I Dont Know What Advice To Follow. Where Do I Start

“I Dont Know What Advice To Follow. Where Do I Start” Help from our Community “I Dont Know What Advice To Follow. Where Do I Start?” * Simon doesn't know where to start with his career change â€" and the different advice he's received is only making him more confused. When there's no clear path to follow, how can you ever feel confident you're on the right track? What's your career history and current job? I'm a quality assurance manager for a household-name brand. I've been in this company for about seven years. Before that, I had a brief stint as an analyst at a financial services company, but I moved quite quickly from that role because of a character clash with my manager. I think I ran away from my initial career path to escape my boss, and never meant to stay so long. But somehow, here I am! How do you feel about your work? I feel very distant from what I do. It doesn't really seem to have anything to do with me. I know that most people could fill my role, given the right training, and that's a bit demoralising, getting up every day to just carry out someone else's processes and systems. All I'm expected to do is keep ticking the right boxes and hitting the right targets. It feels like a waste; I've got so much more to offer than that. But there's no space for me to experiment or drive things forward more, or to be more myself at work. 'Just do your job' is really the mentality, and that's not enough for me. What would you like to be doing instead? I don't know yet. I know I want to have more autonomy in my work; although whether that means being my own boss or moving to a more senior role, I'm not sure. I know I'd like some more creativity in what I do, and I'd like to do something where the results of my work are more quickly visible. Beyond that, it's all a bit blank. What's the biggest obstacle in your way? I don't mind not knowing what I want. But I do mind not knowing what to do to find out what I want. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what I should be doing. Every website I read, every person I talk to â€" they've all got a different angle on how I can work out what I really want, and all it's doing is confusing me. Leave my current job and get something less pressured, to get some space to think. Stay where I am and get a coach. Do some psychometric testing, take a holiday, set up a little business on the side to build a financial cushion… Get a skills assessment, see a recruitment consultant, look on LinkedIn… None of those things feel like they're the right starting point, but I don't have a better idea, so what do I do? I don't know where to start, I don't know what advice to follow and what to ignore, and I really, really don't like not knowing what to do. I'm a process person â€" I don't do well fumbling in the dark. I know there's probably no step-by-step process for this kind of question, but it would be great to have at least an idea that I can be reasonably sureof, instead of feeling like I'm floating around and clutching at straws. How can I feel confident I'm on the right track? Can you help Simon? Have you been in a similar situation, or are you in the same boat right now? How do you think Simon could move his shift forwards? Do you know anyone he could talk to? Share your thoughts in the comments below and click the thumbs-up button to show your support. Give Simon a cheer of encouragement by hitting the thumbs-up button here:

5 Steps to Avoid Online Job Scams - Classy Career Girl

5 Steps to Avoid Online Job Scams Today, the easiest and fastest way to search for a job is by browsing online job sites. Inc. recently reported that a whopping?79 percent?of job seekers today head online to find their next jobs. With an abundance of career opportunities available online, sending your resume to an employer takes only a few clicks. Unfortunately, job seekers are perfect targets for online job scams. You need to be aware of these threats and know how to protect yourself. Here are 5 key steps you need to take in order to keep yourself safe while job hunting online. 5 Steps to Avoid Online Job Scams 1. Secure Your Computer Before you use the internet to search for a job, you need to make sure your computer is completely protected from online threats with appropriate software. This is a must if you use the internet for any purpose and is especially important with online job hunting. The first line of defense is installing a firewall which will detect and block any potential remote access attempts. Anti-virus and anti-malware software is necessary to block viruses, spyware, and malware that could infect your computer if you visit suspicious sites. You also need to make sure that all of the mentioned software and your operating system are all updated regularly. 2. Recognize Online Job Scams Learning to tell the difference between genuine job opportunities and scams may be a job seekers?biggest challenge today. Here are?surefire signs?a posted job may be a scam: You received unsolicited application requests via email. If this happens, make sure you confirm all unsolicited job opportunities before applying. The opportunity sounds too good to be true. If the pay seems high for the skill set or other parameters seem off, it is likely a scam. The job ad is a well-known scam. Envelope stuffing, pyramid schemes, home assembly these are all known scams. The job ad requires you to pay a certain fee to apply. No legitimate employer will charge you a fee up front to apply for a job.  3. Avoid Sharing Sensitive Information If you are asked for?your social security number, birthdate, credit card or banking numbers early in the job process, be extremely careful. Even if you are completely sure that that you are applying for a legitimate position, you should be wary when sharing such sensitive information online. This especially applies if you haven’t secured your computer with appropriate security software. If a hacker gets ahold of your personal information you could become a victim of identity theft. To prevent that from happening, take the necessary security precautions and only share your personal information over the phone or in person. [RELATED: The Top Ten Online Tools I Cant Live Without] 4. Be Careful With Unsolicited Email As mentioned above, you might get unsolicited emails offering resume help, career coaching, interviewing tips or job opportunities. Unfortunately, many of these offers are scams. That is why you should be extremely careful when opening and responding to emails that have the following characteristics: You are BCCd on what looks like a bulk email. The reply to address goes to an unattended mailbox. The sender is using an email service such as Gmail or Yahoo instead of an official corporate email address. The email includes instructions to download documents, click links or watch embedded videos (any of which could discharge spyware or malware onto your device). Someone you dont know sends you a personalized email inviting you to apply for a job. 5. Trust Your Instincts Finally, probably the most important thing when searching for a job is to trust your own instincts. So, if your internal warning bells start going off, pay attention.?If a job sounds too good to be true or if anything about the job looks suspicious, it would be best to not pursue that position. There is always a way to verify employers, job opportunities and application criteria when the job is legitimate. By taking the time to complete these extra steps, you can ensure you spend your valuable time applying for legitimate jobs that deserve your talent and skills. Final Thoughts By understanding how scammers step in at moments in life when you are particularly vulnerable or trusting to take advantage of you, you can take the proper self-protective measures. By securing your computer, verifying whether job postings are authentic, safeguarding your private information and trusting your instincts, you can successfully navigate through the wilds of the internet to land a great new job.

Eight Excel Functions That Will Make Your Life Easier

Eight Excel Functions That Will Make Your Life Easier While it may seem like a fairly simple program on the surface, Excel is an incredibly powerful piece of software that allows users to store, calculate and manipulate large, diverse sets of numbers with ease. But large data sets are difficult to deal with when everything has to be done manually, which is why we use functions. Functions allow you to add, subtract and otherwise manipulate or gain information from any set of data by simply typing it in a blank cell. Of course, not all of us are database administrators with years of experience with Microsoft products, so we won’t get into anything too technical. What these functions will do is make your life a hell of a lot easier by allowing you to make calculations, better understand your finances and compile statistics with very little effort. Here are eight that you can learn, understand and implement right now. AVERAGE As the name would suggest, typing =AVERAGE followed by brackets and a cell reference, e.g. (A1:B4) allows you to get the average amount for the dataset of your choosing. This can come in handy when calculating your finances. MIN and MAX MIN and MAX allow you to obtain the smallest and largest number in a set of data respectively. Format-wise, its exactly the same as AVERAGE. Most functions in this list are, unless otherwise stated. Converting Pace to MPH and Back Again This one’s a little more than just a single function. It comes in especially handy for runners or hikers who want to figure out their pace or speed without knowing the other measurements. Excel Semi-Pro has more information on Convert Mph Excel. COUNT If you want to figure out how many cells in a specified range have numbers in them, =COUNT is your best friend. Add an A to the end to include cells that contain any other type of data in them as well, such as text. DAYS This is especially helpful when drawing up custom planners. By typing in =DAYS followed by the specified range, you can figure out how many days there are between two specified dates. Excel will automatically know that you’re dealing with dates based on the formatting of the cells referenced. SQRT For all the mathematicians who don’t want to go through the hassle of using a calculator, =SQRT followed by your desired number in brackets will give you the square root of said number. ROUND Unnecessary decimal values keeping you up at night? =ROUND, followed by the cell reference, a comma and the number of decimals you want to round to, all in brackets, gets rid of those pesky after-comma digits. CONCATENATE This deceptively simple function draws data from two separate cells and combines it. With a bit of learning and skill, you’ll be surprised at just how useful CONCATENATE can be in day-to-day use. There are dozens, if not hundreds of other functions in Excel that you may find useful. Microsoft’s support page has a variety of posts that can help you better understand each function. Otherwise, just play around a little on a blank spreadsheet and see what you can figure out.

11 Ways to Stay Organized In Your Job Search - Classy Career Girl

11 Ways to Stay Organized In Your Job Search This is a sneak peek of a free webinar I am doing about the Love Your Career Formula. Click here to sign-up today. Multiple websites, emails, phone numbers and resumes! Its hard to keep everything straight while job searching, right? When you are job searching, it is important to stay organized. 1. Create a Job Application Spreadsheet in Excel If youre familiar with Microsoft Excel or a similar program, creating a spreadsheet is a simple and effective way to keep track of your job applications. You can include the following columns: Company Name, Contact, Email, Date Applied, Application Summary, Interview, Follow-up, and Status. 2. Create a Job Application Table in Word If Excel is not for you, you can create a simple table in Microsoft Word or any similar word processor. In your table, the columns are the categories you want to keep track and the rows are to how many positions you’re applying for. 3. Use Google Spreadsheets and Calendar Google is the best way to go if you want to stay organized online. Make use of Google  Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Docs. 4. Use JibberJobber JibberJobber is perhaps the most well-known option, and is an excellent resource for staying organized. It’s easy to get disorganized during a job hunt. To help you keep track of information you have collected during your job search, you can use a free tool such as JibberJobber. 5. Use Your Smart Phone For a do-it-yourself method of organization, consider using your smart phone as is for example, use your notes or download a spreadsheet app and keep track of your information there. You can also use alarms, alerts and your calendar to stay on top of impending deadlines, interviews, and other important dates and times. And of course, there are a lot of mobile apps you can use. 6. Use a Notebook If youre a pen-in-hand type who likes to keep it old school, buy a note book and dedicate it to your job search. To keep track of your application, you can use it to jot down a cover letter draft, take notes during interviews, and record anything else that comes up while youre looking for jobs, networking, and interviewing. 7. Simplify Your Search Making the effort to simplify your job search will pay off. Focus on quality, not quantity: only apply to legitimate positions that youre qualified for, and make each application count, personalizing each cover letter and updating and proofreading your resume. 8. Create a Twitter Job Search List to Track Job Listings Recruiters are tweeting jobs they need to interview candidates everydayâ€"making twitter a seriously untapped resource for job seekers. Creating a job search list including recruiters, hiring managers, and job search websites can help you get updates on these leads. 9. Manage Your Online Reputation Manage your online reputation using social mention.  It is very important to keep your reputation crystal clear while job searching. 10. Manage Your Business Cards Manage and organize your business cards you collect while networking using Insightly. Insightly helps you manage your key contacts and relationships for FREE. It’s an awesome tool for your job search. 11. Create an Automatic Follow-up Using Contactually One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is focusing too much on meeting new people and neglecting about the people you already know. With the help of Contactually, you can consistently reengage with the most important people in your network through sending automatic reminders to email people you haven’t talked to in a while. Now go get organized and report back with what you did! This is a sneak peek of a free webinar I am doing about the Love Your Career Formula. Click here to sign-up today.

Achieve Your Dream With Professional Resume Writing Services

Achieve Your Dream With Professional Resume Writing ServicesProfessional resume writing services Chandigarh are specially designed for those who need to write an effective resume. A professional resume writer will outline the complete background of the candidate, its objectives and what the career objective is for the person. In a matter of few minutes you can get yourself a good job and professional resume writing services Chandigarh are available from time to time. These services include professional resume writing that involves a complete structure of a resume in a single package.Typing and formatting are the major role of the professionals. Apart from these, they also ensure that the entire content is accurate, well-organized and well-formatted. The person who wants to become an MLA (Montessori Arts) student has the opportunity to make his dream come true. He can be a part of the medical writing field which involves dealing with medical offices, hospitals and physicians.Professio nal resume writing services Chandigarh's experts are adept in writing a perfect CV that will reflect your entire life history. The resume of an ordinary person cannot be compared to a resume of a person who is an MLA student. This is because the aspiring student is working towards fulfilling his dream which involves being part of medical school. You can join the first class category of applicants and the student can be able to get admission in a reputed institution without difficulty. After all the personality of the candidate plays an important role while submitting a resume.The career planner works as a human resource manager and has a lot of responsibility. There are many people who want to have a career change and the opportunity can be made available through this service. The applicant should be aware that it is the function of a career planner to determine your opportunities. These people can give importance to your experience and you have the ability to lead an interesting an d progressive life. While submitting a resume, it should be submitted in an interesting and convincing manner to get a positive response.The student who wants to have an excellent and outstanding professional resume, then it should be made possible by an experienced professional resume writing services Chandigarh. The managers of this company have complete knowledge about what the prospective candidates are required to highlight and what information needs to be omitted from the resume. There are many things that are crucial to be included on the resume which will help you succeed in your career and open more chances.The writers at the professional resume writing services have learned the art of writing a good resume from many years of experience. They have a talent to provide you with the appropriate structure of your resume that will suit your needs and requirements. Many people who want to transform their lives always want to have a career change which can be made possible through the services of these people. They have a wide range of expertise that covers all aspects of life. If you have an interest in becoming a medical student then you have the right opportunity to achieve this goal by using the services of these professional resume writing companies.Chandigarh is a small town where there are many people who possess the employable attitude towards everything that is required for success. The Chandigarh is a small town in India and people with excellent education have the confidence to pursue their dreams. The university's main campus is located in this small town and students have the opportunity to enroll for online degrees and certificate courses from the very beginning.Online medical course for the undergraduate and postgraduate level is available from several universities. Students have to select the kind of education level they require to pursue their dream of becoming a doctor. If you want to be an MLA student then you need to have a good education al background. After all these are the aspiring students who need a professionally written resume to get a good employment as well as a dream career.

To The Letter Navigating Rules And Regulations As A New Business

To The Letter Navigating Rules And Regulations As A New Business Pixabay CC0 Licence One of the most confusing opponents of running a business when youve just started out is how to navigate the rules and regulations. With every little part of the operation, you have a specific rule to follow that is set out by the powers that be. If you have employees working late you have to make sure they dont work over a set number of hours. Or when you have employees burning the candle at both ends for your benefit, you have to make sure that you are following the rules to the letter. It can be incredibly confusing. What do you need to do in order to make sure that the plans to develop the business are addressed, but also keep within the legal and professional boundaries? Addressing The Specific Rules To Your Industry In specific industries, there are various types of red tape. There may be rules on lifting points for transporting loads in the haulage industry or there may be specific rules relating to the safety of electrical equipment meaning that these things need to be addressed every so often. Once you start to address the specific rule to your industry, that is when you are making a plan to tackle these issues as you go. Preparation is better than reaction. Once you start to look at the specific rules to your industry, especially with regards to land use permits or zoning laws, this will very likely feel like your progress is hindered. But its important to use these things to your advantage. Using Local Regulations To Your Benefit Local regulations can appear to be the extra hurdle but there are numerous local city and county governments that provide specific regulations that arent as complex as the nationwide ones. Many local organizations provide rules and regulations for the benefit of the city or county, and its worth bearing this in mind. Once you start to do your homework and learn about the specific rules and regulations you can begin to plan for compliance which will help you to grow your business in a local setting. This is what will help your company to make a more organic progression. Acquiring Relevant Help And with local rules and regulations, this means you can apply for help through financing programs. Many local governments support small businesses through specific programs that can offer grants or direct equity investment. As a new business, its important to get all of the help that you can. As local banks and credit unions are interested in developing the local community this can provide you with an extra set of tools. For example, they could point you towards specific connections that you can network with. While rules and regulations can seem like a frustrating component and that there are too many rules to follow, its crucial that you use them to your advantage. It may feel like youre not able to develop your business organically, but it is the law and its something that you do need to follow to the letter.  

Career resources for Veterans - Sterling Career Concepts

Career resources for Veterans Career resources for Veterans Todays post is the second of a series of three, courtesy of the Center for School, College and Career Resources (CSCCR), an organization that connects people and institutions to expert-driven online resources that can help individuals leverage their futures, whether that means pursuing higher education or a new career. Veterans are a population group who need specific career advice on how to successfully reenter the civilian workforce. Here are five recommended online career resources for veterans that range from possible next moves to returning to graduate school:   Veterans Job Search Guide  https://www.moneygeek.com/careers/resources/veterans-job-search-guide/ My Next Move for Veterans  https://www.mynextmove.org/vets/ Education and Career Counseling  http://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/edu_voc_counseling.asp Veterans’ Job Search Tool  https://www.vets.gov/employment/job-seekers/search-jobs Paying for Graduate School: Military Veterans  http://www.gograd.org/financial-aid/scholarships/military-veterans/