Choosing a career is one of the hardest and most far reaching decisions a person can make in his or her life. Your career decision would affect how much money you'll make, who your friends will be, what you will study and about everything else in your life.

Although a career decision is not set in stone and people do change their career in their mid-life there is always a cost involved. The later you change the decision the larger the cost would be. This cost would include the money and time spent on training and education as well as loss of the experience you have gained till that point. It is much better to select the right career path from the beginning and as early in life as possible.

But before you select a career option you must know about the options you have considering the particular advantages and disadvantages. This is where the career advice comes in. Proper career advice is essential for choosing the right career as this provides you with information about how to achieve your desired career objective. Let's look at the various stages of career and the importance of career advice in each of them.

• Choosing a Career Line
  A career line or path is different from a particular job profile. It is much more general. For example information technology, media or computers lines in which a career can be made. Each of them would have several kinds of job related to them. Before you select a particular job profile for your career you should decide which field you want to work in. This should be based on your own interest and inclination. The importance of career advice in this stage is minimal as there are great jobs in most fields.
• Selecting a Career Profile
  After selecting a particular line or field you must select a career profile. Searching through career profiles would give you some idea about what kind of jobs are available in your chosen field, what are the required skills and qualifications, what will you need to study etc. Proper carrier advice is very important in this phase as it's unlikely that you can learn all the specifics of different career profiles that you'll need to make and also inform the decision by yourself.
• Career Planning
  Once you have selected a career profile it's time for career planning. In a way career planning is an oxymoron. There is little chance that you will or even can plan your whole career and even if you did, it is unlike that everything will go as you have planned. What you can and should do is to keep your eventual goal in site and plan next two or three steps. Career advice is very important in this phase as you can see only a little ahead of you in this phase. For an example you would not have a good idea of what exactly is involved in being a database administrator and what its required qualifications and experiences are while you are in college. Hence, to effectively plan your career, career advice is essential in this stage.
• Finding a Job
  Once you have decided on a career profile and have done some planning there comes the hard part, which is actually finding a job. Career advice can be help you in finding the right job and the company which is ideal for your long and short term goals as well as build your resume and prepare for and face the various tests and interviews involved in the job selection process.
• Job Change
  It is very unlikely that your first job will be your last one. A time will come when you outgrow your existing job and your career would be better advanced by changing the job. The job change can be within the company or to a different company. In any event this would be a major decision with significant and long lasting impact. Career advice can help you determine when you need a change of job and what should you do next. As one wrong decision can have severe negative impacts on your career, the importance of career advice in case of job changing can not be denied.
• Career Change
  Career change is much more drastic and major change than a simple job change. This should be avoided as far as possible. But if it seems that the career path, on which you are at present, is not the right one for you or you'll be better doing something else; it would be better to change it sooner rather than later. Career advice can be of importance to you by helping you decide if you indeed need a change in career and what new path you should follow.

Overall we see that the career advice is important and can be helpful in all the stages of a person's career. Without proper career advice a person is unlikely to make well informed decisions. In today's dynamic world where new opportunities and threats are constantly appearing, it's very hard to keep track of all the options a person has. This increases the importance of career advice more than ever.

Also, consider and remember the following tips those may be added in your career building planning:

Achieve a Promotion

What can you do if you're interested in a promotion and it doesn't appear that you're going to be automatically offered a new position by your manager? There are ways to request a promotion diplomatically and to enhance your candidacy for promotion. Here's how to request a promotion.

How to Request a Promotion

Talk to Your Manager. During your performance review or during a meeting with your boss, ask about opportunities for advancement. Mention you are seeking career growth for the future, but be sure to note that you enjoy your current position, so there are no hard feelings, regarding you moving on. Ask your supervisor if he or she can help with opportunities for promotion.

Check Open Job Listings. Most large companies and many smaller companies list job openings on the company website. Some positions may be open to internal candidates prior to being available for external applicants, so you'll have a jump on the competition. Check regularly for new listings and apply for jobs that are a good fit for your background and experience.

Follow the Application Process.Promotions may be handled through the company's standard hiring process. Which means you may have to apply for a promotion and compete with other applicants for the job. Don't presume that the hiring manager or department manager reviewing your qualifications will know your background. Take the time to update your resume and to write a targeted cover letter for the job you are interested in. Follow the application process, if there is a formal procedure for applying for internal job postings.

Request References. Ask your supervisor and other managers you've worked with for a letter of recommendation. References, especially from high level staff, carry a lot of weight. Here's a sample letter of recommendation for a promotion to review.

Send a Thank You Note.Send a thank you note or thank you email message to everyone you interviewed with reiterating your interest in the position.

Job Promotion Cover Letter

When you're being considered for a job promotion, you may need to write a cover letter to officially apply for the new position. A job promotion cover letter should clearly explain why you are qualified for the position and should review the experience you have with the company.

Don't presume that the hiring manager or department manager reviewing your qualifications will know your background. That's especially true when applying for a promotion at a large company.

Sample Job Promotion Cover Letter

Dear Mr. or Ms. Last Name or Sir/Madam,

I would like to formally apply for the Assistant Communications Manager position in the Corporate Communications Department. As you are aware, I have extensive experience with the company starting when I participated the summer editorial intern program while I was in college.

Since then I have held positions in the both the Human Resources and Marketing departments. During my tenure I have developed exceptional writing and editing skills, and have designed and implemented communications strategies on a departmental level.

I have a demonstrated ability to work collegially with leaders across business units and lines of business. In addition, I have been responsible for benefits communications, employee relations, as well as liaisoning with the company's clients and vendors.

These are just a few examples of my accomplishments,. I hope that you will find that this brief view, in combination with the attached resume, describe a dedicated employee of ABCD with the experience and skills to meet or exceed the requirements of the position of Assistant Communications Manager.

I appreciate your consideration and looking forward to discussing this opportunity for promotion with you at your convenience.

Best Regards,

Your Name

The Power CV

Tips and tools to creating a winning CV that will get you noticed. Your CV is your gateway to the universe of career opportunities and investing in the right focus, structure, phrasing and syntax at this early stage of the job search process will reap tremendous rewards in opening doors to the next critical stage: the Interview. Below we have identified some of the key factors that differentiate a successful CV from those that never make it through the search.

Focused

A good CV shows clarity of vision. The jobseeker knows what it is they are looking for and has clearly highlighted what attributes/ skills/ experience they have that will enable them to succeed in that direction. You will win the interview primarily on the strength of your skills/experience and their direct relevance to the job at hand. Vague/ fuzzy statements in the Title, Objectives or Experience sections will detract from the impact of your CV and raise questions rather than opening doors.

Truthful

To avoid embarrassment, you should be as factual and accurate as possible. Omit details that don't make you look good at the CV stage (eg. a less than attractive GPA or the fact that you were terminated from a job) but do not present facts that cannot be substantiated. Do highlight your areas of strength in the best possible light (hobbies/ interests/ skills can be embellished); however, do not provide glaring misrepresentations.

Professional

The structure of the CV is critical and a sound CV follows these simple guidelines.

• Clearly defined and catchy objective that makes an employer want to read more.
• Work experience arranged in chronological order to clearly show career progression with strongest and most recent positions getting the most attention. Job descriptions should be concise and impressive using strong action verbs and data to support claims wherever possible.
• Education and Qualifications should be organized to maximize impact and relevance. Wherever possible they should show a commitment to career development eg. Ongoing courses, seminars, workshops related to job.
• Achievements and affiliations (eg. Active Member of Bangladesh Entrepreneur’s Association, General Secretary of University Cultural & Sports Association etc.) This area is particularly important for fresh graduates who do not have a lot of direct job experience.
• Use short sentences and bullet points wherever appropriate.
• Every Resume should begin with clear and concise objective citing the position you are seeking and a supporting short skills statement summarizing the reason you are highly qualified for this role.

See more information in ‘Resume Writing Tips’