Month: June 2010

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Career Asssociations to Consider Joining

I am a huge joiner in groups and associations as I believe in the power of networking as well as for information and learning.  Joining associations can also be a great networking tool, as you can network with people in the industry you want to be in; they offer opportunities to learn of job opportunities; and they offer a chance to show off your skills by volunteering to serve on committees as well as through mentorship.  Here are three organizations that are career-related and that offer all of these opportunities. You may find a new career path for yourself in the making!

1.  The Association of Career Professionals: www.acpinternational.org

2.  The National Career Development Association:  www.ncda.org

3.  The Career and Adult Development Network:  www.careernetwork.org

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The Top 10 Work Values

During self-assessment, which is a crucial step in one’s career management process, an area of importance to understand is one’s values.  Values are “the beliefs about the qualities of human life or the types of behavior that an individual wants to attain” (Greenhaus & Callanan, 2006).  Values usually develop early on and can be learned behaviors or patterns that one esteems in their life.  In regards to a career, values include the preferences one has about the rewards, payoffs, policies, or leadership of their working life.  Schwartz (1999) identified the 10 top values that are relevant to the world of work.  It is important that you identify the value(s) that are important to you so that your job or profession will meet your value-orientation and help you be more engaged in your work and for higher job satisfaction.  See which of these top 10 are important to you:

  1. Power
  2. Achievement
  3. Hedonism (pleasure)
  4. Stimulation
  5. Self-direction
  6. Universalism (applies to all)
  7. Benevolence (kindness for the good of others)
  8. Tradition
  9. Conformity
  10. Security

Not aligning your values with your work can cause you a lot of stress and distress in both your personal and work life.  Are there any values that are not on the list that have high relevance to work?

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