6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career

6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career 6 Great Tips to Launch Your Second Career Its not just individual jobs that have come under threat, but entire career paths. We live in an era where entire professions are being supplanted by rapid technological innovationand automation. Not only can we no longer expect a job for life We may not even be able to expect one career for life.Its very likely that fruchtwein us will have second careers, and some of us may even have third or fourth careers. Despite this fact, much of the career advice one finds on the Internet and elsewhere focuses on how tolaunch your first career. In my opinion, its high time we started talking about how professionals can start their second or third careers. Today, then, I offer six tips on that very subject1. Learn From Your First CareerLaunching a second career means more thansimply doing the exact opposite of your current career. You may even like some aspects of your current career, and you dont have to disc ard them entirely.Rather, what you should do is take a look at your current career and identify the things you like and the things you dislike.Make a list of the likes and dislikes, and then seek out a second career thatretains the likes and dispenses with the dislikes.2. Select Your New Career Based on Your Well-Prepared Career GoalsBefore selecting a newcareer, you need to clearly set out your new career goals. For example, millions of Americans between the ages of 44 and 70 are looking for encore careers.These are second careers thatcombine personal meaning, social impact, and, levels of income that are consistent with or higher than a persons income in their previous career. Younger career-changers may also be looking for such encore careers, or they may be driven by desires likeincreased income, job satisfaction and engagement, and employability.Once you are crystal clear on your career goals, you can go about choosing a new career path that best aligns with behauptung goals.3. Beware Industries and Professions Where Jobs Are in Terminal DeclineWe live in volatile times Globalization and increasing automation mean that many industries will experiencemassive reductions jobs over the next 10-20 years.The Occupational Outlook Handbook provided by the U.S. Bureauof Labor Statisticsprovides forecasts about declining and rising industries over the next decade. A recent Oxford Martin School studysimilarly surveys thejobs that are most vulnerable to automation in the coming years. I highly suggest career-changers spend some time studying ansicht resources to ensure that the new careers they choose dont disappear a few years down the road.4. Select a Career path Where There Jobs and Salaries Are Expected to GrowRelated to the previous tip, career-changers should try to get into career paths where the escalator is going up, not down. You can find out which professions have the most growth potential using the sources presented above.5. Leverage Your ConnectionsChang ing careers isnt easy, but career-changers do have at least one advantage over first-timers who are new to the working world their networks. Most career-changers have likely built powerful networks of high-level contacts over the course of their first careers. They can leverage these networks to find new opportunities in new career paths.Remember, studies show that candidates who are referred to an employer are much more likely to be called to interview and offered a job. As a career-changer, your personal and professional is the secret weapon that can give you an edge over those who are just starting out. Use it.6. Obtaina Relevant Certification to Boost Your CV and Demonstrate Commitment.A great way to prepare yourself for your new career and to show potential employers that you are committed to your second career path is to obtain a relevant certification via night school or online learning. Taking the time and effort to engage in professional developmentwillprove to employers th at you are dedicated and ready to give your new career all that you have. Employers will look favorably on this, and youll be more likely to land interviews and jobs as a result.-Making a career change can be difficult, but its also increasingly becoming the norm. Starting a second career isnt the same as starting your first, but if you follow these tips, youll position yourself for success on your new professional path.

Salary Requirements

Salary RequirementsSalary RequirementsResearch the going rate for your target job now so youre prepared to answer salary requirement questions during the interview.Q When asked about my salary requirements, I never know what to say. If I say a low figure, they have no reason to offer more money. If I give a figure thats too high, they may disregard me as a candidate. Whats the right response? Deb H.A The first rule of salary negotiation is to avoid discussing numbers until the company has extended an offer. This is when you have the most power to negotiate. But as any job seeker will tell you, this is no simple feat. Recruiters typically try to pull this information out of you as early as the initial phone screen, if they didnt already request your salary requirements as part of the application process.Here are a couple phrases you can use (courtesy of Jack Chapman, author of the book How to Make $1000 a Minute ) to deflect questions about your salary requirementsIm koranvers we can come to a good salary agreement if Im the right person for the job, so lets first agree on whether I am.I have some idea of the market, but for a moment lets start with your range. What do you have budgeted for the position?You can try to deflect the questions upfront once, maybe twice, but if the recruiter is insistent, youll need to be prepared with some figures.First things first, do your research. Use Ladders Job Market Guide and Companies pages to discover the going rate for your targeted job with respect to your relevant years of experience and educational background, as well as the industry and geographic location of the jobs youre targeting.You can start by looking up how your current role compares to the market rate, and then also change some of the variables to match those of the companies youre applying to. If the roles you are targeting are in different industries or locations, or the size of the company is very different, this could have an impact on what salary you ca n expect to make.Once youve done the research, come up with three numbersWhats the ideal dollar amount you want (and still have the recruiter take you seriously)?What dollar amount (given the going rate) is reasonable and would still make you happy?What is the lowest dollar amount youd accept?These three numbers make up the compensation range that is in alignment with the going rate for your targeted role, and that would make you happy. If youre forced to state your salary requirements upfront, use the researched number you found to be the fair market value (the same goes for an online application that demands a numeric response).Remember, your value to a prospective employer does not go down just because times are tough. Good employees are even more important to the success of an organization in a challenging economic environment. You just need to be able to explain why youre worth what youre asking for based on your research of the market and the value you can bring to the table.A gain, the most important thing you can do is delay the compensation conversation as long as humanly possible so you have time to build a rapport with your interviewers monetize what you can do, and how you can personally affect the bottom line at the company and move them from what Chapman describes as the budget state of mind (How much is this person going to cost us?) to the judge it mindset (We need this person Shed be such a great asset to the company how can we get her to join us?).Click on the following link to access Ladders Salary QA Series with Jack Chapman.

How to talk to working moms The dos and donts

How to talk to working moms The do's and don'ts How to talk to working moms The do's and don'ts I run my own law firm, and I’m a mother of two. Both of these aspects of my life are central to my identity. I have questioned whether my children would be better off if I were home full time. However, I love the highs and lows of a courtroom practice, and I feel honored to help my clients through incredibly difficult periods in their lives. I know the fulfillment from my work makes me a better mom when I am with my children. And, because my work affects my clients’ children, I know I am better at my job because I have children.

Here are the beauty and health benefits of biotin

Here are the beauty and health benefits of biotin Here are the beauty and health benefits of biotin Unless you’ve been MIA for the past few years, you know that biotin is the holy grail for fabulous hair, nails, and skin. Why? Your hair, skin, and nails are made up of a protein called  keratin  (yes, like the  semi-permanent  hair straightening treatment  you get to tame your locks). Biotin helps to improve your keratin levels, and as a result, strengthens your hair, skin, and nails. Research is  limited  on the success of taking biotin, but from the countless celebrities who promote biotin-rich gummies (or start feuds over them- I’m talking to you,  James and Tati) and from my own friends’ personal experiences, it can work. Want long locks? Biotin. Nails that won’t break? Biotin. Hydrated and acne-free skin? Biotin. Or so we’ve been told by the beauty industry. But there’s surely a catch, right? We can’t have nice things without consequences, RIGHT?? Ugh, you know the world too well. Of course, there is.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipb oard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!What’s the catch?Recent research has shown that biotin can skew medical tests. Uhh, what? The  FDA  warns that taking an excess of biotin, also known as B7, can cause tests to come back falsely negative or positive. In a  recent statement, the FDA said that there has been “an increase in the number of reported adverse events [injuries associated with medical care]  related to biotin interference with lab tests.” Yikes. Some  common tests  that can be impacted by your biotin pills and cause possible misdiagnoses include troponin (diagnose heart attacks), vitamin D levels, thyroid and other hormone tests, such as parathyroid hormone and  cortisol.The recommended dose for biotin is 30 micrograms, but many of the pills on the market range from 5,000 to 10,000 micrograms. For example, the beloved  SugarBearHair gummies contain 5,000 micrograms of biotin, 1667% of your daily recommended dose. That’s no t a typo- that is way more than you need every day. But, despite the potential test complications, taking that much Biotin all the time doesn’t necessarily pose an immediate health risk. Since biotin is a water-soluble vitamin (meaning you pee out any excess of the vitamin in your system), overdosing is unlikely, according to  Health Line. TG for small miracles.So should I stop taking my gummies?Wow, don’t do anything drastic. While biotin  can  skew  some  medical results, it doesn’t mean it will skew  all  of them. The best thing to do? Tell your doc that you’re taking biotin (and any other meds or vitamins) before you get any testing done. This way, they can advise you on if you need to stop taking the pills for a period of time before getting bloodwork or to keep it in mind when they analyze your results. If you want hair that makes people think you bought it, and you feel like the supplements are helping,  and  your doctor is fully aware and on board,  stick to taking t he pills.If you’re now worried about taking biotin (sorry), there are tons of foods to help you get your daily dose in. Almonds, egg yolks, spinach, and sweet potatoes are just a few foods that can help with your locks.This article originally appeared on Betches Lifestyle.

Pros and Cons of CAD

Pros and Cons of CAD Pros and Cons of CAD Pros and Cons of CAD An informal poll by Mechanical Engineering of approximately 25 engineers revealed that they have mixed feelings about CAD. Their comments inspired us to ask three prominent CAD users what they perceive to be the positives and negatives of the software today. All three agreed that CADs ease of use is both its best quality and its greatest drawback. Less experienced engineers can create designs that look perfectly manufacturable on screen, but cant actually be made. For instance, CAD allows users to simply mate two parts. They snuggle right up against each other, said William Durfee, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the design education department at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. In real life, theyd need to be welded, or adhesively bonded, or fastened with some type of fastenerits easy to forget that on the screen. With today's surfacing and other improved computer-aided design tools, engineers can more easily depict curved surfaces.Gordon Lewis, a principal at DaTuM 3D, a product-development company, agreed. We have customers come in here and say, My brothers grandson did this design for mecan you guys make it? We have to say, Sorry. It cant be built. The flip side is that the software can make a bad engineer a good one. Youre less likely to make a bad part than you were before, says Bernhard Bettig, a professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University. The same systems that give their less-experienced colleagues a leg up, give veteran engineers a bedrock technology to support their advanced designs. Aware of how a design will be made and assembled, theyre much less likely to come up with a part or product that faces trouble on the manufacturing side. As they create a design, they run a movie in their head about how it could be made, Durfee said. And then there are the designs themselves. In the early days, everybody tried to use CAD tools like theyd used their drawing boards. They couldnt do it because CAD had such restrictions, Lewis said. Twenty years ago, you saw designs that were very boxy because of the limitation of the tools. Today, we see free-flowing shapes, contours, and blended angles. CAD has helped change mouse shape. The yellow box mouse (above) is from a mid-1960s Xerox Alto II XM computer. A contemporary mouse (below) shows the curved surfaces CAD design allows.Other novices, frustrated because they cant make such shapes, fall into a pattern of using the patterns that are easiest to carry out in CAD. You can whip up a rectangle with round things on it in 20 seconds, because those buttons are right there, Durfee said. CAD has evolved so its easier to make a double-curved surface than five years ago, but itll be a while before itll be truly easy to do. Thats why some engineers still sculpt a design in clay before bringing it into CAD. And digital design is slower than sketching. You fire up the CAD application and three minutes later youre making a rectangle. Twenty minutes later, youre coming up with your first idea, Durfee said. A good designer could come up with 100 fledgling ideas in that time. Durfee lauds the ease of documentation. An engineer fresh from a brainstorming session may have 100 ideas. Once CAD files, theyre automatically archived and documented. Once youve created something in a CAD package, youve committed it to a paper trail, Durfee said. Thats huge in things like medical design, where you have to track the process from day one. The average engineer isnt that excited about documentation, so its nice to have a system that does it for him. Drawbacks aside, Durfee, Bettig, and Lewis agreed that its an exciting time for CAD. Whenever hes frustrated by the limitations of the software, Lewis remembers his early days in industry. I can make and cost out anything you want to build, all on my laptop, he said. Its really Buck Rogers. [Adapted from Pros and Cons of CAD, by Jean Thilmany, Associate Editor, Mechanical Engineering, September 2006.] Twenty years ago, you saw designs that were very boxy because of the limitation of the tools. Today, we see free-flowing shapes, contours, and blended angles.Gordon Lewis, a principal at DaTuM 3D

Make an Impact on Employee Morale With These Quotes

Make an Impact on Employee Morale With These Quotes Make an Impact on Employee Morale With These Quotes Looking for an inspirational quote about experience for your newsletter, business presentation, bulletin board or inspirational posters? These quotes inspire employee motivation, raise employee morale, increase employee satisfaction and engagement, and positively affect employee performance.They will help you create success in management and life for you and for your employees. These quotes were selected because they are moving, inspirational, and worth remembering and repeating. Quotations About Experience Experience is not a matter of having actually swum the Hellespont, or danced with the dervishes, or slept in a doss-house. It is a matter of sensibility and intuition, of seeing, and hearing the significant thing, of paying attention at the right moments, of understanding and coordinating. Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” -Aldous Huxley Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. -Douglas Adams We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character. -Henry David Thoreau ”It is not how much you know about life but how you live your life that counts. Those who can avoid mistakes by observing the mistakes of others are most apt to keep free from sorrow. In a world full of uncertainties, the record of what has gone before - human experience - is as sure and reliable as anything of which we know.” -Ray Lyman Wilbur Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. -Barry LePatner Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience. -James Boswell You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world. -William Hazlitt ”To live means to experience - through doing, feeling, thinking. Experience takes place in time, so time is the ultimate scarce resource we have. Over the years, the content of experience will determine the quality of life. Therefore one of the most essential decisions any of us can make is about how ones time is allocated or invested. -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt ”Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. -Oscar Wilde The years teach much which the days never know. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them. -Edward R. Murrow Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever Im doing. -Phil Jackson We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction. -Malcolm Gladwell A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others. -William Faulkner It is possible to make each year bring with it a lasting gift to add to the fullness of experience, to be treasured up, savored, and remembered. They need not be startling, these gifts of the years; they may be things that lie within the reach of all. -Grenville Kleiser It is not how much you know about life but how you live your life that counts. Those who can avoid mistakes by observing the mistakes of others are most apt to keep free from sorrow. In a world full of uncertainties, the record of what has gone before - human experience - is as sure and reliable as anything of which we know. -Ray Lyman Wilbur As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate lovingly, our own. -Margaret Mead When its time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. -Henry David Thoreau ”Im a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. -Thomas Jefferson All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience. -Henry Miller The further one advances in experience, the closer one comes to the unfathomable; the more one learns to utilize experience, the more one recognizes that the unfathomable is of no practical value. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest. -The Talmud Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you dont. -Pete Seeger Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward. -Soren Kierkegaard

Learn how to Handle Distracting Coworkers

Learn how to Handle Distracting Coworkers Learn how to Handle Distracting Coworkers One way to potentially scare of the less assertive (read: intrusive) of the coworker bunch is simply to wear a pair of headphones. Whether or not you are actually listening to music, the perception of you in your own world may aid in adding a subtle “Do Not Disturb” sign to your cubicle wall. For the purposes of ridding yourself of unwanted visitors, it is probably more useful to wear highly visible (though not necessarily bulky) headphones so that you are more obvious. Earbuds may be easily overlooked, or even ignored, by anyone seeking your attention. If your workplace doesn’t allow for even the appearance of listening to music at your desk, or you’d just prefer not to wear a pair of headphones all day, you may want to consider developing a few trigger phrases or conversation “traps” to end coworker interactions through the use of language: During particularly busy times, let the intruder know that you are pleased that they stopped because it has given you the opportunity to ask him or her to help you catch up on tasks that you wouldn’t otherwise complete due to your increased workload. Cash in a favor and send them away with work to do. Not only can this potentially help you achieve more work but also sends a message that if a coworker wishes to interrupt you during peak hours they can expect to be solicited for help. Focus your conversation topics on subjects that you know your coworker knows little about or dislikes. While you may still be stuck participating in a conversation, there is a good chance that it will be much more brief than if you engaged your colleague in a topic that he or she loves. In a similar vein, explicitly state to your coworker that you are not interested in whatever it is that he or she is talking about. This is sure to shorten the conversation because it will devolve into a one-sided conversation of explaining why the initial conversation topic is interesting to begin with. And odds are that after enough attempts at conversing with an uninterested person, he or she will look elsewhere to find two-sided conversations. If the passive-aggressive nature of these strategies is too much of a turn off for your personality, you can always simply be up front with your desire to be left alone. Being assertive doesn’t require that you be rude or mean. It’s just a matter of remaining calm, composed, and polite while you explain to the person that it is important that you be left alone to focus on your work.