Career Opportunity

Perhaps you've been offered a "career opportunity" by your boss, or you've heard of such an opportunity offered to a coworker.  It's strange how the term career opportunity is used in practice; since it can sometimes be used to describe both a big break in a career, or the last option you might have at a company before you're terminated.

Defining Career Opportunities

A good definition of "opportunity" might be something like:  a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.  This is a very general definition, and can mean different things to different people.  What might be a career opportunity for one person might be seen as a setback for another.

So as our careers progress, do we really know how to identify an opportunity?  We have all made poor decisions in the past.  No matter how smart we might be, no matter how career savvy, we sometimes fall prey to our shortcomings.  Here is a real life example of a career opportunity in management gone sour:

"I was working for a subsidiary of a large company, and had just interviewed for a management job in another department.  This position was more of a lateral move for me, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn something new.  I was offered the position, and informed my current manager that I was thinking about taking the job.

Immediately, my manager had me in a sit down meeting with our vice president, and the two of them went to great lengths to explain my value to the organization.  Vanity got the best of me, and I respectfully declined the new opportunity.

Ironically, the subsidiary was eventually dismantled by my company.  The subsequent reorganization left me in a downsized job of lesser value.  The person who accepted the career opportunity that I declined has since moved on to an even better position in the company.  To make matters even worse, the vice president of that department is now the CEO of our company."

Recognizing Career Opportunities

The point we're making here is that we need to recognize career opportunities when they present themselves to us.  This person missed this opportunity because they were blinded by greed and vanity.  They should have realized the long-term career potential of the new job was far more important than the short-term satisfaction realized by staying in their old job.

So how can we identify a real opportunity?  Answering these simple questions can help:

Work Passions

Did you ever have an assignment or a job that you really loved?  What were the things about that assignment that you were passionate about?  A career opportunity will be aligned with your work passions.

Work Talents

What assignments are you good at?  If your job involves the type of work that you are good at doing, then your chances of success will be much higher.  There are many career aptitude tests available to help you identify these talents.

Career Interests

Does this potential move help you to satisfy a career interest that you have?  Does the new job involve a skill that you'd like to add to your portfolio?

Career Goals

Does accepting this job move you closer to where you want to be?  Or, does it position you closer to where you want to be?

Work / Life Balance

Does the opportunity give you more time to yourself, or does it take you further from your family and friends?  Does it offer you the mix of work and after-work life balance that you are seeking?  Many of us think of work as a means to an end.  We work because it allows us to better enjoy after-work life.  We have successful careers and balanced lives; it is possible.

Finding Career Opportunities

Many of us feel locked into our current jobs and career paths.  But the fact is that if we have the right tools, then there are career opportunities all around us.  The Internet is a prime example of how we are surrounded by opportunity.

Home Based Business Opportunities

High speed connections allow us to not only work from home in our existing jobs, but they also create opportunities for home-based businesses.  Take a careful look at the advertisements you see on the Internet - they are often extremely targeted.  Search engines such as Google have made it possible to target consumers with pinpoint accuracy.  If you have experience selling a product, then the Internet may offer you the opportunity to create your own home-based business.

If you would like to see some examples of these opportunities at work, then take a look at Yahoo! Shopping.  They carry products from over 100,000 stores of all shapes and sizes.  Yahoo! even offers you all of the resources you'll need to start your own ecommerce company in their small business portal.

The United States Small Business Administration is also a must- visit website if you're thinking about starting your own home-based business.  They offer online training courses, counseling, and business planning tools to help maximize your chance of success.

Work From Home Opportunities

Finally, if you're interested in a work from home career opportunity, then we have several articles that can help you with this topic.  This is different than the home based business opportunities just discussed which rely on the Internet.

Most of the work at home career opportunities you'll see advertised involve working for a larger company from the comforts of your home.  This can involve anything from stuffing envelopes to assembling products.

If you're thinking about this type of career move, then take a look at our work at home series of articles.  Not everyone is concerned about your career, and you want to make sure you're getting involved with a company that will help you to make money, not lose it.

About the Author - Career Opportunity

Bill Sharlow is the Editor of Money-Zine.com.  Copyright © 2004 - 2010 Money-Zine.com