http://www.onetonline.org/find/"> O*NET</a>, go to the bottom of that O*NET page to see other recommended resources, like the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/">Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)</a>. Both <a href="http://careerkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/comparing-top-career-information.html">O*NET and the OOH offer different career information</a> so be sure to explore both.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Promising Investigative Careers</span> by <a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/professional_resources/classifications_occupations.html">Career Key Work Group</a><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.careerkey.org/asp/your_personality/hollands_theory_of_career_choice.html"><i>Holland's Theory of Career Choice and a description of the Investigative personality type</i></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Physical Sciences</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-2041.00">Environmental Scientists and Specialists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1022.01">Geodetic Surveyors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3092.00">Geographers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.07">Geographic Information Systems Technician</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.06">Geospatial InformationScientists and Technologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Life Sciences</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1021.00">Biochemists and Biophysicists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1020.01">Biologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1029.03">Geneticists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1042.00">Medical Scientists, except Epidemiologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1029.02">Molecular and Cellular Biologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Health Sciences</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.01">Allergists and Immunologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1071.01">Anesthesiologist Assistants</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1061.00">Anesthesiologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1121.00">Audiologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1011.00">Chiropractors</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1041.06">Coroners</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.02">Dermatologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1062.00">Family and General Practitioners</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1063.00">Internists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1199.04">Naturopathic Physicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.04">Neurologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3039.01">Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.05">Nuclear Medicine Physicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1199.02">Nurse Anesthetists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1064.00">Obstetricians and Gynecologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1041.00">Optometrists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1023.00">Orthodontists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1199.05">Orthoptists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.07">Pathologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1065.00">Pediatricians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1051.00">Pharmacists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.08">Physical Medicine andRehabilitation Physicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.09">Preventative Medicine Physicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1024.00">Prosthodontists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1066.00">Psychiatrists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.10">Radiologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.11">Sports Medicine Physicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1069.12">Urologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1131.00">Veterinarians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2056.00">Veterinary Technologists and Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Laboratory and Medical Technology</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2031.00">Cardiovascular Technologistsand Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2011.01">Cytogenetic Technologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2011.02">Cytotechnologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-4091.00">Environmental Science andProtection Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-4092.00">Forensic Science Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Computer Science & Technology</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1029.01">Bioinformatics Scientists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9111.01">Bioinformatics Technicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1011.00">Computer and Information Scientists, Research</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1031.00">Computer Software Engineers, Applications</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1032.00">Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1051.00">Computer Systems Analyst</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.02">Computer Systems Engineers/Architects</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1071.00">Network and Computer Systems Administrators</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1081.00">Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-1099.01">Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Mathematics and Data Analysis</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2041.01">Biostatistician</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-2099.01">Financial QuantitativeAnalysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2021.00">Mathematicians</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-2031.00">Operations Research Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Engineering</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2141.02">Automotive Engineer</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.01">Biochemical Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2031.00">Biomedical Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2051.00">Civil Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.03">Energy Engineer</a>s</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2081.00">Environmental Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-3029.05">Industrial Engineering Technologist</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1081.01">Logistics Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1111.00">Management Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.06">Microsystems Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.07">Photonics Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.08">Robotics Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3099.01">Transportation Planners</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2199.02">Validation Engineers</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Social Sciences</i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3091.01">Anthropologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3091.02">Archeologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3032.00">Industrial-Organizational Psychologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-3031.02">Market Research Analysts</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3041.00">Sociologists</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3022.00">Survey Researchers</a></div><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014439307418885702noreply@blogger.com0