The Center provides the following links which we feel offer outstanding opportunities for information, insights and resources on life transitions.
Career
The Starting Point–Self Assessment & Career Research
“We learn who were, are and can become by both looking inside…and through experience, exploration and experimentation in the world around us.”
Herminia Ibarra, Ph.D., is Professor of Organizational Behavior, INSEAD Graduate Management School and author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career.
This quote sums up best the work which needs to be accomplished for success when in transition. This set of tools developed by the Career Development Center at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee can get you started in the right direction:
- Discovering language to first understand and then present to others the qualities which make you unique and marketable;
- Researching the careers, fields and jobs which match your goals and bring meaning to your life.
http://www4.uwm.edu/cdc/toolkit/career_exercises/
Her writing on career transition is outstanding. Links:
Faculty profile
Networking is vital for successful managers
Values
Identifying and prioritizing your values or what’s really important to you in work is a significant aspect of career planning. Values are where you derive meaning and ultimately success in your career or any work. Sometimes, passion can be used synonymously with values. Values are distinct from interests (what you like or don’t like) as well as skills or abilities (what you’re good at). Values, interests and skills can be the same for some people in certain situations. For example, you may love to train and teach older adults on a variety of topics like personal accounting or financial planning; you may also have an aptitude for numbers and quantitative analysis as well as an engaging personality for communicating effectively in small groups or individually; helping older adults adjust to the aging process may be a major source of meaning and fulfillment in your life.
This card sort exercise developed at the University of Minnesota can help you identify and prioritize work values.
Quint Careers is one of the most comprehensive sources of career and employment information on the web.
The UWMilwaukee Career Development Center website is a virtual career center with resources on a full range of career topics. Although targeted to college students, most content and tools are useful for anyone in career transition.
(The website is presently under design renovation so there may be some sections that are not “live.”)
The Job Search Bible is Richard Bolles’, author of the long time best selling What Color is Your Parachute, website. He provides superior content on his approach to job hunting—the best way to get a job is to be a serious information seeker, not a job seeker. We access the “hidden job market” through creative, researched informational meetings. Richard also declares…..“If you’re in transition and you happen to have an old faith hanging in the closet of your heart, it’s probably a good time to bring it out and dust it off.”
O-NET is a comprehensive, online source of career/occupational information on all fields. It’s particularly useful for career exploration and understanding how your skills connect to requirements and characteristics of jobs/filed in which you’re interested.
Robin Kessler is author of Competency-based Resumes and Competency-based Interviewing, two outstanding books on job hunting.
There are no hard and fast job-hunting rules (PDF) by Jack Falvey.
Aging / Growing
Eons is a site developed by Monster, the world’s largest job board, especially for the Boomer Generation? It’s a broad source for information and has a very intriguing Lifeline exercise for reviewing significant life events as a base for future planning.
Ageless in America is a site devoted to a pre-retirement and retirement audience who are looking for new meaning in their life/work. Carleen McKay—subject matter expert for the “mature workforce” and author of Boom or Bust– is well worth learning from.
American Association for Retired People (AARP) is an organization anyone over 50 will find value in joining, They offer a robust website of financial, health and life/career planning resources.
Spirit
BeliefNet‘s mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness.
Thomas Merton was a prolific Trappist monk who was also a social activist in the 1950s and 60s. He wrote books while maintaining correspondence with political, religious and scientific leaders throughout the world like Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Boris Pasternak, the Dali Lama.
Henri Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic contemplative and writer who focused on the spiritual journey.
Richard Foster is a Quaker and spiritual writer.
Parker Palmer is a self declared “reformed sociologist”, Quaker writer and speaker who started the human development training organization Courage to Lead. Initially Courage was developed for educators to go on regular retreats to discuss the relationship between “their role—and soul.” His book Let Your Life Speak is a best seller.
Sacred space is a website run by the Irish Jesuits which offers a unique online prayer experience.
Graduate / Professional School Planning
Online MBA is the best online resource for Online MBA Programs.
Peterson’s is the recognized source for graduate/professional school planning.
US News and World Report is the most comprehensive and credible source of college/university and graduate/professional school rankings and ratings.
The Center for Life Transitions, Inc.
Contact us today to learn how our programs can help you manage your professional, personal and spiritual lives.