7 Career Theories to Help You Find Fulfilling Work

7 Career Theories to Help You Find Fulfilling Work How should  you  live your life? Its the fundamental question at the heart of a fulfilling and happy career. However, many people overlook the importance of keeping true to themselves throughout their working lives. We are all constantly confronted with contradictory ideals; we think we want one thing but then start to want another. Were always trying to weigh up what really matters, which often creates major dilemmas. Do these sound familiar? Day job (usually offering security and money) vs. dream job (usually offering freedom and creativity) Helping others vs. helping my bank balance  vs. the security of the 9-5 job Narrow career vs. portfolio career Technical expertise vs. leadership and management Pure challenges vs. lifestyle career Money vs. your life  (especially for long-hour, stressful jobs) Work should be hard and challenging vs. work should be fun Work-life compartmentalisation vs. work-life integration Career on your own terms vs. caged career by peer, family and societal pressure needing you to be eg. the “perfect mother”, “high  flyer”, “successful professional” etc. Stressful, starter years learning the job vs. job coasting in what you already know The first thing to remember is that none of us are blank canvases; we all come with pre-existing,  in-built opinions about what success really means. Our career  dilemmas are  unique; as are  the solutions, which make it difficult to make sense of what we should be doing. Here are some ideas to assist you in understanding where youre at and how to move forward: Career theories to help you find direction Around 2000 years ago, Aristotle advised us “where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation.” Not a bad start, right? For those of you that don’t have the time to study philosophers from Aristotle to Kierkegaard, and everyone in between, here’s what’s happened since. Theory 1 Do what people you know are doing, usually your friends or family. The medieval attitude you probably agree it’s a bit outdated, yet it’s still rife. Theory 2 ‘Find the things you think you are good at, find a job that needs these (and ideally pays as much as possible) and then do it. Simple.’ Holland’s Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. A bit like Aristotle said, still widely popular yet oversimplifies the complex and changing labour market. Theory 3 ‘Know your aptitudes, interests and personality, then match it to the labour market. For many Frank Parsons is seen as the father of careers guidance. His Factor Theory of Occupational Choice provides a great foundation with the introduction of personality traits, yet overlooks that so often we don’t know what we want until we’ve tried it out. Theory 4 ‘Get real â€" circumstances determine career success.’ Ken Roberts opportunity structure theory certainly highlights the social conditions, consequences and limitations of careers guidance and how we focus too much on the high flyers and not the rest. A welcome reality check. Theory 5 ‘Play to your strengths, what you’re good at and enjoy  activities that energise you. Martin Seligman,  father of positive psychology, focuses attention on out strengths, too often overlooked in the nuts and bolts competency-based recruitment paradigm. Unfortunately, its been oversimplified by the wave of ‘do what you love’ and ‘find your passion’ advice in the last twenty years. Theory 6 ‘You can’t plan your career. You never know what’s around the corner.’ Inspired by chaos theory, John Krumboltzs planned happenstance theory beckons us to stay curious, open-minded and opportunistic. Theory 7 ‘I have to extract and make meaning in my life making rational decisions based on my values.’ Existential career theory gives all of us hope that a thorough assessment of our values, attitudes and beliefs will result in a career and life of purpose. You’re the only expert on you All too often we hear that making change happen means you quit your job, live off your savings and feel the fear. But what if there were a different way?  What if you could go for broke without going broke?  What if you could start today? Your life matters. Your career decisions matter. The difficulty is no one else can tell you how to live your life or navigate the choices. Its time to ask yourself the right questions to define success on your own terms. About the author: Martin Underwood is Head of Career at Life Productions, helping professionals find fulfilling careers, inside or outside of their current jobs. His  Career Fulfilment Score  test helps people identify what they should be doing with their careers.  

Overcoming A Workplace Injury How To Keep Your Career On Track

Overcoming A Workplace Injury How To Keep Your Career On Track If you suffer an injury at work it can be a very worrying time. Not only are you concerned about how you are going to recover from the injury, but it can also play on your mind that it may affect your performance or prospects in your current role. Here are the steps to take in order to overcome a workplace injury and keep your career on track. Report the injury If you are injured at work you should report it, even if it seems trivial at the time. When you suffer any sort of injury and don’t report it you will make it impossible to follow it up. If you later discover that the injury is more serious than you had originally thought you will have no recourse to take further action. Any employer should have a logbook for any workplace injuries that they keep on record, so talk to your manager or someone in a position of authority and they will be able to help you. Take the time to document the injury properly While you report it, go a step further and take the time to properly document the circumstances surrounding the injury. For example, if you slipped on wet floor or were asked to carry out a task without the proper equipment either take photos of the evidence or talk to others who would be able to corroborate your story. If you ever find that you need to take time off work through the injury and your employer is unhappy about this, it will be up to you to prove that the injury was sustained at work, and wasn’t your fault. It’s best to gather evidence as soon as possible after the event. Understand if you are owed compensation It’s important for you to establish whether you are owed compensation. It is the case that if you have suffered an injury at work that wasn’t your fault and it caused any sort of hardship or loss of income, then you can make a claim for compensation. You should talk to a personal injury solicitor who will be able to go over the details of your injury and feel you understand whether your case could be successfully taken forward. This is the time where it can be useful if you have already gathered evidence that the injury was not your fault. Be open and honest with your employer You may find that being open and honest with your employer is a far better way to resolve the situation. Taking legal action is often not a preferable outcome for anyone involved if your employer is willing to provide compensation and time off as well as allowing you to continue in your current role. Talk to your employer about this before you enter into legal proceedings as it may be the case that they are willing to come to a compromise. It can be very problematic if your employer is unwilling to accept their responsibility and you may be left with no option but to take legal action. Remember that if they threaten you with losing your job, this would be grounds for unfair dismissal, so the law remains on your side. Put your recovery first One of the most important aspects of overcoming a workplace is injury is understanding that you need to recover from it. Whether the work you do is strenuous or not, trying to rush back to work after you have been injured is an easy way to re-injure yourself and actually make it harder to keep your career on track. So make sure that you recover properly before you try to put yourself through the stresses of the workplace again. Be productive during your recovery There’s no reason why you can’t be productive while you recover. Do the things that you would like to have time for at the moment but don’t currently get. Read books pertaining to your career or even take an online course â€" anything that you can help you to jumpstart your return to work. Work from home If you have suffered an injury that makes it impossible to return to your workplace â€" for example a broken leg â€" talk to your employer about different options for working such as working from home. This can allow you stay up to speed with the company so that you don’t feel left behind when you get back to the office. Do you need to consider a new career? It may be the case that the injury you have sustained at work may make it impossible to continue with your current career. Many people who are faced with this situation will attempt to go back to their work unsuccessfully, but it can be smarter to be realistic about your prospects and find a way to transition to a new career. Of course, starting a new career may mean that you will need to take a significant cut in salary, so this is where it can be very useful to have compensation from your injuries.

The Underappreciated Art Of No in Business - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Underappreciated Art Of No in Business - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career How to set respectful professional boundaries to avoid burnout. In a rebounding economy, where many professionals and business owners are still trying to find their footing, it may be tempting to simply be grateful for opportunities and refrain from doing anything that might make you look like anything less than a team player. However, if your goals include moving forward in your career or growing your business, being a “yes person” is counterproductive. Protecting your assets Your three most valuable resources, as a professional, are your time, energy, and money. Leveraging each allows you prospects for growth. However, there is an opportunity cost whenever one is invested. When you agree to help a slacking co-worker finish his project before deadline, you cannot spend that time on your own project or bonding with upper management at a charity on the same day. If you are a business owner who constantly agrees to coffee meetings that are free “brain picking” sessions, then you cannot spend that time on revenue-generating activities for your company. If you constantly find yourself loaning money to co-workers or not following up on collections in your business, you are missing out on opportunities to invest those funds in your professional education or business. The Power of No Every professional should become comfortable saying ‘no’ to clients, co-workers, management and peers when necessary. Resources are almost certain to be squandered when an effort is made to always retain a “nice guy/girl” by becoming a door mat. No is not the domain of the selfish. In fact, the people who label others who respectfully decline as self-centered are typically users themselves. Their objection comes from the fact that they do not appreciate not receiving exactly what they want, even if it comes at the extreme inconvenience  and disadvantage of the giver. Three simple steps for saying ‘No’ Evaluate the situation. Do you have the overflow of resources (time, energy, and money) to say ‘yes’ without putting yourself in a bind? Would saying ‘yes’ be a good investment of your resources? Will you receive a return on investment (which could include simply feeling happy to lend a helping hand) or will you feel resentful? Decide if you owe the person making a request of you an explanation. In some cases, for instance those including management, you may want to offer a reason that justifies your ‘no.’ In most situations, a simple ‘no’ or ‘I have a conflict’ with a kind smile is sufficient. Stand firm. Unless the person making the request offers new information that sheds a completely different light on their request, hold firm in your decision and do not apologize for setting a boundary. Do not get defensive if asked why, simply repeat your gracious ‘no.’ Remember, while always saying ‘yes’ may make you more likeable, likeability alone rarely translates into promotion or business growth. Seek ways to add value, but always set respectful boundaries in an effort to remain efficient and effective.

Do Job Seekers Need a Premium LinkedIn Account

Do Job Seekers Need a Premium LinkedIn Account Linkedin have offered premium accounts to the greater public for some time now. These have been popular with salespeople and recruiter  for years. Congratulations to all the job seekers out there, its your turn to face the big question: Do I need to upgrade my LinkedIn account? Is the free account good enough? Tempting as it may be to upgrade, nobody is saying the regular LinkedIn account is bad. In fact, I believe LinkedIn have purposely made the free accounts good enough to keep building their member base as opposed to charging users. Other platforms like Viadeo and Xing are more inclined to charge their members money and havent grown as much. Heres what you get with the normal (free) LinkedIn account: Build your professional identity on the web. Build and maintain a large trusted professional network. Find and reconnect with colleagues and classmates. Request and provide recommendations. Request up to 5 introductions at a time. Search for and view profiles of other LinkedIn members. Receive unlimited InMail messages. View 100 results per search. Save up to 3 searches and get weekly alerts on those searches. Did you do three of the above points last week? How about last month? Most people wouldnt use all these features and therefore  theres no reason to even think about upgrading.  However if you do these actions regularly and hit ceilings such as running out of search results, then it might be time to consider a premium account. What do you get with a premium account? Heres what you get with the premium job seeker account: A full 90 day list of viewers and rich data insights like the keywords that led people to your profile. See how you rank among your industry peers with the How You Rank “Professionals Like You” tool. When you’re on the job hunt, get the inside scoop on how you stack up against other job applicants with Applicant Insights. When someone searches for you on LinkedIn, you’ll be shown as a standard listing in results. Your job applications will appear above those of non-premium members. Banish writer’s block for good with Keyword Suggestions for the Summary section of your profile. Use up to 8 additional filters to fine-tune and expedite your searches. With InMail, you can contact anyone on LinkedIn   from the recruiter who just viewed your profile to that hiring manager. Is it really worth it? If you use LinkedIn daily and have hit a wall where you have run out options, go ahead and try it. As long as you get useful incremental results, stick with it until you get that new job. This is assuming that you have the money to spend, check your budget and ideally cut back on something else instead. What is your experience of premium job seeker accounts? Please let us know!

How To Choose The Best Medical Resume Writing Service

How To Choose The Best Medical Resume Writing ServiceA medical resume writing service can be your best friend if you are looking for one. These services will do everything for you except the actual hiring process.Most people want to find a job quickly, and without wasting time on career paths that are not relevant. The next best thing is to find a company that will look at your resume and tell you if you are good enough to join their team. This can be a difficult task, especially when you know the pitfalls.If you are curious about the lengths some potential employers will go to with regards to hiring you, then you need to keep reading. It is usually not what you think when you are given a specific number of interview interviews. Some companies will schedule an interview, but it will be at the last minute, and they will not even call you back.Another bad thing is that most medical resume writing services offer the same thing. They are just using different methods. One will offer a gen eric cover letter, and another will write a more personalized cover letter for you.Unfortunately, when it comes to your resume, there is a lot of room for error. It is very easy to look in the wrong place, or worse, write something that has been written by someone else. What you need is a resume that has been written by someone who knows what they are doing.You will find the best writing service by performing some research. You can find out about the background of the writer. You can find out how many resumes they have submitted to different companies.By doing this, you will get an idea of how they write, and this will allow you to understand the proper method of writing. You want to be sure that all of the information is correct, and this is the first step. There are many places where you can get information on medical resume writing services.A medical resume writing service is not just a place to send your resume. They should be considered as an asset to your career, and not somet hing to be avoided.

Never End Up In the Dreaded Black Hole Again

Never End Up In the Dreaded Black Hole Again Dont let your resume end up in the dreaded black hole again! You may wonder what happens to your resume when you electronically submit it. Or at least you should. Because if you understand the online application process, then you can beat it! In order to get the interview, you will have to do more than just submit and pray! Hopefully, this infographic by HireRight will help you understand what to do and what not to do to ensure your document makes it through the process and catches the eye of the recruiter!   The application pit. The average job posting receives 50 to 150 applications. It isnt unusual for some jobs with some employers to receive more. Most companies do have applicant tracking systems and many will send an automated message to indicate your application was received. But for some recruiters, the sheer number of applications and resumes to review has made it increasingly difficult to respond to each applicant. Other reasons you arent hearing anything include: the job has been put on hold the time frame for hiring has slipped there are other burning issues in the department or company that need to be addressed first or maybe the employer was just fishing to see what type of talent was available. These varying and difficult messages seldom get passed along to applicants and as a result, you hear nothing. Rude, but true. The best way to fix the void is by taking matters into your own hands. Dont expect a response. Instead, you could call the human resources department and ask where they are in the review process (that is, as long as the posting didnt say, no calls please). Also ask HR when you can follow up to see if you are being considered and always verify your materials were received. Another option is to find someone you know inside the company and ask what he or she knows about the position. Be sure to let your contact know that you have applied and ask if he or she would be willing to forward your resume along to the correct person. The M.I.A. recruiter. A third-party recruiters job is to screen and present qualified candidates to the contracted employer. (They are not employees of the company). Remember, the recruiter is paid only if they fill the position, therefore, it is in the recruiters financial best interest to only speak with people who are truly qualified and meet the posted requirements. If the recruiter drops you like a hot potato, it could be due to several reasons, similar to those mentioned above: the job has been put on hold, the requirements of the position changed, the company promoted someone internally or the company isnt responding to the recruiter. Their lack of contact doesnt necessarily mean you are out of the running. Consistently following up with the recruiter, perhaps even varying your contact between phone and email, is the only way youll know for sure what is going on. Dont Take It Personally As much as you may take personal offense to an employers lack of communication or perceived lack of common courtesy, never let it show. In the majority of cases, the representative from the company or recruiter is not against you personally, even though it may feel this way. This is business and at the end of the day, people take their marching orders from the leaders. Often, these commands do not take human factors into consideration as much as they should. Companies operate to make money, not fill open job requisitions. And this is the very reason HR and internal recruiters have such a difficult time meeting conflicting interests. They would love to respond to you, but there are usually extenuating circumstances that make that unrealistic. Give them a break and take accountability for finding out the status, by circumventing the process and being persistent. Youve Made The Cut and Gotten A Call So lets assume that youve done all the right things to make sure your resume gets to the screen of the reviewer and you get the call! But then, nothing, nada, zippo. You wonder whats going on. There could be many different reasons you arent hearing back. And I talk about those in my US News World Report post today here. What To Do Before, During or After You Submit Your Resume In todays connected world, you MUST try and find connections inside a company you want to work for. If you have ever needed a reason to use social networks, this is it! Remember, the number one source of external hires is referrals. Conservatively, 24.5% of companies filled jobs from referrals by employees, company alumni or others. Before, during and after you submit your resume, you will want to search for hiring managers, not HUMAN RESOURCES, contacts. HR wants and needs you to follow the process of waiting, and you know how that works. Find people who work in the department, division or anywhere except HR. Never Just Apply for A Job, Use the 2-Step Method, has more validation of this and links to posts about HOW TO actually search for people you know at companies. Find the Backdoor For a Job Posting Using LinkedIn uses a real example of how to see who you know at a company. This post originally appeared on  US News World Report

The Top 10 Job Seeker New Years Resolutions - CareerEnlightenment.com

Resolution #5: Have a Social Media PlanSocial media is an ever-increasing part of daily life. From keeping in contact with friends to networking with potential contacts, social media is an important tool to stay in touch. Make sure you’re not just using social media on a whim when it comes to your job hunt.Take some time to make a workable social media job search plan. This could include groups you should join, discussions you should add to, or Twitter chats you should monitor. Don’t think social media is a magic bullet that will land you a job with no effort.Resolution #6: Brand YourselfIt’s important to establish a personal brand for yourself as a candidate in order to quickly and efficiently tell employers what you’re all about. Consider it your elevator pitch for when you don’t have the opportunity to speak to a potential contact in person.You might want to consider a personal website, video resume, or an online work portfolio where you show off your skills. At the leas t you should make sure your personal brand is consistent across all your social media profiles and anywhere else you can be found on the Internet.Resolution #7: Focus on Time ManagementYou don’t have time to apply to every job opening, which is good because not every job is right for you. Instead, focus on managing your time by only applying for the jobs you’d really and truly love to have. Make sure both the position itself and the company culture are a good fit.Resolution #8: Volunteer Your TimeVolunteering is a great way to give back to the community. It’s also a great way to show employers how dedicated and hardworking you are. If you have a gap on your resume, volunteering is a great way to fill it. And if you find a volunteer opportunity in which you can use your industry-related skills, this shows employers you’re passionate even during your off hours.Resolution #9: Keep LearningNever stop learning and adding to your knowledge base. Know what skills and qualifications are necessary in your field and got out there and brush up those skills. Take a certification course or even spend some time with someone in a different department to find out how other aspects of the company work. Make sure you never stay stagnant in your career and who knows what doors you might be opening for yourself in the future.Resolution #10: Give Yourself a BreakJob hunting is tough, make no mistake. If you spend 100 percent of your time hunting for a job, you will burn out. Don’t forget to relax and take a break occasionally. Make time for the things which are important to you, so you can return to the search refreshed and ready to snag your dream job!What are your 2013 job search resolutions? Share in the comments!