Choosing a career is probably one of the most important decisions of a lifetime. Whether you are fresh out of school or in college or enrolled in online degree, it is vitally important that you seriously consider your personality and interests before making career decisions.

Choosing a career is a vital decision all of us have to take. Utmost care has to be taken while choosing a career because once you have chosen a career, It is very difficult to take backtrack or take a u-turn. Before you take this one major decision, there are so many things that you have to consider.

Plan your career as early as possible. Planning early, you will be on the right track once you in college. This means to say that you should start planning while you are at the high school. Once you have the right frame of mind, you can pursue a program that will lead you to your desired career path.

Even if you have not decided on the career path you want to take, once at college you will be able to get an idea of what career will suit you. It is here that you get exposed to new people, new avenues, and new opportunities. You can make full use of the college environment as testing ground of your skills and talents and decide accordingly on the career path of your choice. Also try to make contacts as many contacts as possible. You can also make full use of the college counseling center to decide on a career path.

Before deciding for a career, do not look out for jobs. In other words, job opportunities should not influence your decision in choosing a career. It is the line of work on which you must decide and not the job opportunities. If you chose a career, keeping in mind the job avenues, you may end up taking the wrong decision. And when you have realized your folly, it will be too late to reverse the decision. A career is should be completely independent of any company or corporation. Jobs will automatically come to you once you have completed your career course. So you need not worry about jobs while choosing a career.

One important thing you must do before deciding your career is assessing yourself. Perhaps you can take a piece of paper jot down some questions – Who am I already? ; What would I like to be better at than anyone else? ; Is there something in the world that I believe needs to be done? These questions will get you thinking and will allow you to articulate your thoughts. As you write your answers down, you are committing yourself to considering these questions. These questions help to find out more about yourself, your commitment, your confidence level to take on a challenge.

You can also take up career tests that are available at on-campus career centers. You can discuss the result with the counselor and perhaps he/ she will offer you useful tips.

If all these do not suffice, you can also take professional help from outside your college. There are numerous career-counseling centers and better still, you can visit the portals offering career counseling. Here you will find expert career advice and you can also take up career tests.

About Author

The author is a senior editor at www.keydegree.com. You can read more articles from him on the KeyDegree website. Find the “Key” to earning your Degree now, and unlock you future!

Getting married without pre marriage counseling is starting a business without preparing. As half of marriages end in divorce, and only one half of those that are married are truly happy in their lives, it is very important to be prepared before getting married. If you only count on your luck to have a successful marriage, your chances are one in four.

Professional pre marriage counseling is reducing the risks of divorce. Pre marriage counseling leads to a happier marriage and reduce the stress of the pre wedding period. Pre marriage counseling is also based on the reality that you must carefully prepare for your future challenges and problems. Your relationship is fresh and full of energy; there is a window of opportunity during the year before the marriage and six months after when couples can receive the optimum benefit from their marriage preparation.

Prepare your future
Later, stress and daily problems will be much harder to learn how to solve marriage problems. Partners must face many important demands, managing two careers and rearing children. To achieve these goals, partners must have very strong skills to communicate, resolve issues and maintain fidelity. Without pre marriage counseling, it is really difficult to face so many demands with no support.

Problems can appear more easily than people believe. Unrealistically positive expectations can make people unhappy; pre marriage counseling helps to establish realistic goals and use every advantage to succeed. Pre marriage counseling is often realized by religious advisers. There are also non-religious professional counselors to provide pre marriage counseling. People believe that pre marriage counseling is a kind of therapy; it is a form of education, similar to career counseling.

Pre marriage counseling is improving partners’ skills to contribute to the couple’s success. Long-term goals, compatibility and expectations, communication, intimacy and conflict resolution are the guarantee of long term endurance in a successful marriage. Couple must make sure that pre marriage counseling must cover all these themes. Sometimes, the challenges the partners are running are part of their relationship development.

It is possible that a pre marriage counseling with a specialist or religious adviser not address some important zones; the partners must fid a program that does. The skill building and education are the main factors in long-term problems prevention and marriage success. Today there are so many challenges that marriages need all the help they can have.

About Author

Learn more about family marriage counseling by visiting our free site. You’ll also learn about how marriage counseling helps

Makeovers on television shows and in magazines are enticing for women the world over. Of course the reason they are so popular, is because the idea of getting a fresh start in life is a golden key we have all dreamt about at one time or another. No matter what their lives are like, everyone has something they wish could be different – their home, their body, their friends, and even their career.

Career makeovers are not a new concept and if you think about it, making over your career will automatically set a chain reaction in motion that will affect all aspects of your life, particularly those that are unsatisfactory. If you’ve ever changed jobs or industries, worked with a recruiter, drafted a new resume or pursued additional education to increase your job prospects or opportunities, you’ve already taken steps to improve or “make over” your career.

Here are some ideas which can take your career makeover to a whole new level!

1. Look inside yourself. How do you perceive yourself? Are you confident? Do you like yourself? Are you proud of your accomplishments? What is your attitude to life, on working, on the value that you bring to your job? How do you feel about your career? Do you feel in control of your future? Working on your “inner self” is of critical importance when it comes to creating a career makeover. If your internal thoughts are not consistent with the actions that you need to take, you’ll continually feel a sense of disconnect. Others will feel it too. All change starts on the inside. If you need support in this area, consider counseling or coaching, whichever is most appropriate for your situation. Until the inner issues are resolved or healed, it can be very challenging to take the necessary steps that lead to a fulfilling career.

2. Get balanced. A key component of effectively managing your career starts with managing your time efficiently. Do you keep your work life separate from your home life? Do you take work home in the evenings or weekends? Do you talk about work ALL THE TIME? Do you take time to recharge your batteries so that you feel refreshed? This is probably one of the most difficult areas when it comes to career makeovers. It takes a lot of courage to “draw the line” when it comes to balancing your life. Many women feel that if they don’t give everything to their job, then they won’t have a job, yet, the opposite is actually true. If you’re working for a company which does not allow you to set boundaries around your time, you WILL burn out. Before this happens it is probably best that you start looking for a new position. It’s a difficult choice to make, but ultimately it’s up to you to set boundaries around what types of treatment you will accept from others – including your employer. If you can’t achieve work/life balance in your current job, you will never be able to give it your best, simply because you will not be at your best which in turn will affect your future career prospects.

3. Get your relationships in check. They say birds of a feather flock together. Are your friends dragging you down? ( I was told my friends were holding me back by a naturopath when I was in my early 20’s I was VERY angry with him and protective of my friends – but a year later when I had taken a grip of my life and moved on, I realized he had been completely right!) Is your network of friends and associates supportive of you and your goals, or are they constantly telling you that your dreams are too lofty? Do they drag you into their gossip or do they inspire you with thoughtful conversation? In essence your ambition can be affected by the people around you and because of this your personal and professional relationships will have a tremendous influence on your career success. Therefore, to get your relationships in check, evaluate your friendships and acquaintances. It might be time to start gently letting go of some of the relationships that aren’t serving you, which will allow you to fill the empty spaces with new friends who will support you. Make sure you’re forging relationships with the people who see your value, and surround yourself with mentors who are helpful in assisting you to move forward.

4. Begin with a vision. Having an idea of where you want to go is one of the most important steps in your career makeover. Until you know where you want to be or what you want to have, it’s impossible to decide on the correct steps to get you there. How do you envision your ideal life? What type of job would make you happy? What brings you the most joy? What type of position would you like to see yourself working in 5 years time? Give yourself permission to think about what you really want, dare to dream a little. Remember what seems impossible today is only so because you haven’t had the opportunity to break the journey from here to there down into manageable chunks – now you are ready to start working on your career makeover.

5. Be the change. Once you have a vision of what you think you might want. It’s now time to assess where you are now. What are your strengths and your weaknesses? What skills do you have? Which ones will you need in order to achieve your career vision? You need to know where you are now versus where you want to be in the future. The rest is about managing the “gap” in between. Here is where the career makeover really takes place and this is the secret to making it possible…

6. Start at the end and work backwards. Imagine you have your dream job and are living your dream life. What was the final step you had to take to make this all possible, now what was the step before that? Work this process through until you arrive back at where you are today. Now you are aware of these steps, you know what you have to do to achieve your goals in manageable chunks. Your next course of action is to develop a plan for achieving these goals thereby giving each part of the process a timeline.

7. Now hone your skills. One of the most obvious ways to create a career makeover is to work on your skills. Whether you go back to school to earn an advanced degree or take training classes here and there, anything that you can do to improve yourself can benefit your career. Learn more about your industry; attend conferences where you can keep abreast of the latest trends. Network with possible mentors. Buy books written by leaders in your field. Read industry periodicals and other materials that deep your knowledge. Check with your human resources department to find out what types of internal training opportunities are available. Take advantage of your company’s tuition reimbursement programs. Continuing your education is essential no matter how you do it. Studying will not be a chore. If you are doing work you love you will be passionate about absorbing as much information about your field as you can!

And finally plan for the future.
No matter who you are or whom you know, you career will have its ups and downs. These days it’s unrealistic to think you’ll have a job for life. You might be transferred, demoted, or get a new boss that you don’t enjoy. You could even lose your job because of a downturn in your industry. These are realities of work life today. To lessen the possibility of your becoming an economic statistic it’s always a good idea to have options. This means you need to think about your exit plan. What would you do if you wanted to leave, or lost your job for whatever reason? Even the people who are happy in their jobs today should have an exit strategy, so take my advice and start working on it now. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you’re in panic mode.

In conclusion, always remember, no matter what career or life choices you make, ALL women need a strategic career plan. Your career makeover is ultimately your responsibility. You are the master of your life and it’s up to you to make a plan. Once you have a clear plan, take the steps that lead you to fulfilling your ultimate vision. One powerful way of helping you stay on track is by working with a coach who can help you make the transition more quickly. A good coach gives you support you need, helps you to stay focused and on track. With proper guidance, you will quickly find yourself achieving your career goals.

About Author

Career coach Krissy Jackson, CPC, specializes in working with women in IT and communications who want to take charge of their lives and careers. From career planning to promotions, from time management to transition strategies, Krissy empowers her clients to design and develop their careers on their own terms. Known for her straightforward coaching style and her ability to focus quickly on key issues, Krissy has attracted a global client following representing a variety of industries. To read more of her articles and career coaching tips, visit http://www.ITGirlsCoach.com

Most of us remember a day in our teens when our high school guidance counselor called us in for career counseling. She scrutinized and evaluated us, gave us tests with cryptic questions, and in the end proclaimed with some certainty that our career destiny was to become a fireman–or a stonemason, or a math teacher, or something equally mysterious. As baffling as this process was, if you’re the parent to teenagers, you probably find yourself wishing you could give them such definite career advice.

With so many career options in the modern workplace, it can be difficult for parents and teens to narrow down the choices. The good news is, those career tests your guidance counselor gave you have come a long way. Today’s career assessments provide an accurate, sophisticated, and time-effective way to help your child discover their career aptitude. Tests of your child’s personality, preferences, talents, and interests provide you and your teen with essential information as you make choices for college and beyond.

Do you know whether your child is a structured traditionalist, or a sensitive artist? Do they do their best work in solitude or on teams? One of the most widely used career assessments for teens, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®), assesses your child’s personality type on four scales: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. Based on these measures, the test results provide information on careers, industries, and work environments that are good choices for your child’s personality type. Knowing your child’s personality type is crucial to choosing a career path that will motivate, challenge, and satisfy them.

Extensive research has been done using the MBTI to correlate personality type with career success, so that once your child knows their type, they can benefit from the career experience of thousands of similar types. The test results will help them to understand the key factors for their job satisfaction, crucial stressors to avoid when choosing a career, and some common pitfalls they may encounter as they start on their career path. Although your child’s interests may change over time, their personality type will remain constant, and preparing your child with an awareness of their personality type will benefit them for the rest of their life.

To discover the best career for your child, it is also important to understand how their interests, hobbies, and favorite activities can inform their career choice. The Strong Interest Inventory®, a well-researched and widely used career test, assesses your teen’s interest level in six major career categories: Conventional, Investigative, Realistic, Artistic, Enterprising, and Social. Then, it matches your teen’s test scores with the interest profiles of successful professionals to rate the careers that are the best match for them. The Strong Interest Inventory results can help your child to understand the day-to-day tasks that certain jobs require, and how their interests match up with possible careers.

Both the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator can be taken with the assistance of a qualified career counselor. You may choose to visit a counselor in your area, or you can have your teen take these tests online. If you feel your teen may need ongoing coaching, it may be best to visit a counselor in person. However, many families find that it is most convenient to access these career tests for kids online.

However you decide to take the tests, you can ensure you get the most out of the assessment by reviewing and verifying the results with a qualified counselor or coach. Both the MBTI and the Strong are designed to be interpreted and explained by a professional with training in the use of the assessments. Your counselor or coach will help you to make sense of the results and apply them to your teen’s individual situation, and will assist you in planning the next steps for your child’s career exploration.

The sheer variety of career options today is astounding. Your teen has a dazzling, and sometimes overwhelming, array of choices. With so many options, teens and parents will benefit from using the excellent personality and career tests that have been developed to help students choose a rewarding career. Not only can these assessments provide much-needed direction, but they can help steer your child towards a career that will challenge and satisfy them for many years to come.

©2007 by Molly Owens

About Author

Molly Owens holds a B.A in Psychology and has completed graduate work in counseling and psychological assessment. After working in education, mental health, and corporate management, she founded PersonalityDesk to provide Myers Briggs personality tests and Strong Interest Inventory career tests online. Learn how your teen can take the MBTI and Strong Interest Inventory online at PersonalityDesk.com.

With thousands of workers being laid off, the competition for jobs should be strong. A career counselor may be able to help people become more focused and strategic about their job search.

Most people would probably rather get a root canal than hunt for a new job. Whether a person has been downsized, is changing careers, or just wants to find a better opportunity, hunting for a job can be frustrating and intimidating. And since more than 230,000 people have lost their jobs this year, the competition for employment is likely to be fierce. People who want to increase their odds for getting hired may want to consider finding a career counselor.

What Career Counselors Do
Career counselors can help people evaluate their skills and abilities to find a job that fits their goals and interests. They serve as coaches, teachers, and mentors to people with all different types of job experience. A qualified counselor should be able to assess a client’s traits and abilities to help direct them to an appropriate position. They also should be good listeners who can communicate well with people who may be dealing with a lot of stress and uncertainty about their job situation–and life in general.

Some career counselors may have a degree in counseling or a related field, but others may have experience in a particular field that gives them the expertise to help others. A master career counselor usually has the highest level of expertise in career counseling and has met other qualifications, such as being licensed by a state board.

Who Should Consider Counseling?
Not everyone looking to change jobs needs to see a career counselor. But people who aren’t sure where they’re headed in their careers and need help focusing may benefit from working with a coach. Workers who are thinking about getting help with their career should ask themselves:

1. Am I satisfied with my current job?
2. What do I like or dislike about my current job?
3. How can I improve my current job?
4. Do I have the work-life balance I want?
5. What are my short- and long-term goals for my career?
6. What other jobs can I qualify for with my skills?

Downsized in America
People who haven’t had to look for a job in many years may be ill-equipped for their search and may be perfect candidates for career counseling. Companies all across America are cutting jobs, forcing many workers to dust off outdated resumes. A qualified counselor can help put together a resume, practice interviewing techniques, administer assessment tests, or evaluate new career paths. The right coach can help a person evaluate jobs they’ve never considered that may allow them to use their current skills.

Changing Careers
For people who are looking for a whole new career, a counselor can help them decide whether they have the necessary skills or need to continue their education. Some people may find that the type of work they’ve been doing has become obsolete. Many unskilled workers have found themselves forced out of jobs that can be done by a computer or a machine. A good career counselor should listen to workers’ needs and assess their strengths and weaknesses to help them transition to a new career. That may mean directing clients to places they can learn about new technology or employment trends in fields that interest them.

Getting Encouragement
Richard Nelson Bolles writes in What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers that “Researchers discovered some years ago that while the typical job-hunt lasted around fifteen to nineteen weeks, depending on the economy, one-third to one-half of all job-hunters simply give up by the second month of their job-hunt.” Having the support of a career counselor may help some people stay focused on their job search and not become easily discouraged. The right coach can also redirect job-hunting efforts that have stalled or become unproductive.

Moving to the Next Level
Always being passed over for promotions is like going to a spring fling and never being asked to dance. It’s no fun! Workers who are having trouble advancing in their career may need some help figuring out exactly what they need to do differently to get noticed by higher ups. For some people it may be as simple as taking a few courses to learn necessary skills. Others may need advice from a career coach on how to dress, talk, or act more professionally.

Setting Career Goals
Counselors can also be helpful if people just want to make sure they are setting the right goals for their career. They may not be looking to change companies, but may be more concerned about protecting their future job security. A person who hasn’t bothered to keep abreast of changes in their industry, learn new skills, or network with influential peers are more likely to fall under the downsizing axe than someone who has worked to remain competitive.

Choosing the Right Counselor
It’s important for people to find a career counselor that fits their goals and is reputable. A good counselor should:

1. Disclose the terms of their service and fees upfront
2. Provide a copy of their ethical guidelines
3. Charge only for services provided
4. Let clients choose the services they want
5. Not make unrealistic promises.

They should also discuss what type of time commitment clients should expect to make to their counseling sessions and job-hunting strategies.

While career counselors can be helpful they may not have all the answers. They can help individuals assess their strengths and weaknesses to choose a career that fits their unique goals and needs. Like any other counseling relationship, it may take more than one try to find the right person. People looking for a career coach can check with their former employer, local job centers, universities, alumni groups, churches, and other organizations for recommendations.

About Author

Kelli Smith is the senior editor for www.Edu411.org. Edu411.org is a career education directory for finding colleges and universities, training schools, and technical institutes.