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Finding Your Career Path

Finding your career path

The process of finding a job can be daunting, and even thinking about finding your career path can seem downright overwhelming. But what experience has taught me and what many of my clients tell me is that they wish they had someone to steer them in the right path from the very beginning.  

While all of our experiences are valuable and should never be regretted, what if you had an opportunity to get it right from the very beginning? What if finding your career path didn’t seem so overwhelming after all. If you are fresh out of college or even  if you have years of experience, think how far you would be if you took the time to really explore and find your ideal career path.  While it is not always obvious  there are many steps that you can take to get a jump start on finding your career path. 

Job vs. Career 

Just what is a career and how does it differ from a job? And why does it matter?  Having the advantage of finding your career path early on in life can be the difference between living a life full of passion and living a life full of  habits and rituals that are not fulfilling.  Understanding the difference between a job and career  affects the psychological state of mind when you are job searching.  

What is a Job? 

A job is defined as  a regular activity performed in exchange for payment.  So,  any service that you exchange for pay is a job.  Mowing your neighbors yard.  Babysitting for friends. Working at McDonald’s  on the weekend. These are all considered jobs.  Even high paying positions are considered jobs when there is no plan to develop a career in that field. However, it is also possible to turn these sometimes low paying jobs into higher paying careers, if  so desired.  More often than not these types of jobs are jobs and not part of our career goals. The objective is to get started on your career goals s early as possible so  that you can have a fulfilling, meaningful and purposeful career versus just a job.  

What is a Career? 

A career is defined as the general course or progression of your professional achievements.  ” A police officer with a distinguished career.”  Typically there is a strategy for growth when a career is developed.  Career development  consists of  the  total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical, and chance factors that comes together to shape your career.  The objectives is to bring all of these factors into play when developing your career. 

My goal as a career coach is to help you figure out your career path.  While there may be the need to have a few jobs along the way, the key is to always be planning ahead,  making sure that the necessary skills are being learned as you develop your career. 

It is certainly possible that you already have many skills that will be beneficial to you as you search for jobs in your career field.  I can help you analyze your job experience with a very critical eye that allows you to shine on your resumes and in interviews. 

Please take the time to browse around this site to find other helpful information to help you develop and find your career path. We offer lots of great information to help you along your journey.  I am a career coach and I aim to cater to you, exclusively you. I am happy to help guide you in the right direction.  Feel free to contact us to discuss any of our coaching packages from resume and cover letter preparation, personality assessments , mock interviewing via skype to our executive career development coaching package that features all of these components and more. 

Please  fill out our contact form to discuss how we can help you with any of our customization  packages  or subscribe to our blog to receive career development tips and resources and other exciting event updates. 

 

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10 Responses so far.

  1. reedcritchfield says:
    May 9, 2016 at 11:32 pm
    This is well presented; business like, insightful and practical. You have covered the critical questions for career hunters. The Jump Start Your Career page is particularly crucial for those trying to decide what to study in school or seeking to find the right career. Have you considered putting in some client testimonials to help boost your credibility?
    Reply
    • Tonya says:
      May 10, 2016 at 12:59 am
      Hi there,

      Thanks for the great review. My goal is to provide practical information that anyone can use. As the Director of Career Services for a university for more than six years, I’ve often argued that students should have this information prior to college. I can’t tell you how many students don’t know what to study or never use their college degrees because they didn’t know what they wanted to do.
      Some that got to my class in their freshman or sophomore year I was able to steer in the right direction. And then, there were those who didn’t get to me until their junior or senior year in school.
      This is why I want to be a source of information now, so that we can lessen the time wasted on zoology degrees when you have no interest in animals. 🙂
      Oh, the stories I could share…. 🙂

      Thanks again for stopping by.
      Don’t be a stranger.

      Be Inspired,

      Tonya

      I appreciate the testimonial suggestions.
      Certainly something I will be working on compiling.

      Be inspired!!

      Tonya

      Reply
  2. sandy says:
    May 10, 2016 at 12:00 am
    Love the idea of the mock interviewing via skype. That’s great! Though, where I live you pretty much do not even get near the interview stage unless you know somebody, for the most part, or you are 20-something. Also, if you can help people get past the resume screening robots somehow, that would be super-helpful. Oh, and if you haven’t you could do a post about resume advice scams. They are out there big time. I think the one I almost fell for was topresume.com (my apologies to them if I am naming the wrong one). I checked them out on a forum and they were giving the same basic canned analysis to everybody, we all posted the text and they were all pretty much the same. So if you could help direct people away from those you’d be doing a great service! Good luck. -Sandy
    Reply
    • Tonya says:
      May 10, 2016 at 12:51 am
      Hi Sandy,

      Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the suggestion about the resume scams review. I will put that on the top of my list.
      That’s so awful to give canned information to people. It’s just downright unethical and wrong on so many levels.
      Thanks, I really do appreciate that information.

      Reply
  3. countrygirl1976 says:
    May 10, 2016 at 12:01 am
    Nice site. I imagine this site will be helpful to any of us choosing the career path we like best.
    Your site is very informative and you seem to be truthful about really wanting to help.
    I will be back here soon!
    Reply
    • Tonya says:
      May 10, 2016 at 12:44 am
      Thank you so much for stopping by. Yes, my goal is to help others find their passion. Whether that’s a job a or entrepreneurship venture.
      I really do think the worst thing is going to a job everyday that you hate. Been there, done that. Not pretty!!
      So I’m on a mission to provide information and helpful resources to help others find direction.
      Please do sigh up for the newsletters and blogs.

      Hope to see you here again,

      Be Inspired!!

      Reply
  4. Jeff says:
    May 10, 2016 at 4:33 am
    Very nice informative and well layed out site Tonya! I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new career.
    Reply
  5. Eric Estrella says:
    May 12, 2016 at 5:39 pm
    Great post….Very informative! Your article very helpful for who choosing a new career. Thank you for sharing this!
    Cheers
    Eric
    Reply
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