Is a Return to School in Your Future?

Have you been thinking about taking a few specialized courses or completing an advanced degree to better compete in the job market?

School is always an option; it is never too late to pursue more education. But don’t return to school because it seems like a good idea – have a solid plan and goal in mind before you start. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that an MBA, JD, PhD, etc, alone will automatically blast open the doors of opportunity. Or maybe you’re thinking, “Hey, lawyers make a lot of money, so I guess I’ll go to law school.” Your earning power should be thought of as a reward, not a goal. The prime question to answer is, “Where is the motivation coming from?” Will a return to school put you on a path to pursue that dream career? Are you being passed up for promotions because you lack an advanced degree that has become a preferred qualification in your field? What are the careers that will remain in demand for many years?

You may find that you don’t need a formal degree program. Perhaps you should consider a graduate certificate, often 12-18 credit hours, or a professional certification endorsed by a leading industry association. Professional certification, such as the PHR-Professional in Human Resources, CMA-Certified Management Accountant and PMP-Project Management Professional to name a few, have now become preferred qualifications. Certifications are a great way to gain new skills or validate existing skills and set oneself apart from the competition. Why not start out slow and complete one course? If the motivation is there, you will likely do quite well and be ready to sign up for additional courses or a full blown program.

If you haven’t finished a Bachelors Degree, now might be a good time to wrap that up. A Bachelors has now become a minimum qualification in many fields. There’s an array of quality “degree completion” programs, designed with the adult learner in mind.

If earning an advanced degree makes sense for your career growth, then do your homework, so to speak, and choose the right degree to reach your goals. Research the career options associated with specific degrees. There are dozens of graduate degrees to choose from, many specific to a chosen field. Learn the distinctions between MS, MA, MBA, MHA, MPA, MAT, MSN, MEd, JD, PhD, PsyD, DBA and the list continues. Gather information on preferred degree paths from professional associations. Identify people who are successful in your chosen career and learn about the choices they made to advance their credentials. And speak to program leaders at the schools you are considering, to get solid data on a program’s ability to help propel a student’s career.

When selecting a school make sure it will truly fit your needs. It is critical that the institution is fully accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies in the US, rather than any national body. Many programs can also achieve accreditation from a professional association, such as the American Nurses Association, as a mark of added quality on top of regional accreditation. You have a variety of program formats to choose from: full time, part-time, traditional classroom, evening/weekend, distance/online, blended learning, hybrid, etc. Online learning has become a new standard and many respected, traditional universities now offer online degree programs. Also, do some research to determine that a school and its programs have a solid reputation among employers.

Don’t forget to check out funding sources like loans and scholarships. Also speak with a tax professional about potential tax credits for some of the costs associated with a formal degree program.

Put in the extra effort up front to assess your motivation surrounding a return to school. Then do your research to find the right degree, program and school to meet your needs. With a targeted approach, you will be setting yourself up for success.

Here are a few resources to assist you with your planning:
Peterson's Graduate Planner;
the ProLearning Link;
50 Fastest Growing Occupations;
Accredited Online Degree Ranking at GetEducated.com

FREE De-Stress Kit for the Changing Times

We all know that millions of people are experiencing increasing levels of stress. HeartMath, a leading stress research institute, is offering a complimentary copy of their booklet De-Stress for the Changing Times (as a pdf). Click the banner to the left to download your free copy today.

How About a Little Career Exploration?

Looking to explore career options? Maybe you're about to graduate from college Or maybe you're a seasoned pro interested in making a transition. Take a little time to explore some ideas and options on the types of occupations that might represent a better or best fit career for YOU.

Move well beyond the stereotypes of what you have heard and read about on the life of a teacher, doctor, lawyer, accountant, nurse, etc. And wrap your mind around the very real fact that most of us do NOT have stereotypical career roles. Most of us have HYBRID careers. What's a hybrid career? It is a composite of skills, strengths, interests, knowledge and responsibilities that crosses many traditional boundaries. For example, take the title of Project Manager, which exists at almost any company. You would be hard pressed to find an occupational description for project manager in any major career publication. This title represents a hybrid role; and the description (duties, experience, credentials, etc.) for this job will be unique because it will be defined by the organization.

So allow your mind to wander a bit, brainstorm and explore. You might just come across a few ideas for your next career move.

And you'll need some quality information to help with the exploration. iSEEK is a tremendous web site and offers an array of articles and resources on a broad variety of career topics. Check out these links to get started:

Career Clusters: 500+ Careers in 60 Industries

Nontraditional Careers

Complete the iSEEK Skills Assessment

Managing Job Loss & Transition

Refresh a Resume by Abandoning Outdated Rules

Everyone thinks they have a great resume. In reality most resumes could stand to be refreshed or even overhauled if they’ve been on the shelf for a while. You've become so accustomed to looking at your resume that you've likely convinced yourself of its brilliance. So set your ego aside for a bit and allow some objectivity to flow. And accept the fact that a true refresh of the resume will take time and effort. Make the update a priority over the course of a week, the job will get done.

I critique resumes each week and recognize frequent missteps you can avoid and common sense techniques you can follow to refresh your document. Here are several outdated beliefs on resume writing, along with some updated thinking:

Outdated: A resume should include a complete chronology of your career activities from college to present.
Updated: A resume is a business document and needs to be concise and on point. Avoid writing a career obituary with every detail of your journey. Choose your content for maximum impact, using a nice variety of action verbs throughout.

Outdated: A functional (also called a skills based resume) is the best format for candidates in transition, job hoppers and those with employment gaps.
Updated: Avoid a purely functional format. In theory, this format has merit but recruiters and hiring personnel hate connecting the dots of a functional resume.

Outdated: Use a general, one size fits all resume and a detailed cover letter.
Updated: The message that career development geeks, like myself, are trying to convey is that the resume is your No.1 personal marketing tool. It needs to sell you to each and every reader. Infuse two to four branding titles (job titles you have held or functional areas in which you excel) into the heading. Then make sure the resume content focuses on solid descriptions of your skills, strengths and areas of expertise; and includes strong (quantify whenever possible) examples of your work related accomplishments. However, when crafting the content to sell yourself, never embellish or lie on a resume, it will come back to bite you!

Outdated: Include a strong Objective statement to target the type of role and employer you are seeking.
Updated: If the resume has an Objective statement, throw it out! These are tired and outdated, even for the recent graduate. Objective statements send the message that “I, as the candidate, am looking for this type of role with this type of employer”. Brace yourself for this news flash; employers don’t care what you are looking for in your job search. They take the position that by submitting your resume, you’ve done your homework, and you’ve researched the organization and the specific job you’re seeking.

Outdated: Lead off with a Summary to outline the scope of your background.
Updated: Use a Profile section instead of an Summary. When creating a profile, include a short, focused narrative to describe the scope of your background. This is then reinforced with bulleted key terms outlining core skills and strengths. Rather than using a one size fits all resume, the profile section allows you to focus on a specific occupation/role. By customizing your profile, you’re creating a separate resume for each distinct position being pursued.

Outdated: Under each career position, provide a detailed list of your responsibilities and duties.
Updated: If you include a bulleted, laundry list of job duties under each career position you will bore the reader to death. Include a concise narrative of your responsibilities supported by bullet points highlighting your achievements. Selected achievements, combined with data on skills and strengths, communicate the value that you can bring to an organization. And this value is what employers focus on for selection of new talent.

Outdated: Stick to a one page resume.
Updated: A two page resume is perfectly acceptable, as long as it conveys strengths, expertise and accomplishments. Two pages of laundry list info and fluff is not acceptable. When feasible, include sections for Awards and Honors, Professional Affiliations, Community Affiliations, and Professional Development Activity. This conveys a greater scope and depth to your background.

Outdated: Craft a resume that is easy to cut and paste to web sites.
Updated: We have finally evolved from the era of the ugly cut and paste resume, and can now attach and upload a pdf or word file. Just remember to make the document pleasing to the eye. A resume should be content rich and visually appealing. Use formatting features (font type, bold, italic, underline, etc.) to draw the reader’s eye to specific content.

Outdated: End the resume with the following, “References Available Upon Request”.
Updated: No need to include this line item, it is understood. Prepare a separate handout of 3-5 professional references with complete contact information for each party listed.

Bottom line, any resume must pass the “7-10 second rule”. You have 7-10 seconds to grab the reader’s interest and invite them to read further. Follow these suggestions, and you will be well on your way to creating a document with fresh appeal and greater impact. Don’t be afraid to ask others for feedback on the draft of the new resume. And don’t be afraid to engage the help of a certified career coach or resume writer, as an investment in your primary marketing tool.

Excellent Turnout at Atlanta Career Expo

See a video clip of the 03/31/09 Women for Hire Career Expo!

The staff of Women for Hire (WFH) joined with volunteers to organize and run a terrific career event. Over 400 converged on Cobb Galleria for the career expo held in Atlanta, GA. Tory Johnson, the CEO of WFH, is also the workplace contributor for ABC's Good Morning America. Expo participants had the opportunity to meet with recruiters from area employers (Lowe's, McKessen, the US Gov't., etc), attend workshops on topics such as career transition and meet with professional career coaches and resume writers.

Career Coach John Long volunteered at the event. "The expo was a great success. The Women for Hire staff was friendly and professional and worked as an efficient team to ensure a well organized, smoothly run event. Participants were motivated and asked great questions as they spoke with recruiters and during the resume critiques and breakout sessions. My goal was to give participants targeted feedback on how they can immediately enhance their marketing materials, plus provide them with key resources for career transition. Thank you WFH for a great day in Atlanta."

Check out the Career Videos at WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal Online offers a nice collection of free career coaching videos on key topics of interest!

http://online.wsj.com/video-center/careers.html

It's Time to Invest!

Maybe you have recently been downsized from your company - or you're worried about the next round of lay offs - or you're thinking it's time for a change. Now is a great time to invest in something that has the potential to pay dividends for years to come. Look it up, the ticker symbol to use is (InsertYourNameHere)! Make a committment to yourself to do something this month/this week, as a solid investment in your career.

What development activites have you participated in lately (and the grumbling begins across cyberspace)? I pose this question to my clients each and every week because I truly believe it is a damn good question. The opportunities are all around us in the form of for-credit college classes (classroom & online), continuing education classes, seminars, workshops, conferences, webinars, teleclasses, audio books...and the list goes on. But time and time again I hear the excuses...My company won't pay for that. Money is tight right now. I don't have the time. Seminars are boring.

If your company won't pay to send you to a class or seminar, here's an idea...pay for it yourself and consider it a great investment. But pick an activity that you are truly interested in and one that has received rave reviews from past participants. It seems that we still have the time and funds for premium TV channels, NetFlix, an upgrade to an iPhone, gourmet coffee, the salon, gym memberships...blah, blah, blah. Here's the reality check people - the way to compete for good jobs at good companies is to demonstrate that your knowledge and skills are current and you can bring new thinking, creativity and results to an organization. Now if you haven't taken a class since receiving that college degree 5, 7, 10 or more years ago...good luck with that approach. And if the last seminar you attended was "Tips for Debugging Windows ME", I suggest you avoid the topic of professional development at your next interview.

My point is this...skip the gourmet coffee, movie theatre or dining out for a month or two, or maybe even cancel HBO for the time being, and use that money to attend a class or a few targeted seminars. Look to professional associations, the continuing ed divison of local colleges, http://www.findaseminar.com/ to target and engage in learning that will peak your interest and give you latest and greatest info for your career.

Set yourself up for success by investing in the skills and knowledge you need to land a better fit, hopefully best fit career position.