Career development

How to Change Careers Off the Beaten Path – 4 Tips

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Sometimes what seems like a great idea when you start on a career path can end up being a disappointment when you end up in a job that is not the kind of life you imagined or worse, unemployed. Unfortunately, this is fairly common. According to a report last year, “53% of recent college grads [In the US] are jobless or underemployed.” Even many who do have a full time job are working outside their degree’s intended career path. This can be very disheartening, especially for those who have gone into considerable debt and spent much time and effort getting their degree. ...  read more

Top 3 Reasons to Get a College Degree

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You may look at Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the late Steve Jobs and say they drop out of college and still became billionaires, so why should I get a college degree?  I would respond – “Well, they are  1 in a few hundred million in talent, vision, drive, creativity, and passion.  If you think you are just like them, then stop reading this article.  You probably wouldn’t be reading this in the first place as you are too busy building the next Microsoft, Facebook, or Apple.” ...  read more

Career Advice from Ang Lee – Don’t Forget Your Dream

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Ang Lee is one of the most famous directors in Hollywood today.  We may all look at him with his second Oscar in hand thinking he is not like us.  He is more talented and lucky.  Well, as his essay from 2006 after his first Oscar shows, he is just like any of us with two main differences

  1. He never forgot his dream even though society and his own Chinese upbringing both tried hard to stop him from pursuing an unusual, low success rate career for a Chinese immigrant in the US.  
  2. When he did give up momentarily, he had his wife to support him through the hard times and remind him of what he is destined to do.

I wanted to share his essay translated from Chinese by Irene Shih and inspire all of us to not give up on our dreams and surround ourselves with key supporters like that of Ang’s wife to strive for what we truly want to contribute to this world.   Best wishes! ...  read more

Career Development – 10 Tips Everyone Should Follow

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Whether you have a job or are looking for one, these 10 career development tips can be helpful to your career.  While some of these tips may be quite basic, they are important reminders to us all on how to keep ourselves competitive in the job market.  This is a guest post.

Career development isn’t hard, it just takes some careful planning. Follow these ten tips to boost your career development efforts. ...  read more

Turning Current Job into a Dream Job

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Have you ever met anyone who says they now currently have their dream job? Me neither. “Dream jobs” are always spoken about in terms of the future. “One day, I’ll have my dream job” or “If I could have my dream job, it would be…” are some of the usual phrases employed in regards to this elusive dream job. Of course, some jobs are better than others. But I’m here to tell you that any job can become your dream job. It’s all a matter of how you approach it. Here’s how you can turn even the most tedious jobs into ones that are more interesting and fulfilling (based on my experience as an insurance agent…not the most glamorous thing in the world, trust me). ...  read more

Giving Notice at Work – 5 Tips

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At first glance, you may say “what’s the big deal?  Isn’t giving notice at work as simple as telling your boss you quit?” Well, while it does accomplish the task, I recommend a lot more finesse when you give notice at work.  It is in your interest to quit your job gracefully and not burn any bridges.  You just never know who you will work for in the future and whether that person used to be your boss at a different company or knows any of your previous bosses or ex-colleagues.  It’s a small world and in the interest of your own career success, it’s always smarter to leave a job on good terms. ...  read more