Often when it comes to our career we are some of the worst salesman of our abilities and skills.  We sell ourselves short in our abilities come review time, or accept less than we are worth out of fear that they will find someone else.  Instead of building ourselves up and selling ourselves for maximum value we accept what is given to us and end up doing twice the work for half the pay.

One of the most important places you can ever sell yourself is during the interview process for a new job.  It is during this process that you should make an effort to build up yourself and sell your skills to the potential employer by making them feel that if they hire anyone else but you they are going to be losing out on an amazing talent.  Here are a few tips you can use during your next interview to make the interviewer think WOW!

Dress for success.  Clothes make the man (or woman) and you should dress as if you were interviewing for the CEO position.

Research the company and know the background of it.  During the interview show that you have done your homework by asking questions or making comments about a recent press release or company announcement.

Ask questions.  Most interviewees just answer the questions they are presented and never speak up.  Show the interviewer you are truly interested in the company and the job by asking questions relating to the company, your potential job and company culture.

Bring samples of your work.  Whether you are an artist or a computer programmer bring a sample portfolio of your past work and share it with the interviewer.  Remember, a picture (or document) can speak a million words.

Be ahead of schedule.  Remember the golden rule; it is better to be 3 hours early than 3 minutes late.  No one is going to hire someone who can’t make it to the interview on time.

Follow-up.  Don’t sit around waiting for a letter or a call.  Send a follow-up letter immediately expressing your interest in the job and if you haven’t heard back within a week pick up the phone and call.  What do you have to lose?

Opportunity is high at sea for those seeking employment, and there are a number of reasons for this.

With the expansion of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), the MSP fleet is growing from 47 to 60 ships. There is also growth in the U.S.-flag cruise ship industry. Because there are so many different types of vessels, there is a range of choices that is unmatched. That means as employees working under contracts between maritime companies and the Seafarers International Union, merchant mariners have the opportunity to sail on a wide variety of vessels, including deep-sea cargo vessels and military support ships, where mariners continue to support U.S. troops in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Also in the opportunity mix are Great Lakes vessels, cable ships, tugboats and passenger ferries.

The place for many American men and women who set their sights on setting sail is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The state-of-the-art school, affiliated with the Seafarers International Union, offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation-from entry level to license preparation to academic support.

In addition to academic support, the school offers GED and college degree programs. In fact, many of the maritime classes can be used for college credits.

Since its opening in 1967, approximately 145,000 students have trained there. The apprentice program blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. It consists of three phases, including 90 days aboard a U.S.-flag ship. That particular phase has helped boost the industry’s retention rate-approximately 75 percent of students who complete the entire program are still sailing four years later.

At any given time there are 100 trainees at the school-some in Phase 1, others in Phase 3 (Phase 2 is at sea).

Based in Piney Point, Md., the school’s training tools include bridge and engine simulators, the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and a culinary lab.

Career Myth #1: You can’t make a living doing something you really, truly love

This is the grand-daddy of career myths, the belief that you can’t have a “practical” career doing something that you were passionate about. It has to be one or the other.

This myth is rooted in fear. Fear that we have to sacrifice our happiness to make a living. Don’t buy the myth that you can’t earn a living by doing what you love.

When I first started coaching, I heard from plenty of people that it would be very difficult to make a living doing this work. I just decided to find coaches who were successful, and to learn from them (simple, eh?).

If you find yourself buying into this myth, consider this question - As you look back on your life, what will you regret more? Following your passion or following your fears?

Career Myth #2: It’s a tough job market/economy

Even when the newspapers and other news sources say that unemployment numbers remain steady, that job growth is at a standstill, or that we’re experiencing slow economic recovery, not to mention downsizing and outsourcing, don’t believe it.

It’s a myth because it doesn’t reflect the whole story, the fact that that it’s a different job market today. It’s a changing economy. How we transition from job-to-job is different. Hiring practices have shifted. So the job market has changed, but that doesn’t necessarily make it tougher. What makes it tougher is that we’ve been slower to change. We’ve held on to old practices and old behaviors. That’s not to say that old ways still don’t work, but they’re just not as effective.

So I challenge you to just believe that it’s a perfect job market for you to find work. I’ve had my college students try this, just for a week, and, more times than not, several of them find job leads or make important connections during the week.

Career Myth #3: Changing careers is risky

What’s riskier than leaving what you know to pursue the unknown? Changing careers means leaving behind a piece of your identity - your “I’m a lawyer” response to the “what-do-you-do?” question. It might mean admitting to yourself that you made a mistake with an initial career choice. Or it might mean acknowledging that you’re unsure of what’s next. And smart people always know what’s next, right?

Nope. Successful career changers often don’t have a plan. In Working Identity: How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality by Herminia Ibarra, she provided evidence that waiting until you have a plan is actually riskier than just doing and experimenting.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, is riskier than not changing careers if you’re longing to do so. Here’s why: The longing won’t go away. It will always be there, under the surface, waiting for you to do something about it.

Career Myth #4: Always have a back-up plan

Sometimes having a back-up plan is the smart and prudent course of action. Back-up plans are so grown-up and responsible. But what happens when you’re standing with one foot in and one foot out? In my experience, we usually close the door and retreat. We are reluctant to commit to ourselves, and we end up denying ourselves the satisfaction of playing full-out, getting dirty and sweaty. We end up with feelings of regret and the nagging “What if?” question.

Back-up plans diffuse our energy. Diffused energy equals diffused results. Give all that you’ve got to your dream/passion/risk and you’ve got a better chance of being successful.

Career Myth #5: There’s a perfect job out there for everyone

How long have you been searching for yours? You just know, deep inside, that there’s an ideal job that’s perfect for you out there. It matches your personality, skills, and interests to a tee. And it pays well. If only you could figure it out. If only you knew what it was.

Is there a perfect job out there for you? No. And here’s the good news - there are more jobs than you can imagine that would be “perfect” for you. Chances are you’ve even come very, very close to a few of those perfect jobs already. So what happened? And how do you recognize one of these so-called “perfect jobs”?

Ever see the perfect gift for someone, but it was months till his or her birthday? Then when you go to find the item later, you can’t. Another lost opportunity and you, once again, berate yourself for not buying it when you first saw it.

So maybe you’ve run into a perfect job in the past, but because of the timing, you passed by the opportunity. Or maybe you were so focused on something else, that you missed an obvious clue. Instead of dwelling on the past, which you can’t change, vow to keep your eyes open and to look beyond the obvious.

Career Myth #6: Asking “What’s the best thing for me to do?” is the right question

This is one of the most common questions asked when considering a career change or a career move. It seems like a logical analysis - weigh the pros and cons and evaluate the balance.

Do not ask yourself this question!! It rarely leads you to the answers you’re seeking. It will lead you to feeling overwhelmed with options (sound familiar?), or feeling like you have to choose what’s practical over what seems to be impractical.

The question that will lead you to answers is simple (but not easy!!) It is “What do I really want to do?” This is a very different question than “what’s best?”

Career Myth #7: If you don’t like your job, you’re probably in the wrong career

Cause and effect, right? One way to tell if you’re in the right career is whether or not you like your job. If you’re dissatisfied with your job, it’s probably a sign that you need to re-examine your whole career choice. This is frequently what I hear from new clients who have decided to work with a career coach. They know something isn’t right because they don’t like their jobs. Their natural assumption is that their dissatisfaction is a symptom of a larger underlying issue - their career choice.

This is an example of false logic. Not liking your job might be telling you you’re in the wrong job. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the wrong career. It doesn’t even mean you’re in the wrong job. You could just be working for the wrong person or the wrong company. It takes a skillful approach to discern the source of discontent, and I think it’s very hard to do it on your own (shameless plug for career coaches here!)

Career Myth #8: Everyone needs a mission statement

Do you know what your mission is? Mission statements are supposed to guide us, keep us on track, and help us move forward. But what if you don’t have one? Does that mean you’re destined to never fulfill your potential career-wise?

A client who was a successful professional contacted me because she was at a career crossroads. She felt that if only she could find her mission in life, she would know which career path to take.

She had a clear goal for coaching - find her mission! Instead, the most amazing thing happened. She decided that she didn’t need a mission. She chose to trust that she was already fulfilling her mission statement, even though she didn’t know what it was. After the client shifted her focus from finding her mission to living her life, an amazing opportunity came her way and she pursued it.

Here’s a little tip: If your mission statement is elusive, stop chasing it. Be still and let it find you. And in the meantime, keep living your life and see what happens.

Career Myth #9: Expect a career epiphany

When you see a link to “Find Your Dream Job,” do you immediately click on it to see what’s there? Do you look at every “Top Ten Career” list out there to see if anything catches your interest? Do you know your MBTI type? If you do, you might be falling prey to the career epiphany myth.

I’d love, love, love it if most of my clients had a career epiphany that indicated to them, in crystal-clear terms, their next step. Instead, I see career “unfoldings” or a journey of discovery much more regularly. That is, being willing to not ignore the obvious, the pokes, the prods, and listen carefully to the whisper within. Yep, forget harp music and angels, for most of us, the career epiphany is a quiet whisper.

Career Myth #10: Ignoring your career dissatisfaction will make it go away

Oh, if only this worked in the long run!! Granted, it does work at first. When you find yourself beginning to question your career, you’ll find it’s rather easy to push the thoughts aside and pretend they aren’t there. You know what I’m talking about: the “what ifs” and the list of regrets.

Over time, the random thoughts become nagging thoughts. You spend more and more time daydreaming about options. You build your list of reasons to ignore your growing career dissatisfaction:

• You’re too old.
• You don’t want to take a pay cut.
• You don’t want to go back to school.
• You missed your opportunity 5, 10, 15 years ago.

With clients in this situation, we work on identifying and challenging these fears. Sometimes the fear of change remains, but there becomes a greater commitment to living than to feeling the fear.

Challenge

So now that you know that one or all of these myths have been holding you back, what are you waiting for?

Unfortunately, high hopes and large amounts of time, energy and commitment — valuable though they may be — do not ensure the success of an entrepreneurial venture. In fact, research indicates that about 60 percent of all businesses fail within the first two years. Much depends on the individual’s “entrepreneurial profile,” and one of the best ways to discover this is by doing a self-assessment.

Over the years, working with some 4,000 Virtual Assistants and Virtual Professionals in 65+ countries and being entrepreneurs ourselves, we’ve developed a good practical sense of the traits that successful entrepreneurs share. We used this background in designing the application process for our Portable Career & Virtual Assistant Training Program for Military Spouses™, and it has helped substantially in identifying candidates with the greatest likelihood of success both in training and afterward, as they launch and grow their virtual businesses.

The following Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment is adapted from the online application form for our Virtual Assistant training program. This series of 13 questions is one of the tools we use to see if an applicant has characteristics commonly found in successful business owners.

Without peeking at the score key, write down the choice that most closely describes you.

01. Are you a self-starter?
A. I often need help to get a job going.
B. I have the ability to decide what needs to get done and get it going quickly.
C. I wait until the last minute to start a project because I work better under deadlines.

02. Why do you want to start your own business?
A. I’m tired of the people I work with.
B. I want the freedom to manage my own business.
C. I want to get rich quickly.

03. How do you feel about other people?
A. Most people irritate me and make my job more difficult.
B. I like people and get along with just about anybody.
C. I like to have a small circle of friends and acquaintances. It makes things simple.

04. How do you manage projects?
A. I take care of everything myself to make sure it’s right.
B. I delegate as much as possible and let people execute tasks with little supervision.
C. I delegate and jump in to help every chance I get.

05. Can you lead others?
A. I have to push hard, but can make people perform.
B. I don’t have to do much to get people moving.
C. I usually let someone else get things moving.

06. Will you have family support?
A. My family will complain if I have less free time.
B. My family is likely to know that I am trying to plan for our future and will understand long hours.
C. My family will likely want to get involved with my work and help in any way possible.

07. Can you take responsibility?
A. I’ll take over if I have to, but I’d rather let someone else be responsible.
B. I let people who are more outgoing or eager than me take the lead.
C. I like to take charge of and see things through.

08. How are your organizational skills?
A. I like to have a plan before I start.
B. I often have trouble setting priorities.
C. I have trouble juggling many types of responsibility.

09. Can you “stick with it”?
A. I don’t let anything stop me from pursuing my goals, even if it means sacrificing other activities or projects.
B. If a plan isn’t going as expected, I don’t waste any more time on it.
C. I put in as much time as necessary to make a project successful, while balancing it with other priorities, and don’t stop until it’s done.

10. What expectations do you have for your work schedule?
A. I’d like to have more free time in my new business.
B. When someone starts their own business, they’re always on the clock.
C. I plan to work hard, but want to limit the amount of time I spend on the business.

11. Can you make decisions effectively?
A. I need plenty of time to make a decision, or I regret it.
B. I am a fast thinker and usually make an acceptable decision.
C. I usually let other people make decisions because I’m afraid of being wrong.

12. Can people trust what you say?
A. Sometimes I just say what people want to hear.
B. My word is as good as gold.
C. All’s fair in business, right? I say what I have to

13. When I am in an unfamiliar place with new people, I usually
A. Sit back and observe other people.
B. Talk to many people about myself and my business.
C. Ask many questions to get to know new people.

Scoring your responses:
A number value (in parenthesis) has been assigned to each of the possible responses to the 13 questions. Simply write the corresponding number next to the letter you selected for each question.

01. A (3), B (8), C (5)
02. A (2), B (8), C (4)
03. A (2), B (8), C (5)
04. A (1), B (8), C (6)
05. A (5), B (8), C (4)
06. A (2), B (6), C (7)
07. A (2), B (5), C (8)
08. A (7), B (3), C (4)
09. A (5), B (2), C (7)
10. A (1), B (7), C (5)
11. A (4), B (8), C (2)
12. A (4), B (8), C (1)
13. A (1), B (4), C (8)

What your score means:

42 or less
If you scored 42 or less, it’s unlikely you possess the characteristics necessary to be successful in running your own business.

43 to 54
While a score between 43 and 54 indicates you exhibit some of the core characteristics necessary to succeed in running your own business, you are likely to find many difficulties in self-employment and could often feel obliged to “act out of character” to succeed.

55 to 65
Achieving a score between 55 and 65 indicates you possess good entrepreneurial traits and should have a very good chance of being a successful entrepreneur.

66 or higher
Achieving a score of 66 or higher indicates you possess top-notch entrepreneurial characteristics and should have an excellent chance of success in your own small business.

Of course, successful people come in many shapes and forms, and there is no “one size fits all” assessment tool for entrepreneurship. Although this self-evaluation should help you better understand the mindset and character traits of successful entrepreneurs, and how you “stack up” relative to that group, in the end it will be your own unique personality and circumstances that will determine your own unique future.

Government career outlook predictions aren’t developed yet for the Virtual Assistance industry, whether that’s because it’s a relatively new field or because the tasks done by VAs are as varied as the VAs themselves remains to be seen. One has to examine similar fields and skill-sets to see how VAs will fare in the years to come. By looking at these similar fields, you can see that the growth outlook for Virtual Assistance is above average.  The question of “Will this job still be around in 20 years?” can be answered by looking at the services that a specific VA is offering and closely-related “traditional” employment fields.

The most important thing to remember, though, is to keep current with technology and software that can progress your business. If you only know outdated technology, then you and your business are outdated and your clients may go elsewhere for service. Keep adding to your services and learn everything you can about your niche market and what they currently need.

With many businesses restructuring and downsizing (getting rid of middle managers), companies are utilizing more and more secretarial and administrative support staff to take over those duties. If you offer administrative support as a VA, and market yourself as an off-site solution to those downsizing companies, your “job security” looks pretty good. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you will have competition from on-site employees for these positions.

If you offer more specialized services than administrative support, you have different chances for sustaining an ongoing career. Here are two examples:

If you offer Public Relations (PR)services, your occupational outlook is rosy. With so many different types of organizations — such as businesses, nonprofits, universities, hospitals and more - looking for media specialists and PR specialists to do more than just “tell their story.” Creativity, initiative, good judgment and the ability to communicate effectively are some of the skills necessary to succeed in this job. There’s lots of competition in this role, but employment/contracts for PR specialists is expected to grow faster than average, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

If you offer Desktop Publishing services, your occupational outlook is also great. Many companies are beginning to outsource these services, as opposed to having in-house staff. With experience and/or a degree in graphic design or a related field, desktop publishers have a variety of different organizations to market themselves to. VAs offer an affordable alternative to hiring a graphic design firm.

Whether you specialize in desktop publishing and graphic design or public relations or another niche specialty, it’s clear that Virtual Assistance is catching on and the VAs who are out there aren’t going anywhere. With more and more employers and companies looking to outsource projects turning to offsite personnel to fulfill these needs, the view of using “virtual” workers is changing. It’s no longer as common to hear objections such as “How do I know you’ll really be working?” when proposing using a VA to someone who never has before. Many people have heard of VAs now or know someone who uses theirs. In most cases, once someone has a VA on their team, they don’t turn back to in-house staff to fulfill those duties.

To check out similar fields’ occupational outlooks, visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006-07 edition) put out by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov.