If you’re someone who has loved watching Law & Order since you can remember and the thought of working someday in the law field is definitely something that you have considered more than a time or two, this just might be the article that you’ve been looking for to finally convince you to make that move. The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of reasons why pursuing a career in law can really be an ideal choice. We have five top ones below:

It has lots of diversity. Oftentimes, when people think about law careers, it is lawyers and judges that immediately come to mind. However, the “law umbrella” is far bigger than that. You can be a correctional officer, legal secretary, private detective, police or probation officer or a sheriff, just to name a few of the possibilities at your disposal.

It is financially beneficial. Even amidst all that is going on with the economy, the law field is still considered to be one of the most lucrative ones. For instance, many of the associates who are employed at some of the top firms in the company start off with a salary ranging between $150,000-180,000 with partners easily earning $1-2 million annually.

It’s a respectable industry. Where would the world be without laws in place and people in position to make sure that those rules and regulations are upheld? That’s a big part of the reason why people who have a career in law are so respected. It’s an industry that strives to keep order in the midst of so many different kinds of people, cultures and perspectives. If you decide to pursue a career in law, you are going to be seen as someone who is a part of a prestigious group of individuals whether you’re a car accident lawyer, a paralegal or a police chief of a major city.

It always has room for growth and change. If you ask a juvenile probation officer or a forensic scientist if their job every gets boring, while some days may be slower than others, they both are probably going to tell you that “dull” is one of the last words that they would use to define their job. That’s because when you are doing your part to uphold the law, there are always going to be challenges and surprises along the way. Plus, law careers have a great reputation for providing room for growth for those who are honest, focused and committed to their jobs.

It’s people-oriented. Perhaps one of the best reasons to consider pursuing a career in law is that you will be doing your part to help humanity. A law career provides to support to people of all walks of life who are in need of assistance in a myriad of ways. The child in need of a good home, the family who has recently been burglarized, the man or woman who has been wrongly accused of a crime—all of these individuals need people in the law field to assist them. So, if you care about people, a career in law will put you in touch with them, one way or another, every single day. When you’re helping the community, what could be better than that?

An architect is someone who designs buildings and manages space.  The things designed by an architect could be homes, offices, skyscrapers, or even a ship. Architects don’t always build bricks and mortar structures; sometimes they work with landscapes in general, or work with large mobile structures.  A licensed architect has a lot of responsibilities, and they need a lot of training before they can work on real world projects.

There was a time when anyone with a bit of talent and a good education could become an architect, but as buildings became more complex, and available land became more scarce, it became more important for there to be some regulation within the industry.  The first architecture institute was set up in America in the mid 19th century, and other countries quickly followed suit.

What Qualifications Should an Architect Have?
It’s a good idea for an architect to have a solid education base.  An understanding of drawing, painting or photography will help you with the ability to visualize and conceptualize ideas, which is an important ability for an architect to have.  However, artistic skills are not the only ones that are important.  You should have some basic computing skills, and business knowledge, as well as  a solid grounding in mathematics and physics.

Architecture courses are quite competitive, so good grades in both art and science related subjects are a plus.  If you major in architecture and then decide that the industry is not for you, then the skills you learn as part of your degree will not go to waste, there are lots of other jobs that will make use of your abilities.

Are You Considering a Career Change?
There are lots of ways to enter the industry.  If you are a recent graduate then you could look at an internship.  If working as an intern is not possible at this stage of your life (for example if you already have a mortgage to pay), then you could look at vocational qualifications and part time study.  The examination and coursework burden can be difficult for people that already have a full time job, but support is available, and many people do succeed with part time study.

How Much do Architects Earn
The amount of money that you can earn as an architect will depend on the amount of experience you have, and the area that you are working in.  In the USA, a recent graduate can earn around $40,000 per year, with salaries reaching $142,000 for people with 20 years of experience.  Similar salaries are attainable in Europe too.  Graduates with a master’s degree tend to get paid around $6,000 per year more than graduates with a bachelor’s degree.

Salaries can vary even within the same country.  If you are considering a job based on salary alone, don’t forget to check the cost of living in the area where the job is offered.  In many cases, the extra pay that is on offer can look far less attractive when the increase in rent and essential bills is factored in to the equation.

Sales is a tough job and the tougher the market, the tougher the job gets. Sales jobs have highs and lows, but when it’s low, it can really bring you down. You can lose hope and confidence. A quitter attitude is only going to make selling even more difficult. And so begins the cycle of decline and even depression. This is a very perilous situation for a sales person and for the company they represent. When you, as a sales person, start to feel the onset of despair, nip it in the bud. If you are already at the point of throwing in the towel, try these two pieces of advice first.

Talk about it
The best way to motivate yourself is to be inspired by other people. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you have hit a low point. Everyone does at some point in their life. Try talk to someone who inspires you or someone who has given you good advice in the past. This could be a friend, a family member or a close work colleague. Try meet with them on a regular basis if you find that this is helping.

If this doesn’t work, then go see someone like a life coach. Sometimes, a one-on-one with an experienced coach will help you get to the root of your problems and give you a new angle on your life and your career.

If you are the owner or sales manager and you sense your sales staff are going through tough times then call in a business coach. Business coaches often bring a fresh and new positive attitude to the workplace. It can be an investment that can improve sales and also relationships at work.

Do what that makes you happy
Confidence and a positive attitude are the fuels that drive sales. If you are struggling to find happiness in your job then find it elsewhere. Find time to enjoy life’s little pleasures. Spend your free time enjoying your hobbies or relaxing by reading a book you like. Spend quality time with friends and family. Find your positivity and happiness outside of the workplace and eventually it will reflect in your sales or even open new doors for you.

It’s also important to try steer away from negative people in a time like this. I’m not saying you should desert someone like a friend who needs you. I’m rather saying that you try spending more time with positive people and less with those who bring you down. 

Donna Van Wyk wrote this article on behalf of SAP Careers, a job engine geared toward those in the market for SAP jobs in the USA and abroad. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Are you one of the many people that think LinkedIn is more for job seekers than anyone else? If so, think again. In the post below, we examine how LinkedIn can be equally as beneficial to employers, as pointed out by a recent post from Michael Ansaldo.

For professionals, LinkedIn — one of the web’s “big three” social networks — is a natural tool. By putting up their resumes, references, work samples and professional goals, jobseekers make themselves an available known quantity. 

But what can LinkedIn do for employers?
Plenty, according to a new IDG News Service post from Michael Ansaldo.

Ansaldo offers five straight-on ways businesses can get active on LinkedIn and see immediate and long-term benefits:

1. Start a page for your company.
   LinkedIn has a range of new tools that’ll help you increase your visibility and lure talent by showcasing your firm’s products and accomplishments, Ansaldo says.
   “If you look at LinkedIn’s users as potential customers, employees and business partners,” he notes, “it becomes clear the networking site is a grand stage on which to tell your brand story. There’s no easier way to start than to create a company page.”

2. Use the network to generate new leads and contacts. Think of LinkedIn as a sprawling business mixer … with 150 million guests and counting. It’s an easy to make connections and join discussions.

3. Identify, track and background your next star hire. A well-rounded network can help you find people who’ll be the best fits for your company culture, Ansaldo observes — and you’ll be able to research them before they even walk in for their first interview.

4. Promote your own expertise through LinkedIn Answers.
   “Demonstrate your knowledge by finding a question related to your field and sharing your insights,” Ansaldo explains. “You’ll expand your visibility beyond your connections.”
   And the medium lets LinkedIn visitors rate the effectiveness of your information — score enough points and you’ll be rated an “expert” on the site, adding to your credibility and visibility.

5. Keep an eye on your competition. Everybody else is likely trying to leverage LinkedIn, too — but you’ll gain some insight into their direction by monitoring their activity on the site.

Love it or hate it, the people you’re looking for, competing with or trying to learn from are flocking to social networking.

LinkedIn’s an easy, inexpensive way to reach them.

Writer and content creator specializing in everything from recruiting and applicant tracking to social media and technology. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Recruitment Agencies generally know how to utilise Job Boards to their advantage, although even experienced recruiters make mistakes and miss out on useful resources to improve the number and quality of applications received. Private employers however, often make numerous mistakes and can be miles behind recruitment companies in the use of Job Boards and are often disappointed with the response to their well thought out adverts.  Common mistakes include:

1. Not displaying salaries on the Job Advert
   One of the prime mistakes recruiters make when advertising jobs on a job board is to advertise the job without displaying a salary. Why would someone waste their time applying for a job that has no indication of the salary on it? The answer is they wouldn’t – unless they were desperate for a job at any salary or trigger happy with firing CVs off. If you want to attract the best and most relevant candidates for your vacancies, display the salary or salary range on your job advert to encourage applications from people with experience levels that match your role and the salary on offer. Experienced recruiters know that failure to display a salary with a job advert will a) reduce the number of candidates overall and b) slow the recruitment process down at interview stage when the fantastic candidate sitting in front of you discovers that the salary you failed to display won’t keep them in razor blades.

2. Not setting up CV Alerts
   Don’t forget to set up your CV Alerts so that you get access to all the candidates registering on the Job Board data base with the skills and experience that you are looking for and make sure you set them up on a daily basis as good candidates are snapped up quickly.

3. Forgetting to update and refresh your company profile 
   Many recruiters fail to keep their profile up to date and omit to highlight the career development opportunities and positive aspects of the company culture. Make good use of Key Words and use phrases that job seekers will search on. Key phrases such as ‘job with prospects’ ‘good promotional opportunities’ ‘overseas opportunities’ or whatever is relevant to your business, can add more candidates to your short list.

4. Not using Killer Questions to improve the quality of applications
   Recruiters often forget to look for extra facilities on the Job Boards to increase the number and quality of applications such as ‘killer questions’ and featured job spots. Killer Questions are designed to filter out non suitable applicants and most Job Boards will have a similar facility. If you don’t know how to use them – contact the Job Board and ask them to guide you through it. It’s amazing how many people omit this step and then complain that the CVs they are receiving are not relevant. 

5. Not checking your advert performance on the Job Board 
   Another common mistake is to simply add a job to the Job Board and leave well alone until the advert expires only to find out 30 days later that nobody has applied. Check your advert performance within days of placing it on the Job Board and if it’s not working – change it! 

6. Forgetting to ask for help
   Job Boards are automated but the people behind them are not. Probably the most common mistake of all is to not ask for help. Your well earned money needs to be spent wisely and the Job Board owners want you to have success with your adverts – speak to the Job Board staff, follow the advice above and watch to see what happens….

For more tips on how to write great adverts for UK job boards, check out www.cveasy.co.uk . This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Working on an oil rig is certainly a unique way of life. Oil rig employees often work prolonged shifts of one or two weeks at sea, followed by one to three weeks at home. While at sea oil rig workers work 12 hour shifts but this time is broken up due to the health safety regulations.

While there is no doubt that working on an oil rig has its own set of trials and tribulations, being away from friends and family for up to half a year and being constantly exposed to the noises and stresses of oil rig life. However, this life does have its perks.

The working day
Oil rigs are essentially small cities at sea. Therefore, work is not limited exclusively to core oil rig operations. Many who work on oil rigs are responsible for the welfare and recreation of the hundreds of workers who live on the rig.

The core responsibility of the majority of oil rig workers, however, is the maintenance and upkeep of the drilling equipment and ensuring continued crude oil and gas output. This includes the operation of the drilling equipment which is for the most part operated from a central control room.

Regular maintenance of critical mechanical equipment involved in the extraction process is critical. Oil rig crews are often highly skilled and formerly members of the shipbuilding industry and specialise in particular fields such as underwater welding. Many are highly trained to operate specialist equipment including welding torches, plasma cutters and welding rotators.

Communications with the outside world
Due to the isolated location of the majority of oil rigs hundreds of miles off the nearest coastline, access is exclusively via ship or helicopter. It is by these means that all supplies, equipment and replacement workers are brought to the rig.

If weather conditions hinder the arrival of a ship or a helicopter this can make the rig even more isolated and can cause significant problems over a prolonged period of time. Crew members tend to be in regular contact with their family onshore with the provision of free telephone calls.

Recreation
Due to the lack of freedom experienced by oil rig works and the harsh routine to which they are subject, petroleum companies often provide the very best of facilities for their workers. Crew members often enjoy comfortable living quarters with en suite facilities and satellite television.

Moreover, common facilities found on oil rigs include saunas, Jacuzzis, cinemas, cafeterias and gyms. Such facilities go some way to alleviating the stresses and strains of life on board an oil rig and away from family and friends. Workers also have the perk of being able to purchase duty-free goods from the shop onboard.

Fishing was once a popular pastime onboard oil rigs but due to the dangers posed to divers this has been banned on many offshore platforms. However, when not working crew members do still enjoy spotting whales, sharks and other types of diverse marine life from the decks of the rig.

This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Westermans International who supply welding rotators and other equipment to the oil industry. Click here to find out more. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Being out of work regardless of your age, specific skills and background is understandably a worrying and frustrating time as you simply want to get back into the working world. If you are currently unemployed, there are positive steps you can make to ensure your career either begins for the first time or starts again in a new and exciting environment.

Map your Thoughts
Before you begin hitting the job sites, take a moment to think about what it is you actually want to do. There are an abundance of great opportunities out there across industry sectors, so take a pen and paper and jot down the fields that are of interest to you. After this, break the category down into job roles you think may be suitable as this can then be used to enter in to job searches online for better results.

Visit your Job Centre
It may be the case that you are currently in receipt of job seekers allowance therefore you will already visit your job centre, but if not it is still worth going to book an appointment with an advisor as they may be able to help you with some job leads and general tips on how best to apply. In addition, many job centres now benefit from touch screen computers that allow you to search though their current known vacancies and print off any that could be suitable for you.

Research Companies
On many occasions, companies will not advertise current positions anywhere else but on their own website so have a think about companies of interest to you in your local area and take a look at their website. If there is a company you are particularly interested in there is no harm in emailing your CV along with a covering email even if they are not currently advertising a vacancy as this shows initiative and could stand you in good stead for future available roles there.

Personalised Cover Letters
If your cover letter looks generic, the chances are you will appear generic to the person responsible for organising interviews and may be overlooked. Take the time to explain why you think the particular role you are applying for would be well suited to you and always endeavour find out the name of the person you are applying to rather than addressing your application with a sir/madam. 

If you are struggling to find work at the moment, try and breathe new life into your search by following these top tips, you could find that the right role is just around the corner. 

Vicky understands how difficult job hunting can be. From IT sales jobs through to factory work and graduate placements, be sure to find your dream role through being proactive in your job search. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Choosing to be your own boss is a courageous move. Whether you left a job to do this or whether you had to become self-employed because you had no work, both reasons are admirable. Those who plod away in a 9 to 5 job probably envy you. But sometimes there are months when being self-employed gets tough. In these months you may envy people, perhaps your employees, for having the security of a steady income, even if the company they work for makes less profit.

Working for a company under a boss allows one to concentrate on only the duties in their job description. Everyone has their allocated tasks and once yours is done, you can just keep yourself busy on smaller tasks until 5pm and then head on home.  OK, sometimes it’s a little more stressful than that. Sometimes you work overtime and work for a mean boss, however, the future of the company or the responsibility of paying, hiring and firing staff is not directly your problem and if the company has problems, you can walk out and look for another job elsewhere. Depending on the position you work in at a company, there is often the support of colleagues and someone above you to make the tough decisions and final calls. Being part of a team also brings security and peace of mind to your job.

Being self-employed is often scary because decisions, and the outcome of these, are all on your head. If you are a one man show or a small business it’s up to you to reel in the clients and bring in the money. If you can achieve this, there is also a lot of organising, running and maintaining to be done. If you can get a handle on that, you can start to enjoy the benefits of self-employment. These include having no boss to answer to, working your own hours and reaping the rewards of the company’s profit.

The independence, admiration and feeling of achievement can bring you happiness and confidence that far outweigh the stress and hard work of being self-employed. For some people they could never imagine themselves working for someone else and that is the motivation they need to make a living being self-employed. Entrepreneurs are a classic example of people who are too innovative to be stuck in an office with set work hours and someone telling them what to do.

Donna Van Wyk writes on behalf of Skilled Migrant Jobs, a job board offering job services in Australia. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

People talk all the time about how hard it is to find a good employer, but you don’t hear it discussed as often that it is difficult to find good employees, too. Employers have a great need to find candidates who fit the bill in terms of skills and work ethic, whether they need pharmaceutical IT staffing, healthcare informatics staffing or employees in other sectors.

Are you thinking about using a staffing agency to find talent for your next temporary assignment or temporary-to-permanent position? Here are three reasons why it pays to work with professional staffing companies.

1. You Have Access to a Huge Pool of Talent
   One of the biggest benefits of teaming up with a staffing agency is that you may be able to choose from dozens of candidates for your projects/assignments. Temp agencies usually work within many different sectors and fields, which means that no matter what business you are in, you will most likely be able to find someone who fits your qualifications.

   Some examples of the many different sectors that temp agencies recruit for include: medical IT staffing, education staffing, clerical, manufacturing, engineering and legal fields, and more.

2. Candidates are Pre-Screened By Temp Agency
   Another benefit of using staffing companies is the fact that your work is cut in half (or maybe even more than that) when it comes to screening potential employees.

   When you hire an employee from scratch, you usually have to read applications and put those who don’t qualify at all in one “no” pile. Then, you have to do background screenings to make sure that no one is a felon or has a criminal record. Next, you have to actually interview each candidate to assess his or her character.

   Temp agencies take care of making sure candidates are qualified and background screened for you. This cuts out two huge steps, so you can have a face-to-face or phone interview with just the cream of the crop. This cuts down on the time it takes to hire the best candidates.

3. It is Easy to Request Staff
   If you know you have the need for extra employees coming up (or you are replacing someone who is leaving permanently), it is very easy to place a staffing request with most temp agencies.

   All you have to do is fill out an online form detailing the specifics of the job and the relevant employee skills needed, as well as your contact information and the industries that apply to you.

   Once you have sent all of this information via the Internet, a representative from the temp agency should get back to you within a day or two.

To recruit skilled candidates for your next temp assignment, search for job placement agencies online today.

Employment happens to be one of John’s favorite things to write about. If you’d like to find out more about medical it staffing, please visit  www.kellyservices.us. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?

Choosing a career is not nearly as serious as it used to be. Go back 40 years or so and the choice of job you made when you left school would set you on a path to a life doing nothing but that. This is why parents tend to be in long term professions and they get a bit anxious when their children are happy to flit between jobs, building a more varied career portfolio.

If you want to lower your parents blood pressure, or you want to find a career that offers a good solid future as well as being well paid and interesting, a career as a dietician may be perfect for you.

Here’s why:

Interesting Job
A dietician (or nutritionist’s) job basically consists of managing and planning nutrition programs. They need to know a great deal about nutrition obviously, which should ideally be gained by completing a degree in nutrition, dietetics or food service management. You would learn about elements of chemistry, biology, physiology and even psychology as part of these courses and some economics.

In addition to these skills dieticians also need to be good at dealing with people sensitively as they have to be able to help and give advice to potentially vulnerable people as they deal with all types of eating issues, and at a service level to wider groups such as in a school or factory.

Secure Position
The reason why this job is considered secure is because it is statistically a growth industry. People are ever more interested in their diet and companies are always looking for a way to make sure they are providing something they can market as healthy because of it, so both individuals and companies will look to hire you.

The NHS is also a big employer of dieticians. They are set to hire a load more over the next few decades as the aging population brings more older people to the wards who often require specialised diets that require a dietician to plan and manage.

Normal Day
So what can you expect to do all day? You may work in a nursing home, where you would assess new patient’s diet, work out what they need to help them and then implement their new menu and eating schedule. You would also sit in meetings with doctors and other staff to discuss particular patient’s progress and needs to arrive at a rounded plan of action that will help the patient. This would normally be done within normal working hours of 9-5 depending on the institution.

Sound like a job for you?

Allan Bat is a dietician. He thinks dietician jobs are one of the best roles in the NHS. He Found his through a locum agency in London. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?