Changing Fast

Do I have the right tools in my toolbox to keep me optimal in the marketplace?

Can I pull out the right tool for the right situation? When you get down to it, do you know what you even have or need in your career toolbox? I can tell you this: if you were a mechanic and you were putting in a transmission and did not use the right tools, you would suffer swift consequences, wasting your time and money, along with losing customers. Many professionals tend to procrastinate making the time to discover and acquire the updated career tools they need to move forward. What many people do not realize is, not acquiring the right tools will become costly and shrink your employment opportunities.

Do you need other tools to be optimal? Do you even know if a better tool exists? People try and get by with the tools they have, but the question you need to ask yourself is, are the current tools your using working for you? To be desirable and optimal with your skills, you need to know what you bring to the table and how you can leverage them in any field of work you are in. 

My clients are still hiring, but most of my job orders are what I call the A-Team example: Director of Project Management to Senior Strategist, CEO, and VP of Business Development. In this challenging economy companies are looking for the smartest people out there to help them get to the next level. This is why it’s key for everyone to be as optimal as possible with a quantitative, qualitative work history.

I have listed below various resources to help you follow where trends are going:

• Google Trends
• Twitter search is a whole new way of looking at real-time data.
• http://creativity-online.com gives you a chance to look at award-winning creatives.
• Google blog search  is a great place to find the best-ranked bloggers out there in your area of work/interest.
• Reputation management tools
• Facebook profile search is a great tool to connect with people you want to know.
• Myspace.com is becoming a place to find jobs as well as connect with friends.
• Wikipedia is an easy and informative way to understand new terms.
• Ad-tech.com is a great networking conference to go to.
• slideshare.com PowerPoint heaven.
• Career trends for 2009
• Thirteen hot jobs in hard times
• Google alerts anytime Google finds your keywords it is sent right to your mailbox.
• Tweet deck the best Twitter time-management tool out there.
• Department of Labor (www.dol.gov) 
• Employment and Training Administration (www.doleta.gov) provide comprehensive resources on work-related topics and labor-market data to support business, job seekers, and the workforce system.

Note: Stop panicking about what is going to happen next; there is money to be made in many sectors right now that feed a struggling economy. One of them is the Debt Industry - I cannot turn on the radio, TV, or digital without hearing an advertisement!

I would suggest you check out my Indeed.com post, a great read on job trends that you can use to move forward in your career.

I welcome your comments to what you think should be in your career toolbox.