Navel gazing is good for your career. Really.
Run run run! Rush rush rush! No time! Career planning? What's that?

Come the New Year, career advisers are inundated with people wanting to change jobs. Such a desire, says Belinda Gibbon of the Sydney Morning Herald, may be sparked by New Years' resolutions or reassessments of careers during the year end hiatus. Auld Lang Syne indeed!

Many also fall into the short cut trap of hearing about the latest moneymaking job or the hottest career du jour and nearly falling over ourselves scrambling towards it without pausing to check how any of it is really you.

But first, the cardinal rule is this: you have to know what it is that you want to do.


Finding Your Perfect Match = Occupation Title + Field
Richard Bolles, author of the best selling job hunting bible, "What Color Is Your Parachute" defines a career as made up of two parts: an occupation-title + a field. For example, a communications executive, that's an occupational-title. A car company, a retail store, or a travel agency - these define the field of work.

He goes on to say that if you want your job hunt to be successful, you must define both your occupation title AND the field you want to do it in. Otherwise, your job-hunt is going to be too broad and unfocused, and the switch will be a much more difficult task. Craig Guttridge, a senior personnel consultant agrees.

For Those Who Haven't the Foggiest


'To thine ownself be true' - Career experts advocate it. Start by asking yourself:

• What do I like doing? What are my interests? What fascinates me?
• What are my strengths / weaknesses / motivations?
• What aspects of my current job do I enjoy/ dislike? Why?
• What kind of working environment suits me?
• What sort of salary and rewards do I want and need?

Then, don't just take your own word for it, consult with family, friends, mentors, colleagues for some objectivity.

Next, profile your skills:

1. Identify the skills you possess

   • Just about all skills are marketable, so don't underestimate any of your skills at this stage. You may not be able to organise an international conference, but you could develop a killer aptitude for complex organising.

   • Skills can be broadly divided into 4 types:
     1. specific job skills (e.g. web designing)
     2. supporting skills (e.g. computer programming)
     3. soft skills (e.g. interpersonal, self management, teamwork)
     4. current skills (skills which reflect market development which is in demand with employers)
2. Rate your proficiency at these skills: from very capable to average.
   • Be honest, test this with trusted friends and colleagues.
3. Would you like to improve on these skills?
   • This is a key indicator of what you enjoying doing.
4. Do you enjoy using these skills?
   • If you don't, it may be time to move on.

Wanted: Skills & Experience!
With your skills inventorised, determine if you need to buff up your skills. If so, how? Don't rush out and sign up for the first course or diploma. Find out whether there is value using that time to garner work experience instead?

I know, it could be that classic job seeker Catch-22 position. "Every employer wants experience!" laments Danielle, a young job seeker.

One way may be to find a back door or an open window. Wilma Gallet of the Salvation Army's Employment Plus Job Service suggests for example, if you want a job at a vet clinic, then go and do volunteer work volunteer at the RSPCA. Some experience is better than none. "If you've proved that you have the necessary skills," she says, "it helps a lot." You could even do this part time if you have another job.

Try Before You Buy
Now let's suppose you've narrowed your choice down. What's the next step? The next step is this: you must find out what the job is really like.

For Those Who Know What You Want
You might already know what you want - occupation-title and your field. What next? One of three things actually:

1. Change your field but not your occupation-title.
2. Change your occupation-title but not your field.
3. Change both your occupational title and your field.

An example of (c); say you are an accountant at an insurance firm. Now, for whatever reason, you've decided that you would like to be a manager in a furniture company.

To do this, you need to convince the furniture company that you have the expertise and skills to be a good manager, not to mention sufficient furniture industry exposure. Obviously, this is not as easy as say, pie. A more feasible way would be to change either your occupational-title, or your field. For example, either get a job as an accountant in a furniture company, or stay in your insurance firm and gain some experience in a managerial position. Having been in either of these positions for 1-3 years, try to make that second step towards being a manager in a furniture company.

The great advantage here is that you are gaining experience along the way, which carries much greater weight with potential employers than if you are inexperienced in both occupation and field.

Know Thy Stuff
Every job, every occupation is a sum of tasks or assignments. Each of these tasks or assignments demand certain skills. So, you have to ensure that your skill set matches the skill requirements of your new career. How? Read about and talk to the people in that field/occupation. Research as much as you can about that occupation, field, industry and the necessary skills for that job. Then, compare the two lists. Sure, you may have skills acquired in a different field and occupation, but remember that skills are transferable. For example, if you are an excellent negotiator, you can still be at your new job. Identify such transferable skills.

Mei, 25, the Web Content Editor for JobStreet.com landed her plum job without prior experience in neither the Web industry nor the Editorial field.

I knew my hobbies and knowledge armed me with the required skills. I just had to prove that I knew my stuff and it was not all memorised fluff! So, I sat there for 30 minutes laying out my proposals and ideas for the site's content. Did it work? Well, I'm editing this article.

Come and get your dream jobs here! Ripe for the picking!
There are few greater joys in life than to discover a career into which you can pour your heart and soul, that you look forward to in the morning. For a few lucky souls, their Dream Jobs are chanced upon serendipitously. But for the rest of us – sorry, it ain't going to fall out of a tree. You're going to have to reach within yourself, in order to reach out and grab it. Couldn't be a better time though, I heard jobs this season are sweet!