Discover your passion

What are you passionate about? We didn’t ask if you are passionate. But what are you passionate about? What stirs your emotions? What is it you can’t stop talking about whenever someone asks: “What are you passionate about?” What’s the fire in your belly? What really turns you on? What do you love doing most?

What is it that you love doing so much that you forget time? You forget others. You are so focussed that you don’t hear anything. What is it that gets your creative juices going? What is it that you love more than anything else?

Graham is passionate about books. He loves them. He just loves books. They are all placed in their respective homes on the shelves. Each has a neighbour. He fondles them. Cares for them. Places book marks in them, never folds the corner of their page.

A bookshop is like a magnet to him. He will spend hours with his head tilted to one side as he scours the shelves for works that interest him. He loves books that have a different angle on coaching and developing people. He loves reading unusual biographies. He loves books where people have beaten the odds to survive. It doesn’t matter whether they are fiction or non fiction. They have to be about improving self.

At least that’s what it appears to the outsider. But, you see, books aren’t really his passion. It just looks like it. He loves books yes of course he does. But really the books are a vehicle. A method of giving him what he truly craves for…..

Career Management

Dangerous Liaisons

We've all met them. They're young, handsome, newly qualified and out to see the world. John is just one more young man using his English teaching certificate to help him travel before he settles down. He's done a stint in Mexico, in China and now he's in Eastern Europe. Of course all his female students adore him. But John is too professional to become entangled with a student. But he's just discovered that situations can get very nasty despite his good intentions.

In his new class, one student, let's call her Olga, quickly fell under his spell. She was always waiting after class to ask him to explain something. John's only human and he was flattered by her attention so when she asked him to join her and her friends at a restaurant one evening, he didn't see any harm in it. Only there were no other friends and Olga made it clear that it wasn't just food on the menu. John dealt with her firmly but politely saying that teachers were not allowed to have relationships with students. He left the restaurant.

The next morning the Principal called him to her office. Olga had complained that he had sexually assaulted her and was threatening to go to the police unless John was sacked. Although the Principal believed John's version of events, the circumstantial evidence against him was grim. Other students confirmed that he often stayed behind in the classroom with Olga. John was so upset that he decided to resign in order to save the school embarrassment.

How To Find A Job During A Recession

CREATING YOUR OWN LUCK

Losing my job in the last recession of the last century, I discovered first hand the power of creating your own luck. A week later, I decided to locate an interim position while I looked for a "real" one. Accepting a temporary position at minimum wage in an industry I knew little about, I decided the way to enjoy the position was to learn everything I could and contribution all that I could. I poured over manuals in my down time, developed processes to expedite the work, trained new employees, volunteered for additional assignments, and did anything that needed to be done. Four weeks into a ten week job, I was unexpectedly offered my first management position.

If I had listened to my friends cautioning me that taking a minimum wage position was career suicide, if I had been concerned about accepting a job "beneath" my education or experience level, or if I had only done what was expected, I would have missed an opportunity that led to five promotions in the next seven years.

It has been my experience over the years, while climbing the corporate ladder to Vice President of a multi-billion dollar company, that opportunity is everywhere and anywhere. Often, it’s in unexpected places for those who differentiate themselves in the workplace. People who do what is expected of them, do it very well, "and then some" have opportunities arise that others never do. And people who set their ego aside, contributing everything they can to the task at hand, often create their own luck. That’s because initiative is a powerful commodity in the workplace.

Aviation Careers and Training

nterested in airplanes and flight? Mechanics and electronics? Aviation and aeronautical careers are increasing in demand as the population rises, the economy strengthens and people become more comfortable resuming air travel. Find out about the types of careers available and the training and experience required to pursue them.

Careers in the aviation and aeronautical field include pilots, flight engineers, aircraft mechanics, and avionics technicians. The following is a quick description of what each of these jobs entails.

• Aircraft mechanics (airframe mechanics, power plant mechanics, and avionics technicians) Airframe mechanics work on everything except instruments, power plants, and propellers. Powerplant mechanics do some work on propellers as well as work on engines. Workers can become certified in both airframe and powerplant mechanics (A&P) and work on all parts of plane excluding instruments.

• Avionics technicians maintain radio, navigation, and radar instruments and components. They may be required to acquire additional licensing by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

• Flight engineers often are the third member of the cockpit crew. They monitor instruments, make repairs, and assist the first officer and captain in flight. Flight engineers are required to have pilot’s licenses, flying experience, and must pass an exam given by the FAA. They may even become pilots with the right training, experience and desire.

• The First officer is also known as the co-pilot. The first officer monitors instruments during take-off and landing while the captain focuses on the runway and controls. During the flight the first officer and the captain alternate flying the plane.

Choosing The Right Career

How to choose a career for yourself? It is important to go for a career that is your calling. There are numbers of options to choose from. You can make a career in medicine, law, architecture, finance, designing, media and many more fields. Your career will also decide what you do for the better part of your day/night and more importantly the course of your life. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a career that suits you and your expectations from life.

Choose a job that you love and you will never have to work. This maxim holds true even today. You can choose a career suiting your skill sets and personality type. If colors and designs have inspired you since long, a career in designing will suit you just fine. Give wings to your dream by becoming a pilot. If you can stand up against the wrong and are a vociferous speaker, then a degree in law is awaiting you. For the lovers of words there are careers in media. Different people have different motivations. Some people want to be famous and some want a career that gives creative satisfaction. Then there are others who want to serve humanity and work for noble purposes. Ponder over what are your motivations in life and accordingly choose a career.

There are a host of creative career options that you can choose from such as films, arts, music and theater. However be prepared to work hard in any career you choose. All these avenues might seem very glamorous, but the truth is that a lot of hard work and perseverance goes behind them. In case you choose acting as a career, do a reality check. Do not enter harboring dreams of instant fame and success, since all this may take time. For the time success does not court you, the going might get very tough. Most of the passionate actors in such cases work in the evening shifts to make their ends meet and they go for auditions in the daytime.

While choosing a career it is important not to get bogged down by parental or peer pressure. There are also times when there is a certain wave that takes the economy by sway. In such times it is important to hold ground and not get carried away. You should not be choosing your career on the basis of such factors. All these influences might result in you getting a career that might not be your call or it is not motivating enough.

Changing Careers Made Easy

Are you finally ready to move on with your life? While it may sometimes feel like you are the only one in the world trying to change your plans, the average jobseeker actually changes careers seven times during his or her lifetime. That’s good news because at least you know that other people have successfully made career changes.

So what are the options for successfully making the transition?

Option 1: This option is to stay at your current job while you carry out volunteer work to gain the appropriate work experience. You may have to do such work on weekends, during the evenings or from home by special arrangement. Most small businesses do welcome those who can do volunteer work.

Option 2: Another option is to move to the new company and field and continue doing your normal job role. In doing so, you can carry out work that you feel comfortable with while taking stock of the new environment. This will give you valuable exposure to the new job so that you can informally initiate and be proactive at assisting and helping out in any capacity within that job role.

Option 3: In some professions, it is impossible to successfully make the transition without first re-training. This often involves acquiring professional qualifications. Never dive into the first training option that comes your way but rather do thorough research to ensure that you end up selecting the very best option available to you.

Option 4: According to our research, many career changers have decided to forgo working only one job in favor of taking on multiple jobs. You may want to consider whether you want to be part of this growing trend and increase both the pay and flexibility of your lifestyle.

Hot jobs in 2010

Become Trained in Medical Billing and Transcription and Succeed

Nearly every encounter that occurs between a doctor and a patient is recorded either via electronic equipment or by voice. When dictated, this information istranscribed by a medical transcriptionist wherein the finished work is put into the patient's chart.

Going through a certified medical transcription training course will allow you to get your foot in the door of this exciting career where you can earn up to twenty dollars an hour starting out. Probably the biggest benefit to this type of career is the fact that you can work from home which gives you the freedom to set your own hours- with certain limitations of course. There is currently a high demand for medical transcription personnel all across the United States which means that you stand a very good chance of becoming hired immediately following your successful completion of the training program. A career in medical transcription is stable, lucrative and very rewarding.

Not everyone is cut out to work in this field as there is a whole new language to learn. It is also required that you take courses in anatomy, physiology and medical terminology. A good transcriptionist works quickly and has an eye for detail as the work is demanding and must be done very accurately.