Once you get the job the job search is over. But the career management focuses on long-term strategies and gradual attainment of goals. A career management allows you to map out how you would like your professional life to unfold.

Career Vision: By developing flexible career vision you can focus on the action plan based on your core values and your personal brand. Develop Lifelong Learning Process to update your professional knowledge and skills. This lifelong learning can be reading, training, attending workshops and seminars, or coursework

Updating Resume: Updating resume with new skills learnt and competencies acquired over the period of times should be incorporated, which also involve creation of different types of resumes to highlight the specific skill sets needed along different career paths.

Job Search Methods: Develop the habit of being current with job search methods. Commit time to reading new methods of job search such as personal branding, and use of social media like skpe interviewing as an effective job search strategy

Develop Social Networking: Your co-workers, supervisors, colleagues, teachers as well as clients could be useful network. Around 80% “hidden job opportunities” are generated through networking efforts. Give your business card to everyone you meet. Get ready with your 30 second commercial speech or 15 second elevator pitch highlighting your title and main job responsibilities. Also consider email signature containing your company information, your title, main responsibilities, and career aspiration; phone number and email address

Marketing tools: Put together your marketing tools, which includes a resume, general cover letter, reference lists, assessment results and
examples of your work (if applicable). Update these documents as often as necessary to be sure you can accurately market yourself to employers.

Elements of a Career Management Plan: A career management plan is inclusive of:

• Inventory of skills and core competencies
  
• Measurable career goals and objectives for one to ten years
  
• Stock of career direction and potential opportunities
  
• Present and forecast job market analysis
  
• An appropriate compensation plan for corresponding period
  
• Strategy, actions, timetables for the career management plan
  
• Marketing strategy: Branding, networks, resources, and tools
  

Related Articles

Know Yourself| Job Search | Be valuable for your company | Developing Live Skills | Take Care of Personal Life | Be excellent Corporate Trainer | Career Change | Career Transition

Many employees are looking for career changes who are currently working too. Making a career change usually means investing both your time and money. As with any investment, it's important to be informed before you make it. By being prepared, you will have a much smoother transition. Here are steps you can take to increase your chances of success.

Why are you looking? Before you start looking for a new job, answer this question: avoid burnout, trying something new, more money, or better benefits

Finding the best fit: Once you know why you're considering a career change, make sure that the job is in line with your underlying reason for a career change.

A career change is nothing to take lightly: A change of careers can make a huge impact on your life. Make sure you take the right approach to make that impact a positive one.

Assess Yourself:  Evaluate your values, skills, personality and interests. Some people choose to have career counselors or career mentor

Prepare occupations list to explore: Have a shorter list, consisting of between five and ten occupations. Circle occupations that appear on multiple lists. Explore the occupation list looking at the job description, educational and other requirements, advancement opportunities, and earnings.

Conduct informational interviews: You now need to gather more in-depth information. People who have firsthand knowledge of the occupations in which you are interested are to be contacted. Identify who they are and conduct informational interviews with them.

Set your goals: Once you have decided one occupation to pursue, it is the time to put a plan in place so you can eventually find a job in that field, but first you will need to set some goals. Set your goals and how to reach them. A career action plan will help guide you as you pursue your long and short term goals.

Train for your new career: Now you need to undergo some training. That could take the form of earning a certificate, doing a volunteer work, or taking courses to learn some new skills.

Start afresh: Your decision to change careers may have been inspired by a job loss. In that case you don't have to worry about leaving your job. However, if you are currently employed, you will have to quit your job and deal with some issues related to that. Good luck with your new job.Tips for Career change when you are 50 plus

• Update your skills and education as you search for new jobs.
  
• Revisit and redraft your resume including information about your continuing education and the experience.
  
• Focus your work experience to jobs and projects completed within the last 10 years. Omit graduation dates from your educational background.
  
• Exercise and get into shape prior to interviewing.
  
• Take measures to instill confidence in yourself and in the interviewer. This includes touching up graying hair to look slightly younger

Every organization is making sure that all its employees perform well to the best of their abilities focusing on corporate training programs. A corporate trainer is an exciting career to pursue who impart training to employees of a company on the information they need to know in order to get their job done effectively. Depending on a number of factors, such as the corporate environment, the audience, and the subject matter, a number of skills might be required to be considered for a corporate trainer, include and covers these critical success factors.

Subject Specialist: A corporate trainer needs to establish credibility by having relevant subject matter expertise. Nothing is worse than a room full of students who feel their time is being wasted because their instructor doesn’t know what he or she is talking about

Presentation Skills: This ability is critical. If you are a corporate trainer, consider taking regular public speaking or presentation skills training programs. In addition to training classes, if you are a corporate trainer you should consider having yourself videotaped periodically. You can learn a lot by watching yourself in action

Be a good Facilitator: Besides imparting wisdom, trainers are called on to facilitate a session with the class. The style and skills used when facilitating are quite different than training skills, so learn facilitation techniques, too.

Non-verbal communication-Body Language: A trainer should be able to "read" his or her students, beyond what they say. Being a student of body language can be helpful in interpreting the moods, needs, and challenges of your students.

Be humorous: Using humor can add punch to your training programs and really engage your students. If you’re not naturally funny, hone your skills by taking a comedy class. Just remember to keep humor non-offensive.

Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the ability that some people have to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of themselves and others, whether individuals or groups. It's useful for a trainer to have their own emotional intelligence levels assessed and analyzed, and then work on strengthening areas of weakness. This helps a trainer better understand the needs of his or her students.

Legible Writing: This one sounds simple, but so many trainers write illegibly and it causes a distraction at best. At worst, it can be an impediment to learning. Then, practice until you can write more neatly

Audio/Visual Skills: It's very helpful for a trainer to be knowledgeable about audio-visual equipments, including how to set it up, how to use it, and how to fix problems that may emerge. It's a luxury to have a technician on hand when you need one.

You would have noticed that some people are highly valued in your company than other. When your business is able to run without you, you can choose to stay active in it if you wish, or you can move from to being the member, employee, or even Chairman. Over my time as an employee in an NGO, and as a part-time instructor in business school, there are certain things you just don't do to get ahead. Read on to learn how to become a valuable part of your company.

Be visible: Staying visible in the workplace is essential to moving up the corporate ladder. For you to survive in today's highly competitive world, your superiors need to be convinced that you can make a positive difference to the organization.

Be willing to go extra mile: Be prepared to go the extra mile by taking on projects at the company that can benefit from your skills. Whether you are successful or not isn't as important as impressing your boss with your initiative.

Always use constructive criticism: When working on a team, be sure to use constructive criticism for value addition and to acknowledge the contributions of others.

Volunteer for challenging assignments: Actively participate in various company functions whether they are job-related or social. Use that opportunity to meet as many people within the organization as you can, which demonstrates that you are a volunteer and a team player

Manage your boss expectations: Your boss may not be communicating to you about what s/he wants or you might not be picking up the signals. Meet other employees or meet with your boss to discuss the expectations s/he has for you. This can be a great way to get a sneak peek into how you are performing at present through your boss’s eyes.

Coach or mentor others:. Realizing the benefits of coaching will encourage you to further excel in this position, ensuring a win-win situation for both you as a coach and the people under your mentorship.

Dress for promotion:Take a look at the people who are getting the promotions. Do they dress differently than you? The boss has to visualize you in the position you want and therefore, you must look the part

You are now a valuable and trusted employee who can be promoted - congratulations

Most people are not aware of the factors which drive their attitudes, emotions, reactions and behaviors. You are the one person who knows you best, and you are the one person you are always with. So wouldn't you live a happier life if you really loved yourself and appreciated your own inner greatness? Yes, you deserve to. Know yourself tips:

Know your strengths and weakness: The key qualities required for managerial positions are team building, team management, good communication skills, leadership quality, creative decision making, strategic planning, and quality of making new principles.

Take a personal assessment Take a Personality Test: One of the easiest ways to find your strengths and weaknesses is through a personality profile. The results will lay out your strengths and weaknesses in concise terms. This will give you all you need to work with

Know how to best use your strength: when to use which strength or your strengths appropriate mix at a particular situation. Using appropriate mix of strengths is the key to success.

Be mindful of your “cautious areas” : Being aware of your caution areas will help you plan and overcome fear of taking risks. You will be able to convert even your weakness into strength, if you are mindful of your problems areas.

Know what you are good at, and what role suits you best. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Narrow down the list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to those most important to you. Create specific statements for each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat. Formulate strategies, implement and monitor for any corrective action.

Know how others perceive you: We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are. Pay careful attention to the person with whom you are interacting. Notice his facial expressions and body language, listen to both his words and his silences. What impressions and associations come to mind? You don't have to come to immediate, simply notice what you are noticing. Build your hopes on reality.

The life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Broadly there are ten core life skill strategies and techniques as: problem solving, critical thinking, effective communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self-awareness building skills, empathy, and coping with stress and emotions. For convenience of understanding the gist of which is given here.

Be as organized as possible: Being organized saves time, eliminates stress and helps meet specific goals. Developing a plan to be organized frees up time for relaxing, spending time with the family and having more personal time.

Help others and give back to the society: One of the best ways to improve your life is to help and be kind to others. Treat others the way you'd like to be treated; smile and look people in the eyes; be polite and confident in yourself.

Be open to learning more things: You meet new people weekly. Become open to learning from them. You will not regret the shift in your thinking. Listen to what people have to say. Ask open ended questions to get the conversation rolling

Proactive good time management: The supply of time is totally inelastic. The key issues related to optimal time management, especially related to an effective manager, are priority setting, prime time selection, and developing time management skills.

Develop communication and presentation skills: effective people have the skills to communicate clearly and concisely with confidence. Setting goal, knowing your audiences and subject; and listen to the listener are the key skills to develop your communication and presentation skills. It may take practice to hone these skills, but you will become a much better leader if you use them.

Be an independent thinker: A person who is flexible in his approach to life, trust his guts, listen to questions, keeping an open mind, and listen to both sides of the story is an independent thinker

Do the right thing all the time: Making the most of the time that you have is very important to becoming successful. If you love doing something, do it. And do it as often as you can. Do as much as you can in a day towards your goal. Remember that -- time is of the essence; time is gold.

Taking one step at a time is one of the best ways to start search. If your resume needs writing, or editing, begin with that before you even look at a job listing. Work on a draft of a cover letter you can customize for the jobs you apply for. Do not apply only for the jobs that you have done before.

Start reviewing Job Listings that match your interests and applying for jobs that are a match; and summarize your best qualities and your accomplishments.

Answer these questions: What skills do I have to qualify me for this position?  What work or experiences do I have that relate to this position?  What education or training do I have that will help obtain this position?

Decide on a Career Path: Think about what motivates you, interests you, and what you value in a career.

Your Options: Discover employers you desire to work for. Research companies who hire for the positions you are interested in. Apply directly to these companies even if they do not have any current openings.

Develop Marketing Tools: A successful job search requires: how to fill proper applications; develop resume and reference letter; composing marketable cover letters; practicing interviewing techniques; preparing to follow-up on employment leads.

Use search engines without geographic specifications: Consider how much less competition you face with so many people being afraid to relocate.

Think of your exceptional skills and put them through job search engine as criteria again without limiting yourself by location.

Follow-up on Employment Leads: Be sure to follow up either by business letter, phone call or in person to ensure the employer knows you are interested and still available.

Success is not an accident. It begins with a well-conceived plan. You can and will achieve more in the next year than you have in the past ten with a disciplined way of taking care of your personal life. Taking care of your life provide direction, meaning, and purpose for your life and eliminate uncertainty, anxiety, doubt and fear.

Know what motivates you: making money, family, recognition, making difference at the company, being challenged, personal development; or what

Have a financial plan: Your income is central to pursuing all your goals. Basic financial principles dictate that what you bring in must exceed what you send out. All the excess income should be applied toward your investment goals and simultaneously to build and emergency cash reserve, and pay down debt such as your mortgage and credit cards.

Achieve Balance in family and social work life: Don't neglect your family and friends and spend all your time at work or thinking about your patients and other work-related issues

Manage you health: Be sure to give part of your day the value it deserves in your healthy life. Mental health is often taken for granted but it is essential to wellness. You must first recognize, protect and nurture your mental wellbeing.

Set goals and be consistent: Setting goals and targets is an essential part of self-evaluation. Goals can be your ‘career-related’ or ‘family-related’’ and also they are short- and long-terms from daily to annually, and even for five years. Goals help us to look at where we are in life and where we would like to be in the future. Be consistent and focused on your short and long term goals

Make a strong personal appearance: Personal appearance is the way we groom and dress ourselves and is generally instrumental in other people forming opinions about us. It's obvious therefore that care and attention should be given to how we look in order to make the best impression

If you no longer get job-satisfaction it may be time to make a career change. Making a career change can be an arduous task and it may feel like you are turning your life upside down, but, in the end, you may actually end up turning your life right-side up. Some reasons for wanting to change your career include:

Change in your life pattern: When you chose your career your life may have been different than it is today. You should look for an occupation that is more “family friendly.”

Limited or worsening career progression: Things would be different and promising for your field when you entered it. Due to changes in technology and the economy, job opportunities are no longer plentiful.

Experiencing workplace stress: or boring: You cannot stand doing your job anymore because of workplace stress and being boring. To preserve your mental and physical health, you may have to find a career that is less stressful and boring.

More money, job satisfaction flexi hours are being considered as a career change option, with further emphasis on better opportunities for promotion.

Barriers to Changing Careers

• Obsolete skill set: It becomes harder for employees to learn more modern skills, which universities make sure that their new graduates learn. Technology renders many employee skill sets obsolete much more quickly than ever before, which does not give employees the time to save enough money to go to school to learn the new skills.
• Older employees understandably want and need higher salaries; however, employers much prefer to hire younger employees who do the same work for an entry level salary.

Your lifestyle includes what you say, eat, when and how long you sleep, and how you spend your time. A life style is made up of your habits and activities of day-to-day living.

Doctors know that the lifestyle can affect the amount of stress in our daily life. Some ways are shared that you can shape your lifestyle to increase your success at work:

• Have a good night's sleep. Most people need six to eight hours of sleep each night. Cutting back on your sleep time just one hour can result in making bad decisions and taking greater risks. Reducing sleep can affect your job performance. Your body rests better when you sleep on a regular schedule. Many young people make the mistake of partying on work nights. They get less sleep and then skip work the next morning or are late.

• Proper diet. Eat well-balanced meals on a regular schedule and avoid too much junk food. Take plenty of fruits and vegetables. You are less likely to be ill when you have good eating habits.

• Regular Exercise. Most jobs are service and information related; they don't enable you to get much exercise. Regular exercise keeps you in top physical and mental condition and helps you release job-related stress.

• Reduce or quite smoking. Smoking is hazardous to both smokers and nonsmokers. A Gallup poll found that 96 percent of U.S. adults want all smoking in the workplace banned or confined to a set-aside area. Many organizations offer incentives and help for employees who want to quit smoking.

• Abusing drugs. Illegal drugs harm the body and mind. You should not take any drugs unless a physician prescribes them. Policies on illegal drug use vary among organizations. If you test positive for certain drugs, some organizations will give you a choice of entering a rehabilitation program or being fired. Other employers will simply fire you outright.

• Have good company. Your relationships affect your work. For instance, if your friends don't work, they might want you to adapt to their schedule, which can leave you too tired for work the next day. If you're facing a conflict like this, you need to establish a priority for work over social activities. Avoid people who might get you into trouble with the law. Employers do not appreciate workers who miss work because they are in jail.

• Meet and socialize with coworkers. We all need time to socialize with friends and acquaintances. Our coworkers often become our best friends because we spend so much time with them. Relationships with coworkers can be positive, or they can create problems in the workplace. These guidelines can help you avoid problems in your work relationships: 
  • Approach romances with coworkers cautiously. Many people think work is a good place to meet people they would like to date. However, be careful not to let a romance negatively affect your relationships with coworkers. Sometimes an office romance can create awkward and unpleasant situations while you're dating and when the romance ends.
  • When you socialize with coworkers, you spend a lot of time talking about work. To reduce stress, you need to get away from your job sometimes by not talking or even thinking about the job.
  • Don't let friendships with coworkers interfere with your work performance. Don't do someone else's work to cover for their inability or laziness. Avoid siding with a friend in a feud with another worker or supervisor. Try to be neutral in work relationships.

You have a one-in-five chance of being involved in a violent act at work. Violence ranges from being struck to being raped or killed. People who kill their coworkers make headlines, but fistfights are far more common in the workplace. So what can you do to avoid violence? Here are some tips:

•    People sometimes get angry. When you get angry in return, it creates the potential for violence. Tell the person that you want to solve the problem and that anger won't help. Walk away from the person if necessary.

•    If a coworker threatens you with violence, notify your supervisor. You're not in school anymore and there is no need to tolerate a bully. Coworkers who threaten violence can be fired.

•    Violence sometimes occurs because a worker has mental or emotional problems. You might notice signs of this. A person who is a "loner" and who completely withdraws from other workers is exhibiting unusual behavior. Possibly this person lets stress build up and doesn't express it. Other workers might appear to always be angry; they might verbally or physically strike out at everyone. Still others might have mental illness such as paranoia. Talk with your supervisor when you observe strange behaviors like these.

•    Violence often occurs due to marital disputes that spill over into the workplace. Don't hesitate to call the police when a spouse who should not be there enters the workplace or grounds.

•    Follow all security procedures to protect yourself and coworkers. Keep doors locked, don't allow strangers into a building, and report suspicious behavior.

•    Working in places open to the public - such as convenience stores - requires special security guidelines. Every retail chain has security guidelines. You should take time to learn the guidelines and follow them for your own safety and that of your coworkers.

Not all violence can be prevented, but following some simple guidelines can reduce it. Carefully observe your surroundings and people in the workplace. Report unusual situations to your supervisor or security guards.

An ideal employee is who always put her/his services before her/himshelf and is dependable; honest with positive and proact; willing to go extra miles with a smile; has high energy and keep motivated in town-time.

Dependability include:

• Always Follows Directions
• Consistently Accurate
• Works Independently
• Gets Along with others
• Good Grooming and Hygiene
• In Time to work and back from breaks.
• Good Attendance
• Cooperative, but asks good questions
• Proactive Attitude
• Team Player

Honesty & Integrity

• Working more slowly than the standard pace.
• Having coworkers clock in for them when late. This is usually illegal as well.
• Pilfering work-related supplies and equipment.
• Extended breaks and rest room visits.
• Completing personal tasks on the job, using company equipment and supplies

Positive, Proactive Attitude

• Smiles
•  Good posture
• Pleasant tone of voice
• Complaining through proper channels, while offering ideas for improvement.
• Respect and courtesy
• Managing conflict and anger
• Good job performance
• Interested in others

• Blank facial expression or a frown
• Slumping in chairs, leaning on walls
• Sarcasm, un-modulated voice, mumbling
• Complaining on the work floor
• Trash talking about the company to coworkers; enabling bad attitudes among others
• Displaying anger inappropriately
• Substandard job performance
• Ignoring people at work

Willing to Work

• Ability and Desire to Communicate- Organizing and present your thoughts clearly.
• Intelligence- Showing common sense and the ability and desire to learn.
• Self-Confidence - Showing assertiveness and initiative.
• Accepting Responsibility - Takes on new challenges, admits mistakes and fixes them.
• Leadership - Being a good example, taking charge.

High Energy Level.

• Imagination.
• Flexibility - Adaptable, accepts changes.
• Gets along with others.
• Handles Conflict
• Sets and Achieves Goals - Continuous improvement. Has personal direction,
• Occupational Skills - Able to do the job and accept new training

Uses Down Time Productively

• Read trade journals and magazine articles about your company and the industry
• Read about current trends in your industry on the Internet.
• Ask for, or find, new tasks to do; help someone else.
• Think of a better way to do something in your job or in the company.
• Clean and organize your work area.
• Update your filing systems, clean out old email messages, etc.
• Write an article about your job or your industry and share it with your boss.
• Take an online class that is relevant to your job. Some of these are free of charge

Getting noticed is self-promotion, which is making an audience of prospective employers aware of your qualifications. Some ways to accomplish this task is to:

• Get your resume out.
• Create a business card (outlining your objective and skills) and carry them with you at all times to give to people who may have reason to contact you later about a job
• Create your own website outlining accomplishments, to include on your resume.
• Post your resume online (monster.com, rozi.com, workopolis.com, etc).
• Sometimes a temporary job will lead you directly to a permanent job.
• Volunteer for organizations. This will increase your visibility and personal contacts
• Participate actively in your college alumni because they can refer you to their customers, and competitors.
• Network, Network, Network!!!

Negotiating tips - during a job contract process

• Never discuss salary until you have a job offer
• Don’t forget the value of benefits and perks when negotiating a salary
• Logically  state what you feel you are worth financially, and let the interviewer make a counter offer
• Be willing to walk away
• Do not say yes to an offer right away
• Put the offer in writing