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You know, it is the lack of career change ideas that seems to keep many would-be career changers stuck.

One of the things that clients often say to me is:

I know I want to change careers, to do something different, but I just don't know what I want to do instead.

The problem is they are stuck in a habitual pattern of boxed-in thinking that prevents them from seeing the wealth of possibilities that are out there.

Would you like some tips to help you get out of that place and to help you to generate a range of new career ideas to explore? Then read on.

Tip 1 - Forget job titles
Job titles really inhibit your thinking. If I asked you to list all the jobs you could think of, you might come up with a couple of hundred before you ran dry. In reality there are thousands of jobs out there that you would never identify under your own steam, so forget the job title and focus instead on the key themes that are important for you in a job. What do you want your dream job to involve?

Tip 2 - List what you don't want to do
This is often quite easy to do if you are in a job you hate and it can be a very useful exercise. It helps you to focus on the aspects of a job that really drive you nuts and then also identify those that are annoying in your current job but actually you'd be prepared to put up with to some degree in a different situation. When you identify something as a no-no, ask if it would always be no under all circumstances. This will help you to avoid rejecting jobs in a knee-jerk way because they share similarities with your current role.

Tip 3 - List what you think you should want to do
What do you think your career should look like? What pressure are you putting on yourself to confirm to certain benchmarks (eg I must be earning a certain salary, I should be in a professional role, it must be something that other people will respect and admire me for). Just check with yourself whose rules you are following here. Who exactly says that your career must look like this? Is this really what you want or what other people say you should aspire to?

Tip 4 - List what you would do if anything were possible
Yes, you are allowed to take the brakes off here and create a big dream. Forget the constraints you put on yourself, wherever they come from. If your fairy godmother arrived to take you to the ball, what job or career would you ask her to line up for you as part of the deal?

Tip 5 - List what you would do if you gave yourself permission to say that you want it
So often, we limit the possibilities in our lives because we just don't allow ourselves to want something. Maybe you want to earn lots of money - but that seems too greedy. Maybe you want to have an easy, quiet job - but that seems too lazy. Maybe you want to set up your own business - but you can't because you have to think about so many other people in your life first. What do you need to give yourself permission to want to do?

Tip 6 - Reinvent yourself
If you could rewind the tape on your life and re-run it, what would you do? If you could dump all the stuff, the rules, the history that you have gathered on your journey through life to this point and travel light without the baggage, where would your journey take you? What would the new you look like and what work would this new person be doing? What does this tell you about what would really inspire you?

Tip 7 - Think big and think small
Your new career does not have to be something world changing and grand. If you want to change the world, great! Go ahead and build your new career around this big vision. But if you feel drawn to operating on a more local scale, that's fine too. Small changes can be just as transforming for your career and your life as big ones, so don't be fooled into thinking that bigger is necessarily better. Career change success is about finding what feels right for you.

So take some time to think about your career change with these 7 tips in mind - and by time I mean days, weeks, maybe even months if necessary. Changing career is a big step, so allow yourself the time and space to really think it through.

And while these tips are beginning to free up your thinking about new career possibilities, I invite you to take a look around the How To Change Careers website where you will find a host of career change ideas to get you moving, and you can also download my free Career Change Blueprint http://www.how-to-change-careers.com/career-change-blueprint.html - a step-by-step guide to career change success.

From Cherry Douglas - Your Career Change Guide

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This question deals with an issue that is on just about everyone's mind these days: job security. It seems that every corner you peer into, the failing economy is having its impact. No one is immune.

Within the profession of nursing, however, the news is good...yet very complicated. Jobs are being lost at a frightening pace here in 2009. Businesses are closing their doors so fast it can make your head spin. Many of today's jobs are jobs that depend on people either having money to spend, or enough credit to feel comfortable in spending money they don't actually have.

When that dries up, consumers stop consuming. Producers have to stop producing, and jobs are lost. Whether it's new homes, home decor, restaurant food, supermarket food, festivals, concerts, movies, cars, vacations, manicures, housekeeping services, or whatever, the consumer is no longer buying what producers are selling. He chooses to "go without" when money is tight and credit is almost non-existent.

But what if that same person who has chosen to close his wallet and do without has a heart attack? Catches pneumonia? Breaks his arm?

This is where the truth of the job security that nursing affords begins to show forth: no matter the economy, no matter the state of the world's banks, people will continue to get sick. They will continue to be injured. They will continue to need nurses in hospitals and doctors' offices and clinics and schools and everywhere else to help care for them.

Turn on the TV news, or look on the internet, and you'll find reports of hospitals laying off nursing staff, mainly in the large city hospitals. Sounds scary, no? Keep in mind that the entire world is making a very huge, and very necessary financial adjustment. Hospitals and the rest of the health care sector are no exception.

What is happening in nursing today isn't entirely new, although our current situation is much, much more complicated. The current economy poses unique problems as well as unique opportunities. The future for nurses is changing rapidly, and those who know what is coming can position themselves to take the best advantage!

Here are the current truths, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1. Employment of RN's is expected to grow much faster than the average for all other occupations through 2016.


2. The aging "Baby-Boomer" population will need more and more medical and thus nursing care, though not all of it will be as hospital in-patients. The home health care sector is projected to experience the greatest growth rate through 2016.


3. Overall job opportunities for RN's are expected to be excellent.


4. Much of the current RN workforce is and soon will be retiring (aging Baby-Boomers); it is projected that today's aging RN's will be exiting the workforce more rapidly than they are being replaced by new RN's.

Looking for job security? Know an industry where there will ALWAYS be "consumers?" Know an industry where demand is projected to be much, much greater than supply? Think nursing!

When I accepted my first job offer as a newly graduated nurse back in 1984, it was on a cardiac step-down unit at a large, university-affiliated hospital in Chicago. I rented an apartment, took out a loan to buy a car, and got ready for my first day of work. About a week before that first day, the phone rang.

"Lori, this is Human Resources calling...we've had some budget cuts, and I'm afraid your position has been eliminated. I'm sorry." What? Did I just lose a job I hadn't even started?

Trembling, I told her that I'd just signed a lease and taken a car loan and I had no income. She asked me if I would be interested in a position in their geriatric center (it was kind of like a glorified nursing home). I took it. Nursing jobs were hard to get.

In less than a year, I was working on the cardiac step-down unit I had originally been hired for. A year after that, I started work in the intensive care unit (ICU). And a year after that, my husband and I moved out of the city and I was welcomed with open arms to the ICU of the local suburban hospital. There weren't enough nurses to fill all the open positions, so the hospitals had to hire outside agency nurses.

Will you be able to get the exact job you want in the exact facility you want at the exact time you want? Maybe. Maybe not. Much of it will depend upon your location and whether or not you are actually qualified for the position you seek.  A newly graduated nurse, for example, is not qualified to work in the ICU or the ER.  Will you be able to get what you want eventually? If you're qualified, probably, yes! Of course, I can't guarantee you employment throughout your lifetime--no one can. I can tell you that as a nurse, your odds of staying employed are way better than most! Remember, in this life, people will always get sick, always get injured, always grow old, and always need some kind of care. 

Of course, job security is one of the great benefits of a career in nursing. But by itself, it isn't enough of a reason to choose nursing as your vocation.  Be sure you consider everything about this challenging field of work, to make sure you have what it takes to be a nurse.  All the touted job security in the world doesn't mean much to the nurses who walked away from their careers, exhausted and burned-out, because they entered a profession they simply weren't meant to be in.  But if nursing is for you, the outlook is certainly positive!   

Lori Havens R.N., B.S.N., is the author of "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask," a free "mini e-course" which helps answer the biggest questions that people looking into nursing as a career option have; she has also authored "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering A Career in Nursing," a 102 page e-book which takes the reader through a series of carefully-crafted "conversations" and thought-provoking exercises designed to help answer that all-important question: "Should I Be A Nurse?" Both are available at her website, which you can visit at: http://www.isnursing4me.com/home.html

Job

As unemployment rates go up across the country, veterans transitioning into a civilian workforce are facing a tougher time finding work after leaving the military. A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com showed that 1 in 5 veterans looking for a job said it took more than six months to secure one after leaving active duty.

At times veterans feel that they are dealing with a whole new set of rules and skills that they are not accustomed to. Among one of the most frustrating obstacles is an employer's inability to understand how military skills can fulfill qualifications for civilian positions. Many veterans are finding that job posting boards are not much help. They spend the time submitting their resumes on these sites and never hear back from anyone. This coupled with the inexperience in interviewing for civilian jobs or having viable job finding skills is directly affecting the ability of these veterans to find work. Then when they do find work it is often at a rate of pay that is far below their skill level. And, they find many unwanted surprised along the way.

If you are a veteran looking for a job you will improve the quality of the job you are getting, and avoid unexpected surprises by doing a little more research.

How Veterans Can Find the Job They Want

One thing to consider is who the employer is? There is nothing worse than finding a job and then discovering that the employer is going out of business. This is especially important if you are considering moving to a new area for that job. Then there is the surprise of finding a job that is just awful. The only reason that the job is available is that nobody wants to work there.

Here are a few simple things that you can do in order to give yourself the best possible chance of matching with a good employer:

1. Pull up the website for the companies you wish to work for

You can learn a lot about a company by what is on their website. Often companies will put news articles about the company on the site. These articles can tell you what is important to the company and a little bit about their culture. You can also learn about the history of the company and their values. This information is good to incorporate into your interview as it shows that you did your research.

On some sites the bios of key employees are located and you can learn a lot about who makes up this company and where they came from. All this will give you a good gut feeling about who they are.

2. Use search engines

One of the best ways to perform a search for companies is to use Dogpile.com. This site will compile information from all the other search engines. So instead of looking through each search engine this one will take out the duplicates and give you the most relevant information.

Another good source is the Better Business Bureau in the city where the company is located. When you call ask them for a reference and see what type of reputation the company has established with them. The service is free to the public and they will tell you if there have been any complaints and what they were about.

3. Search the local newspaper

Another easy thing to do is go on-line to the local newspaper and search past articles using the company's name. Also, complete a search by using the name of the company's president. When you find an article read it to see what they are known for. In some cases you might discover that the company has a charity that they regularly sponsor. You might even find that the company was involved in some type of problem. Basically, you are looking for both good news and bad to help you make a good decision and avoid the surprises.

4. Talk to Employees.

The best sources for information on the companies you want to work for are current and past employees. Who better to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly of the company? But what if you don't know anyone at the company?

Then talk to the receptionist. These folks usually know more about what is going on about everything and are willing to share if you treat them nicely. One way to score points with a receptionist is to talk to them when they hit the slow point in their day. In most cases this will be between 10:45am and 11:30am in the morning. By that time most of the morning urgent calls have already come in.

When you talk to them tell them that you are considering getting a job there working and would appreciate knowing more about the company. Let them know that you value their comments and will keep it confidential.

Many times the information you get from this source will be more valuable and complete than anything else you do.

Follow this advice and you won't get stuck with a job that no one wants just because you are a veteran. You can find your dream job and get hired fast even during a recession if you just follow the advice above.

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Baltimore is reported in the top 100 list of "Best Cities for Doing Business in the U.S. in the" middle cities "category for the last three years (2004-2006). The city was also ranked 55 in Forbes magazine (2005) list of "Best Places for Business and Careers". The employment potential is best as well as from the 150 largest metropolitan areas. Forbes also ranked 55th Baltimore for job growth. The Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area has reached a "5-star businessOpportunity Metro "ranking. There is a parallel activity to the employment and the responsibility for this prestigious status.

There is a very well-educated labor union for success. The skill level of workers is a result of the employment service in Baltimore. Of course, the ranking criteria is used in the survey include economic climate, communications, transportation - logistics infrastructure, lifestyle, quality of life, public education and other areas important to the company's websiteSelection. This support will help the environment, human resources for growth.

The dynamic placement of the Baltimore Empowerment Zone extends over 6.8 square miles. The zone includes three separate areas of east, west and south of Baltimore, and with over 50,000 people and 2,000 businesses. The employment created Career Center, career programs, job met, etc. The 6 excellent career centers are Northeast Career Center, Eastside Career Center, Urban LeagueCareer Center, Southwest Career Center, Job Service Central Office and the AFL-CIO's Career Center.

Applicants can register for short-and long-term skills training, career counseling and job readiness workshops planned in the annual program. There are separate centers for information on civil service jobs, IT jobs, Mechanical jobs, finance jobs and general job board. Candidates can search for jobs online. Internet job boards are very dynamic, in which candidates canRegister their profile and can be accessed by employers. Employers must also register to access the candidate database. The online employment service to create a space for job seekers and employers to communicate with each other. Together with the online job portal provides information on careers, career tips, advanced technologies and education.

In order for youth services, such as summer jobs, career academics, GED courses and registerManagement training

KoreOne services for job aspirants, the employer of Baltimore, and local businesses. KoreOne online career portal provides information about the company resources, technology, human resources, education information, educational events, including the scope and setting, etc. The applicant pre-screening, evaluation and testing, personnel, training grants for new or existing employees, in his services.

KoreOne offersBaltimore city residents with tailored job search resources to help them in their individual career goals. Jobseekers from various backgrounds and professional interests are diverse. Through a network of training centers and integrated employment programs KoreOne brings together thousands of citizens each year to access services.

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Since the unemployment rate to go across the country, veterans transition to civilian employees stand in front of a difficult time finding work after leaving the military. A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com showed that 1 in 5 veterans looking for a job said that it took more than six months to a back up after leaving active service.

Sometimes veterans feel that there is a whole new set of rules and abilities that they are not accustomed. Under one of the obstacles is frustratingto understand an employer's inability, as the military capability to meet the qualifications for civilian agencies. Many veterans find that job offer is not much help. They spend the time of submitting their resumes on these sites and never hear back from someone. This coupled with the lack of experience will find in interviews for civilian jobs or viable job skills directly affect the ability of these veterans to find work. Then, when they find work, it is often at a rateof pay, which is far below their skill level. And, they will find many unwanted surprises along the way.

If you are a veteran looking for a job you will be the quality of work you are to always improve and to avoid unexpected surprises by adding a little more research.

How Veterans Can Find the Job They Want

One thing to consider who is the employer? There is nothing worse than to find a job and then discovering that the employer goes out of business. This is particularlyimportant if you are moving to a new area for the job. Then there is the surprise of finding a job that is just terrible. The only reason that the job is available is that no one wants to work there.

Here are some simple things you can do to give, are the best possible chance of matching with a good employer:

1. Pull out the website for the company you want to work for

You can learn a lot about a company by what on their website. OftenCompany will provide news articles about the company at the site. These articles can tell you what is important for the company and a bit about their culture. You can also learn about the history of society and its values. This information is good to incorporate into your interview, because it shows that you are not your research.

Some sites are the BIOS of employees in key positions and there is much about who makes this company and where they came to learn. All of this will you agood gut feeling about who they are.

2. Use search engines

One of the best ways to search for company use it, Dogpile.com. This page will provide information together from all other search engines. So rather than by the individual search engines do you do to take the duplicates and give you the essential information.

Another good resource is the Better Business Bureau in the city, where the company is located. If youthey call to ask for a reference and see what kind of reputation the company has established itself with them. The service is free to the public, and they will tell you whether there were any complaints and what they wanted.

3rd search in the local newspaper

Another simple thing to do is go online to the local newspaper and find past articles about the name of the company. Also perform a search by typing the name of the President of the company. If you carry ato read to see what they are known. In some cases you may find that the company is a charity that she has a regular sponsor. It might even happen that the company was involved in some kind of problem. Basically, you avoid searching for both good and bad, to help you make a good decision, and the surprises.

4. Talk to employees.

The best sources of information about the company that you are the current and former employees. Who could say better what is good,the bad and the ugly of the company? But what if you do not know that someone in the company?

Then talk to the reception. These people usually know more about what is going on, about everything and are willing to share if you treat her well. One way to get points with the reception is to talk with them when they slowly made the point in the day. In most cases, is made between 10.45 and 11.30 clock clock in the morning. Until that time, most of the morning without having an urgent appeal has alreadyin.

If you talk to them, tell them that you would be working a job and appreciate knowing more about the company. Let them know that you value their comments and will keep it confidential.

Many times the information you receive from this source will do more valuable and complete than anything you.

Follow these tips and you are not stuck with a task that nobody wants, just because you are a veteran. You can find your dream job and quickly seteven during a recession, if you follow the advice listed above.

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