Addressing More Than One Career Goal
By Jennifer Anthony
Jennifer is President of the Accredited Career Writers Association International and her career articles have been featured on hundreds of websites including CareerBuilder, MSN Careers, AOL Jobs, CNN, Net-Temps, TelCoa, and Telework Recruiting.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Anthony
One of the greatest advantages to living in the world in which we live is that we are offered an incredible amount of choices with regard to our careers and our futures. If we were alive hundreds of years ago, our fates would have been decided virtually from birth; we would follow in the footsteps of our parents, regardless of our suitability for the task, unless they happened to have the money to send us to one of the many universities that were in operation at the time. Destiny was essentially predetermined.
Clearly, that is no longer the case because men and women of all ages have the freedom to determine what it is that they want to do with their life. When that goal is clear-cut and straightforward, it’s simple. All we have to do is focus in on what we want to do, format our resumes and/or portfolios appropriately, and get on with it.
So what if it isn’t that simple? What if you have multiple ideas of what you want to do with your life?
The good news is that you don’t have to forget about one of them. If you are attempting to pursue multiple career goals, here are a few tips to help you.
When you are attempting to pursue more than one career, you are going to find yourself in competition with people with that particular career as their only goal. They might have taken great care to structure their education, their resumes, and their prior employment experience in the interest of achieving that one goal. Before you step into the ring, be sure that you have the qualifications necessary to compete.
First, you must keep a separate resume for each career goal. This is important because not every employer is going to be looking for the same thing in an employee, and your resume and application materials should be customized to best emphasize your abilities for each career goal you are seeking. This is commonly known as writing a targeted resume.
Secondly, you should build and maintain a network. When you are attempting to pursue multiple careers, you are going to want to have a network that is going to allow you to succeed in each of them. If you are thinking, “I don’t know how to network” relax. Networking is a piece of cake. All you have to do is allow yourself to be available socially, particularly for events related to the field you are attempting to enter. There are also many online opportunities on websites such as LinkedIn, Ryze, and Biznik.
If you can carefully follow the steps listed above, there is no reason why you should have to place limitations on your future.
Clearly, that is no longer the case because men and women of all ages have the freedom to determine what it is that they want to do with their life. When that goal is clear-cut and straightforward, it’s simple. All we have to do is focus in on what we want to do, format our resumes and/or portfolios appropriately, and get on with it.
So what if it isn’t that simple? What if you have multiple ideas of what you want to do with your life?
The good news is that you don’t have to forget about one of them. If you are attempting to pursue multiple career goals, here are a few tips to help you.
When you are attempting to pursue more than one career, you are going to find yourself in competition with people with that particular career as their only goal. They might have taken great care to structure their education, their resumes, and their prior employment experience in the interest of achieving that one goal. Before you step into the ring, be sure that you have the qualifications necessary to compete.
First, you must keep a separate resume for each career goal. This is important because not every employer is going to be looking for the same thing in an employee, and your resume and application materials should be customized to best emphasize your abilities for each career goal you are seeking. This is commonly known as writing a targeted resume.
Secondly, you should build and maintain a network. When you are attempting to pursue multiple careers, you are going to want to have a network that is going to allow you to succeed in each of them. If you are thinking, “I don’t know how to network” relax. Networking is a piece of cake. All you have to do is allow yourself to be available socially, particularly for events related to the field you are attempting to enter. There are also many online opportunities on websites such as LinkedIn, Ryze, and Biznik.
If you can carefully follow the steps listed above, there is no reason why you should have to place limitations on your future.
Jennifer is President of the Accredited Career Writers Association International and her career articles have been featured on hundreds of websites including CareerBuilder, MSN Careers, AOL Jobs, CNN, Net-Temps, TelCoa, and Telework Recruiting.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Anthony
Labels: Career Goals
