Career Flux - Career Change

A Career in Public Administration

City Manager, City of Edmonton. Source: The City of Edmonton

Public Administration is a great career field to enter. The possibilities for employment are virtually endless and the pay for most positions is excellent. Choosing a career in the Public Administration sector allows you to make an impact in your community. Whether your education and experience is in managing money or preparing for disasters; you have the power to help others around you. Most jobs in public administration require a bachelor’s degree, but some will allow a lesser amount of education supplemented with prior on-the-job experience. Here are some of the roles you can play in Public Administration:

Mediator

A mediator is a negotiator who acts as a link between both, or all, parties involved. Being a mediator within the law or a law office is different from a normal lawyer because the mediator is not on any particular side. It is the mediator’s job to explain the process of mediation to the involved parties and to provide a supportive, non-confrontational setting for their negotiation.

It is also the responsibility of the mediator to help the parties analyze and understand the facts and issues at hand, keep the involved parties focused on these issues, help each party gain control of their dispute, and then help to come up with a creative and cost effective solution that both parties can agree upon.

The average salary of a mediator is about $69,000 per year. However, it can be as low as $51,000 and as high as $85,000 per year depending on what state you choose to live and work in. This would be something to look into further when you’re deciding where you want to live while working as a mediator.

Private Investigator

Sounds exciting, just like Sherlock Holmes! Unfortunately, it isn’t as mysterious as portrayed in the books. PIs are paid to gather information and facts. They usually work for businesses or private citizens. Some are self-employed and others work for agencies, such as security services, financial institutions, collection agencies, and corporations. The main job of a private investigator is to conduct thorough investigations.

A normal case could consist of doing background checks, surveillance, serving legal documents, finding a bail jumper, or maybe looking for a missing person. They use many forms of investigating, surveillance, interviewing witnesses, looking through public documents, and analyzing the information. The earning potential is very varied and depends on the job that needs to be performed.

City Manager

City managers play a vital role in planning and implementing changes that occur within a city. Their duties include managing staff members and hiring and firing employees as they see fit. A good city manager will have excellent interpersonal skills. City managers are responsible for many functions to keep a city running smoothly. They must have a genuine interest in the city and care to make it the best place possible for the citizens.

A very important duty that the manager must complete is the city budget. The city manager must prepare, monitor, and execute the budget. Every year they are required to create a proposed budget package with recommendations they would like to have considered and possibly approved by the council.

To become a city manager one should have completed a master’s degree in Public Administration. Some cities may allow a person with exemplary skills and experience to only need a bachelor’s degree. City managers usually have had ample experience in city roles and may have worked their way up the ladder. Some also begin by managing small cities and gradually move onto larger cities. City managers are well compensated for their effort and time. The average yearly salary in 2008 was approximately $95,000.

These are just a few of the many jobs and opportunities open to a person with a MPA. All these jobs involve helping communities and people. So not only are they nice paying jobs but rewarding jobs.

Marilyn Tate is a writer and city worker earning her Masters of Public Administration to further her career.

Filed Under: Career Planning, Guest Experts Tagged With: Career, Career Change, employment, Jobs, salary

Perfecting Your CV to Help You Change Your Career

By Darren Mac Leave a Comment

It doesn’t matter if you have just finished university, looking to move from part time work to a full time position, looking for jobs in London or elsewhere, or if your current job doesn’t offer satisfaction and you want to begin a brand new career, it’s possible to change your career with a strong CV.

Deciding On a Change in Career

Deciding on a complete career change can be a very harsh and tough experience – especially at a time when the economic climate is in the state that it is at the moment. Due to the fact that job competition is so high, employers can simply just choose candidates that have a good level of experience for available roles and may not consider those candidates that are looking to change positions.

But don’t lose hope just yet. If you’ve made the decision that you definitely want to make that all important jump, then it can be done. Keep positive and focused and you will achieve what you have set out to do.

First things first – when you have made the decision, you will need to develop a strong CV that’s going to impress a potential employer who may also have 500 other CVs of perfect candidates and convince him that he should give you the benefit of the doubt, despite your lack of experience and invite you to the interview stage.

Gather All Possible Knowledge about Your New Career

When you have decided on what career you would like to change to or are searching for a new career in the field you have trained in, find job adverts in that area and see what employers seek within that industry. Research the type of work you will be doing and get some industry knowledge. Why not contact key influential figures within that field to see if they can offer you any advice? Find out as much information as possible and try to build a presence within your chosen field. If you attend a talk or conference, add it to your CV to show that you are serious in beginning a career in the industry. Look out for any available training opportunities such as evening classes and make sure you fully understand what you’re getting into.

Write Your New CV from Scratch

To develop your new CV, I would suggest wiping the slate clean, and beginning from scratch, a new beginning, a new CV. Make a fresh start, this will make you more focused and less bogged down on what you have done in the past.

Now that you have researched your career to see what skills and experiences you need and you have got rid of you old CV, it’s time to sit down and begin work on your new one. You need to carefully match up any key experiences or current skills that you have and that can be associated with the new roles you want to apply for. Your CV needs to show that you have sat down and have carefully thought about this career change.

Add All Relevant Skills besides Transferable Ones

When you have discovered what skills you can transfer then the next stage is to talk about your other skills and how, what you think, they can add to the role that you are seeking. These skills may not necessarily be related to your last job but to your interests at home or any other hobbies you have. For example, if you currently work in human resources but have a passion for fashion and in your free time write a fashion blog and you want to begin a career in fashion or volunteer for a fashion house, then make sure you include this on your CV. This could be essential in getting an employer to notice you.

As you learn more within your new chosen industry, keep developing your CV with new skills and experiences you are learning. If you are in the process of attending a class or learning new skills, add that onto your CV even if you haven’t finished as this will show the employer how motivated you are.

Let Your Cover Letter Explain Your Intentions and Efforts

Just as important as your CV is the cover letter. You need to make clear the reason why you want to change careers. You need to show the employer how determined and focused you have been to make the change happen. You need to talk about how you have gone about to reach your goals and how you had invested a huge amount of commitment to be successful in your chosen field.

Be positive in your job search. I am not going to lie – the transition from one career to another won’t be easy. But even if it is so, what you really want in a career will be worthwhile when you get there.

Filed Under: Career Change, Guest Experts Tagged With: Career Change, CV, Employer, Job Search, Skills

Limited Shelf life – Is Your Job About to Expire?

By CareerAlley Leave a Comment

Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://CareerAlley.com

“My son is now an “entrepreneur.” That’s what you’re called when you don’t have a job.” – Ted Turner

Have you ever watched someone’s job unravel and they don’t even know they are in trouble? I just watched this happen to someone that works in my company. This particular person started off okay, with good annual reviews. Then his boss left and in a matter of a year or so, he went from having an okay reputation to someone who was viewed as “on his way out”. I’m not sure if his old boss was covering for him or maybe his new boss just did not like him. The really sad part was that he had no clue that every day the front door was one step closer. Not that there was some type of official notice about this guy, you just got the feeling watching from a distance. Long story short, he was shown the front door yesterday. The guy was shocked (as most anyone would be if they had no clue – take a look at “I lost my job, now what?“) and, of course, not prepared. So what are the warning signs? How do you know if you are about to lose your job? I would argue that in most cases (except for down-sizing), the clues are there if you look close enough. What can you do?

How do you know: (but don’t be paranoid)

Learn The Warning Signs Of Potential Job Loss – What are some of the warning signs? This article, posted on Insideoffice.com, provides 7 warning signs that your job is at risk. Some of these you will know (like you’re getting negative feedback) and others you might not have thought about (like you resist change). In any event, take a read of these warning signs to see how many apply to you. Most of these are correctable with the right focus.

Five signs you may be on the layoff list – This article was posted on MarketWatch.com and provides 5 warning signs. Some are obvious and some are not. And some are correctable. The article also includes some tips on keeping your job (like making your self irreplaceable). Each of the warning signs provides a few paragraphs explaining the specific content.

How to Keep Your Job:

Ten tips that will help you keep your job – Okay, so what can you do to keep your job? Lots of things. This article, posted on MSNBC.msn.com, provides ten tips to help you keep your job. I would not have thought of some of them (such as the importance of cubicle etiquette) while other should be common knowledge (like don’t take credit for others’ work). In all, these tips are worth a read and they will help you extend your job shelf life.

57 Ways to Keep Your Job and Excel at the Workplace – Okay, maybe ten is not enough. In these competitive times, maybe you need 57 ways to keep your job. If that is the case, this job is for you. This article was posted on Millionaire Money Habits (mmhabits.com) – apparently, even millionaires worry about their jobs! This is a really good list of tips and there are too many I really like to point out my favorites. Depending on your individual circumstances, not all of them will be practical for you, but most of them should.

Too Late, I’ve Lost my Job: Under the best of circumstances, no matter how many tips you may have tried, you still may lose your job. So what do you do next?

What To Do If You Lose Your Job – This article was posted on Circleblog.com and provides 6 basic steps in getting yourself on track for finding a new job. The first tip is the most important (Don’t Panic). The other tips are also worth a read. Once you’ve gone over these basic steps, you need to really get down to work (no pun intended), and that work is to look for a new job (which is your new job until you find a paying job). While you are on the site, take a look at the Career Connection tab at the top of the page. There are links for Interviewing, Job Search Tips and Resume Writing.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Filed Under: Career Change, Guest Experts Tagged With: Career Change, Job

Dealing with Fears Related To a Career Change

By Sandy Leave a Comment

A career change can bring up unforeseen challenges for many of us. It is a decision to be taken after careful thought and minimizing any risks involved. We can divide people who are going in for such a change into two categories:

The first kind being those who have been pushed into taking a decision to change their career and job by circumstances beyond their control. Such circumstances include being laid off, a necessity for moving to another place because of family problems and sometimes because of a tangible change in health conditions.

The second kind are those who willingly want to make such a transition either because they are no longer satisfied in their present career or they don’t see any further growth for themselves. They also may think that a previous choice of career that they had in mind a few years back would have been better for them.

Whichever group a person changing a career belongs to, it is natural that a horde of apprehensions and fears flood their minds. Even though human beings by nature work in keeping with evolution and constantly adjust to changing environments, breaking out of a comfort zone, such as created by an existing means of living like a job, demands courage and foresight.

Then how to deal with such fears?

Just like any other important venture in life, a career change entails careful planning and researched avenues in order to create foresight as mentioned before. Rachel Brushfield, a director of The Talent Liberation Company Energise, explores the subject in her article “Career change fears and how to conquer them” published in The Telegraph (UK). She acknowledges that a career change can be a “scary” and “daunting” experience for many people “because it affects your financial security, prospects and status”. However, she is also of the view that since “it is less common for the working population to stay in one career for the whole of their working life”, a transition to a new career might open new opportunities and excitement if the risk factors have been minimized.

The safest way then to go ahead on a career change foray would be to get well informed about all the positives and negatives and work out a wise solution based on an individual’s priorities. When you start scouting ahead, most people would warn you against opening yourself to the uncertainty you might face. It is because they are happy to live in their comfort zone while you might be deciding to break out of yours. It is up to you to decide whether to go ahead based on the degree of your need and passion. With the ups and downs of the economy and the number of people chasing jobs, your decision requires careful scrutiny.

Among the common fears that you might face, Brushfield says, there is “fear of failure” and “fear of regretting the decision”. On the flip side of the coin, if you don’t or can’t go ahead, then you may have regret of a different kind. Because once you start contemplating the career change and then withdraw, you will always think of what could have been. Brushfield has given some very good tips to fight your fears like ‘asking for advice’ and ‘recognising your own qualities’ among others.

Finally, I would add that an informed decision about a career change that takes into account all the pros and cons mentioned above is much better than taking a plunge on a whim or without thoroughly researching your options. But if you are already decided after having diligently gone through the above process, know that a lot of people did if before you and many have flourished in their new roles.

For complete text of the article by Rachel Brushfield, please visit:

“Career change fears and how to conquer them” by Rachel Brushfield – The Telegraph (UK)

Filed Under: Career Change, Career Flux Times Tagged With: Career, Career Change, Job

From NASA Employee To Writer

By Patricia C Leave a Comment

Patricia C works for LatPro.com, DiversityJobs.com and JustJobs.com and is one of their content specialists. She has a degree in International Relations and enjoys learning from other cultures and traveling.

Ever wondered what would it be like to be a writer? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to ‘DiversityJobs.com street smart’ – a collection of true work-life stories told by members of minority groups (including women), from an ESL teacher to a customer service manager, and everything in between.

As of late, I am working as a writer at home after more than forty years of work experience in the work force – but not necessarily as a writer. This has come as a recent epiphany to me within the last year although I’ve always considered myself a little gifted in this area. If I had to describe myself it would be as a self-motivated, independent and optimistic individual.

Being a native-born New Yorker, I can best describe myself as a Latin from Manhattan. By God’s grace I have never experienced discrimination except one time when applying as a salesperson in a very well known chain of stores.

There were several high school grads applying for the same position and they were neither experienced nor savvy about store sales. Yet, all of them were hired while I, the one with the experience and expertise, was not. It was at the height of the “affirmative action” movement. I just shrugged and wished them well.

After having graduated from a computer school in Pasadena, California, I was offered a contract job as data analyst for NASA on the first Martian orbital mission – Mariner 9. Wow! The most glamorous job and obtained by the school’s excellent job recruiting dept. However, the budget ran out and I was offered a promotion but I’d have to re-apply as a minority. I declined. I wanted to be hired because of my merits and not because of “quotas”. The Apollo program was long over and I decided to move to another state as I knew nothing would be available until later Shuttle flights.

Currently, I write articles for those in need of content for such things as: news releases, blogs, research, expositions, and thesis — whatever requires a writer. Many times, I’m hired as their anonymous ghost writer.

If I had to rate my job satisfaction, it is 10+.

As stated previously, it not only is what I love to do, naturally, but it also helped me find my true identity. I’d like to do it for the rest of my life.

I just retired last year and felt that I had run a full course career-wise; however, no noticeable achievements completed. I had gone back to college and the work force several times in various positions. However, despite my age, I felt I still had much more to contribute. So I kept taking courses, working at different job descriptions.

The way I started as a writer was in junior high school writing impressive essays, reports and engaging in other forms of literary pursuits. The teachers were impressed but no one suggested I pursue writing. So, I did what a lot of other girls did — I became a teacher; moreover, went on to a vocational computer training school. At least that set the course for me concerning computers and my future. Being a good writer is not easy; however, being an excellent one is even harder. I am neither. My creativity is limited. Now I’m further learning by taking online courses as to how to further sharpen my writing skills.

Keep learning, just keep learning and working towards a goal no matter your age. Don’t stop ever from going in a certain direction if the little voice inside you says “keep going”.

A strange thing has happened recently in this type of work – I realized what low pay comes in as income. What I had previously earned in one hour I now earn in about two days of 9 work hours each. Eighteen hours of work vs. one hour is not very encouraging. But I gladly do it as I’m having so much fun doing what comes naturally to me.

One of the reasons I get up to work each day so gladly is that I work at home, have no boss over me and can schedule and re-schedule my writing gigs as I need to. I can also accept or not accept the assignments as they come in. I love it all!

I have no challenges except trying to complete every assignment better than I did the last one. And as for quitting? No way!

There is no stress whatsoever except when I get a client who is dissatisfied with my work. It doesn’t happen often but if it does, I just do the revisions and continue on to the next client. However, I do have a “blacklist” of annoying clients for which I refuse to do work.

Writers have to keep writing regularly in order to have a “near” average salary. Free lance writers on the Internet earn even less but can get more name recognition which is what I have done. However, by writing in my own blogs, being a guest writer on other sites, and increasing the number of assignments, I can easily live within my means.

I’d love to travel and would like a short vacation but I love my work too much right now to even think of a vacation.

I would say having a good command of the language — spelling, grammar and syntax is crucially important. Most clients don’t know good English when they hear or read it but many do and they deserve the best work you can put out. Either way, I would say, being self or formally taught is vitally important. Being an avid reader is a great help and knowing the basics of computers and/or being Internet savvied is extremely important.

If I were to advise a friend I would say: believe in yourself, don’t be easily discouraged and keep on writing.

In the future, I’d like to be doing the same thing I am doing now — the very same thing.