Computer training courses have become the last refuge of the jobless. Unemployment has been rising at an unprecedented rate. If you look at the newspapers, you will feel like there are no job openings coming up in the near future: economic recession, downsizing, outsourcing, and off-shoring is all that newspapers are full of. Because of all this, many people are being forced to think about a career change.

 

Previously people thought about a career change only when they felt bored with their existing job or when they felt that there was nothing more left to achieve in the existing job. However, not many employees at present can afford the luxury of a voluntary career change. Many employees have been given the pink slip over the last one or two years. The only option for them is to learn new skills and start their career anew.

 

At present, computer training courses are the most attractive option. The best thing about these courses is that they are affordable. What's more, it is comparatively easy to learn the working of software packages.

 

A number of computer training courses are conducted by universities and educational institutions. These courses cover a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from simple office applications and accounting packages to complex programming languages. If you have a personal computer with an internet connection at home, you can learn many software packages and languages even sitting at home.

 

Web Designing And Application Developing

 

Ever wondered who creates all these wonderful websites and animations? These are created by people just like you and me. One has to learn software tools and languages such as html, xml, javascript, PHP, and Photoshop for creating professional looking websites. One can find many free tutorials of these software tools on the internet and can download study material. Web designing is ideal for those who have the artistic talent for painting or drawing.

 

However, for learning web application development you need to have more than just artistic talent. There is not much distinction between scripting code for web applications and writing the code for creating new software tools. The good thing about the internet is that if you develop a new path-breaking software application, you can announce it to the rest of the world almost instantly using social networking websites and mobile phones.

 

Office Automation Packages

 

These are perhaps the most popular computer training courses. They include a typesetting software tool like MS Word or Open Office Writer. A spreadsheet package like MS Excel or Open Office Calc is also essential. In addition, one can learn how to work with database management software tools like MS Access or presentation and slide-designing tools MS Power Point or Open Office Impress. The basic training tasks of these tools are typing, formatting, and printing letters; carry out some simple accounting jobs; and creating slides to amuse co-workers.

 

Accounting Packages

 

These were the favorites of early birds of computer training. Every big company has an accounting and finance department. Therefore, almost all companies will periodically have vacancies for accountants who are well-versed in accounting procedures and accounting software tools. You need to have either some kind of qualification in accounting or some kind of work experience in an accounting-related department or organization. Otherwise, you may not be able to optimize your learning with computer training courses.

About the Author

James Copper is a writer for http://www.baol.co.uk/computer-courses.html where you can find information on computer courses

Career search engines have taken job hunting to a whole new level. Back in the day, job hopefuls had to make a personal appearance just to submit their resume. They had to look at the classified ads section of the paper to find out which companies had an opening or what kinds of jobs were available. Even then, not everything was listed.

When the Internet technology boomed, career search engines were set up to make life easier for both the applicants and their potential employers. It's the perfect set up for both parties, especially now that there are millions of fresh graduates and job seekers looking for a job every year. Still don't have much faith in career search engines? Well, you'll soon have a change of heart after you read this article.

Careerbuilder.com

Build it and they will come. CareerBuilder.com certainly knew and used this adage well. This particular career search engine is one of the first to set up such a business back in 1995 and has served as a good basis for other career search engines all over the world.

Registering here is easy and hassle free. And since CareerBuilder.com has been around for a while, there is more game there. Aside from providing companies with applicants and vice-versa, CareerBuilder.com has also expanded their services to a more applicant-friendly level.

There are useful articles on employment and career building, a comprehensive salary calculator, job description, and even career quizzes for the curious.

Monster.com

Contrary to the name, registering at Monster.com isn't a terrifying experience. Unlike most career search engines, this particular Web site has a friendlier and more sophisticated layout. There aren't a dizzying number of links to distract you from your ultimate goal of finding a job that matches your skills.

At the moment, they have a trial service called Career Mapping which allows applicants to sort out where they want their careers to go. Monster.com definitely isn't interested in a one shot deal. Their services prove that they're there for you in the long run.

Yahoo! HotJobs

Another well recommended career search engine is Yahoo! HotJobs. Being a world-renowned company does have its perks!

Aside from the usual services and links offered by similar career sites, Yahoo! HotJobs makes the list because of the site's Question and Answer section. The Web site has made good use of its Yahoo! Answers technology which allows users from different parts of the world to respond to a particular question or to post one of their own. As a registered user or even just as a lurker, you get to hear what real people have to say about real situations.

Career search engines have taken over the job hunting industry. Sure, classified ads still have some importance, but everything is high tech now. Companies also want the convenience of having a resume automatically sent to their email and having a good pick over millions of online applicants. Let's face it. If you want to get a good job, you have to think forward. And that's what career search engines are here for.

About the Author

Want to easily and quickly attain your dream career? Then get FREE instant access to the Career Planning Secrets course to land the perfect job for you, in no time flat! Download at: http://www.20daypersuasion.com/careerplanning.htm

In part 2 of the article series Career Change - Goal Setting, we will go over how to format your goals into a five year plan. We will also discuss how obstacles may come up, but that they can be dealt with accordingly when you prepare for them.

 

Out of all the occupations you explored, at some point in the process you narrowed your choices down to one occupation. That is the one you plan to pursue. You may even have two occupations -- one to pursue in the short term and one to pursue in the long term.

 

They should be related, the second being one that is a step up from the first. For example, you can say you want to first become a nurse's aide, and then after you get some experience you will pursue a career as a registered nurse.

 

You should break your career plan down into goals you can reach in a year or less and goals you want to reach in five years or less. You can use increments of one or two years in this five year plan as well. This breakdown will make your plan easier for you to follow.

 

You should also include your goals for education and training. Your occupational goals and your educational goals should correspond to one another, since reaching your occupational goals will usually be dependent upon reaching your educational goals.

 

If your long term occupational goal is to be a lawyer, here's what your short and long term plans might look like:

 

- Year One: Complete my bachelor's degree (12 credits left to go), apply to law school, get accepted to law school (a positive attitude is a good thing)

 

- Year Two through Year Four: Enter law school, study hard and earn good grades, graduate from law school with many job offers

 

- Year Five: Begin working in a law firm

 

You are likely to encounter barriers along the way to realizing your goals. This is normal and to be expected. You will have a better chance of overcoming those barriers and obstacles if you try to ascertain what they might be and then come up with a plan to defeat them if they do arise.

 

For example you may be the primary caregiver for your children or elderly parents. This may interfere with your ability to complete your degree. You can deal with this barrier by enlisting the help of your spouse or another relative. Perhaps you can arrange for child or adult daycare.

 

Some might say that going through so many steps just to choose a career is wasting time and doesn't serve any purpose, but nothing could be further from the truth. A well-thought-out career action plan will prove to be a very useful tool.

 

You've gone through the career planning process carefully choosing a suitable occupation. Setting goals and planning what you need to do to realize them will insure that you reach your career destination.

 

So you've got a career action plan and it's time for you to quit your present job. You'll want to do this in the right way. Look for further articles on this subject, coming soon!

About the Author

If you want to get out of the traps of your J-O-B and start depending on yourself for your future, go to Financial Bailout Products for more information on career changes, as well as products to help you on your quest for financial independence!

Because making a career change is so important and a very big step, it's also important for you to have an action plan. In the previous articles about things not to do when making a career change, we mentioned that you should have a plan as to how you will be going about this life-changing event. It helps if you begin by setting some goals and then devising an action plan.

A goal is something that you want to achieve. It is the end result of what might be a lot of hard work but that hard work will help you realize your dream of working in a job that you'll love.

There are two types of goals you need to set: long-term and short-term. Long term goals can take about three to five years to achieve. Short term goals can be realized within a year or so. It's important to have goals because you need to have something to focus on - keeping your eye on the prize so to speak! When you are setting goals, you need to keep in mind a few things. Your goals should be:

- Conceivable: you must be able to put it into words;

- Achievable: you must have the attributes, energy, and time to accomplish it;

- Believable: you must believe you can reach it;

- Achievable within a certain time frame: you must be able to state how long it will take you to reach it;

- Clearly defined: you must know exactly what it is;

- Flexible: you must be willing to modify it as necessary;

Once you have your goals set, you can move on to making a career action plan. This will list all of your goals along with the steps you have to take to realize your goals. Having all of this information written down will make it more real and motivate you to achieve those goals and realize success.

A career action plan is a road map that takes you from choosing an occupation to becoming employed in that occupation to reaching your long-term career goals. The career planning process is ongoing, and bi-directional, meaning you can move back to previous steps when you need to gather more information or clarify your choices. Once you have identified an occupation to pursue you should develop an action plan.

According to Individualized Career Plan Models - Eric Digest No. 71(ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education), "Personal plans of action -- individualized career development plans -- are becoming important instruments that counselors and others are using to help their students and/or clients (both youth and adults) meet their changing goals, interests and needs in this fast-paced, rapidly changing society."

Though the ERIC Digest talks about individualized career plans being used by counselors and other professionals, you can develop a plan yourself. Even if you do work with a counselor, you will need to do some of the work yourself.

For example, a counselor can't set your goals for you. He or she will just help you clarify your goals and help you find strategies to reach them. In addition, an action plan should be amended over time as your goals change, your priorities change, and your career grows. Let's begin now to take a look at how to develop a career action plan step-by-step.

Begin your career action plan by writing down your educational background and employment history. When you are listing previous jobs, start with the most recent one first and work your way back. Include the location of the company, your job title, and the dates you worked at that job. When you put together your resume, having organized this information will prove very helpful.

Then you will want to outline your education and training. Again, start with the most recent and work your way into the past. List the schools you've attended, the dates you've attended them, and the credits, certificates, or degrees you've earned. Also list additional training and any professional licenses you hold. You should also list volunteer or other unpaid experience.

You may find that several of these activities are relevant to your occupational goals. By volunteering you may have developed skills that will play an important role in your future career. Again, this information can be used on your resume. It can also be used in job interviews, or when applying to college or graduate school.

If during the career planning process you met with a career development professional that used self assessment tools to help you gather information about yourself, this is where you can write down the results of those assessments. If you took one of the online career assessment tests, this is where you want to put the results as well.

You can then list the occupations that were suggested to you during that phase. You may even want to attach the information you gathered when you explored those occupations in case you want to refer to your notes later on.

About the Author

If you want to get out of the traps of your J-O-B and start depending on yourself for your future, go to Financial Bailout Products for more information on career changes, as well as products to help you on your quest for financial independence!