To Do within the first month

So you lost your job...did you like it? Were you happy to go to work every day? Are you having aches and pains in body parts you never knew you had? If you had a fairy godmother, and could do any job you wanted to do, what would you do?

A job loss can be a great opportunity to think about what you really want to do for the rest of your life. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you got there? This said, in today's world, there are many jobs you never heard about when you were in school.

A resource, available to most people, is a Career Counselor. Career Counselors are typically found at vocational schools, colleges, universities, technological schools. Check to see if your local two year college or votech has a Career Counselor and make an appointment to take some assessments. Typically these assessments are a no cost or very little cost when you work with your local schools - after all, how can you possibly enroll in a training program if you don't know what you want to do?

The assessments will hone in on your innate interests and abilities and will also pick up on your life experiences. There is no "pass" or "fail' in these assessments because the results are based on you and you are not a failure.

The Career Counselor will visit with you and direct you to sources where you can read more about these potential careers and will also direct you to local sources of (re)training. Additionally, (s)he should direct you to a Financial Aid Counselor because you will most likely need help funding any training. Please keep in mind that monies available are not necessarily in the form of loans - there are many sources of funding which do not require repayment (but will most likely require successful completion of courses or programs).

One of the places I visit to read about potential jobs is my favorite Internet site ONet Center which is hyperlinked in the blog however the URL is: http://online.onetcenter.org

This site not only gives information on the typical tasks performed but also the knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools used in this profession and provides information on salary ranges.

Together with the Career Counselor, you can Plan Your Work (retraining) and then it is up to you to WORK YOUR PLAN.

And for you Baby Boomers....old dogs do learn new tricks. As a Baby Boomer who returned to school for a Master's degree 20 years after completing my Bachelor's degree, I found we learned faster than the younger pups. You have real world knowledge that means a great deal - you actually have an advantage over the younger pups because of this.