Below are the top 10 jobs that U.S. employers report difficult to fill so far in 2007:

1. Sales Representatives
2. Teachers
3. Mechanics
4. Technicians
5. Management
6. Truck Drivers, Freight
7. Drivers, Delivery
8. Accountants
9. Laborers
10. Machine Operators

Source: Manpower Talent Shortage Survey 2007 Global Results, http://tinyurl.com/yuq8q6

If you are thinking about a career transition and would like to talk to someone who has been trained in and specializes in helping people enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon, call Summit View Career Coaching for a complimentary initial consultation.

On Sunday evening, are you looking forward to going to work on Monday morning? Or, do you dread going to work? If you could picture yourself in a career really enjoying what you do, what would that picture look like? What dreams do you have on your back burner?

Sarah M. Schultz, MA, CPC wrote, “There are a zillion different jobs out there. There is NO reason to suffer for a lifetime in a job or a career that isn’t right for you. If you decide that you ARE in fact in the wrong job, it’s time to start taking steps to move into a field that you LOVE. So how can you do that?”

Sara went on to give some great advice that I give my clients. Read on.“First you have to figure out what’s stopping you from leaving your current position. Is it just that you can’t figure out what you’d rather do? If that’s the problem, then start doing some research. Begin talking to people who have careers in something you suspect you’d really like to do (mystery shopping? CIA agent? CEO of a major corporation?). People love to talk about themselves, so offer to buy them lunch and in return see if you can ask them some questions about their job. I’ve never had a problem getting someone to open up to me about their life.

Is the problem that you know what you’d rather do, but it seems unrealistic or impossible? Then the first thing you need to do is banish those doubts. Talk to a career counselor or to a trusted friend. Start by admitting that you have a dream for your life. Then begin uncovering the reasons why you’re blocking yourself from realizing your dream. Are you afraid of failure? Do you think you need to be “responsible”? Do your parents/friends/spouse put down your ideas for a different life? Do you think you’re too old to start all over? Figure out what your obstacles are, and then begin brainstorming ways to overcome them. This is when a coach or a counselor can really come in handy. Real change takes a lot of dedication and persistence, and having someone on your side, committed to your success is the best way to realize your dreams.”

As Sara suggested, what are your dreams? What are the roadblocks to those dreams? How would you feel if you were living out one of your dreams? What about taking a few minutes each day to do some research? There is so much information online, at the library, in bookstores, and most importantly, with people! We can gain so much valuable information from asking people questions. People usually enjoy sharing their career experience with us. Also, I highly recommend assessments! Get to know yourself better. It is vital to target a career that aligns with your strengths, core values, life purpose, identity and personality type!

Some people do a terrific job in target job search on their own. Most people prefer a coach to guide and journey with them in finding a career that fits well. If you would like to have a complimentary initial conversation with a career coach, contact us at Summit View Career Coaching.

Suzanne Freiberg listed in her blog key elements of being a successful business entrepreneur. You may ask why I am writing about business entrepreneurs. As you go through the list, you’ll  see that the steps below work for an entrepreneur and are key for a target job seeker. 

1. Determine Your Niche,
2. Identify Your Ideal Client,
3. Develop Your Unique Value Proposition,
4. Create Your Brand,
5. Prepare a Business Plan,
6. Prepare a Marketing Plan,
7. Develop a Sales Strategy, and
8. Accept failure, learn from it and re-group

If you’re a career transitioner, how are you doing with the 8 steps? There are lots of books and teleseminars on the subjects that are listed. Ask for help from a librarian. Are you at a point where you are ready to have a professional coach you on each of the steps so that you are a successful target job seeker? You may want to try contacting Summit View Career Coaching for a complimentary initial coaching session to see if career coaching is right for you.

Paul Copcutt, in Career Hub, writes about an enterprising young Canadian, Sean Aiken,  who has taken a very different approach to career search. Sean Aiken is working his way across Canada, one week at a time, doing a different job every week! He is up to week 27 and has done everything from bar person to dairy farmer and plans to spend 52 weeks trying to figure out what he wants to do.

What he has achieved already is a very decent Google score - over 17,000 pages and is building his personal brand with a very informative and interactive blog (internet TV show), One Week Job and has had plenty of media coverage etc - he is also donating all his earnings to charity (over $10,000 so far) and has gathered a few sponsors on the way.

What is the dream on your back burner? Do you find yourself on Sunday evenings dreading Monday morning? Would you like to look forward to Monday mornings? Does your career fit who you are? Are you using your key strengths, transferable skills, core values and personality traits in your current position?

Instead of taking a year off to discover a variety of careers, what about working with a Career Coach to find a career/position that is interesting and aligns with who you are (while maintaining your current career income!) so that you enjoy Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon?

For a complimentary initial session, contact Summit View Career Coaching to schedule a time to determine whether our services will bring you what you are looking for.

As we all know, there really isn’t such a thing as job security anymore. Diane Hess wrote, “The best strategy [for career success] is to be excellent at what you do, keep your skills cutting edge and love your work.”

So, if we practice Diane’s advice, are we…

• Excellent at what we do? I know that for myself, I’m continually attending 2-3 annual conferences and weekly teleseminars, ordering and reading books, talking with colleagues and anyone who is willing to talk about their career. Excellence and improvement are very important to me and a high priority.
  
• Keeping up your skills cutting edge? My answer would be that I am continually working at having my skills cutting edge. I’ve joined a group where we work with each other on our coaching skills. Also, I am looking at registering soon at a coaching school to improve, again, my coaching skills. Other skills I am continually upgrading.
• Love your work? I really look forward to Monday morning and each morning as much as I do Friday afternoon! I love helping people that are frustrated transition to a career/position that aligns with their strengths and what is most important to them! Sometimes my clients go through the coaching process and their perspective changes 180 degrees, so they stay in their current position, loving each Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon!

Diane Hess wrote, “There are many options for people who want to turn a creative passion into a solid career. Read this article about a musician who did just that: “How I Got to Where I Am Today: An Orchestra’s Operations Director.”

If you wish you enjoyed Monday morning as much as Friday afternoon, contact me for a complimentary initial consultation.

A few weeks ago I received an email from a woman who said she was so desperate to find an IT position that she would pay me whatever I charged to find her a job that would fit her. I wrote back and thanked her and then shared that I don’t offer that kind of service.

The best person to do the job search is yourself. If I were to do the job search for you, it would be like me telling you (if you’re unmarried) who to marry and you blindly getting married! With all the tools out there that Career Coaches have, the target job search can be a simple process. Although simple, the process usually takes lots of hours. Well, dating usually takes lots of hours, also, if you want to find the right person.

My expertise is in, first of all, coaching clients to discover their ‘Career FIT Plan’, namely his or her key strengths, core values, life purpose, identity, interests, transferable skills and personality type. If you know these areas well, you will be able to offer them to potential organizations. Conversely, if you don’t know yourself well, it is hard to share your value.

The next steps include exploration & research of careers, career branding, networking, resumes, and interview preparation.

If you want to start the career coaching process on your own, take some time to make a list of your key strengths, core values (what you need in order to be satisfied in your position), life purpose, identity (who you are now and want to be 10 years from now), interests, transferable skills and personality type.

I offer complimentary initial consultations to see if we would work well together in coaching you towards enjoying Monday morning as much as Friday afternoons! Contact me to schedule an appointment.

Richard Bolles wrote about the late Srully Blotnick, Ph.D., when he decided to find out what hppened to people who decided to ‘go for the money.’ Richard wrote, “Srully studied the career choices and financial success of 1500 people, who were divided into 2 groups, Group A (83 percent of the people in the study) chose a career because they believed they could earn a lot of money doing it, Group B (17 percent of the study group) chose a career because of their passion and desire for that work. Who do you think made more money?

Twenty years later, 101 of the 1500 had become millionaires. One hundred of them were from Group B, those who made choices based upon passion. Only one millionaire was from Group A, those who chose their career to make money. Dr. Blotnick concluded that the majority of people who became wealthy did so because they found work that absorbed their attention. Their ‘luck’ happened because of their passion.”

Pretty interesting, isn’t it? What do you really enjoy doing? Are your core passions the main part of your career? To find out more about your core strengths, take some time to ponder on work you enjoy doing so much it seems like play. Ask close family members and family what they think you are really good at. Take some online skills and personality assessments. Do some online research on strengths and transferable skills. If you would like to have a complimentary initial consultation or a Strengths Profile, please contact me.