Career Success Strategies -

Choosing a job or changing a career can be a major life transition - one that requires careful thought, planning, and work. If you are exploring new career options, you will need to ask yourself several questions: "What do I want? How will I know when I've got it? What resources do I have already that can help me achieve this outcome? How will I achieve my outcome? For this exciting journey you may want to consider the following winning habits of successful career changers."

1. Decide right now that you deserve to have any job or career for which you are willing to work toward.

It may require additional education, learning, experience, and patience, but you can reach it.

2. Create a vivid experience of what it would be like to be in that job or career.

What would you be seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting? Who would you be working with? Where would you be working and living? What would you have as a result of having this career? What would I like to have accomplished in one year? Five years? Ten years?

3. Develop a strategy - a step-by-step plan to move you toward the job of your dreams and desires.

What short-term goals will you get there? Focus 30 minutes of effort every day to turning the dream into reality. Start from the experience of what you want and work backward to identify each step. If you aren't sure what you want in a career, give yourself permission to explore a number of alternatives. What do you already know that you want in a job or career - enjoy your work, live in a certain area, earn a certain amount of money? Take stock of your current situation. What is important to you about what you do now? What would you rather be doing? What is important about you would rather be doing? What were your dreams and ambitions earlier in life and as a child? How could you bring these into play? Use your existing network of friends and contacts to help you define and explore your job choices. Get involved with professional associations in your area. Get training or work in another career to expand your horizons. There are many doorways to jobs and some will need to be created. If you can identify the need for a job, you can customise a doorway for yourself.

4. Know yourself: Get to know the skills you have, your personal qualities.

Knowing what they are will help you to assess your career options. Explore personality profiling tools such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Explore how you make sense of the world - the way you think, the way you learn, your beliefs, your values - using tools such as Neuro-linguistic Programming.

5. Develop an intense desire to achieve your career goals.

Add the emotion of passion to your dreams.

6. Recognise your own uniqueness as an individual and a professional.

Develop an identity that is independent of your current job: instead of " I am a computer programmer for the pharmaceutical company, " say I do computer programming." You have the Right to create the success and happiness You desire. Let no one tell you what you Can or cannot do as a career. As you begin To move toward what you want, friends and Family will question you motives, dreams, Intelligence, and chance of success. Ignore Them. You can learn anything you need to Know to succeed if you are willing to focus, Continually improve, and sustain your Improvements.

7. Rather than let the winds of time define Your career, take a hold of the reins and Begin guiding your destiny.

8. Refuse to be a victim.

Choose to be in Control. Realise that you control your destiny, not your boss, co-workers or family. Take charge and begin to move toward what you want.

9. Commit yourself to lifelong learning and Self development.

Learn how to enjoy Learning. Are you a more visual, music, or physical learner? What kinds of books, tapes, videos and seminars do you find the most engaging and why?

10. Become purposeful about taking charge of your professional life.

Develop a clear intent to have what you want.