Let Your Favorite Color Guide Your Career

In today's challenging economy, you have more career opportunities than you might think.

Modernize your dream career into a higher paying, more job opening niche or related occupation. Don't be afraid to get nosey and take the time to look around or invest in developing a specialized skill inside your chosen field. Use every opportunity to network and promote yourself.

· Everywhere you go, ask questions like, "What do you do during your workday?" "What's fun, not fun?" "Any opening in your company?"

· Be a temp. Ask for short-term assignments so you can taste different jobs and learn about opportunities.

· Join career specific organizations and get your friends on board.

Dreams come true with niche-specific educational training or on-the-job experience. Looking for the perfect niche? Consider the scientifically valid Dewey Color System test that measures career satisfaction at record-breaking accuracy. It lists the top 50 careers suited for you, plus hundreds of related occupations, niches and career specific organizations. To provide accurate and thorough results, data was obtained from 750,000 CareerBuilder online users.
In order to take the test, you first have to choose the color you like most from yellow, blue and red. Then choose which color you like most from green, purple and orange. Remember your choices and see what your selected combination says about your career prospects:Yellow-Green
If you selected yellow and green: Your ability to understand others' viewpoints and diplomatically express your thoughts increases efficiency. You know how to make products, systems, and services best fit the environment. Make more money by seeking careers where you can assemble support structures or make living situations more comfortable. Consider niches as in landscape architecture or real estate sales, or consider a career as a counselor, designer or social worker.

Yellow-Purple
If you selected yellow and purple: You prefer fast-growing companies with non-repetitive jobs that offer a constant barrage of fresh perspectives and non-stop new tasks. Your ability to communicate with finesse breaks down barriers and opens profitable doors. Make more money by developing and communicating strategies for project-oriented settings that involve constant change. Consider niches as a public relations representative, corporate communications manager, youth counselor or radio/TV announcer. Yellow-Orange
If you selected yellow and orange: You know about the newest available resources, pertinent facts, or innovative ways to solve workday pressures. Your open-minded yet analytical approach creates must-do activities and programs. Make more money by inventing new ways to market your business, better utilizing resources and talents, or making what you do more efficient. Consider niches as a statistician, geologist, researcher, librarian or product developer.

Blue-Green
If you selected blue and green: You are at your best when you can anchor others with supportive suggestions. Your personable listening skills make you a success with colleagues, customers or clients who trust you with even their most crucial decisions. Make more money by seeking environments that give you the opportunity to manage people, information or workplace environments. Consider niches as a writer, actor, accountant, psychologist or departmental manager.

Blue-Purple If you selected blue and purple: Use your big-picture thinking to develop new markets, new ideas and new businesses. You can see what's missing and know how to get things done. Make more money by working in environments where you can organize, develop and bring situations, people or markets together. Consider niches in advertising and sales or as a public relations representative, trial lawyer or research scientist.

Blue-Orange

If you choose blue and orange: You're a natural both at developing new products or procedures and delegating tasks. You prefer a busy environment because you enjoy learning. Pressure stimulates you.Make more money in careers where you can gauge productivity, analyze efficiency, and oversee or implement change.Consider niches as an operations manager, civil engineer, builder or product salesperson.

Red-Green

If you selected red and green: You know value and how to best use resources to make money. Your practical guidance keeps others focused on the bottom line and expenditures under budget. Make more money in positions where you decide how to best utilized resources or spend money. Consider Niches as a securities manager, auditor, banker, teacher, property manager, nurse or surgeon.

Red-Purple

If you selected red and purple: When others speak, you sort out the facts from the emotions and establish a step-by-step action plan. You know how to calm those around you and offer quick solutions. Make more money by selecting work environments where you're in control of all necessary resources and can offer win-win suggestions. Consider niches as a human resources interviewer/manager, event planner, editor or executive assistant.

Red-Orange

If you selected red and orange: You use facts compiled from past mistakes and successes to deliver strong opinions that are hard to refute. Others learn invaluable information from your critiques about the efficiency of a project. Make more money in areas where you can sail your own ship by constantly examining, in detail, what needs to be done and express your opinion when things go off course. Consider niches as a budget analyst, computer support specialist, production manager, manufacturing manager or business owner.

Is Your Body Language Holding You Back?
By NicoleWilliams.com staff

Whether you’re sitting in a conference room for a job interview or a coffee shop on a date, your body language speaks volumes before you even open your mouth. Are you nervous and impatient? Or engaged and interested? You spent so much time perfecting your resume, be sure to put your best foot forward in person, too.We’ve all heard reminders from well-meaning parents and professors to “sit up straight!" or “don’t fidget!” But there are a couple of body language blunders that may surprise you. We got the scoop from body language expert Janine Driver. Here are the moves to avoid whether you’re on an interview or a date.

1. Gesturing wildly: Some of us naturally talk with our hands (guilty), and while this can sometimes convey enthusiasm, it can also backfire. “You want to keep your hand gestures within the frame of your body," says Driver. “If it goes outside your shoulder length, you’re giving the impression that you’re out of control. Hand gestures should also match the level of your audience. Your gestures should be big on a big presentation. On a date, you should keep your gestures small, and don’t go outside your body.” As someone who’s prone to knocking over drinks in a bar, I’d have to agree with her!

2. Touching your face: Job seekers should avoid fidgeting (which can come off as anxious), but especially near the face. “There’s a myth out there that if you touch your face you’re lying,” explains Driver. “A lot of hiring managers believe that it’s true, so be careful of touching your face.” Also, looking at someone’s lips rather than their eyes can feel sexual, according to Driver, so steer clear of the lips unless you’re in a bar or similar setting.

3. Sitting up a little too straight: Is there such a thing as too-perfect posture? Yes, according to Driver. “You actually want to relax a little bit, because otherwise you’ll give the impression that you’re inflexible. Don’t look like Bill Murray slouched on a seat or appear too stiff like Lilith from ‘Cheers’.” So how do you find the happy medium? Picture yourself before the actual interview or date. “The best athletes literally visualize themselves being successful,” explains Driver. “The faking-it will seem more natural.”

4. Folding the hands: This is a polite, demure pose that many of us learned from our mothers. But Driver advises against it, especially in an interview setting. “That’s how people sit on ‘The Apprentice’ before they’re fired,” she points out. “It’s a begging pose and it’s very passive. [Employers] are looking for people who are charismatic. Hands should be relaxed on the table or desk or lap. You may want the other person to be able to see your hands, because it’s like putting all your cards on the table.”

5. Leaning back in your chair: When you lean forward, you convey interest. Conversely, leaning back expresses indifference or disinterest. Of course, you can also use this information when you’re sizing up an interviewer or date. “After you give them an answer, do they learn forward or back? If all of a sudden they lean backwards, you need to reevaluate or clarify,” suggests Driver. Finally, a way to figure out what they’re really thinking!

About Nicole: Career expert and best-selling author of Girl on Top, Nicole Williams is redefining the world of work -- making it glamorous, entertaining and relevant to modern women. Nicole founded WORKS by Nicole Williams in 2006 with the vision of building the first media and content company focused on career development specifically for the highly dynamic and powerful market of young professional women. Her Web site, Nicolewilliams.com, is the go-to destination site for modern working women.