Career Development

"For years, higher education was touted as a safe path to professional and financial success. Easy money, in the form of student loans, flowed to help parents and students finance degrees, with the implication that in the long run, a bachelor's degree was a good bet. Graduates, it has long been argued, would be able to build solid careers that would earn them far more than their high-school educated counterparts."

"There's been no shortage of warnings about the career dangers of posting racy content on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yet many job hunters still don't heed that advice, and others don't realize they're doing just as much damage by doing things like bending the truth or spamming their résumés. Recruiters say such faux-pas can result in immediate and lasting career damage."

"You messed up a job search, making a faux pas during an interview or handling a turndown badly. But you probably don't realize that your mistake, exacerbated by the tight job market, could harm your long-term prospects. "

"A new study shows a large gap in perceptions among the sexes in who has more opportunities for advancement-men or women."

High unemployment is spreading in New York City beyond the poorest neighborhoods to once-secure middle-class enclaves, where some residents are falling behind on rent and mortgage payments.

I am driven, hard working and smart, but I lack the self-discipline to look for a job. I have hired a career counselor, but I still can't muster the motivation I need and am always procrastinating. Do you have any advice for being a more effective job seeker?

If you're gearing up for a job search now as an undergraduate or returning student, there are several bright spots where new jobs and promising career paths are expected to emerge in the next few years.

I spent most of my early career trying to do things perfectly. And as you can imagine, this didn't work out very well. Screw-ups happen, and how you cope with them is a strong measure of your overall effectiveness in a work environment.

In this economy, you need to take advantage of every available resource to propel your career. Finding a mentor-and preferably a network of mentors-is an easy and smart way to get started. And, it won't set you back financially the way hiring a career coach would. Here's how.

In October 2007, Susan Guldenschuh lost her job as a human-resources supervisor for Circuit City Stores Inc., which shut all its stores earlier this year. She landed a professional human-relations position elsewhere five months later. But when the downturn deepened, she got laid off again last December. The Louisville, Ky., resident pursued more than 100 openings, including a receptionist's spot. Mrs. Guldenschuh was finally hired again a few weeks ago. She is now an hourly worker, taking online orders for Guess Inc.

Sheila is a claims processor at a major automotive company. Due to recent declines in the economy, she has recently been given notice that her position will terminate in two weeks. A despondent Sheila makes an appointment with the career consultant employed to assist with terminated workers. Upon hearing Sheila's story it might not surprise you to hear that the counselor plans to consult various websites during her work with Sheila. As professional career counselors, we are practiced at using career-based websites to assist clients with finding resources for taking interest inventories, engaging in job searches, finding occupational information, and creating resumes. However, Sheila's counselor is not looking at these types of websites. There are other beneficial websites that may not be as apparent or as frequently used. There are many websites that have information on career development theories that may be useful to counselors who are working to resolve the dilemmas of their clients. Below are several websites on the theories of cognitive, sociological, trait-factor, and on diversity issues that Sheila's counselor, and many of you, may find useful.

Writing a will in your 20s might seem premature. But even young workers with meager assets should consider preparing a will and other legal documents -- such as a health-care directive and durable power of attorney -- to make sure their personal, financial and medical wishes are met if they become disabled or pass away.

For many companies, tough economic times inevitably end up pushing the work environment to the back burner. Benefits are slashed, innovative programs are dropped, employees get shut out of big decisions. Employees are lucky to have a job, many bosses figure. Anything extra is unaffordable.

Your written plan describes your business, outlines your goals and serves as a road map for future activities- everything from handling unforeseen complications to repaying borrowed money. It's a document that should grow with your business, undergoing constant tweaks as your big idea evolves from a concept into a successful company.

The internship, in which she worked 15 hours a week researching and blogging about corporate workplace benefits, was virtual-she needed only a computer and Internet access. Ms. Roig, a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, never even met her boss, in Atlanta.

The prospect of losing one's job is a very daunting fear for most people. Changes that come with the loss of a job can affect one socially, emotionally as well as financially.

The Morning Journal brought a lot of bad news to the residents of Lorain, Ohio, this past December. Layoffs at a major steel company, at a trucking company, and throughout the county government. And, of course, Ford Motor Company, a major local employer, was in turmoil.

MLA Tutorial created at Hunter College - CUNY

While it might seem fun to work at a company where the average age is below thirty and everyone is on Facebook and Twitter, you're better off working with more seasoned colleagues, say experts. FINS readers agree. Of 654 respondents in FINS' informal online questionnaire Sign or Decline, 88% said they'd accept their dream job if their new coworkers would all be 20 years older than them.

Our careers and our lives are constantly changing. With so many twists and turns it is almost guaranteed that our career plans will not be stagnant. There are many different types of individuals who are moving in/out of a traditional career. Recently the term "comeback parent" has been coined for the parent who has left a paid position outside the home to raise a family, and is now returning to paid external employment. Another example is the graduate student who alternates full time employment with full or part time education. Some leave to take care of an aging relative, start a private practice or a business, attend to personal health issues, or even work part-time from home. While juggling various roles in life, it is important to manage our careers even if it is not currently the highest priority. Networking is an important way to effectively and efficiently tend to your career at all times.