Dream Career Archives - The Career Success Doctor

You Were Saying You’re Too Old For A Career Change?

Written by Natalia

So… You are thinking about a career change for so long now. You want to escape from a job that’s not making you happy and start your own business joining the team of the successful entrepreneurs around the world.

But you never make the next step because you think you’re too old for that? Well, think again!

These days, the media promote constantly the “Mark Zuckerberg model” and we read, watch and hear about entrepreneurs in their early or mid-twenties every day.

But this doesn’t have to hold you back. Many successful professionals and entrepreneurs didn’t take the big step to a career change, until their thirties, or even fifties!

In the infographic below, by ‘Funders and Founders’, you’ll find great success stories for inspiration.

The best one is Ray Kroc’s story (the founder of McDonald’s). He was selling paper cups and milkshake mixers until the age of 52! And then he built an empire! Still think you’re too old?

Andrea Bocelli and Harrison Ford were both doing different jobs until their 30’s and yet, they became famous! Mary Kay Ash was selling books door-to-door until she was 45.

So what if you’re 35, 45, 55? There is still time to do what you really love and start your own business! Entrepreneurship isn’t for millennials only. Have a look at the infographic below and be inspired. Stop thinking about a career change, and start making actions!

Infographic Source: Funders And Founders.

Dream Job: Turning Your Passion Into A Successful Career

Written by Natalia

In order to have a successful career, you need to find out what motivates you, what you are passionate about, what you would absolutely love to do and would make you happy. That is your dream job.

So, how to pursue your dream job and turn your passion into a career -a successful career?

I stumbled upon an excerpt from Josh Shipp’s book “Jump Ship: Turn Your Passion into a Profession“, which I found really educating and I wanted to share with you.

The author focuses on the laws of Supply and Demand. As he puts it, “passion isn’t enough if there’s no business potential“. He then continues on how your way of thinking should be to identify the opportunities, what questions you should ask yourself to figure out if your dream job is worth pursuing, and ends with a valuable piece of advice for every professional: “you need to become an expert on everything related to your dream job“, outlining what you need to learn before deciding to take the leap and turn your passion into a successful career.

“ The trick is finding that sweet spot where what you love to do and what other people want overlap. Opportunity lies at the point where your passion and its usefulness to other people converge.

(…) That said, it’s almost always possible to find a career (or make your own) in an area closely related to something you love.

No one is going to pay you to read books for fun, but there are plenty of jobs — book editor, patent lawyer, proposal writer, reviewer/critic, researcher — that require a great deal of reading. No one is going to pay you for working in your garden or taking care of your own lawn, but they might be interested in buying your flowers or produce, or in learning how to create and tend their own garden. There’s the opportunity. “

You can read the whole excerpt in this article by the Young Entrepreneur Council, in Brazen Life: “How to Turn Your Passion Into a Successful Career”
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Preparing For Job Interviews: 6 Secrets You Should Know About

Written by Natalia

Are you preparing for job interviews? Whether it is due to New Year resolutions and making plans, or because in January people are extremely motivated to achieve success in every aspect of their lives (including their career), or just that a New Year means a change and a new beginning for lots of people, the fact is that January is certainly one of the months that job hunting thrives.

If you’re looking for a change and are currently searching for a new job, you will soon need to start preparing for job interviews. You might even have some scheduled already. If that’s the case, you will surely find this article in Careerealism to be really helpful. The author, Anna Johnson, shares 6 secrets “for crushing job interviews“.

Although it is mentioned in the article (of course!), I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to do your homework! The more information you have about the company and its employees, the better you can prepare yourself and ace your interview.

However, you should keep in mind that this is a two-way road. You will get ‘googled’ too! That is why it’s so important to keep your social profiles, and any online information about you, always ‘clean’. Maybe having your Facebook photos from the New Year’s Eve crazy party viewable publicly is not really a good idea.

“Interviews are like spending the holidays with the in-laws – a necessary evil that’s never as bad (ok, rarely) as you’ve worked it up to be in your mind. I swear, I used to get hives at the thought of an interview until, by some twist of fate, the roles were reversed and I actually became an interviewer myself (bwahaha – insert evil grin here!).

However, I’ve come to learn that, contrary to popular belief, the interviewer isn’t out to set you up for failure… who knew? So, as a show of good faith, I’ll give you some of my best learned secrets from the other side of the curtain. Here are six secrets for crushing job interviews”

Read the whole article here: “6 Secrets For Crushing Job Interviews”

Another source that you might find useful is this “Interview Cheat Sheet” from The Daily Muse. You can print it and have it with you, in order that you won’t forget anything.

So, give yourself enough time for preparing for job interviews, have faith in yourself and your capabilities, be confident, calm yourself and, as Anna Johnson beautifully closed her article, “Que sera, sera!”…

How To Start Thinking About A Career Change

Written by Natalia

Are you planning to make a career change? As the countdown to the end of the year has already started, this season is usually associated with making plans for the coming year. If making a career change is one of yours, then you might need a little help.

Deciding to change career is a big step, and just like all big steps, you have to be sure that you have thought of everything in order to succeed. If, after careful and thorough consideration, you have concluded that you are ready for the big leap, this article by Jacquelyn Smith, in Forbes, addresses all the things you have to think about next and the questions you should ask yourself.

If you’re bored, burned-out, or your job just isn’t doing it for you anymore, there’s a good chance you’re ready for a change. But before you make any big moves, you must determine whether it’s the job you don’t like—or your career.

“If you’ve had more than one job in your field and it’s pretty clear to you that no matter where you go, things won’t be any better because you don’t like the type of work you do, then it’s time to make a career change,” says Andy Teach, a corporate veteran and author of From Graduation to Corporation: The Practical Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder One Rung at a Time.

But don’t put the cart before the horse and jump right into “shotgun-blasting your résumé out into cyberspace” without any thought to what you are really looking for, says Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD, organizational psychologist and author of The YOU Plan. “Diving in head-first without looking is likely what landed you in the situation you are currently in.“

Read the whole article “How To Start Thinking About A Career Change”



Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Have A Career That Really Works For You

Written by The Career Success Doctor

I’m so proud to say that I have finally created my first ebook, ‘How To Have A Career That Really Works For You’, which is all about how to find career success in your dream career. You can read more about it here.

It is the product of 15 years working in the executive career coaching field, and it takes you through everything you need to know in order to have clarity about what you want (and whatyou don’t), find your own sense of purpose and get into the right mental space for career success.

If you’re expecting to read about CV writing or interview skills or how to write your LinkedIn profile, that’s not what the book is about, because it focusses on having the right career success mindset. I plan to write an ebook on CV writing in the near future, where I’ll also talk about aspects of performing well at interview and what to do about LinkedIn (and why it’s worth paying attention to LinkedIn in the first place).

How To Have A Career That Really Works For You is on special offer for a limited period only.

So grab a copy while you can.