Monthly Archives: March 2023

Are You Called to Write a Memoir? 5 Reasons Writing a Memoir Is Worth the Time and Effort

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A memoir writer recently asked me, “Is writing a memoir worth the time and effort?

“Yes,” I answered, without hesitation. Because regardless of the challenges of writing a personal story, then going public with it, you can also experience many gifts during each process of writing, publishing and promoting your book.

Here are five of the main benefits you can receive from writing a memoir about your life’s journey or challenges – and not one of them have to do with “commercial or critical success.”

1. You can answer the call to write a memoir – and find completion.

The call to write a memoir is not casual.

It resounds in every part of your being until you commit to writing. The call may not stop there. You are also called to share the memoir by getting it published and promoting it. In my writing journey, I hoped that writing a memoir (then stuffing it in a drawer, maybe after a few close, well-chosen friends read it) would be enough.

But you will most likely not be free of the “call” to write a memoir until you share your words, your voice. For me, that meant via a published book – and out loud in reading and telling the story.

So why do it? Imagine cradling that first published copy of your memoir in your arms, seeing it in local and online bookstores, giving your first reading and radio and TV interviews. Those actions rewire your internal system. They empty and fill you at the same time.

Writing and publishing your memoir also completes something in you. You always know you have done one thing in this life you came here to do. And you learn firsthand, completing what you start, following through on your dreams to write a book, does make a difference.

2. You gain personal healing.

Once you finish writing a memoir about life-altering events you have carried inside for so many years, it is no longer in you. Its energy is now literally outside your body in a tangible form you can pick up and hold – a book.

Writing the story removes it from your body. For instance, it roto-rooted remnants of the trauma I had written about out of my cellular memory, out of my energetic being in a way that no therapy or other healing modality had been able to do.

Whatever the subject of your memoir, the story, the past events that may have loomed so large, that may have seemed so overwhelming, so impossible, so challenging to write about, shrink from towering marble solid monument to flexible book size. Once on the page, you can hold and open and flip pages of this story in book form in your hand. You transform life altering events using a creative expression that has great meaning for you – writing.

You also create art and beauty out of a difficult series of experiences.

3. Your family and you can heal with each other.

One humungous reason memoir writers persist on that sheer rock climb to tell their stories is to share them, to have them witnessed by others.

I did not fully understand the burden of carrying a story of challenges alone – until I wrote and shared it with friends and family members.

You may be fortunate. Rather than alienating family members, if you write your memoir with the goal of deepening love and forgiveness, you can end up closer to them, open a deeper intimacy. That’s what happened for me.

4. You discover the memoir’s meaning and value for readers.

Having other people enjoy the memoir you wrote is wonderful enough. But when your words move them, bring meaning, change their lives, the feeling is indescribable. You know you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

Every hour of memoir writing angst, every challenge flies out the window when you hear the words, “Your memoir changed my life” or “Your book gave me a whole new perception about my own situation, even though my circumstances were different than yours.”

Or, “I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading your memoir because I had to find out what happened next, because it moved me so much.”

Or, “Thank you for voicing what I could not about [fill in the blank]. And for sharing what you learned. Your experience gives me strength to face my own challenges.”

5. You step into a wiser, deeper self inside you.

Some much wiser, deeper self inside you emerges when you sit down to write your memoir — or any other book. Then, you get to hang out with that self for the months or years that you write the book. You find out through that self’s perspective all you have learned, all the ways you have grown on your journey.

When you let go to the higher self that emerges from the silence beyond mind chatter and “figuring it out,” words pour forth to express what seems inexpressible. In its wake, you may discover, know, without doubt, in faith, the grace of every single moment of your precious life.

You can know with gratitude, that each event, each opening, each heartbreak, each gut wrench, each stuck in the muck, each breakthrough has led you to the truth of your being and can open you further to experience the love at your core.

And those are five of the many reasons writing a memoir is worth the time and effort.

Looking for the Best CNA Training for You

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Surviving through a CNA Training will make you a Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA, which will specialize on patient care and basic needs in the medical field. Most CNAs work beyond the classic health care facilities by offering health care to patients who need help in their homes. If you are thinking a career as a CNA, selecting from among the varied training programs can be a rigorous task.

Reviewing the necessities to become a certified nursing assistant is an important factor in understanding which of the many CNA training programs are suitable for your personal and career requirements. CNAs would need certification from the pertinent state to verify that the CNA has received the relevant training and has met all other requirement to embark into a career as a nursing assistant in that particular state.

Every state has its own regulations regarding CNA training. Moreover, there are federal regulations for those who are working in hospitals or medical facilities that are funded by the government. Among these state regulations are training qualifications that include comprehensive hours of CNA training, as well as at least 20 hours of practical training in the clinical setting.

Because of these needs, knowing where to get your training is a crucial part of this process to become a CNA. Various training programs are available according to type and method, with some programs offering all of the relevant training in as little as six weeks while others can last as long as nine months every year. You should check your federal standards carefully to be sure that every CNA training program you consider provides the education you need to meet your state’s necessities.

There are many things you can do to when it comes to choosing the right programs. Consulting the admissions office of a particular school is a significant step, whether you are pursuing your training in college or university setting or taking the advantage of a free training program from the medical facility. If the admissions would allow, you can have a tour of the school facilities, or the classroom to have a better grip of how the training would start.

Online CNA training courses can be quite hard to review. However there are some things you can do to help ascertain the standards of the online training. Start by checking the testimonials of alumni and present students about the training on different websites and online forums. If you are having second thoughts about the training program, you can always ask the federal health officials to ask them about whether the online trainings are suitable for the guidelines to get CNA certificate.

Bear in mind that not all CNA courses offer the same kind of training. Some have outstanding reputation and others are just above average. Since the quality of the training you will receive will affect your job hunting, it is significant that you differentiate the CNA trainings. Luckily, looking for the suitable CNA training program for you is quite easy with persistence and careful research.

From Middle School to High School – Advice For Parents

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Where did the time go? Your little Johnny or Jenny, once so easily engaged with toys or television cartoons, is no longer little anymore. They’ve entered that special rite of passage-the teens. They’re finally out of middle school and are ready for the excitement of high school.

Parents have always grappled with the emotional drama of sending their child off to a new school. At 13-years-old, however, the challenges are quite different. For some, it’s more frightening than the first days of kindergarten. For others, the vast campus of a high school offers a wonderland of adventure.

Regardless of how you or your child feels, it’s always wise to be prepared. This lessens the anxiety level for both of you. When I was a high school administrator, I used to make the following suggestions to parents, which made the transition into high school go smoother:

1. Dress Code. Make sure you know what the dress code requirements are of the new school. We realize that teens today mimic the latest fad of their favorite celebrity, and that’s fine. But be careful. High schools want to focus on academics, and anything that’s considered a distraction of that won’t be tolerated. School administrators (principal, assistant principals, and deans) are always on the lookout for short skirts, plunging necklines, and revealing blouses on girls. Boys should wear plain shirts that do not have graphics messages on them, and, yes, they should be tucked in the pants that are held snug by a proper belt.

Most schools issue their dress codes on their own website or a handout that can be picked up in the guidance office. Compliance is crucial. You don’t want John or Jen to receive a detention on that first week, do you?

2. Gadgets. Please have them leave the IPods, CD players, and other electronic items at home. Once again, check with the school policy on this, but most will not allow them on campus. Kids are supposed to pay attention in class. How can they do this if they’ve got headphones on and are tuned in to Lady Gaga or Ludacris?

Then there are those cell phones—the bane of every administrator! Trust me; school officials do not like having to confiscate these pesky sources of classroom disruption. The trouble can be more that it’s worth. But with the digital cameras and Internet accessing found on most of cell phones, schools typically have a zero tolerance here. If your child needs to reach you by phone, the school usually has one in the reception or guidance offices…or there is a payphone right on campus.

On another note, just about every day, items such as these go missing. They’re either lost or stolen. School security personnel will tell you-a major part of their day is spent processing the paperwork on these missing items. More reason to keep these items home.

3. Getting to School on Time. Most teens tend to stay up late at night, which means it’s a struggle to wake up so early in the morning. They then drag themselves to school, half-dazed in a sleep state. The bell rings, and before you know it, they’re tardy.

Teachers hate it when students are tardy. It’s a major classroom disturbance, because directions have been given or important announcements have been made once class starts—and your kid has either missed it or interrupted the focus of the class. This means the teacher has to repeat for the third time, which means valuable time is lost. Now, imagine this happening in multiple numbers, as different teens arrive to class late at different times.

4. Open House. Make sure you’ve had a chance to visit the campus. It’s best if you can reach a guidance counselor, assistant principal, or department head who would be able to give both you and your child a quick tour of the campus to see the cafeteria, media center, and the classrooms your child has been scheduled to attend. Remember, however, that private tour may not always be possible because of the number of ninth graders or new students being enrolled at the high school. So, the next best thing is to attend the Open House. Just about every school has them.

5. Transportation. Unless your child has somewhere to rush to after school, have him/her take the bus. It’s safer and cheaper. If you plan to drop your child off, check before you do. For safety reasons (and insurance requirements), some schools have strict passenger loading and unloading provisions. There are certain locations on the campus grounds which are reserved for heavy traffic of dropping off and picking up.

If your child needs to drive, they must check on what the student parking lot regulations are. Will they need a permit? Find out. Also note that some schools use student parking as a privilege that can be taken away for disciplinary reasons or if the student’s grade point average sinks below passing.

6. Supplies. At the high school level, it’s always best to check with the individual teachers first before going out and spending lots of dollars on school supplies. Some classes require special composition or journal paper. There are elective classes that have specific needs, too. Don’t forget to buy a book bag with comfortable straps to put all of these items in.

7. Calendar Planner. It is so important to help our teens get organized. With the varied course schedules, homework assignments, and multiple events occurring, we cannot expect them to simply remember it all in their heads. Some schools provide a day planner or an organizer for students. Check first. Otherwise, please get him/her one. With classroom changes and announcements occurring everyday or every week, students need a guide. This is especially important during the first couple of weeks.

8. Names. Make sure your child gets the names of his/her teachers. Talk to them about the teachers; get the email addresses and communicate with these teachers. Also, find out who your child’s guidance counselor is and which administrator you should contact if there are any questions or issues that come up. Don’t forget to find out the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of the other students your child befriends.

9. Rules. Get your hands on the school’s student rules and regulations. Go over these with your child. Some teachers also give students their own classroom procedures. If anything, this is what parents miss most of the times. Do not expect your child to give this handout to you. They’ll forget, trust me on this one. So, ask for it. Some schools actually require parents to sign a form indicating that they’ve read and understood the rules and regulations.

It usually takes two weeks to one month for a ninth grader or new student to acclimate to the new surroundings of a high school. Hang in there! Before you know it, your child will be a senior, attending graduation rehearsals.

10. Join the School Advisory Council. For some reason, parent involvement in School Advisory Councils (SACS) or PTAs diminishes at the high school level. This is unfortunate, because there is so much taking place of which parents should be made aware. School policies, FCAT objectives, school improvement procedures-these are all issues that require input from parents. A teen’s years in high school is enriched by parental involvement.

Ask the administrators when the SACS meets, and show up. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Basics

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Introduction

During the past few years, the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning have begun showing up frequently in technology news and websites. Often the two are used as synonyms, but many experts argue that they have subtle but real differences.

And of course, the experts sometimes disagree among themselves about what those differences are.

In general, however, two things seem clear: first, the term artificial intelligence (AI) is older than the term machine learning (ML), and second, most people consider machine learning to be a subset of artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning

Though AI is defined in many ways, the most widely accepted definition being “the field of computer science dedicated to solving cognitive problems commonly associated with human intelligence, such as learning, problem solving, and pattern recognition”, in essence, it is the idea that machines can possess intelligence.

The heart of an Artificial Intelligence based system is it’s model. A model is nothing but a program that improves its knowledge through a learning process by making observations about its environment. This type of learning-based model is grouped under supervised Learning. There are other models which come under the category of unsupervised learning Models.

The phrase “machine learning” also dates back to the middle of the last century. In 1959, Arthur Samuel defined ML as “the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.” And he went on to create a computer checkers application that was one of the first programs that could learn from its own mistakes and improve its performance over time.

Like AI research, ML fell out of vogue for a long time, but it became popular again when the concept of data mining began to take off around the 1990s. Data mining uses algorithms to look for patterns in a given set of information. ML does the same thing, but then goes one step further – it changes its program’s behavior based on what it learns.

One application of ML that has become very popular recently is image recognition. These applications first must be trained – in other words, humans have to look at a bunch of pictures and tell the system what is in the picture. After thousands and thousands of repetitions, the software learns which patterns of pixels are generally associated with horses, dogs, cats, flowers, trees, houses, etc., and it can make a pretty good guess about the content of images.

Many web-based companies also use ML to power their recommendation engines. For example, when Facebook decides what to show in your newsfeed, when Amazon highlights products you might want to purchase and when Netflix suggests movies you might want to watch, all of those recommendations are on based predictions that arise from patterns in their existing data.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Frontiers: Deep Learning, Neural Nets, and Cognitive Computing

Of course, “ML” and “AI” aren’t the only terms associated with this field of computer science. IBM frequently uses the term “cognitive computing,” which is more or less synonymous with AI.

However, some of the other terms do have very unique meanings. For example, an artificial neural network or neural net is a system that has been designed to process information in ways that are similar to the ways biological brains work. Things can get confusing because neural nets tend to be particularly good at machine learning, so those two terms are sometimes conflated.

In addition, neural nets provide the foundation for deep learning, which is a particular kind of machine learning. Deep learning uses a certain set of machine learning algorithms that run in multiple layers. It is made possible, in part, by systems that use GPUs to process a whole lot of data at once.

If you’re confused by all these different terms, you’re not alone. Computer scientists continue to debate their exact definitions and probably will for some time to come. And as companies continue to pour money into artificial intelligence and machine learning research, it’s likely that a few more terms will arise to add even more complexity to the issues.

Computer Education – Degree Schools

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The use of computers has been almost completely incorporated into individual lifestyle, education, business, government, and more. Education in computers can be gained and applied in multiple areas allowing students to choose their desired degree program. Computer education degree schools offer training to advance student’s knowledge for a career. There are a number of things to know before enrolling in an accredited computer education career training program.

1. With computer education being so broad students can learn how to work with computer software, operate a computer system, and program a computer. These areas can be applied to work done on the Internet, with programming, and technology. The ability to earn an education in computers allows students to enter training from certificate programs to doctoral studies. Every education path is different and provides a unique career depending on the schooling gained. Computer information science, computer technology, and computer science are some education options available to students.

2. Students interested in an associate’s degree can find a program in computer information systems. This type of degree teaches students how to work with computer programming and applications inside a business setting. The purpose of education at this level is to incorporate industry standards on design and computer language. Students walk away able to design desktop applications that are used by businesses on a daily basis. Schooling centers on teaching students programming, structured system design, advanced algorithm structure, and computer systems language. Continuing education is an option at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. Further education develops management and advanced skills training to enter top-level careers.

3. If working to manage systems, networks, and databases sounds like an exciting career then earning a bachelor’s degree in computer information science is available. Students that enter a degree learn how to work with the technological communications of computers. Learning about software engineering, programming, science of computing, and designing computers teaches students about the industry. The knowledge acquired is used when working with various computer languages like C++. Students can enter careers where they can work to manage databases, control networks, and program systems. The knowledge to work with and fix technological issues is needed in a variety of businesses.

4. Computer networks store and send information, which in many cases is private and needs to remain secure. A master’s degree program in computer science examines how to work with computer operations, scientific algorithms, artificial intelligence programs, and information systems. The objective is to create a usable computer network that is secure from outside attack and infiltration. Computer networking, computer operating, programming language, and structuring data are some key course topics that students work through. This major prepares students for administrative work.

These accredited degree options and much more are opportunities for students to enter education. Full accreditation is provided by agencies like the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training ( www.accet.org ) to qualifying schools and colleges that can offer a quality education. The use of computers is not going to slow down allowing students to continue learning even after earning a degree. With the field being incredibly diverse and its continual increase in growth students can choose their degree and specialty. A satisfying career is available to dedicated students that complete computer education. Don’t let the chance to enter an exciting career pass by, enter a computer education degree program now.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

Undergraduate Courses

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Most Universities in Australia offer a wide range of undergraduate courses for their students. All these undergraduate courses offer a good career prospect as they are equally credible as the regular degree courses. The various colleges under the University which offer these undergraduate courses, have experienced faculty, excellent cross culture learning environment and well stocked libraries.

A brief overview on the various courses offered by the online departments of various Universities –

The categories of the undergraduate courses are:

Arts and Social Sciences – This category offers bachelor degrees in Arts, Social Science, and Media. The Bachelor of Arts helps to build the students critical thinking and improve writing skills, giving the graduates a wide range of career options ahead. The bachelor degree in Social Sciences helps to develop skills of critical analysis. The bachelor degree in Media enables the students to develop communication literacy and skills in networking, troubleshooting, collaboration and project development.

Commerce and Management – The Commerce and Management streams offer undergraduate courses in Business, Business Administration, and Double degrees with Business. The Business degree helps the students with professional qualification required throughout the public and private sectors. The business Administration degree is designed for the managers who want to have some managerial skills for their career progression. The double degrees enable the student to take up either law or arts undergraduate course along with a business degree course.

Education – The degree course in education includes bachelor of Education in primary, early childhood and secondary education and also bachelor of Technology education. Bachelor of education is designed for students who wish to be a teacher, or co coordinator. The bachelor of technology education enables students to become secondary teachers of industrial technology studies, food technology and design, computing studies, and design and technology.

Environmental Science and Management – The environmental science degree offers undergraduate courses like bachelor of environmental science, bachelor of marine science and management and bachelor of applied science. The Bachelor of Environmental Science focuses on the ways of restoring land and water quality, coastal management and wildlife conservation. The Bachelor of Marine Science course is a popular choice. Another most opted for course is the marine science course along with contemporary management concepts which give students better career opportunity. The bachelor degree in applied science includes subjects like industrial plantations, small-scale forestry, environmental services, wood utilization, forest inventory and planning or forestry for development.

Health and Human Sciences – This stream offers various undergraduate courses to choose from. Some of the most relevant courses are bachelor of clinical science, naturopathy, natural therapies, nursing, sports and exercise science.

Indigenous Studies – This undergraduate course offers degree in indigenous studies like trauma and healing.

Information Technology – This undergraduate stream offers courses like bachelor of information technology and applied computing.

Law and Justice – The bachelor of laws and bachelor of legal and justice studies and also double degrees with law are being offered in this stream.

Tourism and Hospitality – There are several undergraduate courses offered in this stream. Some of them are bachelor of business in tourism management, hotel and resort management, convention and event management, and environmental tourism management.

Universities also offer Postgraduate courses and Masters Courses in all these streams. The postgraduate and master courses also have experienced and qualified faculty.

Homeschool Parents – Helpful Hints For Your Role As College Planning Counselor

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College planning is essential for all high school students and parents. It is especially important for homeschool parents. Although you wear many hats, becoming your child’s guidance counselor is only one of your duties. After a long day of being a teacher, parent, chauffeur, and homemaker, assuming the role of a college planning counselor is usually placed last on your list. Finding the time and making college planning a major part of your highschooler’s curriculum leads to success in high school, college, and career.

Scholarship and Financial Aid, Career Selection, College Selection, and Test Preparation are critical components to assist you in this overwhelming task of being a college planning counselor. Plan your long and short term goals to include the following areas in your daily, monthly, and yearly guidance goals:

Scholarship and Financial Aid

Paying for college should be every family’s long range goal. In addition to having a plan of action in your family’s budget, you need to ready your child’s credentials by creating a balance of academics, community service, and leadership. These are positive factors in having the edge over other candidates for scholarships. Find the right information sources and secure the proper applications for scholarships and financial aid. It is important to complete these applications in the proper manner and meet deadlines. Missing a deadline could cost you thousands of dollars in scholarship money.

Career Selection

Research careers that match your child’s interests and abilities. Include career guidance in assignments, tests, inhome and outside activities, and long-range projects. Investigate all aspects of careers including college requirements and job-outlook. Plan your child’s course of study and college selection to fit career plans. Talk to your child about his or her likes and dislikes and merge these desires with lifetime career goals.

College Selection

Secure as much information on colleges from colleges and other sources. In selecting colleges, keep college majors and cost as priorities. Then, plan college visits to a variety of colleges. You could even make it a family outing or vacation. Meet with college representatives, tour the colleges and then return home and talk as a family to help your child narrow the selection. Consider the location, size of enrollment, admission requirements, majors, deadlines, cost, and financial aid availability.

Test Preparation

Most colleges require SAT or ACT college entrance test scores. Seek information as to the dates, times, and registration requirements of these tests. Encourage your child to take the tests well ahead of graduation. The Fall of the llth grade is a good starting point. If you are not satisfied with the scores, have your child take the tests as many times as needed. Students are able to keep the highest score. Know what scores and deadlines are required for your particular colleges, as admission/scholarship scores and deadlines vary from college to college. Get as much help as necessary from outside tutors or classes on test-taking strategies and preparation. Also, merge test-taking skills into your child’s daily assignments, homework, and tests. One point on a college entrance test could mean getting into a college or receiving scholarship money.

Assuming the role of a high school guidance counselor is not easy since guidance and counseling is a specialized profession. However, you can make this puzzling task easier for yourself and your homeschooler by making a plan and working the plan one step at a time.

Coaches in Business, Just Get on With It

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My research indicates that 95% of new coaches fail to make their coaching practice a success and actually change career. Is this because many new coaches just don’t feel comfortable about marketing their skills or perhaps more accurately they just don’t have the training and knowledge in the correct sales techniques that would allow them to market to prospective clients who understand coaching and want coaching. Thus the rookie coach just can’t make the money they had hoped to make after embarking on their original coach training.

Regretfully these very same coaches end up spending more money then they have coming in on miss-placed advertising, promotional items such as free gifts for direct mailing or exhibition use, and a web site that just is not SEO (search engine optimisation), friendly with no training and after sales service from the web designer seller. There’s so much money going out and not enough coming in thus failing to make any money. This pattern is oh so familiar and does quite frankly discourage the newly graduated coach to cancel out their big dreams and goals, automatically negating positive ideas for working as a coach.

Hold Onto Your Dream

If only these coaches could hold on to their dreams and continue to believe they will find an abundant supply of motivated coaching clients to service and assist them to release their true potential making their lifestyles better, while earning a good honest substantial coaching fee. It must be possible because there are a number of very successful coaches within the personal development industry proving that coaches in business works.

Successful coaches appear to have a natural ability to sell, so a natural assumption would be that all coaches can sell and will be successful. For what it’s worth, and that could be quite a large amount I’d say that with the appropriate sales training a coach, or any person in the service industry can learn to carry out certain salesmanship activities that create a successful sale opportunity and become that successful business person they dreamed of. Specific sales tactics will make you money.

The Rocky Road To Success

My main message to you is don’t become defeated and lose sight of your immediate and ultimate goals and definitely don’t jump ship and stop coaching as a career. Remain positive, remove all the negative vibes, work on your success building strategies and go get yourself educated about good salesmanship. CPD – continual professional development is of maximum importance to building your coaching business. There are thousands of excited coaching clients eager to be coached, some of them by you.

Generate a healthy appetite towards building your own coaching business. Define your target market then widen your reach. Organise your daily activities for worthwhile results, live your life on purpose by exploring the techniques and resources of your coaching mentor – you do have one, don’t you? In conclusion learn the fundamentals of sales, eliminating the fear of failure by staying on track without any confusion or puzzlement of who you are and what you really want.

Working With a Career Coach – What Every Job Seeker Must Know

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In today’s tough economy, every job seeker needs assistance in landing his next employment opportunity in the most efficient and expedient means possible. The services of a career coach are targeted for individuals who are unemployed or in a dead-end job or are attempting to move up the ladder or re-enter the work force.

History

Career coaching as we know it today, developed its roots from corporate coaching of the 1980’s. At that time, large corporations saw their top performers experience professional growth and increased performance through the assignment of a life coach. This process benefited key executives across all levels of the organization. Since this time, Career Coaching has evolved to a service that is available to job seekers everywhere.

Working With a Career Coach

Any candidate who is contemplating a business relationship with a Career Coach should first be aware of how the process works. It is important to connect with a Coach who will best meet the job seekers needs. Initially, expect to have either a face-to-face or telephone consultation, to determine both short and long term employment goals. This is a critical appointment that provides the Career Coach with the background information necessary to assist their client. The Career Coach provides information about the candidate’s chosen career path, salary expectations, current trends in the industry, and provides advice on prospective target employers who hire for the candidate’s chosen position.

Services Provided

A Career Coach’s role is to train the job seeker to out-perform their competition in the job market. They routinely provide services such as career exploration, interview success coaching, setting up a strategic career plan, salary negotiations assistance, as well as advice in the initial career planning process. When a job seeker requires assistance in revising their resume, or additional career services, the Career Coach has connections in the industry they readily recommend. The average cost to work with a coach is between $75.00-$250.00 per hour.

Benefits

While the cost of hiring a Career Coach may seem like an unnecessary expense when unemployed or re-entering the workforce, the benefits of the relationship can be the difference between landing a position, or remaining on the unemployment line. The coach spends time preparing the candidate for interviews and meetings with prospective employers, and literally guides the job seeker toward success in the hiring process. Individuals who work with a Career Coach are far more likely to get in the door of their target employer, and out-perform their peers in the job market.

What to Look For

Before shopping for a Career Coach, it is critical to know how to identify a professional who delivers results. Look at the coach’s work experience, ask about their professional affiliations, determine their reputation in the industry, and ask for references before moving forward with any one coach. Always know the Career Coach’s fees in advance, and ask about any guarantees offered. Above all, speak with the coach before making a final decision, to see if this is a person you will enjoy working with.

Careers After 50: The Value of a Temp Job!

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Careers after 50: developing appropriate experience to qualify for a planned career.

You’ve researched and studied a variety of proposed new careers. After speaking to others working in the field you’ve narrowed your list down to one or two possible new careers. However, you’ve found both require specific experience that you need to acquire.

Other qualifications for a new career after 50, for example, can be learned through self-study, distance learning, formal education and working with mentors. However, now you have the dilemma of getting the necessary experience to qualify for new career.

Let’s suggest a way to put you in a position to successfully compete for job in the new changed career. You might want to consider working for a temp agency, to get some desired experience or to discover if the suggested career is right for you.

Ask around for referrals to the right temp agency. Some temp agencies are specialists only working with specific careers and industries.

Re-draft your resume to put your best foot forward depending on the career and job. For each career you might want to restrict only signing up with two or three temp agencies. As you progress and learn more about specific temp agencies you can adjust your focus so you are only working with the best agency relative to the planned career.

Make it a point to see the temp agency recruiter, have a face-to-face interview and learn all you can about their services. Don’t forget this is a job interview and you want to show the recruiter how you would present yourself to a prospective employer.

Find out in advance if you are required to show specific technical skills at the temp interview and spend some time brushing up on the required skills prior to the interview.

Do some research regarding prospective wages you might expect. You’ll probably be asked what wage range you would accept. Also, you should learn what possible benefits might be available.

Many times temp assignments can last six months or longer. Be sure to tell the temp agency the length of assignment you would accept.

If the temp job is in a career you wish to qualify for, you may leverage yourself into being offered a full- time position. Or you gain enough relevant experience to qualify for a full-time career with another employer.

Don’t expect that you’ll be immediately moved into a desired temp position. Continue to contact the temp agency, at least once a week, to let them know you’re available for placement.

So the value to you using a temp agency in qualifying for a new career after 50 is: (1) Gaining required work experience, (2) Possibly being offered a job in the desired new career, (3) Bringing in some income while you prepare to change careers, or (4) Finding out the new career is not for you so you can research additional opportunities.