Do you need a new job? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, people change careers an average of six to seven times during the course of a lifetime. Finding a new job or career can be a daunting task, but there are some steps you can take to ease the stress of changing jobs. If you need a new job, consider taking the following steps to make the transitions easier.

1. Prepare for Change

Before transitioning into a new job it is important to prepare yourself for a major change. Factors you should consider include your savings, health insurance, retirement benefits, and monthly expenses. A common mistake many people make is leaving one job without being truly prepared for a new job. If you plan on being without employment for a period of time, you will first need to ensure that you have the financial reserves to take such as step. Plan out your monthly budget needs and determine if you have enough money saved to cover these expenses. Experts also warn that job searches often take considerably longer than expected, so you should consider remaining at your current job until you find a new one.

2. Conduct a Career Assessment

Before you move on, you need to take the time to consider exactly why you need a new job. Is it due to factors specific to your current employer? Or is it because you have realized that you are unhappy or unsatisfied with your career? If your reason for change comes from within, conducting a career assessment can help ensure that your next job will be an ideal match for your personality, interests, talents, and skills.

3. Utilize Your Networking Contacts

Networking is often the single most important means of learning about new job opportunities. When you need a new job, contact individuals in your network to discuss potential job opportunities or to ask for suggestions about your job search. Your networking contacts can often provide details on job openings that you might not have access to through other means, so be sure to utilize this important resource.

4. Sell Yourself

Once you have located a potential new job, it is important to demonstrate that you have the credentials, skills, and experience that make you uniquely qualified for the job. Improve your resume to ensure that it is current and well written. It is important to modify your resume to make it specific for each individual job that you apply for. Other important steps include preparing yourself for an interview, dressing appropriately when meeting potential employers, and sending thank you notes after each interview.

5. Make the Change

Your work is done once you have been hired for a new position, right? Well, not exactly. Making the transition into a new job can take several weeks and can lead to significant amount of stress. During this time, you may experience feelings of regret for leaving your old job, especially now that you have been forced out of your comfort zone and might be experience insecurity about succeeding at your new job. One way of easing this initial stress is to find a mentor who can guide you through the learning curve in your new role. Talk to co-workers and start to build relationships and contacts with those around you. These interactions can help ease the transition into your new job.

Summary: If you need a new job, it is important to take steps that will make your job search easier. Preparing for change, assessing your career needs, networking, and self-promotion can help pave the path towards a successful and satisfying new job.

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Ask anyone who graduated from college and they will tell you that they wish they knew a certain piece of insider information before they went to school. College is full of myths and half-truths. Here’s a list of the top five.

Myth 1: You don’t have to know what you want to do until your junior year.
This myth has been perpetuated by counselors and academic advisors all throughout the country, on both the high school and university levels. Although it is true that you don’t need to choose a major until your junior year, you better have some clue about what you want to do before you say yes to that acceptance letter.

If you are an entering freshman, and you have absolutely no clue what major to choose, two years of taking general educations requirements will not magically bestow you with educational clarity. If anything, two years of multidisciplinary exposure will leave you with more questions than answers. Figure out what your goals are before you get to school. You can always change your mind, but if there are certain things that you know you want to experience (i.e. traveling aboard, taking an internship, creating your own major or combining different majors), then you’re more likely to accommodate these considerations if you know what you want to get out of school before you arrive.

Myth 2: You must to choose from a rigid set of majors and class schedules.
College is very customizable. If your major isn’t offered at your school of choice, then try to create it. If you want to take a course on 21st century terrorism, and the class doesn’t appear on the schedule, then make it up. Independent studies are awesome. If your proposed courses of study are approved (usually through the tacit support of a professor or academic advisor), then you can set your own curriculum. You read what you want, write what you want, and your only class time is face to face discussion sessions with your advising professor (usually during office hours). These tailor-made learning experiences can be very rewarding, because they can be created by you to suit your own personal academic interests.

Myth 3: College is one big party.
Sure you’re going to rage it up while you’re in school, but if you don’t get your stuff done, you won’t be partying for very long. Time management is extremely important in college. If you allot enough time for work, you’ll still have plenty of time to play. Just make sure you know when to say “not tonight, I have to cram.”

Myth 4: Living on campus is fun.
If you’re an incoming freshman, nothing sounds cooler than living on campus. You get to meet new people and you live just outside your classes. You can stumble out of bed and stroll into your lecture without a problem. If you have the opportunity to live off campus, do so. On campus living is overrated. You could be faced with the dreaded my-roommate-is-a-chump syndrome. If you want peace and quite, you might have to complain to your noisy neighbors. If you want to be noisy, you might have to deal with your complaining neighbors. Live with people who you like and respect, and live off campus. When you live off campus, you can immerse yourself in school when you need to and remove school from your living situation when it’s necessary.

Myth 5: College is too expensive.
College is by no means cheap, but there are endless opportunities for you to secure extra funds while going to school. Fill out FAFSA forms early and religiously. Apply for every grant you can. Exhaustively explore every scholarship option. If your mother’s second cousin was an Eskimo employed by the Coca-Cola Company, then there’s a scholarship out there waiting for you. Make a list of every category that you qualify for (race, class, gender, religious beliefs, athletic abilities, musical prowess, subject and career-specific interests, company-specific employment and so on), and apply for as much free money as you can.

College is an experience that is different for everyone. What’s true for one university may not be standard practice for another university, so make sure to do your research. Ask as many questions as you can before you commit to a particular institution or program. Talk to students past and present, schedule a visit and meet with professors before you decide on a particular school. The more informed you are, the better.

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Looking for an online environmental education degree program? What should you consider? How about cost? Do you look at the reputation? How about quality? Or good professors? What about accessibility? All these are important considerations when trying to choose an online education degree program that will fit your needs and goals.

Quality:

Quality of your online environmental education degree is extremely important. You’ve got to be getting a real education with skills and tools that you can use in the future in order to help future students. A high quality program is a priority.

Good Professors:

The quality of your online environmental education degree will depend in large part on the quality of your professors. You want a program with good professors who can really teach you real world skills that you’ll need when you enter the workforce.

Accessibility:

You want to choose an online course that is affordable and easy to access via the Internet. You also want an online environmental education degree program that caters to a wide variety of people so that you can get many diverse opinions.

Choosing Your Program:

To be successful, you have to choose the best online environmental education degree program for your needs. Before making your choice try to contact future professors, staffs, and administrators that will determine the quality of your online environmental education degree program. They will determine your success in your future career, so you want to know something about them before you sign up for a program.

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You don’t have to be a seasoned professional to have a great list of contacts. In fact, if you think about it, you probably already have a number of contacts that you made without really thinking about it. All of your classmates and professors are contacts. That is a pretty good start. Also, everyone that you have ever worked for or interned for is a contact. Not only can these people all offer great job hunting advice, but they can also lead you directly to the source- a great company that is looking to hire. Here are some great tips for networking and job hunting:

- Job hunt with friends. Did you have a study group while you were in school? If so, get together a similar group for job hunting. Even if you had exactly the same major as your classmates, it is likely that you will all have different feelings about what kind of jobs you want to have. Therefore, get these trusted friends together, talk about what you want out of a job, and then get to hunting. Of course, look for jobs for yourself. While you are doing this however, note any jobs that might be perfect for one of your friends. In so doing you can help each other find great opportunities.

- Get in touch with previous employers. When you are getting close to graduation, be sure to get in touch with previous bosses and supervisors to learn about what is going on in the industry. Perhaps they know someone who is hiring and can give you a good recommendation. Also, make sure that you get in touch with any companies that you interned for. If you would like to work for them full time, be sure that they know this and ask for them to think of you if they have any openings.

- Talk with professors. If you had a particularly good relationship with one of your professors, be sure to ask him or her if he or she knows about any great job openings. It is likely that your professor will be able to help you with some leads. If not, he or she might be able to help you brainstorm about networking ideas that would work particularly well in your industry.

- Play the home field. If you went to college away from home, be sure to consider the contacts that you have in your home town. Perhaps there is a job for you back home.

- Go to job fairs. Many school host or sponsor job fairs. Be sure to attend them and speak with representatives from every company that you would like to work for.

- Post your resume on web communities for your industry.

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When you first get to college, you will be in a period of transition. You’ll have to adjust to a new environment, new living situation, new people and new priorities. Adjusting will take a little time, but you’ll settle into your new surroundings before you know it.

Here are five tips to help you cope with your new college environment.

1. Find allies
Find people who are intelligent, hard working and fun, and associate with them frequently. It’s never too early to start building your support network. Seek out people who share your interests and priorities. Mix it up. Find study buddies and party people. The more reliable acquaintances you have, the easier it’ll be to cope with your new situation.

2. Befriend your professors
Don’t adopt an adversarial take on your professors. These people are here to help you, so take advantage of it. When you meet with your professors during office hours, you’ll have an easier time getting through your courses. You could even form a lasting bond with your instructors. The more professors you know in your department, the better your overall performance in your major will be. Once you have completed your studies, these people will be deciding whether or not you are worthy of honors recognition. If everyone’s already your pal, then you’re much more likely to be recognized as a stand out student.

3. Play hard and work even harder
You can’t just study for weeks at a time without a break, and you can’t party every single night without getting your work done. Find a happy medium between social and scholastic obligations. Discover the balance that’s right for you.

4. Keep in touch with family and friends
Just because you moved away from home, it doesn’t mean that you have to break off all ties with your friends and family. Keep in touch. Call people. Write emails. Update your status with the people who care about you. You can still assimilate into college life, but you’ll have open channels of communication with your loved ones back home.

5. Learn campus geography
Get to know your way around campus. Learn short cuts so that you can get to your classes on time. Scope out quiet places to work, and locate spots where you can have some fun. The sooner you familiarize yourself with your surroundings, the more quickly you’ll feel comfortable in your new environment. Also be sure that you know you’re way around the town or city that your college is located in.

College is a new experience, but you can handle it. Cope by making connections with your colleagues and professors. Find the right balance between having fun and getting work done. Keep in touch with the people you love, and learn your new surroundings. Before you know it, you’ll be totally adjusted to your new life on campus.

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