Taking Your Skills With You (NAPSA)—If you think your work skills are only useful at your current job, think again. Many of the skills acquired in the workforce can be used in related or even completely different careers, so there’s no need to stay in that dead-end job or keep trying for a job in an industry that’s losing them. Manyskills can be transferred and be an asset in another type of career. Although the U.S. unemploymentrate is currently 8.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau can be usedin anothercareer. million jobs open right now. Many employers have positions they believe they can’t fill and can’t find the “right” candidates to join their team. Many of these open jobs are in sales and other areas such as advisory arena is diverse, they share certain characteristics, particularly the eagerness and overwhelming drive to make the opportunity their own and create a business for themselves. are easily adapted to new organizations and industries. While many employers are having a toughtimefinding “qualified” candidates to fill open jobs, the insurance industryis hiring, targeting efforts at career changers. For example, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) expects to increase its sales force by 5 percent, adding well-developed interpersonalskills, of Labor Statistics, there are 3.4 human resources, where skill sets over 800 new members to its national distribution team in 80 agencies across the U.S. The company has seen that life insurance industry experienceis not the only desirable background in this rapidly changing economic time and hopes to fill many of those positions with candidates from other walksoflife. While the pool of people who succeed in making the shift into the life insurance and financial Manyskills are transferable and Diverse business experience, a keen interest in financial success, a passionfor lifelong learning, and professional training are important transferable skills for people most likely to thrive in the financial services environment. Some 65 percent of the company’s representatives are career changers. Career changers tend to offer many great qualities: maturity, good judgment, professional comportment, knowledge of business etiquette, and experience. In addition, career changers are often self-starters, and while they mayneed training to assumetheir new responsibilities, they do not need an inordinate amount of hand-holding. For many companies, hiring the “right stuff? means welcoming career changers. For more information, visit www.GuardianLife.com.
