I am a part of Career Masters Alliance and each Monday morning I receive new stats. Manpower surveyed 36,629 employers across 27 countries to determine the 10 jobs they are having the most difficulty filling in 2007. In rank order, these positions are:

• Sales representative
• Skilled manual trades
• Technician
• Engineer
• Accounting/Finance staff
• Laborer
• Production operator
• Driver
• Manager/executive
• Machinist/machine operator

Source: http://tinyurl.com/yur8xo

Stephen Rothberg of CollegeRecruiter.com wrote “Highly respected business business owners agree that career coaching is a wise investment. Scott Testa, CEO of software company Mindbridge, is a fan. Scott says, ‘I think if a candidate believes a job here is important enough that they want to be coached to handle the interview process, they probably take other aspects of their life and career seriously too.’”

Stephen writes that a number of recent graduates and college seniors are turning to Career Coaches. While some argue that these services are unnecessary because they’re typically offered by the student career service offices for free, others share different views. Stephen agrees and so do I that there are student career student offices that give exceptional value while most career service offices are so woefully understaffed that they simply do not have the time to offer services to students who want more than a cursory discussion about their future.

A person typically spends more time involved in their career than in their home life. So, why not invest in a career coach that will help a student find a career and company culture that aligns with strengths, interests, core values, life purpose, identity and personality traits!

To read more from Stephen Rothberg, go to http:www.collegerecruiter.com/weblog/archives/2007/06employer_take_a.php

What are your core strengths? What do you really enjoy doing that seems more like play than work?

By discovering your key strengths and using them as much as you can in your career and volunteer activities, your work will give you significant energy rather than deplete energy.

Robin Ryan wrote in her blog to “Build a career on your strengths. You have natural talents that you were born with. These talents are the things you find easy to do. Maybe it’s teaching or writing. Maybe it’s designing, selling, or helping people. You have numerous strengths.

So, list all your talents, including things that others compliment you on. If you begin to use your mastered strengths on the job daily, you’ll move up faster, find better jobs, and be paid a higher salary as a result, so make using your innate talents the basis for any position you choose to go after.”

I agree with Robin that knowing our core strengths and using them is a key to enjoying our life more. I think it is so important that I offer a two-session package focusing on a person’s strengths. See “Strengths Profile” on my website or  go to http://summitviewcareercoaching.com/strengths-identification.html . This package is designed to give a person more confidence, direction, value for the employer to use during an interview preparation and on a resume.

To find more information about what Robin wrote, see http://hr.blr.com/whitepapers.aspx?id=76072

In my latest leadership blog I talked about five methods of handling conflict. According to Kenneth Thomas, author of “Introduction to Conflict Management,” all five methods are recommended to be used at various times, depending on the situation.

I have found this information helpful. For instance, when I was having a conflict with someone the other day, I thought through which method of the five would be best for me to use…not only did my reaction slow down, but I reacted to the conflict in a healthy, positive way. I have found this tool beneficial!

The five methods of Conflict handling are:

1. Competing
2. Collaborating
3. Compromising
4. Avoiding
5. Accommodating
   

The first method, “Competing,” is assertive and uncooperative. You try to satisfy your own concerns at the other person’s expense. It is recommended when:

• Imposing or dictating a decision
• Arguing for a conclusion that fits your data
• Hard bargaining (making no concessions)

Benefits of “competing” are:

• Asserting your position
• Possibility of quick victory
• Self-defense
• Testing assumptions

Costs of “competing” are:

• Strained work relationships
• Suboptimal decisions
• Decreased initiative and motivation
• Possible escalation and deadlock
  

More information on the five methods of conflict management coming next week…

I will be conducting a seminar on this subject December 4th at the Chamber of Commerce’ Business & Education track. To purchase Kenneth W. Thomas’ book, “Introduction to Conflict Management,” order at 1-800-624-1765.

Bud Bilanch wrote a blog today I found really interesting. Bud wrote about the importance of having all that we write in our blogs center around our branding. So, I thought it is important for me to write out my branding purpose for this blog. Here it is: “A blog devoted to coaching you in leadership and career management so that you can better enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon.” I truly want to do all that I can as a Leadership & Career Coach to coach you to enjoy Monday mornings as much as Friday afternoons.

One of the practical ideas Bud listed was blogging each day on a specific subject centered around our branding. So, what I am going to do is blog on the following:

• Tips on Career Management (for Advancer, Transitioner, & Graduate) - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• Leadership - Tuesday and Thursday

Questions you may want to ask yourself:

• What would people say is most important to you in your career?
• What would you say is most important to you?
• How are you conveying your top priorities in your career?
  
• What would be some positive results if you were more focused on conveying what is most important to you?
  
• List a couple steps of action you could take to convey your ‘branding’ so that others can easily see what is most important to you in your career and what you are all about. I’d love to hear from you!

Today, being Independence Day, I want to say I am so thankful to be an American and I am very thankful for all the choices we can freely make in our career and personal lives. I see the USA as a very blessed country.

To learn more about branding your career, contact me at Terri@SummitViewCareerCoaching.com. Bud’s blog is at http://bbilanich.typepad.com/blog/2007/07/branding-by-blo.html.

As a strategic, results-oriented high energy coach and trainer, I specialize in moving forward leaders, career transitioners and graduates. I have found a roadblock for many in reaching goals within their current employment are conflicts with a boss or co-worker, mostly with bosses.

“Surveys show that managers spend about a quarter of their time handling conflicts” according to Kenneth W. Thomas in Introduction to Conflict Management.

What is the best way to handle conflict? According to “Intro to Conflict Management” there are generally five methods we all use in handling conflict. Each person tends to handle conflict with a consistent primary and secondary method. Thomas recommends at the beginning of a conflict that we look at all five methods and choose to handle conflict with the method that would seem to work best, depending on the situation. Quite a challenge Thomas is giving us! I’ll write more later on the five different methods….