Career Opportunities with Douglas E. Welch

A college degree isn’t a license to a great career from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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Today’s column is addressed to my younger readers and listeners. It might also be useful to those of us who are older and have children entering the university system in the next couple of years. It carries an important message that everyone needs to hear. A college degree will not and cannot guarantee you a good job or a good career. I don’t believe that has ever been true. In the end, your career depends on you, your skills, your desires and your hard work. University is simply one way of gathering knowledge and skills to help that endeavour.

Read this entire article – A college degree isn’t a license to a great career from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

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Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Networking isn’t about business cards from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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After a busy month of networking mixers, Social Media Week panel discussions and hosting my 5th CareerCamp unconference I was reminded of an important lesson. We all talk about networking as an important part of building our career, but I think we can sometimes lose sight of what networking truly is and how we can best connect with those around us. There are some very important concepts to remember when you are out there actively networking if you want to gain the biggest benefit from your activities.

Read this entire article – Networking isn’t about business cards from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

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Build the Career You Deserve with these books

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* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Look deeper to find hidden jobs from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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It is conventional wisdom that bigger is always better, but when it comes to your job search, returning to the same old well might not serve your best interests. If you are looking where everyone else is looking, you shouldn’t be surprised when you find yourself facing hundreds, if not thousands, of other candidates for the same job. I think it is safe to say that in today’s environment you need to look beyond the largest job search sites if you want to build the career you deserve.

Read this entire article – Look deeper to find hidden jobs from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

The importance of the teachable moment from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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During our recent 3 week trip visiting family in Sicily, I had the opportunity to spend several days with our 25-year-old cousin Orazio who is just finishing up a 5 year program in Engineering. We talked about many things related to his career over this time, but something struck me again and again during our time together — the importance of the teachable moment.

A teachable moment is an unplanned opportunity to communicate a very important lesson. These opportunities can come and go in a flash unless you are ready to take advantage of them immediately. Whether you are on the sending or receiving end of a teachable moment, you need to recognize these opportunities when they occur and pursue them, regardless of what other plans you might have. A teachable moment is fate telling you that you need to have this discussion, that you need to share this wisdom, that you need to stop and listen, right now.

Read this entire article – The importance of the teachable moment from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Opting out of social media is no longer an option from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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…or tell your Alexa, “Alexa, play the podcast Career Opportunities”

 Many years ago, I could almost forgive people for not being as heavily into email as I was. Email was somewhat new. It was a bit technical to use. Sure, people who opted out using email made my life a little more difficult. They made it harder to coordinate group activities like parties, snacks for the Little League team, etc . You always had to make sure you called certain people on the phone to make sure they were in the loop and such. Still, you knew that not everyone “got” email. These days are long gone, though. Today, someone who doesn’t use email is akin to someone who doesn’t know how to dial a telephone. Email is now a basic life-skill — a basic tool in organizing our lives and coordinating and communicating with others.

Does this sounds familiar? It should. Social media — like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more — is now no longer something you can ignore. Opting out of social media is no longer an option unless you wish to ignore one of the most important career and life-enhancing tools available today. Sure, you can get by without social media, but ignore it and you are making a decision to stop progressing in your career. If you do not engage in social media, you will see your work peers and your family progressing far beyond you as they use these tools in enhance their lives. You won’t just be standing in place. You won’t be maintaining the status quo. You will be falling behind at an ever growing rate.

Read this entire article – Opting out of social media is no longer an option from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Make the extrinsic intrinsic in your job search from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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 ex·trin·sic/ikˈstrinzik/Adjective

1. Not part of the essential nature of someone or something; coming or operating from outside.

in·trin·sic/inˈtrinzik/Adjective

1. Belonging naturally; essential.

While engaging in the weekly #careerchat a few weeks ago, I was once again reminded of how much has changed in the work world over my last 25 years as a worker and careerist. We were discussing networking for job leads and career development and a lot of the advice seemed old fashioned to me. There was a discussion of setting up informational interviews, resumes, references and such and it seemed that many people were missing the deep changes that have taken place in the work world. After chatting for a while, I was finally able to put my finger on the nature of these changes.

We used to think of job hunting as an extrinsic activity — one outside the normal realms of work and life. We only really engaged in networking and resume development when we were actively looking for a job. Once happily ensconced in a company, all our focus turned to moving up the ranks with little thought towards what might be happening at other companies or even, more dramatically, in other careers. We stayed happy in our cocoon until something forced us to once again enter our job search mode.

Read this entire article – Make the extrinsic intrinsic in your job search from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Work your contacts like a pro from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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Back in the day, your Rolodex™ was your breadbox, your money maker and in some cases your lifeline. Today, whether you store your contacts on paper, in Gmail or some fancy CRM system, these descriptions are still valid. A lot of life and business is still about who you know.  Those contacts — both online and face-to-face — are golden. While the image of the smarmy salesman making endless phone calls is stuck in many minds, using your virtual rolodex to build your career and your income is as important as it ever was. Use your rolodex for good, not evil, and you can take your career to new heights.

Read this entire article – Work your contacts like a pro from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Most of us dramatically undervalue our knowledge from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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…or tell your Alexa, “Alexa, play the podcast Career Opportunities”

This weekend was the 4th of our free CareerCamp unconferences here in the Los Angeles area. You can learn more about what happened there on the website at http://careercampscv.wordpress.com.

My first session of the day was a breakout discussion on social media and your career. (The audio from this session should be available both here on Career Opportunities and the CareerCampSCV web site.) During that discussion, I heard a common refrain, “What do I have to share, discuss, write about, blog about?” I have heard this many times before and I always work to dispel this myth.

Unfortunately, most of us often undervalue or devalue the unique knowledge that we have developed over the years. Even someone starting out in a career has learned some important lessons that could benefit others. Still, many of us hang our heads and proclaim we have nothing to offer to the world. Sometimes, in a slightly mean fashion, I will point out to people that if they have nothing to say about their work or their life, then they have much larger problems than just building their career. Most immediately understand what I mean. It is my effort to get them thinking about what they know and how important it might be to others.

Read this entire article – Most of us dramatically undervalue our knowledge from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Too Much Can’t in the World Today from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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I must confess that I didn’t watch the launch of the final Space Shuttle mission today. I couldn’t bring myself to be in a celebratory mood since I see today’s launch as yet another step in a long list of “can’t” in today’s America. We can’t do this. We can’t do that. Even worse, we can’t afford to do this or that. Can’t often has nothing to do with external realities of money or knowledge. It has much more to do with a lack of will. Can’t allows us an easy excuse to stop doing those things that are most important. Can’t allows us to continue a long, slow slide into mediocrity, seemingly without blame. “It’s not my fault, we can’t afford it!” We can do these important things if we are innovative and creative and if we find the ability to see the value that is often found in these long-term programs.

Read this entire article – Too Much Can’t in the World Today from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Take some time to review your career from the Career Opportunities Podcast

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It is easy for thoughts, tasks and projects to get lost during the height of the work and school year. There is simply so much competing for our time that it is inevitable that some things get shuffled off into storage or forgotten entirely. I realized the other day that I hadn’t picked up my guitar in months. I love playing guitar, but finding the time — any time — to sit and play just wasn’t in my schedule. I was busy, and due to being so busy, more tired than I normally might be. This is a dark road that leads to hours spent staring at the computer or the television.

Read this entire article – Take some time to review your career from the Career Opportunities Podcast

One-To-One Career Consulting

Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners.

Click for more information and pricing 

Build the Career You Deserve with these books

†††

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library