StevieSue.com

Here is a short careerillionaire story. It is a beautiful demonstration of something I’ve been thinking about.

You see, no matter what your work is each day you are in charge of your attitude. If you spend time resisting what you chose to do (i.e. working in order to feed yourself and your family) then you are spending a lot of energy resisting something you have decided to do. What a waste! Since you have decided to do it anyway, why not be fully present in the moment and engaged in your work cheerfully?

As demonstrated in the fast food workers’ story that I linked to above, it is when working while fully engaged in the present moment and with a positive attitude that you profoundly affect the people around you. Not only that, but you also greatly help your own cause. People love to be around such a positive, carefree personality so your networking becomes easy and natural. You begin to allow creativity and intuition to work through you. And, most importantly of all…you just generally become a force for Good!

Chris Brogan’s post on using social media in the classroom prompted my thoughts on this one. Thanks Chris!

There is an opportunity for “reverse mentoring” with technology. Reverse mentoring means a younger person can guide and teach someone older than they are.

Of course, we all know there are many skills and ideas the older generation can teach the younger generation, but think of how the younger generation can give back through technology which they tend to be so comfortable with. This could be crucial because one of the integral ideas for career success that young people need to learn is reciprocity in networking. This type of mentoring can open the door to dialogue and both sides benefit as in the traditional mentoring relationship. Not to mention the increases in self-confidence and time saved that will be gained as both parties get up to speed, one with technology and the other with networking.

The workplace, more and more, is changing, and with this change comes a whole new set of rules.

read more | digg story

Aggregators (a.k.a. feed aggregator or RSS aggregator)

• You can use aggregator software to create what is essentially your own customized digital newspaper!

• What topics do you like to or need to read about? Locate your favorite websites on the topics then click on the RSS feed button that can be found on many websites to add each website to your list to watch for regular updates. This saves time because the feed will automatically post updates to your aggregator so that you can see what’s new on you favorite sites very conveniently.

• Examples of free aggregators are Google Reader and Bloglines.com.

I was thinking the other day about how child’s play reflects interests and strengths. It is amazing to me how very quickly you can begin to see a child’s natural strengths emerging. Also the preschool years are a time when the child is just doing their thing without worrying about other people’s opinions for the most part.

If you are stuck trying to figure what what you want to do for your career, or if you are trying to build your personal brand based on your strengths, you might try thinking about your preschool years to get back in touch with what really brings you joy. Or you could talk to several people who knew you as a toddler and preschooler. Ask them what you seemed to learn quickly at those ages and phases of interest you went through. What would your relatives and caregivers say about you? Now, you may need to take this info with a grain of salt but by asking 3-5 opinions you should get some interesting data to consider about yourself.

Here are some tools that will come in handy for careerillionaires and infopreneurs!

Meta Search Engines (a.k.a metacrawlers)

• This type of internet search sends search requests to multiple search engines at once and puts the gathered responses in one long list. It’s a good idea to use a metacrawler in addition to your favorite search engine just to make sure you aren’t missing anything major. Using a meta search engine saves time since you won’t have to go to multiple websites to perform the same search.

• Top examples include www.mamma.com, www.dogpile.com, and www.clusty.com.

• I like www.clusty.com because it also divides the search results by category which makes quickly reviewing more precise results much easier.

• A variation is this tool specifically for searching career advice related articles - www.chimby.com.

• Meta searching job openings posted on the web can also be done. Try www.simplyhired.com and www.indeed.com.

Check out this listing of the “Best Careers 2008.” This kind of stuff is great for career research! Of course the danger here is that this list is developed using someone else’s value system, or at least values that are presumed to be important to most people. But if you go into the article realizing that, you should be okay.

Also, keep in mind that what really make a career one of “the best” is how well it suits the individual. For example, just because audiologist is listed doesn’t mean everyone will be happy doing it of course!

But this article does get you thinking about trends and changes as well as profiling a few select careers so it is worth a looksy. I especially like the section on “Most Overrated” because we all have stereotypical ideas of what certain careers are like and so it’s good to get the rest of the story. Of course it would be even better to talk to someone in person yourself if you are seriously considering one of these careers.

There is not an OSFA (one size fits all) for career assessments. Generally, though, there are some important data sets that a person can consider when taking stock of career options – personality type, interests, skills, and values.

• For personality type, I recommend the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). You can find a list of providers of the assessment here. There are some great books and free resources on the net too. Here is one option.

• For interests, I recommend the Strong Interest Inventory. See the list of providers above many who also give this assessment. Here is a quick version you can check out free online (click on the column headings in white).

• For skills assessment, I like to reference the O*Net Skills Search checklist which is free online. Here is another good free one online.

• For values, I like Dick Knowdell’s Career Values Card Sort. But here is a very good free resource.

How long would it take you to gather up all the information you need to fill out a complete professional history for a job or school application? Would you be able to get your hands on all the data you’d need? Despite the best of intentions and filing efforts, most people struggle to pull together their career and educational histories.

If you’ve ever scrambled to find papers and wracked your brain to piece together dates you’ve held jobs or received educational certifications, then you know what a headache it is to have disorganized professional records.

If you’ve ever agonized over writing a resume because you can’t remember what you accomplished in past positions, then you know the feeling of missing – or almost missing – a deadline to apply for a position.

Or, if you’ve ever not gotten the raise or promotion you were hoping for because you didn’t have your thoughts put together well enough to build your case, then you know firsthand that disorganization can lead to missed opportunities.

Weekly career tracking is important for several reasons.

1. Investing the time to do it now and as you go along will save you time in the long run.
2. Details are much easier to record while fresh in your mind rather than having to hunt for them later.
3. Knowing the specifics and being able to speak confidently about them will help your confidence and credibility when applying, networking, and interviewing.
4. If you ever get stuck in a career rut where you don’t know what to do next, you can get ideas by easily taking an inventory of what you have done previously.
5. Someday you might need a school or college transcript to apply for a job or educational opportunity, and now you will have the details of how to do it at your fingertips.
6. Tracking attendance to conferences and membership in professional associations will ensure you get the most benefit for your time and money spent.

If you haven’t kept up with these details so far, then you’ll have a good bit of extra work to get started, but once you’ve established a baseline record, keeping it up to date will be a piece of cake.

When you take ownership of your career materials and records, you take ownership of your career direction. Career tracking is meant to help you secure the most satisfying, rewarding, and—if you desire—money-making opportunities at any moment in time.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the best way to find a job is be able to tell people exactly what kind of job you are seeking. Sometimes people think it is best to keep all options open for any type of job that may come along. But with that strategy there is a higher likelihood that they will not like the position they accept and will be looking for a job again real soon because they quit or got fired. A person who handles the job search that way risks quickly becoming a job hopper. And guess what, it all started because they didn’t define what they were looking for in the first place.

The process does not have to be difficult or long and drawn out. It can be quite enriching if a person takes the time, but it can be done quickly with a few educated guesses when food just needs to get to the table too.

Minimally, you need to know:

• What kind of work fits your lifestyle right now such as part time, full time or contract?

• What industry are you interested in?

• What are example job titles?

• What skills you have to offer and what kind of problems you can solve with those skills?

With this kind of information in mind you can start the job search by asking people you know and people you meet a very powerful question, “Who do you know in the retail clothing industry that may be looking for part-time employees?” As simple as that you can begin accessing the hidden job market and the power of networking.