This week, I had the opportunity to review the CAREEREALISM site, and I have to say that the place is pretty amazing. First off, I want to say that J.T. O’Donnell is a career coach ninja. When I asked her for an email interview, she latched onto my mention of a personal job search, and she was quick to provide me with some tips and advice that I can’t wait to use. Her personal feedback and quick response lead me to believe that customer service is going to be a strong point over at CAREEREALISM. There is plenty of advice and help over there, but there were three things that I liked as a job hunter.
Getting SHOTs
That acronym stands for Short, Helpful, On-Target video posts. And you better believe that CAREEREALISM has some good advice. The YouTube videos from the creator (J.T. O’Donnell) are helpful and interesting, because she puts her whole heart into the presentation. You can tell that she really wants to help others with their careers. It’s difficult to find that kind of dedication these days.
Don’t be a Twit
J.T.’s advice to use Twitter to find mentors is excellent, and it bears repeating. Basically, she points out that while it may take a long time to find mentors using traditional methods, people can find mentors via Twitter that provide relevant advice and information on a daily basis! That’s an excellent reason to join up if I ever heard one. Plus, you can follow CAREEREALISM on Twitter (and you’re already following Jobacle, right?).
Back to School
Although I don’t have personal experience with the program, CAREEREALISM University seems like an excellent way to prepare for a solid, well-researched job hunt. It is relatively inexpensive (when you consider that it could land you a job paying well over what you’re currently making!), and the personal interaction with career coaches would be a great benefit for job searchers.
The creator of CAREEREALISM was also kind enough to answer a few questions for me.
1) Who is the “head honcho” over at Careerealism.com?
I’m the founder of Careerealism.com (I wrote a book by the same name) and am very passionate about it becoming a major career resource (here’s my bio), but there’s definitely no ‘head honcho’ here. This (the site & company) is a work in progress. We are in an emerging industry that is evolving daily. That’s why myself and the rest of the team collaborate on all aspects of the site. It’s the only way to keep things moving forward. In fact, we have 12 interns currently working on 4 different aspects of the site. They are responsible for research and development of new and existing components to ensure we are staying on-target and giving our readers the most valuable content. So, why I may be technically ‘in charge.’ the company is actually governed via the team’s efforts.
2) What would you say to someone that assumes that CAREEREALISM is “just another job advice site?”
I agree. We are just another job advice site – but with two key distinctions. First, our corporate credo is, ‘to provide refreshingly real advice.’ That means, we are going to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Second, our content is designed to educate readers on an on-going basis so they can learn the skills necessary to stay employable long-term. Our tagline is, “Because EVERY Job is Temporary.” That reality is so important to accept and embrace in today’s employment scene. The average person will have 9 careers in their lifetime with as many as 3 jobs in each one. We are all nothing more than long-term temporary workers. So, our target audience are individuals who want to learn how to build their career identity and stay on top of the skills and information they need to be able to stay in control of their professional futures. In short, our site is for people who A) aren’t afraid of the truth, and B) are proactive about advancing their careers on their own terms.
3) Is there anything about Careerealism.com that you wish the public knew, but they don’t currently?
Yes. That we have the most innovative Career Center program on the Internet. CAREEREALISM University offers job seekers the opportunity to work exclusively with one of our career experts via a private social network. Participants are coached personally through the strategic and tactical components of a job search to ensure they are doing all the right activities. It’s like having a personal trainer for your job search. As far as I know, we are the only company offering this kind of online program to job seekers. It costs only $59 and includes 3 months of coaching in the network. After that, members can stay on for as long as they like for only $14.95/month and can quit at any time. This program is ideal for anyone who needs daily support and wants to be able to have an expert at their disposal. I just had one of our members tell me he was contacted by a career coaching company recently who wanted him to pay $3000 for their help. When he asked them more about the coaching methodology, he said they didn’t offer a single decent idea and that he had already learned everything they mentioned, plus a lot more, from CAREEREALISM University. The program comes with a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. We do this because the concept is so new, we needed away for people to feel they could try it without risk.
FYI – If people want more info, they have to send us an e-mail on our info page. We don’t offer an automatic sign-up because we like to connect with each person interested in the career center to make sure the program suits their needs and that they are truly ready to take advantage of what it has to offer. Also, we currently only allow 250 people in the center at a time to ensure the members get the most out of the program. So, if there isn’t an open spot, we put people on the waiting list and contact them when there is an opening.
So, if you’re interested, feel free to stroll over to CAREEREALISM and check it out. If you know of another great career resource that we haven’t covered here at Jobacle, just drop us a message through the “Contact” page.
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