The best career advice I can offer is to always think about the long-term. When planning your career, its usually best to think about the long-term outcome rather than focusing on a short-term gain.

Also, when it comes to career advice, always consider the source. There is far too much career information available that comes from people who dont know what they are talking about. Look out for people who are advising you about the hottest jobs of the year and other here-today-gone-tomorrow advice that focuses on the short-term and simply reflects their opinion, not fact.

Here are ten rules to live by when planning your career:

1. I will constantly update my resume so that I am always ready to apply for a job when it arises.

2. I wont change jobs simply for more money. If I wanted more money Id ask for a raise.

3. I will take the advice of others with a grain of salt and always remember that its my career not theirs.

4. I will always try to keep learning and will constantly look for opportunities to improve my skills.

5. I will always remember the importance of a good work life balance.

6. I will take control of my career and any job search I undertake and will not rely on other people to do it for me.

7. I will not allow other people to waste my time sitting at my desk talking to me when they have nothing better to do or by making me attend meaningless meetings.

8. I will learn how to say no when people try to get me to do their work for them.

9. I will always properly prepare for interviews well in advance and will not just show up and wing it.

10. I understand that while jobs are usually won and lost during the interview stage, the reference checking stage is not a moot point and that there is such thing as a bad reference. I will always properly manage my references and will ensure they know what jobs Im applying for before using them as references.

Carl Mueller

My name is Carl Mueller and I'd like to thank you for learning a bit more about me!

I feel that I have numerous relevant experiences during my career that come in useful when helping people with their careers:

I know what it’s like to work internationally, having worked overseas (in New Zealand, from 1994-1998).

I've survived several corporate downsizings while many of my colleagues were being laid off.

I have also experienced being laid off twice myself during corporate downsizings.

I know what it’s like to be self-employed.

I've helped many people find better jobs. I started to work as a professional recruiter in 2000 first as an Information Technology (IT) recruiter and then in general recruitment across many industries including IT, manufacturing and marketing. Since this time, I have helped many people find their dream career and it’s a great feeling.

I experienced one of the slowest hiring periods in recent memory especially during the general hiring slowdown that followed the Y2K frenzy in 1999, the bursting of the dot com bubble in early 2000, and then the employment market bottoming out following September 11, 2001.

These were certainly not great times to be a job searcher in most industries nor was it a particularly good time to be a recruiter.

Following this, I began running the day to day operations of an Internet-based company in early 2003 that focused on developing online software and subscription-based websites for consumers. It was then that I fully realized the power, usefulness and potential of the Internet which really spurred me to set up my own website which you can view in my Personal URL section below this bio.

I’m also a Platinum Ezine Articles Expert as recognized by EzineArticles.com, one of the most visited websites on the Internet. This special designation is earned by having consistently high-quality articles published and viewed on their website. All of my submissions are related to helping you find your dream career and many of my articles get reproduced on other websites by their webmasters.

Good luck with your career and I hope I have been of assistance to you!