According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics here is a list of the top 10 Fastest Growing Occupations in the United States today:
Biomedical Engineers
Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
Home Health Aides
Personal and Home Care Aides
Financial Examiners
Medical Scientists
Physician Assistants
Skin Care Specialists
Biochemists and biophysicists
Athletic Trainers
This is where the jobs are. The question for anyone who is career oriented is how do you capitalize on this data?
Notice the list above falls roughly into two groups, the glamorous group consisting of biochemists, network systems analysts, and the ordinary group. What is surprising is only two groups on this list require a Doctoral degree (medical scientists and biochemists).
This means the rest of the list is accessible to almost anyone who has a desire to pursue continued education or training. According to Paul Saffo, a futures analyst for the Institute of the Future in California, lifelong learning is the ticket to long-term career success.
Ordinary Jobs vs. Glamorous Jobs
What is striking to anyone who knows much about science is that the ordinary jobs are often more glamorous than the “glamorous jobs.” Scientists work very long hours and many of them haven’t left a lab in years.
Image you have a friend who is one of the leading genetics researchers in the country but he'd really prefer to be a chef. If he didn’t have a large family to support no doubt he would happily spend his days frying onions and cutting up vegetables. Right?
Ask yourself who has the better job, the skin care specialist who listens to soft soothing music all day or a financial examiner?
In addition, ordinary jobs can often pay very well. With baby boomers retiring from jobs as mechanics, machinists and administrators at a quick clip these jobs are going to continue to be in demand and salaries will rise accordingly.
Back-up Plan Employment and Training
If 2008-2010 has taught employees anything it is they need to have a back-up plan. Above is the list of back-up plans you can start as your New Year’s resolution. There are several more ideas over at Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Incredibly pursuing education and even a part-time secondary job is more liberating than it is tiring. People tend to pursue continuing education in fields they are interested in and in many cases better suited for than their current job or occupation. As careers mature people realize things like workplace environments, office etiquette and contributions to society all contribute to job satisfaction. In addition, the exposure to other working individuals who are doing the same thing opens up business opportunities and new friendships.
The best part of pursuing a back-up plan is that it can relieve a significant amount of anxiety and stress over being laid off from your current job. Not only will you know what you want to do if you are laid off, you will already be training for a new career. Ironically, career professionals that actively pursue back-up plans rarely are fired or laid off. The additional confidence combined with enhanced skills and a broader view of life makes for a great attitude. Moreover, time management skills and discipline are needed to pursue a back-up plan while working full-time. These skills are often then transferred to the workplace leading to greater efficiency.
If you haven’t considered a back-up plan, now may be the time to start. Without exception every individual I know who received a promotion this year also had a back-up plan. Get started yourself and make your life better and your career more prosperous.
Aveta’s Six Sigma offers the best self-paced online certifications in Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma and DFSS. Six Sigma training encourages individuals to stop what they are doing, examine how well they have done it, and then implement improvements to iron out defects.Career plan idea dice image from Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.