ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Career Change: From Suits & Sales to Boots & Rails
Peter Humleker had it made. As the general manager of a successful car dealership, he was earning an impressive income. The only problem? He hated what he was doing. "I was making a living off of manipulating and misleading people, taking advantage of them with ugly games and lies," Peter said. "It's how I was taught to make sales, and I was very good at it." Eventually, his feelings of success were overcome by feelings of remorse. "I had to get out of that business," he said. "No paycheck amount is worth the guilt, lies and not being able to look at myself in the mirror." So at the age of 40 and with a family to support, Peter made one of the scariest--and best--decisions of his life: he quit his job and began searching for a new career. "I was sick and tired of sales," he said. "But I wanted to get a job where my success was mostly dependant on my own performance. My other main requirements for a new career were that it pay at least $60,000 per year (with the opportunity to make even more) and offer a good retirement program. I don't have a college education, so this limited some possibilities for me. "My first choice was to find a government job because I spent four years in the Marine Corps and that time could have gone towards a government retirement. However, the jobs I was interested in were not available to me because I was over the age limit. The ones that were available were good jobs, but the pay structure was too low for my particular needs," he said. Some of the other options Peter investigated were the Merchant Marines, the oil field industry, law enforcement, the fire department, and the railroad. "I did my research," he said. "And I spoke with people in each of these fields to find out firsthand about their job duties, pay, benefits, etc. In the end, I decided to go for a career with the railroad. The pay is very good, the benefits and retirement plan are excellent. And if I decide to go into management later on, the possibility is there." Selecting a new career field wasn't easy, but the hardest part was yet to come. "Once I decided on the railroad industry, I went to an open interview and there were at least 90 other applicants there, but only seven positions available. I did not get hired, and knew I needed to do something that would give me an edge over the other applicants next time I interviewed for a job with the railroad," he said. "So I did two things: I went to a trade school for six weeks that specialized in training conductors for the railroad, and I practiced interview preparation techniques that I read about in 'The Job Interview Success System'." At his next interview, Peter was confident. "No matter what question they asked, I turned it into a positive," he said. "For example, when they asked, 'How would being away from home affect you and your family?' I replied, 'That would work out to my advantage, because I'm going to school (via correspondence/internet) to get my Associate's Degree in Railroad Technology, and I'd spend that time away from my family doing my homework on my laptop." Peter aced the interview, got the job and began his new career. "I am now a freight conductor, and my job is to make sure the train's cargo gets safely to the desired destination. I perform inspections of the train, and if something goes wrong, such as an air hose breaking, then I'm the one who fixes or replaces it. I also switch, drop off or pick up rail cars," he said. Those duties have nothing in common with his former suit-and-tie job of hustling customers and selling cars. "I like the fact that it's 100% blue collar," Peter said. "I now go to work in jeans and steel-toed boots. I love that I start each day with a specific job to do, and when it's accomplished, the job is over. I don't have to rip people off to earn my pay, and I no longer 'take the job home with me' and feel miserable about myself, like I used to in the past." Another perk is that in about one year, Peter will have the opportunity to go to school for locomotive engineer training and get promoted--all paid for by the company! Is Peter happy with his new life? You bet! "Life is short," he said. "Do what makes you happy. If you're in a dead-end career or working in a job you hate, then ask yourself what you would rather be doing. Of course not every job is going to make us totally happy, but at least do something that is going to give you more self-fulfillment. I'm earning less money, but I'm much happier doing what I am doing now than what I was doing before. "The bottom line is you gotta get up every morning and look at yourself in the mirror. When you do that, do you like what you see? If not, then make a change! I promise you won't regret it." Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, "Career-Life Times." Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.best-interview-strategies.com.
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Take The Pain Out Of Performance Reviews The Painful Approach Hiring the Perfect Fit Through ELance.com Outsourcing has moved upward in the most-improved columns of efficiency and respectability through eLance.com. This website offers time-saving access to high-quality expertise that enables you to offload projects for quick completion, while maximizing your budget and letting you focus on those items not easily delegated. If the project you have in mind falls into one of the twelve categories currently supported by eLance, you are literally in business: 1) Software & Technology, 2) Writing & Translation, 3) Sales & Marketing, 4) Management & Finance, 5) Legal, 6) Website Development, 7) Graphic Design & Art, 8) Search Advertising, 9) Administrative Support, 10) Training & Development, 11) Audio, Video & Multi-media, and 12) Architecture & Engineering. In Control - Inside Tips on Interview Success No, you can't control how the interview will be conducted, nor can you control the outcome. But you can influence it greatly by the way you present your personality and your skills. Working in Dubai Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one of the world's fastest growing employment hotspots in the world. Up to 20 new companies establish themselves in the emirate's free trade zones every week and since 2002 some 650 companies have registered in the Dubai Media City free trade zone alone. Virtual Heroes: The Growth of the Virtual Assistant Building and expanding a business is a difficult task, when the management of the business in its existing form takes up much of the time. The administrative, office-based and creative tasks behind running a business, although time-consuming and often repetitive, are vital to the continued operations of the business. With the explosion of opportunities on the Internet, and moves towards a global economy, an extensive range of businesses is finding that they can greatly benefit from the help of a Virtual Assistant. Avoiding Tire Kickers as Job Seekers With the economy heating up and employment prospects opening up after years of dormancy, it is more critical than ever for employers to understand that unfortunately, career "tire kickers" still exist in the marketplace. Demand for quality talent, especially at the senior executive level, still outweighs supply. Tire kickers' waste valuable time and resources for both professional recruiters and busy hiring managers. They sap the strength of well designed recruiting efforts and can wreak havoc on organizations that fall for their deception. Opportunities in Automotive Services Industries - How To Cash In I believe it would be safe to say that the transportation industry is one of the highest revenue producers in today's modern economies. Interview Preparation Made Easy: Create An Interview Preparation List Here's a quick way to compare your own job experience and qualifications with those that your prospective employer is looking for in a specific job position. Make an "Interview Preparation List". When you prepare for a job interview, it's good to have a quick reference of your past work experience that you can study ahead of time to help prepare you for the specific job you're interviewing for. Don?t Be Too Passionate About Your Work Of course, she then offered me a six-month process, costing thousands of dollars to get me back on track. However, I must say she was ethical in her approach and suggested I get a medical check up to rule out any physical or mental-health issues. Recovering From a Career Crisis If you have ever experienced any of the following, you have had a career crisis: Ten Careers For High School Seniors Who Hate School Let's face it?not everybody likes going to school and high school can be a terrible experience for many students. Whether you're the hands on type who preferred Shop class to English class, or an athlete who liked working as a team more than studying alone, or even someone who liked schoolwork more than schoolmates; the idea of four more years of school is unbearable. If you identify with any of these types, but still want to secure a good future, there are some great options out there for you. Using Keywords to Find Legitimate Telecommuting Job Leads Many people are choosing telecommuting as an option to bring in an income while being at home. Whatever the reasons that we choose to work at home, the one thing we all have in common is the problem of locating legitimate jobs online. We often come online with the idea that finding a job online will be easy. Bringing Our Family to Work Let's face it, most of us consider professional success and personal success the same. Interview Thank-You Letters The number one etiquette tip for interviews is writing a thank-you letter. This is not a tool commonly used by job seekers right now. If you are looking for an advantage and a way to stick out above the other job applicants then follow up your interview by showing appreciation and courtesy. Thank-You Notes: Your Thoughtfulness will be Rewarded I get asked these questions over and over: "Should I send separate thank-you notes to everyone who interviewed me? Can I just send one thank-you note to the hiring manager and ask him/her to thank others involved in the process?" Ready to Move -- Anywhere! "I have lived in this city all my life. My family is here. I am pretty satisfied, but lately I'm getting restless. I want to move somewhere - anywhere. I was thinking of Seattle...:" Vocational Experts 7 Proposals to Solve the Unemployment Problem The subject is constantly in the news and may decide the next national elections - the infamous jobless recovery. More than 8 million Americans are out of work with another 4 million underemployed or no longer looking for work. Good manufacturing, technical and services jobs are being shipped to India, Asia, and other developing countries. The mood of the middle and working class becomes more pessimistic, the outlook for their immediate future more grim. Ten Questions For Entrepreneurs To Ask Themselves Ten Questions For Entrepreneurs To Ask Themselves What Did You Say? My table-mates introduced themselves as the reciprocal protocol began. We chatted about what we did, where we did it and what we thought of the conference. Stan joined the table as the chicken was served. He'd been introduced to me earlier and we'd talked briefly during the pre-dinner social. Now he was peppering me with intriguing business questions. This was going to be a lively and interesting discussion, I thought. The Executive Resume - Moving Beyond Accomplishments There is a major difference between conventional resumes and executive resumes. Accomplishments are usually the center point of a conventional resume (i.e., indicating how much money was saved, how sales increased, what processes were proposed, planned, initiated, implemented, or streamlined). The executive resume, on the other hand, has more than one focus. It alludes to the executive's ability to drive profits (accomplishments) and the capacity to lead (that is, to blend various "soft" skills) an organization.
|
|
|
|
|
