Career & Jobs

Career Counselling

According to the recently published government report on Feb 5 2009, ‘Ontario in the Creative Age’, we are moving away from an economy based on assembly lines and hard labour to one that values people’s creativity, especially analytical and social intelligence skills. With 80% of our population currently employed in the service industry there is a huge demand for people who are able to make good decisions and have the capability to understand other people and to work in team settings. How are you going to fit in and remain viable in this changing marketplace?

One-on-one and workshop career counselling services are available to address the full scope of career development from self-assessment, through goal setting to implementation of a career plan and beyond. Career counselling entails setting up a meeting with a counsellor or becoming a member of a group or workshop to look at where you are at this point in your career and where you want to be. In addition, to exploring goals and objectives, career counselling will look at the individual’s skills, abilities and interests.

Once the basics are established the career counselling coach will develop a resume to better reflect the next step in the career path. The next step for career counselling will be to assess the individual’s strengths and weaknesses and, working together, establish key action words to describe a picture of the prospective employee. In what is often referred to as The 60 Second Sell, good career counselling will train the candidate to describe their attributes in a complete and concise manner. We all know how important networking is to our careers and businesses these days and fresh opportunities can be few and far between. The 60 Second Sell or Elevator Pitch is a term for quickly selling your best features or what you have to offer in 60 seconds or less. Career counselling will train you to create and use this tool most effectively.

Preparation is fundamental to the objectives of career counselling and you will be shown the important steps to achieving this very important goal. You will be taken through the process of knowing who your market is, finding out all about the next step and exactly what that position entails, building confidence through self-knowledge and learning how to promote yourself. The more you prepare for an interview, the more knowledge that you have about a company, the job posted and yourself – the more likely you will be the Key Candidate.

Another key area that is of primary focus in career counselling is that of ‘transferable skills’. In today’s challenging job market where people are looking for critical thinking and the ability to make decisions there are the skills gathered throughout your career that are essential in moving forward after down-sizing and re-entering the workforce. Career success will no longer just be based on title and resume, it will require thinking outside the box and being able to show with conviction that it should be you. Consider career counselling as a way to sell your skills and promote yourself in a job interview.

Course

Should You Do a Technical Analysis Course?

If you are performing well in the stock market then you are part of a small number. If you are one of the larger number who aren’t doing so well or you would like to improve you results, then I think you should look at technical analysis and perhaps do a technical analysis course.

These days there are lots of technical analysis courses available to you and you need to decide which is the right one for you. There are a few things that you need to consider. The first is what the course covers, the second is what the course costs and the final thing is how it will be delivered.

Do you have the time commitment to do the course? If yes, then do to have to commitment to follow it through afterwards. There is no point in doing a technical analysis course and then not implement the techniques. You will be surprised with how many people do that.

A lot of people think that doing any course is a good idea. This is not so and you need to think about what you are going to get out of it and more importantly, how much you will get out relative to the cost.

How much do you think you will earn after the course? I don’t know the figure that you just thought of but you will probably earn less than that. This is not to say that you shouldn’t do a technical analysis course, you just need to be realistic. Work out how much extra you think you would make in a year and compare that to the course price.

A classroom based technical analysis course will be expensive. There is no getting away from that. A cheaper way of doing it would be to find a book or even a DVD about it. That should give you the basics.

If you decide that doing a course is right for you then be prepared to put the work in. All the best traders do so why should you be any different. If you put the work in then you should see some results.

Coaching

Misconceptions Some Doctors Have About Coaching

Many doctors don’t really understand what Coaching is, what it can enable them to achieve and how quickly it can make a difference.

There is also the belief in  medical culture that you have to deal with challenges yourself and working with a coach  might be regarded as a sign of failure.  Quite the reverse in fact many doctors who decide a coach might help are amazed at how quickly they can turn things around.

Here are some of the myths surrounding coaching in many doctors’ minds and the correct facts.

  • Coaches will tell you what to do

A good coach won’t tell you what to do because coaching is about helping you find your own solutions.

Coaches  offer you tools and tricks to make it possible for you to find the answer for yourself.

Coaching is not prescriptive:  as a result of their challenging questions you will gain insights into your situation and find the way forward.

  • Coaching is the same as therapy or counseling

Coaching is different is solution focused,  works well with people who are motivated and  willing to try different approaches.

Therapy or counseling is more suitable for people with mental health problems or those reacting to sudden traumatic changes such as bereavement or relationship break-up  and need crisis management.

  • Coaching is just a few phone calls

Interaction between coach and client often takes place on the phone. Phone coaching is very useful for busy doctors because there  is no need to spend time traveling.

Clients are asked to prepare for their calls and let the coach know how they want to use the time. After the call they will need to think about what was discussed and then take  whatever actions were decided on.

Coaching encourages you to take action and achieve what you want quickly.

  • Coaches don’t understand a doctor’s life

You may or may not consider a vital part of coaching is that your coach understands your medical lifestyle.  On the other hand some doctors would prefer to work with a non-medical coach.

  • Coaching is too expensive

That depends on what  it would be worth to you to sort  out your challenges. Like any service you can find coaches who charge rock bottom prices and some who are sky high.

Some  charge  somewhere in the middle! Remember you are not just paying for the phone calls. You are paying for years of training  in Coaching and life skills.

You have a choice just as you have when you decide where to have your holiday or which seat to sit in the theatre.