(The following is about grammar and writing; this is the second part of two articles; the 1st article appeared the week before).
The first article talked about two steps you can take to find grammar errors in your writing.
They were
- 1st Step: Find errors yourself as the author.
- 2nd Step: Use Internet tools to help find grammar errors
Now let’s move onto the 3rd step.
3rd step: Another human look at your writing to help find errors
People can find errors in their writing, but people have limits. The human mind works against writers who attempt to find mistakes in their writing. In my experience, a person can become too close to their writing. For example, a person editing their writing may interpret the writing to say one thing when it means something else. Moreover, an author can be so close to the writing they miss errors. The following online article provides more information about why authors have difficulty finding their errors.
Article Title: What’s Up With That: Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos
The reason typos get through isn’t because we’re stupid or careless, it’s because what we’re doing is actually very smart.
Article Published: December 8, 2014
Author of Article: Nick Stockton
Article Address: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/wuwt-typos/
The report gives reasons why self-editing a piece of writing is so difficult to do
Ideally, an author can benefit from having another human being look at their writing. Another person may find errors that the author overlooked.
Human beings may also find errors that grammar software programs cannot see.
Here are some suggestions to find editing help:
Friends/Family
You may find a friend/family member who can help you; they may be able to give you advice on your writing.
Career experts
You may find a career expert who can help you with your job hunting documents. A career expert can look at your writing documents to find possible errors. Here are ideas to find career experts:
- Workforce Development Offices
State governments organize Workforce Development Offices in the United States. A person can check with their local Workforce Development Office to see what services may be available.
The location of your nearest Workforce Development Office can be found using a website called Careeronestop.org
Type in https://www.careeronestop.org/
Then move the mouse over Job Search
A menu will open
Then move the mouse over the link State Job Banks
(link under the “Find Jobs” column)
You then have a screen filled with links to different states.
Click on a state to find information on Workforce Development Offices in that state.
- Colleges/universities
You can utilize the expertise from colleges/universities. Colleges/Universities may help students, alumni, and the public. Check with your local college/university for specific details.
Areas a college/university may be able to help in:
- Career experts at a career office.
Career experts in career offices can help people with the recruitment process by checking your job documents for potential errors.
- Professors
Professors can also assist by looking at job-hunting documents. They can be helpful as a professor can tailor their advice towards their particular profession.
- Non-profits
A non-profit may have career experts who can help people with their career documents. One non-profit called Goodwill can help, for example. Goodwill can be found online at:
Can type in https://www.goodwill.org/You can then find career information.
Different local Goodwill offices will offer different services
You can find the services for your local Goodwill office.
You can move your mouse over the link “Jobs & Training.”
A new menu box of options will appear.
You can then select the choice “Locate a Career Center.”
(Will be the first choice on the menu)
Then you can locate a career center in your local area.
Career help can be found by accessing the 211-telephone number.
You can dial “2-1-1” on your phone. Doing this will allow you to access local career resources in your local area.
211 is a service that connects the social services need of a person with local community services in the person’s area. In addition, you may find career experts who can help you.
Details can find details on https://www.211.org/.
The United Way operates a 211 telephone system. (https://www.unitedway.org/)
You can hire a career expert to look at your job hunting documents. A career expert may also have the title “career coach.”
The career field can be unregulated; people can call themselves career experts without specific credentials or experience. So, you may have to do some research into a career expert before spending your money. Here are some ways to assess career experts:
- Career Expert website– Read the website of the career expert you are considering
- Internet reviews– The Internet can list online reviews of career experts
- The experience itself– Before taking on the job, career experts sometimes meet with a customer free of cost for the first meeting (not always, please check with each career expert on their pricing policies). The experience itself will allow you to evaluate a career expert in person.
I suggest people choose career experts who have a pay-as-you-go arrangement. Otherwise, you risk paying for services you are not happy with if you pay for services ahead of time. A career expert can be a top professional; however, they still may not work for you. A career expert and customer have to evaluate each other to see if they ‘fit’ and will work well together. The career expert may have different working styles that may not work for you. Again, this can run the risk of you paying for future services that do not work for you.
You may hire an editor to help edit your work. Editors can help with longer pieces of writing, like a portfolio. Here are some places on the Internet to find an editor.
Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/)
Fiverr.com is a place for freelance experts to offer their services. This is a great place to find a freelance editor who can help you.
Here is how to find freelance editing help on Fiverr:
Type in the web address www.fiverr.com/
Scroll down the website.
You will see different freelance categories.
Click the category that says “Writing & Translation”.
Click the category that says Writing & Translation area:
- Resume Writing
- Cover Letters
- Proofreading & Editing
You can click a category to get more details about the freelancer. The descriptions offer different levels of service, called bronze, silver, and gold.
Some freelance editors correct grammar errors in job-hunting documents. Using these freelancers would be beneficial as you might find better opportunities for ensuring your job-hunting documents are free of grammar errors.
These tools help a person find errors in job hunting writing documents; you may reduce mistakes that can increase the quality of the job-hunting documents you may show to potential employers.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
(The following is about grammar and writing; this is the first part of two articles; the second part will appear next week.)
The grammar you use to compose your writing can reflect on you when you write. You can create a positive impression for a reader by writing materials that are free of grammar mistakes. Conversely, a piece of writing with many grammar mistakes can form a negative opinion about the author.
A job search can include a variety of written documents. A resume, cover letter, thank-you letter, and a portfolio are some job-written documents a person may have. These written documents may have an impact on how a potential employer perceives the job seeker. Job seekers who have many errors in their written documentation may miss out on opportunities. Conversely, written documentation with no grammar errors can help a job seeker with job opportunities.
3 step processes to find errors
You may have a method by which you may try to find errors in your writings. You may find the following three-step approach helpful in finding errors.
1st Step: Find errors yourself as the author.
2nd Step: Use Internet tools to help find grammar errors
3rd step: Use another human (a third eye) to help find grammar errors (will appear in 2nd article next week)
1st Step: Find errors yourself as the author.
You can try to detect errors in your piece of writing after you have finished composing it.
Here are some tips that have helped me detect errors in my writing:
- Edit a piece of writing after it has been written. You may have success editing your writing by putting in time between writing the words and then editing them.
- Read your writing aloud to yourself. Sometimes, hearing your voice can help you spot errors.
- Give yourself time to find errors. It may be more difficult to detect mistakes if you are in a rush to finish your writing. You may have a better time finding errors if you have time to find them. Also, being in a peaceful state of mind can improve your chances of finding errors.
2nd Step: Use Internet tools to help find grammar errors
Grammar Software–Internet tools that can help you detect errors in your writing.
The Internet may help you with the grammar errors in your writing.
Grammar software is software designed to help you find grammatical errors.
Grammar software may provide suggestions on how to correct possible errors in your writing. These suggestions may or may not fit your writing. You will need to evaluate the suggestions to see if they work for you.
Grammar software reviews
By reading grammar software-related articles on the Internet, a person can learn about various options in grammar software. You can type in a Google search using phrases like “grammar software reviews 2021” to get articles on grammar software. Adding the word “2021” to your search will help you identify articles that explain more current software.
Here are some articles that can give you details on grammar software:
Article Title: “10 Best Grammar Checker Tools; Ranked and Rated”
Article Published: Could not find a date
Author of Article: By Byran Collins
Article Address: https://becomeawritertoday.com/best-grammar-checker/
Article Title: Best Online Grammar Checker 2021
Article Published: April 23, 2021
Author of Article: By Jessica Richards
Article Address: https://www.toptenreviews.com/best-online-grammar-checker
Article Title: “15 Best Online Grammar Tools for 2021”
Article Published: July 29, 2021
Author of Article: by Ogi Djuraskovic
Article Address: https://firstsiteguide.com/grammar-checker-tools/
These articles can give you information on top-rated grammar software.
The cost of the grammar software can vary from free to moderate cost.
Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid (what I started using myself)
Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid are two grammar checker software programs that I utilize.
Here is a rundown of what each one entails:
Grammarly
Web Address Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/
Grammarly is a software that can check for grammar errors.
A person can type in the website for Grammarly at https://www.grammarly.com/.
You need to create a user account.
On the left side of the screen, you have your text from your writing, and then on the right side of the screen will be suggestions of how to correct errors in your writing.
Grammarly can provide suggestions on how to improve your writing; however, you will want to evaluate the suggestions to see if they work for you.
A good YouTube video that describes Grammarly is:
YouTube Video Title: Grammarly Tutorial | Improve Your Writing
YouTube Video Published: April 26, 2020
YouTube Channel: Ferdy Korpershoek
YouTube Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c9sRvmJ7EU
The video gives an excellent introduction to the tools of Grammarly.
Grammarly has a free version and Grammarly Premium edition.
Grammarly Premium gives more options to find errors in writing.
You can find Grammarly Premium cost plan information on the web address below:
Type in www.grammerly.com
Then scroll down the website
Select the link “Plans” under the Product column (the first one on the left)
You then can get details of plans and costs at https://www.grammarly.com/plans
Pro Writing Aid
Pro Writing Aid web address: https://prowritingaid.com/
This is another grammar checker software that I use.
Pro Writing Aid has different reports listed on the top of the screen that can offer suggestions to improve your writing. Each report focused on distinct suggestions.
One disadvantage of Pro Writing Aid is complexity. In addition, people using the software for the first time can find it challenging.
The following YouTube video can describe Pro Writing Aid software.
YouTube Video Title: “PRO WRITING AID TUTORIAL – How to Set It Up for AUTHORS”
YouTube Publication Date: February 21, 2020
YouTube Channel: The Editing Bard
YouTube Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7TTtzg-2Jk
The video can give an excellent introduction to some tools found in Pro Writing Aid
Pro Writing Aid costs money to use. You can find Pro Writing Aid cost information on the web address below:
Type in the web address:
https://prowritingaid.com/
Scroll down to the bottom part of the web page
Then click on the link “Pricing” to get information on Pro Writing Aid costs and packages
(Located at https://prowritingaid.com/en/App/Purchase)
Combination of both Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid
Grammarly and Pro Work Aid may be helpful when used in combination. I find using both Grammarly and Pro Writing Aid helpful in finding errors.
These tools aid in the detection of errors in job-hunting writing papers, allowing you to reduce mistakes and improve the quality of the job-hunting documents you provide to potential employers.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
What would you like to be called?
(Choose among the following choices)
- Your name (for example, your name is Bob and you are called “Bob”)
- A wrong name that not your name (for example, your name is Bob and you are called “Jones”, “Smith”, or “Todd”)
- A number that not your name (for example your name is Bob and you are called “Hello Unit #42A36”)
- Called by a piece of clothing you are wearing (for example, your name is Bob and you are called “Blue jeans guy”, or “Blue shirt dude” or “You in the Yellow shirt” or “You in the Red Shirt”)
- A general verbal expression directed in your direction (for example, your name is Bob and you hear “Hay you!” or “Hi” or “Hello” or “How you doing” or other expressions without using your name)
The people I know would want to be called by their correct name (the first choice).
People like to be called by their name; a name is important in making a good first impression. A person has a very short time period to make a good first impression. Time frames can be about a few seconds. Part of the making a good first impression is saying the pronunciation of a person name correctly; mispronunciation of the name can hurt a good first impression.
If you are a person who struggles with pronunciation, here are some ideas.
- Ask the person you are meeting how to pronounce their name
Depending upon the situation by which you are meeting the person; you may be able to ask the person how to pronounce their name. If the person has a last name that it is difficult to pronounce, the person may be use to being ask how to pronounce it.
When you give the pronunciation of a name, you may try to remember the pronunciation.
You may have different ways to help you remember the pronunciation of a name.
Here are some ideas:
- If possible, try use the correct pronunciation when talking to the person two or three time in conversation. You are trying to remember the name by using it.
- You may try to internally talk to yourself on how to pronounce the name.
- After the meeting, you may write a name in a way that might help you pronounce the name.
- You may be able to record the pronunciation on your smart phone. Recording a name can help you pronounce the name. You can do a search on Google search to find Apps that will record your voice.
You may find different Apps to record a voice in an article called “5 Best Audio Recording Apps for Android [Updated]”
By Ashish Sebastian
Published on October 26th, 2020
On https://www.scriptosphere.com/5-best-audio-recording-apps-android/
Here an article to help remember the name of a person.
In an article called “6 Easy Ways to Remember Someone’s Name”
By Jacquelyn Smith (Published April 5th, 2013 on Forbes.com).
Address is https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/05/6-easy-ways-to-remember-someones-name
Gives some suggestions on how to remember a name
- Talk to friends and family members to ask for their advice on how to pronounce a name
If you have the spelling of the name before you meet the person, you may be able to ask friends or family members on how the name would be pronounced. You may be able to get the pronunciation of a name from someone else.
Phonics is a code that helps a person translates a word in print in how the word sounds. Ideally, a person can see a word and know how the word sounds. People not good at Phonics (like myself) will have difficulty understanding how to pronounce the word. Understanding how the code works may help a person with pronunciation.
You may use the Internet to learn phonics.
With knowledge about myself
When I was growing up in school, I learned something called the whole word system. I learned to recognize and memorize the pronunciation of different words. My brain filled with a list of individual memorized words that I learned to pronounce. My ability to use phonics is limited
I navigate life fine; I use the same common words over and over again. I do have difficulty with new words pronunciation. I can have pronunciation problems with names.
YouTube
YouTube has an advantage of being videos.
A person can hear how the sound relates to letters and words.
Here are some YouTube videos that may be helpful.
YouTube Series of Videos called “Adult Phonics Course” (series of 72 videos)
YouTube Channel: Listen and Learn English
The first video in the series called “Adult Phonics Level 1 lesson 1 ABC Alphabet Sounds and Words | Homeschool Phonics Curriculum” (Published July 9, 2019)
Web sites
We Can Read Program
A program that helps to teach people about phonics
Information about the We Can Read Program can be found at
https://weallcanread.com/courses-home/
YouTube Video about the We Can Read Program at:
YouTube Title “We All Can Read Program Overview”
Published: February 13, 2011
YouTube Channel: We All Can Read Online Phonics Program for Third Grade to Adults
- Web sites that sound out the name
You may find web sites that can sound out the name for you.
You can type in a name in a website and then hear how the name is pronounced.
Here are some websites that may be helpful.
https://www.voxifier.com/
Type in the name that you want to learn how to pronounce.
Here are some articles that can give you additional web sites that may be able to pronounce a name for you.
“6 Websites To Help You Know How To Pronounce Names Correctly”
By Random, Published on March 9, 2017
From https://www.techjunkie.com/pronounce-names-correctly/
“5 Websites to Pronounce Names Correctly in English Audio Online”
By Dinesh, Published on January 6, 2019
From https://www.sysprobs.com/pronounce-names-correctly-online
You may be able to use a website to learn how to pronounce a name.
Correct pronunciations of a name can help create a good first impression.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Sometime people can have different routes to go to the same goal. For example, people may have different routes people can take to arrive to the same travel destination when traveling.
In the same way, People can have different ways to job search. People can have different methods to search for a job position.
In the book called What Color Is Your Parachute in a 2013 edition by Richard N. Bolles described 16 different ways to search for a job position in chapter 3 “The Best and Worst Ways to Look for Jobs”. Different job search methods had different measures of success.
Direct Contact of contacting a potential employer
While there can be different job search methods, different job search methods will vary in their success rate. The direct method of contacting a potential employer directly can be highly effective method for some people. Direct method may give people job opportunities not available through other job methods.
Different content media sources have described the direct method has a highly successful method.
Some of the different content media sources that described the direct method were:
- What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (2013 edition) by Richard N. Bolles
Richard Bolles describes the Direct Contact method in
Chapter 3 “The Best and Worst Ways to Look for Jobs”.
Richard Bolles described the method has
“By yourself, using the index to your phone book’s Yellow Pages to identify subject or fields of interest to you in the town or city where you want to work, and then calling up or visiting the employers listed in that field, to ask if they are hiring for the type of position you can do, and do well.” (Listed as a 65% success rate) (p. 33)
(This is from a 2013 book, so the source of the potential employers may have changed; you can find Yellow pages on the Internet – one web address called The Real Yellow Pages at https://www.yellowpages.com/ or look for information about your industry. You may be able to find directories of potential employers in your industry).
Richard Bolles described contacting potential employers directly in a job club having a high success rate. (70% of success rate). (p. 33). A person doing the same activity that they could do alone but would have a higher success rate in a job club. A job club gave social support and people in the job club could let a person know about job positions they found. “Well, let’s say you’re in a job-club that has 48 other members. Once you tell them what you’re looking for, you get an extra 48 pair of eyes looking on your behalf, and an extra 48 pair of ears listening on your behalf – all the time they are out there looking for job-leads themselves.” (p. 34) (Richard Bolles described this occurring in a Azrin job-club.
- Get Hired Fast: Tap the Hidden Job Market in 15 days (By Brain Graham) (Copyrighted in 2005).
Research places that you wish to work for and contact those places. Details found in Part Two: The Fifteen Day Direct Calling Campaign: Your Game Plan for Success. Part Two consists of two chapters
Chapter 4: Identify Your Target and Know What They Want
Chapter gives the idea on research places you plan to contact; find out their needs and explain how you can meet their needs
Chapter 5: Making Contact: You Fifteen Day Action Plan
You contact by phone different potential employers. The Fifteen Day Action plan was a way for the book to organize your contacting potential employers. Chapter described calling potential employers by the telephone.
- The Ultimate Job Search Guide: Knock Dead by Martin Yate (copyrighted 2017)
Chapter describes making contact with potential employers. Contact people over the phone. Descried as a method that recruiters will use.
All three above sources described the advantages of direct contact potential employers. Direct method can be a way to access opportunities.
Websites
Minnesota Employment and Economic Development
Minnesota Workforce Development office has a good article about direct contact potential employers.
Article called “Making Contact with Employers”
Article web site:
https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/job-guide/find-work/contacting-employers.jsp
Martin Yate has written about direct contact with employers in
Article called “Your Career Q&A: Make the Most of Cold Calls” (January 12, 2021)
Article web site:
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/career-advice/pages/your-career-qa-make-the-most-of-cold-calls.aspx
(From SHRM can access up to three articles a month; then need to join association to access articles)
YouTube Videos
YouTube videos have information on the direct approach to contacting potential employers.
You can search for phrases like on YouTube web site:
“Cold calling potential employers” or
“Access the hidden job market”
Here are some videos that may be helpful
You may be able to achieve job success with the direct method; contacting a potential employer directly.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Community Colleges are educational institutions of opportunities. Community College are two-year educational institutions where many of these programs will offer an associate degree.
Some of the opportunities a Community College can be:
(a) Place of training for a GED – People may not have a high school diploma. Community College may offer programs that help a person obtain their GED. GED stand for General Educational Development Test. The GED may be able to serve as an equivalent credential for a person who does not have a high school diploma
(b) Continuing Education – Community Colleges may offer Continuing Education courses that can help a person gain knowledge for themselves and their careers. Course can be non-credit hour courses. Courses could be in areas like business, computers, cooking, dance, history, finance, sports, photography, and other areas.
(c) Academic Courses – Academic programs can offer education in particular profession. Programs could range from certificates to associate degrees. Academic areas could include areas like business, culinary, management, marketing, human resources, media, fine arts, music, theater, nursing, dental, engineering, construction, Automotive Maintenance, early childhood, education, criminal justice, information computer technology and others.
(d) Transfer to a 4 – year college institution – Community Colleges may be an option to obtain a 2 – year college education at a Community College and then transfer to a 4 – year college institution to obtain a bachelor degree. Community Colleges may be able to provide a cheaper option to the costs of an education in obtaining a bachelor degree. Cost may be cheaper beginning a college career at a Community College and the transfer to a 4-year college bachelor institution. The Community College may have transfer fairs that can provide information on 4-year college bachelor institutions that college students can transfer to.
People who explore Community Colleges may want to explore
(a) Catalog – the catalog is a publication from the Community College that gives detailed information about the Community College. A person thinking about enrolling at a Community College can find useful information from the catalog. The catalog may have information on academic programs, departments in the college, and financial aid options and other areas.
(b) Financial Aid – Financial Aid may help people with paying for their education. Financial Aid office at the Community College can be a resource to learn about Financial Aid options.
Community Colleges may be an option for opportunities for your life and career. Consider exploring the Community Colleges in your local areas for opportunities.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
(Holiday in the United States)
Hope everyone is enjoying their July 4th Holiday.
Will return next week with another Blog entry;
In the meantime, enjoy food, family, fireworks and fun.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
People may feel stress during a job search; people may feel they are in a job search alone. Social groups can be a way to reduce the stress of the job search and feel that you are with a group doing the same activity.
Digital and In-person
A person may have choices of doing a social group either in person or digitally. The digital social groups have one advantage that distance is not a barrier in allowing a person to experience the group. Please evaluate in person situations for safety regarding COVID-19 pandemic.
Variety of Social Groups
There can be a variety of different social groups that you can join.
Some of the different social groups can be:
- History
- Sports
- Food
- Writing
- Book Club
- Travel
- Games
Two specific types of social groups that may interest the job-seeker
Job Hunting Groups – (may have other names like Job Search Clubs or Job Clubs). Social group of other job seekers. Job Hunting Groups can have the following advantages:
- People can learn from each other on how to improve their job search
- The job-hunting group may have job experts who can give job search advice
- The job-hunting group may be a effective way to network with other people; the job-hunting group may make a person aware of opportunities that the person alone would not be able to find.
- Job-Hunting group can give a social element to the job-hunting process; gives the person the feeling they are not job searching alone.
People can find job hunting groups be doing a Google search using terminology like “Job-Hunting Groups” or “Job Search Clubs” or “Job Clubs”. A person interested in digital job-hunting groups could add the word “virtual” to the job search.
Career Groups – (may have other names like “associations”) career groups are groups of people in that career profession. A person may attend meetings from career groups without being in the profession. Career Groups can help job hunters by:
- Make people aware of career professional opportunities in that career profession
- Learn about the profession
- Network with other people in the profession
You may learn more about that career profession by volunteering with that career group.
How to learn about Career Groups
You can learn the names of different career groups by searching on Google and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Google Search
You may be able to find career groups by doing a Google search. Type in the career that interests you and the word “Groups” (may have other names like “associations”)
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a government publication that published every two years. Occupational Outlook Handbook gives information on the major career fields in the United States. Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Occupational Outlook Handbook on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. One way to access career group is by category search.
Let’s say you are interested in looking for career groups in the training profession.
Go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov/ooh.
• Look for career categories on the left side of the screen.
• Click Business and Financial Occupations
• You are presented with a list of more specific professions
• You can click Training and Development Specialists
• You get into a particular job career description for Training and Development Specialist
• You can click a box on the top that says “More Info”
• You may get information on career groups from that career profession
Adds Structure to your schedule
A social group that meets on a routine schedule can provide structure to a job seeker.
Person may have structure in their lives related to a job position.
When a person loses their job, they lose a large part of the structure of their day.
The job position loss can mean a loss of structure for a person.
Social groups that meet on a regular schedule (likely meet at the same time weekly or monthly) can provide structure to the job seeker.
The structure from a social group may benefit the job seeker.
Social Groups can give you another source of success besides the job search
Social groups can be a different source of success for a person besides the job search. A person may have no success in the job search. Person may feel frustrated by the lack of success in a job search. A social group can give a person another area of life that they can feel success.
Ways to search for Social Groups
You may be able to search for social groups by:
- Google search – Search the social group you are interested in and type in words like “Group”, “Association”, or “Club” (or another similar name). For example, “Book Groups”. If you want a social group in your local area, you can add the place that you live. For example, “Book Groups Omaha”.
- Meetup – www.meetup.com. Meetup a web site that will list different social groups that one can meet
- Facebook – Facebook may have social group information that may interest a person
A person may be able to use social groups to help reduce the stress of the job search. Social groups can be a useful tool.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Been a busy week so hope you enjoy a previous post.
Series of Blog posts on career stuff. Focus will be on career exploration and Internet job resources. My hope is that you will find the information helpful in your career journey. As with anything you read on the internet, please evaluate the information you read and use the specific information that helpful to you.
Careers can change with time
Careers can change with time. Job positions can fade away, new job positions appear, and some jobs may do different job tasks. As jobs can change with time, you will want to make sure you have current career information.
Make sure you have Career Information Current
Here some ideas to make sure you have current career information you are looking at:
• Book – when reading a book about a career field look at the publication date of the book
• Content created on the Internet – Check the date when content (video, audio or print) created on the Internet (if the content has a date next to it)
• People – you can talk to people about their profession – information likely current unless the person left a career field many years ago; as you talk to people, check to see if the person is still in the field or when did the person leave the profession
• Personal experience – if you left a career field many years ago, you may want to use other career exploration methods to see what changes (if any) have occurred in that career field.
Careers can change with time. A person will want to have current career information to evaluate a career. Current career information needed to evaluate different careers.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to search for a job position. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Job Hunting Resources” exit. You plan to use the job-hunting resources in Career City, here are some resources that you can use….
Job Ads Scams
Sometimes when you are job searching; you may encounter a job like this
Job Advertisement
“Very little experience needed! Hire right now
Call the number below and we will hire you immediately
$3,000,0000 dollar salary, great benefits and work only when you want
Call today and you will be rewarded with the loss of your money
Call us today so we can steal from you.”
(Well, maybe the last two lines would not be in an advertisement)
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
If an ad sounds too good to be true, it probably is – if you find a job position that says earn a million dollars working at home in a short period of time while working only part-time hours – you may want to evaluate it before applying.
Some details about job scams can be found at
The Federal Trade Commission
(https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams)
In a web site page called “Job Scams”:
The Federal Trade Commission has some good information on their web page to give ideas about Job Scams
Some jobs may be scams that can have you lose your money. Be careful with the job positions that you read; evaluate the job positions so you can reduce the odds of being scammed by a job position.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
Imagine you are traveling the Career Highway of life next to Career City. You decide to explore a career. The vehicle you drive you decide to take the “Explore Careers” exit. You plan to use the explore career resources in Career City, here are some resources that you may find useful.
Certifications: Ways to learn a career field and master content
Certifications can be a way to learn about a particular field. Certifications can be a way to show that you can mastered a particular content area. Certifications can come from a variety of places like career associations, educational institutions, and government agencies.
Example the Association of Talent Development (ATD)
Let’s look at an example of certifications from a career association called the Association of Talent Development (ATD). The Association of Talent Development (ATD) is a training association designed to help people learn. Details about the association is found at www.td.org.
Certifications can be a way to show the world that you have mastered a level of expertise in the Learning & Development Profession.
Association of Talent Development provides the following certifications for people.
(1) Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD)
Experience needed in field before can take exam: 5 years
What certification based upon:
Certification based upon the Talent Development Capability Model.
The model gives information on what a person needs to know in the Learning & Development field.
The model has 7 capabilities.
Each capacity will vary between 4 to 10 knowledge and skill statements.
Details at https://tdcapability.org/#/personal/lifelong-learning.
Cost: $900 for members of ATD; $1,250 for non-members
Specific information can be found at:
You can find information on the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) on the following web site page https://www.td.org/certification/cptd/introduction
Handbook can be downloaded:
A person can download a handbook that explains the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) as “2021 CPTD Certification Handbook” located at https://www.td.org/certification/cptd/eligibility
(2) The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD)
Experience needed in field before can take exam: 3 years
What certification based upon:
Certification based upon the Talent Development Capability Model.
The model gives information that can help a person understand what required in the Learning & Development field.
The model has 7 capabilities.
Each capacity will vary between 4 to 10 knowledge and skill statements.
Details at https://tdcapability.org/#/personal/lifelong-learning.
Cost: $499 for members of ATD; $699 for non-members
Specific information can be found at:
Specific information on The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) can be found at https://www.td.org/certification/aptd/introduction
Handbook can be downloaded:
A person can download a handbook that explains The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) as “2021 Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) Certification Handbook” located at https://www.td.org/certification/aptd/eligibility
These are some of the examples that you can obtain from certifications from a career association.
Live Your Life Learning Blog
