Career Key

Author: Career Key's President and CEO, Juliet Wehr Jones, GCDF, J.D.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Reality vs. Opportunity in Careers: Find a Mentor

Recently I was reading a book about TV watching and children and I came across a chapter on the unrealistic portrayal of "real life" by TV shows. Shows like "Friends," "Seinfeld," and so-called reality shows are all guilty of this distortion; who hangs out socializing in a coffeeshop all day (and makes a living)? Who can afford an apartment in NYC and appear unemployed (Kramer), etc.?

TV is often an escapist fantasy for many of us, myself included. I admit to an occasional hit of "Seinfeld" reruns. If I want to be educated, I watch PBS or the Discovery Channel. But for many of us growing up, I do think there was and is a temptation to avoid the reality that in order to make a living, you must exchange your work for money. Let's face it - fun, pleasure seeking and instant gratification win out over the concept of "work."

To offset these distortions, we should hold up as examples work that is fun and rewarding, while recognizing that few if any people love every single task of their career. Even a movie star has to meet with lawyers to go over fine print in a contract. Or be asked the same questions about their new release over and over by reporters. The trick is to minimize those distasteful tasks; choosing a career that matches your personality and career path will help achieve that goal. Your overall enjoyment of the job will outweigh the occasional unpleasant task.

The other reality is that you need to work hard to achieve your career goals, meaning education or training of some kind and an entry level position - whether it's in your own start-up company or someone else's. Even professional athletes need to work out and start over with their fitness level after an injury.

Why do people resist accepting these realities? Shouldn't they see them instead as opportunities? Viewing the path from school to career as a journey of opportunity instead of a march to boredom might help - by showing more links between what is learned in school to actual jobs people might enjoy, and matching their career with their personality. By helping people see themselves fit into a career path that they control and own.

While clamoring for TV producers to create more positive, realistic shows will have little impact, serving as or finding mentors and role models will do much to dispel the negative or unrealistic portrayals of the working world. For me personally, mentors and role models were critical to my overcoming obstacles and unpleasant work in the course of my career. You have to see and identify with successful, happy people in a job to believe it can happen for you.

We have less security and more work hours but more freedom of choice and flexibility in our careers than our parents did. Perhaps if the world of work was framed in this more positive way, instead of a slog to obscurity and staleness, people might be more excited and motivated about their future.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Pros and Cons of Self-Employment


On the occasion of our launch of the Self-Employment Key, I thought I might reminisce about my 5 years as a self-employed lawyer, how the Self-Employment Key could have helped - and the pros and cons of self-employment I experienced.

For me, my own practice was both a fantastic escape and scary jump out of a plane, feelings I'm sure others can sympathize with. I wish that at the time I left my first law firm job to go solo, that I could have taken something like the Self-Employment Key. I would have had more confidence about my decision. I would have known how compatible my personality was with law practice as a self-employed career and I would have known my scores for two personality dimensions, Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness, linked to successful self-employment. Perhaps I could have avoided some errors by knowing earlier how to compensate for my weak areas and concentrate on my strengths. But after several years, I did get along just fine and this is what I found:

Pros
  • More flexibility in work hours (being my own boss)
  • Sole responsibility for generating revenue
  • More control over client selection
  • Better retirement investment options
Cons
  • Sole responsibility for generating revenue and getting clients
  • Doing boring administrative tasks

Smartest things I did in running my own small business
  • Hired an excellent accountant
  • Networked with other solo practitioners of different fields
  • Used credit cards wisely
  • Did contract work to supplement other income
  • Got healthcare and malpractice insurance coverage through my local bar association
  • Found good mentors, both from my previous job and other solo practitioners

Having my own practice allowed me to do things like travel to an international women's lawyers' conference in London, and sit 50 feet away from Kofi Annan as a delegate at the UN International Labour Organization's World Employment Forum in Geneva. While I made less money than I could have, I enjoyed the flip side of worrying about where your paycheck will come from - the freedom.

What's your idea of freedom in a career? How would starting your own business accomplish that?

Expert Advice on Self-Employment & Starting a Small Business

After over two years of research and work, yesterday we launched the Self-Employment Key test. This unique test, based on the popular Career Key, helps people decide whether self-employment is right for them, and which businesses fit their personality type.

The Self-Employment Key website also provides practical, high-quality advice for those interested in entrepreneurship as a career. Special sections focus on women and young entrepreneurs, life-work balance, and recommended resources.

If you see topics you want to learn more about or want to suggest new topics, please email me. I welcome any feedback. I look forward to hearing from you.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Choosing the right career? You'll need technology skills.

I was honored to be invited to last week's Workforce Readiness Forum at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. The forum focused on the shortage of technology skilled workers in the next ten to twenty years and the partnerships needed to address it. Workforce development leaders from across the U.S. gathered at the forum - from government agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector.

I learned a lot from this 2 day conference, which included a tour of the Microsoft Center for the Information Worker as well as an address from Senator Patty Murray (D-WA).

Among the forum's discussion topics:
  • We have a serious problem in a shortage of technology skilled workers for not just employers like Microsoft, but those in manufacturing and services. And it's growing.
    • Another, more positive way of saying this is: there are now and will be great opportunities for workers with technology skills.
  • The digital divide between Americans is also growing - between people who have basic technology skills and those who do not. And those who do not have limited access to training so they stuck in low-wage jobs indefinitely.
  • To fix it is complicated: reform schools, increase training programs for adults, etc. But there are other ways to approach this issue than simply asking for more government involvement (unlikely to happen anytime soon): partnerships between the public and private sector. More about this later...
  • Funding for workforce development from the federal government has continually been cut since the primary legislation was passed in 1998. Whether or not you support it, funding for the Iraq war ($225 million per day, according to the National Priorities Project) has diverted a lot of money from domestic needs. Prior to 1998, similar federal investments in improving the U.S. workforce were also cut.
So what does this have to do with Career Key?

For ten years, we've been the only website to comprehensively offer affordable, high quality, scientifically valid tools to help people make the best career choices. That's our mission. We have expertise and our website resources to offer - it's just a matter of deciding how we can best collaborate with other partners to help the U.S. (and global) workforce meet this technology skills shortage.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Career Tests: Choosing the right career test to choose the right career

A valid career test can help you in choosing a career. Career testing can give you valuable career help. You can,

• Identify good career options,

• Learn about yourself, and

• Understand how the career you choose affects your job satisfaction and success.

We have worked hard to maximize these benefits for Career Key users. And, quite frankly, I think we are the best on the Internet.

What surprises me is the number and popularity of fake career tests online. These are career tests that "say" they measure certain traits, like your personality, but they don't. A valid test is the result of scientific research; not greed. Their graphic design and claims are often impressive, but they are a hoax. They are created to sell you something or get your personal information to sell to others. Millions use them. And, unfortunately, many people are misled and harmed.

Have you used a valid career test? Was it helpful?

Other than career tests, have you used other methods in choosing a career?

Have you tried any of the methods recommended at our website? Like, Learn More about Yourself or Learn More about the Jobs that Interest Me? How helpful were they?

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Career Key Invited to Attend Microsoft U.S. Workforce Readiness Forum

I've been invited to attend in Seattle next week's Microsoft Town Hall Forum on U.S. Workforce Readiness: Building Collaborative and Innovative Partnerships on Workforce Competitiveness, featuring a keynote address by Ed Gordon, author of The 2010 Meltdown. This national forum is a part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential – Community Technology Skills Program. In addition to discussing partnerships between the public and private sectors, one of the presentations will be:

Education & Workforce: Skill Sets for the 21st Century

Challenges of the 21st Century marketplace. How does America foster a highly skilled workforce in order to remain economically competitive?


I'm looking forward to being a part of this forum because The Career Key has a lot of expertise to offer in the area of career choice. For over twenty years, people have been using The Career Key, first in a paper/pencil form and now online. For ten years free of charge via the internet, we've provided high-quality, scientifically based information about the process of choosing a career.

Dr. Jones and I have been discussing how important career education is to secondary school students; early identification of interests and encouragement of exploration are critical to getting kids to take the classes that prepare them for college. In particular, high level science and math classes are needed to select technical programs and the right college majors.

Our test and website provide affordable, scientifically valid tools to students and educators to help achieve this early identification and exploration. The question is whether career education can compete for time and funding in the curriculum with standardized test preparation, etc.

How do we get the attention of students, parents, educators, and funding sources that high-quality career education is not a luxury, or at worst, a "frill"? Ideas anyone?

And, of course, the shortage of highly skilled workers does not only involve young people, it also involves adults, career changers, and retirees who need or want to continue working. What is the best way to show adults how to make the best career choice as well as all the opportunities and training available for high skilled jobs?

I'll keep you posted on what I learn from this forum.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Career Decision Profile now available


Although the Career Decision Profile (CDP) has been widely used by career counselors for many years, this is the first time it has been available for purchase online.

After receiving so many inquires to license the CDP, we've made it more accessible. In the next few weeks, we will be making the manual available as well. In the meantime, for assistance in using and interpreting CDP results, see "The Career Decision Profile: Using a measure of career decision status in counseling" by Lawrence K. Jones & Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, Journal of Career Assessment, 6, Spring, 1998, pp. 209-230.

One of the most popular uses for the CDP has been as a pre- and post- measure of clients' career decidedness, which can be used to show a counseling program's results (and to justify program funding requests).

If you are interested in seeing a free copy to evaluate, please email me.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

CK Publishes Guide to Meeting ASCA Standards

Dr. Jones recently made available for download his free "Guide to Using the Career Key to Meet ASCA National Model Competencies." So far the feedback has been positive, but we'd like to hear from more people. This one-page guide helps school counselors use both our website and/or The Career Key test in creating their own curriculum.

Dr. Jones also gave a powerpoint presentation on this same subject at the Washington and Oregon School Counselors Associations' annual conference last January. If you'd like a copy, please let me know and I will forward that to you.

Differing Gifts...


Differing gifts . . .

My career direction in college? Boy, was I confused. I recall when I was a sophomore. I had just squeaked through Organic Chemistry -- a chemist I was not. I went to the college counselor and he had me take the Strong Interest Inventory. Later, between puffs on his pipe and scratching his head, he said my highest scores were for Plumber, Airline Pilot, and Carpenter; my next highest score was for Social Worker -- "Hmm . . . Larry, I don't know quite what to make of this." I don't remember the rest of our conversation . . .

Years later I learned that I have an unusual personality when viewed from John Holland's theory: Realistic-Social. He would call it "inconsistent". Inconsistent personality types are one of these pairs: Realistic-Social, Investigative-Enterprising, or Conventional-Artistic. People with these combinations are unusual and, you guessed it, have trouble making career decisions! It makes sense, because these personality pairs are largely opposites of each other. More on this . . .

I don't think Holland would use a label like "inconsistent" in career counseling. Words like "special" or "unique" have a much more positive sound. I like the phrase, "differing gifts". We all have them, and they are growing. The challenge is to understand and value them. Fortunately, with thoughtful effort, over time, we can usually find satisfying and fulfilling ways to use them.

I feel I have been successful for the most part, particularly with the support of my wife, but it is an ongoing project . . . I think most people are working on this -- knowing and valuing their gifts, finding a way to use them in their work and life.

What do you think?

Are you aware of your "differing gifts"?

Is it an "ongoing project" for you?

Have you found the activities at the Career Key website helpful? Like the one on Identifying Your Skills?

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Top 10 Criteria for Job Satisfaction

When choosing a career, most people want to answer the question, "what career will make me happy?" If you think money and prestige are the top criteria people give, think again. Of the top ten criteria for job satisfaction, #1 on the list is the kind of work that makes best use of your talents and gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Read Career Key's article on job satisfaction for more about what it is and how to improve yours.

Here are 8 ways to choose the right kind of work that will satisfy you (visit here for more details about each):
  1. Know yourself.
  2. Learn about the jobs you think will satisfy you.
  3. Consider meeting with a professional career counselor.
  4. Don't stay dissatisfied in your current job for too long.
  5. Be realistic about your expectations of a career. (Do forensic scientists (CSIs) really get to carry guns and wear sexy tops to work?)
  6. Is it the type of work you don't like or the current environment (boss, salary, etc.?)
  7. Can you put up with short-term dissatisfaction for a long-term gain?
  8. How much do you value your career in relation to other life activities?
What is your most important criteria for choosing the right career?

Friday, November 2, 2007

What career do your parents want you to choose?


Parents strongly influence their child's career choice. As a new parent, I now understand better why it would be so easy to get overly involved in my son's process of choosing a career, especially if it were in a direction I did not agree with (i.e. professional skydiver/stuntman). Could you see me approving of and supporting a skydiving career for this little guy? No way. But what about his perspective?

On our website, we suggest positive ways for parents to help their children in choosing a career. But how should those of us, regardless of age (parents still hold power over us no matter how old we are), handle our parents' input? Of course a lot depends on your relationship with your parents. What experience have you had with your parents' involvement in your career search? Has it been positive? Negative? How did you deal with it?

One strategy I suggest for dealing with your parents is to use the decision-making tool we provide at our website. One of steps is to look at the consequences of your choice, including how significant others, like your parents, will perceive your choice. Can you handle their disapproval, skepticism, or disappointment? How do you plan to respond? Preparation and consideration of your own emotional reaction ahead of time will help.

So for my son, he'd better be prepared to tell me why being a skydiving stuntman is the right choice for him...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Angela DeFreitas Presents Conference Paper

On October 11, 2007 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Caribbean Career Key (CK) publisher Ms. Angela DeFreitas presented a paper on the Caribbean CK at the annual conference of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education. Please let me know if you're interested in obtaining a copy and I can send it to you.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Career Choice a Process?

Should making a career choice be a process? A series of actions or steps you take? Most experts I know would say, "Yes, for most people." And, we have designed our website with this in mind. We encourage users to see it as a process, to follow the steps in the self-help articles that apply. Most will agree that the breadth, depth, and quality of our articles are unrivaled. But, with a few exceptions, the percent of people who look at them is quite small.

For example, on our home page we say, "Learn to use the Career Key website guided by these three principles: 1. Know yourself, 2. Know your options, 3. Make a good decision." But, fewer than ten percent of our visitors click the button, "Learn More". The same is true for most of the other articles on our website.

The authors of an article in the Journal of Career Assessment (2003) recommended three criteria for evaluating online self-help career assessments; one is "Emphasis on Process": The material communicates to the user that career planning and development are ongoing processes . . . Clear steps in that process are identified so that the user can understand where she or he is in the process and what the next steps might be."

We describe those steps, but most Career Key visitors do not seem interested. Why? Do we need to do more at our website to encourage users to do this? Is it that they do not have to pay and, thus, do not see them as valuable? People want a quick answer? What do you think?

Does college pay?

I've recently seen in the Seattle Times an article questioning whether college pays, citing CollegeBoard.com's figures that it takes 14 years for a college graduate's salary, net of loan payments, to equal that of a high-school graduate. I've seen other concerns raised about the high costs of going to college, but I don't think that changes the fact that college graduates have access to higher-paying jobs over a lifetime.

The only downside I see to getting a college degree is if you make a poorly researched career choice and spend the money for a type of degree that becomes practically useless when you want to change careers later. So for example, if you complete an Investigative major like engineering and later want to become a museum curator (or vice versa), you may have to start from scratch with taking classes. Reading Dr. Jones's ePublication, Choosing Your College Major will help you make a good decision that avoids this trap.

I've also seen criticisms of parents who leave the traditional workforce to take care of children, which some view as a "waste" of the degree. But I reject that conclusion because (a) skills and knowledge gained from a degree help to raise a child and run a household, (b) many of these parents start businesses, and (c) the degree serves as a safety net so that if circumstance (divorce, financial, or kids leaving home) necessitates a return to work, that parent will have better job opportunities.

An alternative to an expensive college degree is technical training in a particular field where you can learn valuable, transferable job skills in a well-paid job. For example, an apprenticeship program with a public utility or with a corporation like Boeing. Shortages of highly skilled workers in fields like health care and technology have been predicted as baby boomers retire. The key is to keep people not destined for college from becoming "techno-peasants" as one expert calls them - left behind by the need for technology skills.

All this recent emphasis on whether college is financially worth it stems from the rapidly rising costs of college tuition, even for public, state-run institutions. The danger of rising costs excluding people from getting a college education is a legitimate concern. However, responding to high cost by giving up on a college education needs to be weighed against the opportunities available to high-school diploma/GED holders. If you're a Realistic personality type and mechanical skilled apprenticeship programs look attractive, then maybe it would make sense for you to forgo hefty college loans. All the more reason to use our tips on how to make a good decision up front.

What is the purpose of a college education?

For those of you considering higher ed, or advising students who are, you're probably aware of the recent debate over whether the high costs of a college education are worth it, and if you do go to college, for what is that time best used? Self-exploration? Career preparation? One or both? My opinion is that it should be both - they do not need to be mutually exclusive.

In a recent NYT interview, the new president of Harvard University, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, took issue with the federal government's emphasis on higher education's training a globally competitive workforce. She paraphrased W. E. B. DuBois: “Education is not to make men carpenters so much as to make carpenters men.” Dr. Faust was reacting to a September 2006 federal Commission's recommendation that college use more standardized testing (a la No Child Left Behind) to raise student standards. Here's another critique of that report.

I think both Dr. Faust and Margaret Spelling's Commission on Higher Education raise good points. Having gone to an expensive private university myself and having witnessed a few fellow students wasting 4-5 years "finding themselves" through hours of video games and partying, there is some merit to the Commission's position that college should be a training ground to enter a competitive workforce and accordingly tough. Our website addresses the reality of the Free Agent workforce.

But many students, some of whom use The Career Key test, need some time to learn about themselves and to explore different majors and different career paths. And that takes freedom and time to take different classes, which some science majors like pre-Med and engineering may limit. Writing skills, for example, may be neglected in some science focused curricula. So exploration outside one's chosen field would be wise.

I think students should take advantage of the freedom to explore, while keeping in mind the end game. After graduation, you need a job, preferably one that you enjoy or at least is a step on a ladder in a career that matches your personality. Or you need to enter a graduate school that is a prerequisite to the same path. The reality of our global economy is that the job market for good, high paying jobs is competitive. You might as well choose a satisfying career at the beginning.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Dr. Jones Publishes Article on Harmful Tests

The American School Counselor Association magazine School Counselor will publish in its November/December 2007 career development issue Dr. Jones's article, "Harming Students by Using an Invalid Career Test." It is an expansion on the article he wrote here drawing attention to the widespread use of invalid career tests. In 2003, The Journal of Career Assessment devoted several articles to the use of internet career tests and the poor quality and lack of validity of many of them; and yet people continue to use, recommend and link to these invalid tests.

Although this issue may seem self-serving for The Career Key and Dr. Jones, a test developer, to raise, anyone who knows Dr. Jones knows that much of his professional career has been devoted to measuring results in the career guidance area. Also, The Career Key was started as a philanthropy - free of charge for almost ten years until the costs of programming and web hosting made charging for the test a necessity. Now, Dr. Jones continues to provide most of the website content for free while providing heavy group purchase discounts to counselors.

I am sure and I hope there will be many more posts and discussion on this topic.

The Self-Employment Key Nears Completion

We're excited that the programming for our new test, The Self-Employment Key, is almost complete. It is now being tested. This unique test will help people decide whether self-employment is right for them and what type of business best fits their personality.

Work Life Balance? Be prepared to make your own rules

Using my own experience as a guide, I think many young people may underestimate the impact of having a family on their career. Given the amount of books, articles, and blogs I see about "work/life" balance, the same issue appears over and over again. How can I maintain a good career and enjoy a healthy family life? Here's my answer: get the best, most valuable skills you can in whatever career you choose, so that you can move jobs or become self-employed and make your own rules. Otherwise you will be forced onto someone else's treadmill.

I graduated from high school in 1989. Feminism of the 1970s and 1980s was supposed to have stamped out sexism and opened up job opportunities for women; in many respects it did. I can't recall ever thinking that there was any job/career not open to me. This was a gift - and I thank my parents and the women's movement for it. Having it all (great work, great family) seemed truly possible. And thankfully, the desire to spend time with family while having a good career has expanded to include more men. On average, fathers now spend more time with their children than their own fathers did. Good news for everyone.

But the reality is that the workplace, and particularly now in the U.S. with such long work hours expected in most jobs, is not family friendly. This isn't necessarily sexist, although it disproportionately impacts women since women continue to do the bulk of domestic work. But it impacts parents. Good childcare is hard to find and expensive, and some parents do not want to outsource 100% of their childcare. Flexible schedules are hard to negotiate and find.

To find part-time work, flexible schedules, or a work day that allows you to get home by 6:30 p.m. most nights, you must find the right employer. And some careers lend themselves to better work hours than others. So when you're looking at a career, work schedule and availability of contract work or self-employment may be important. See informational interviewing. I know researching that issue was important for me when I chose law. I knew I could "hang a shingle" and become self-employed if I needed to - and sure enough, I needed to and it worked out well.

Adapt to Reality

Just prior to my son's birth last April, I was cleaning out our garage to make room for baby stuff. I found my test results for several career tests I took in college, including The Career Key, and they pointed me in the direction of law. I enjoyed drama, debate, public speaking and politics. My RIASEC profile is Social, Enterprising and Artistic, although I'm more Enterprising now than I used to be. So employment and labor law was the right choice, and looking back on it I don't regret it. But I made large changes within my legal career to accommodate the reality of working in it, which was often unpleasant.

Like many lawyers, I underestimated how much I would dislike the business side of practicing law. Billable hours (at its worst, billing clients for time you think about their case in the shower), unless you work for government, is how you're measured. I learned about this in the abstract during law school in law firm jobs. But in order to pay off student loans, government jobs are not ideal unless you want to spend 20-30 years paying them off. So billable hours as part of a private firm become your life.

So after gaining experience and the help of a couple of great mentors, I started my own law firm. Self-employment gave me the flexibility to travel and have a personal life, although I made roughly the same amount of money as an entry level attorney. After several years of scrambling for work (the most unpleasant part of my practice), I decided to return to working for someone else, and to pay off my student loans. I found my dream legal job as the Legal Officer for the Washington State Patrol. My job was measured by results, not billable hours - a perfect medium for me. Then to make a long story short, it was time for me to have a family so I looked for other opportunities that would make use of my skills while providing flexibility for having a child. And I found The Career Key (more about this transition later).

My story about disillusionment with the business side of the law, and about adapting one's career to match the reality of the job market is not unusual, particularly for lawyers. And it's not unusual for people now to switch careers several times during their working life. I'd be interested in hearing other people's stories about making changes within their chosen career.

Getting skills while choosing a career


Does a McDonald's job lead to lifelong career ruin? Probably not - but a more valuable skills oriented job would be a smarter stepping stone to a better career.

Like most people, in my work life I've worked a number of different jobs that eventually led to my career choices. While after college I chose law as a career, before graduation I worked as a desktop publishing assistant for a small town newspaper, a law clerk for a law firm (a quasi-receptionist/file clerk job) and a desktop publishing intern for a non-profit organization.

These jobs, low paid and unglamorous, enabled me to see how lawyers work and also how small organizations are run. I learned how to serve customers with a smile and work a cash register, while learning about personality clashes at the office (watching others handle them well or badly) and the basic flow of office work. All of this prepared me for my ten years of practicing law.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Wikipedia & Exploring Occupations

In looking at how technology is expanding our ability to explore career options, I came across Wikipedia's category of Occupations. It contains hundreds of subcategories of occupations from fashion to computer science.

And these subcategories often lead to more interesting links, such as the list of notable programmers under the computer science listing. One way to learn about a career is to find out about the path other people in your target field took to get where they are now. You can find that through biographies posted online in Wikipedia - such as the list of programmers. You may even come up with some possible informational interviewees.

Of course you have to keep in mind the information is created and edited by many people, some of whom may be biased or unknowledgeable about the subject. Welcome to the internet. You should be familiar enough by now with the Web to exercise a little caution.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

NCDA Conference July 2007


At the July '07 NCDA (National Career Development Association) Conference in Seattle, our Caribbean Career Key publisher, Ms. Angela deFreitas and I gave a presentation on how the Internet has facilitated international collaboration between the Career Key and other career guidance professionals, with a focus on the Caribbean.

Here I am with Dr. Raymond Ting, co-author of the Chinese Career Key, and Angela. What a successful presentation and meeting we had.

In addition to Angela's and my presentation, Raymond presented his research on the Chinese Career Key's use in Hong Kong. Raymond and I were also able to make contact with a number of Chinese career guidance professionals attending this conference.

Beginning the Adventure

The Career Key is celebrating its tenth anniversary of going live on the Internet! It's been a time for reflection on what we're doing and what the future holds. Starting this blog is part of our next chapter to adapt to new technology, and to bring a fresh perspective to the area of career choice. Let us know how we're doing and what you would like to see us do in the future. Feel free to contact me directly at julietjones@careerkey.biz with your comments and suggestions. Thanks for supporting our website!