The Daily Balance

We have our first ‘hearty’ question! YAY!

Hi Shannon,

I have recently been introduced to your blog and have really enjoyed it. I have recently been laid off from my job and am at a kind of crossroads, my company has offered to hire me back on in August (when my position regains funding – weird budget sched.) and as much as I loved it, I am not sure that I want to keep on the same path.

I graduated with a degree in Comm. Studies focusing on gender studies and worked for a sustainable living community resource guide for a year. It turned out to be a lot of sales (which I really hated) and the owners were not all that nice. Toward the end of that year I got married to a wonderful guy and realized that I wanted to start our married life with a job I didn’t hate, so one day my supervisor was being quite rude to me over the phone and I informed her I had some thinking to do and didn’t appreciate the way I was being treated. I sent my resignation letter the next morning (after a lot of tears and a glasses of wine:)), sans new job. My husband and I took a month and traveled to N. Wisconsin (his parents cabin) and Illinois to hang out with his family. When we got back I found my next job which I loved, and was there almost a year. I was the Rebate Administrator for the city we live in where I worked with the elderly, disabled, and low-income population. I really enjoy helping people and I can start working the same job in August again but I am not sure I want to take the easy road… I am a runner, gardener (as much as I can in our apt.), a local foodie, and all around health nut! I just felt like some insightful questions, like the ones you wrote, could really help me identify what steps to take next.

– Confused in Colorado

Read my answer to ‘Confused’ after the jump!

Confused,

You certainly have a lot going on right now! It sounds like you have many interests, which is great! It give us many opportunities to explore. However, keep in mind that just because you enjoy doing something as a hobby, doesn’t mean you’ll actually like the behind the scenes work that a job centered around that hobby might entail…

I personally think it’s easier if people were to just STOP thinking about job titles. Try not to think of how you fit into the perfect job. Instead, focus more on YOU and see what job best fits your dreams, lifestyle and overall mission in life.

First of al,l I would recommend reading the book, “What Color is your Parachute,” by Richard Nelson Bolles. It is a FANTASTIC book for anyone at a crossroads in their life, personally or professionally.

So #1, read the book.

In the meantime, I can help facilitate a few key exercises that will help guide your thinking and get those gears turning.

First of all, have you ever taken a career test? YIKES- I know that word ‘test’ is scary! But they actually can be quite helpful and provide a context with which to discuss and examine your career.

I recommend taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and the Myers-Briggs (MBTI).

Now, I want to make something very clear. no test can measure YOU. It simply describes what group you belong in, much like a family or club. Yes, you’ll have many things in common with the group, but a few things will stick out as traits that you do not possess or typically go against. That’s OK, for the most part, you will fit in to the group you are placed in.

Instead of trying to articulate exactly what it is you want to do, I find the most helpful excercise to be drawing. Simply draw the life you want for yourself. That’s right, get out your crayolas some scented markers (LOVED those!) and get to work.

Take a large piece of white paper and draw a picture of your ideal life–
Where do you live? Who is with you? What’s your house like? Where are you vacationing? Lose all sense of reality when making this list. If you could close your eyes and wake up with you ideal life, what would it look like?

What, you can’t draw? Me neither. That’s OK. Use symbols, doodles or sketches (label everything so remember what it is!)

While this exercise may seem elementary it can actually prove to be quite helpful. The reason is that it’s a ‘right-brained’ exercise which forces you to focus on your experimental self, rather than reason. Sometimes we just have to step outside of logic, which often sets up nasty barriers and limitations of achieving what we want in life.

Next you’ll want to take a look at who you are and why someone (or you) would care.

Who are you? A woman? a loving person? a health nut? a lover of the outdoors? strong-willed?

If you had to pick 10 traits to describe yourself, what would they be? Now, WHY are those things important or why should anyone care? For example, what about each of those things excites you?

Example: a loving person
what excites you about this? being emotional or vulnerable, adoration, playfulness, happiness, sharing moments with someone else, kissing, etc.

Example: health nut
what excites you about this? trying new foods, feeling great about myself, being healthy, raised self-esteem, recreation

Now are there any common denominators? Any phrases or words repeated? Common themes? GOOD! You’ve finally begun to identify some things that your job needs to give you to make you feel fulfilled, excited and effective.

Looking at these common themes and responses, what must your career include to truly excite you?

One more exercise — an approach based on intuition, or gut — often the most effective!
What are your favorite interests – if you could talk about something with someone all day, what would it be? If you have more than one, think of it this way: if you were having a conversation about those topics, where would you try and steer the conversation?

What are your favorite subjects? What excites you? What types of magazines do you pick up? What types of seminars or events seem to reel you in?

Now of the lists above, which ones fit best with your skill set? Can your pair your interests with your skills?

After you’ve completed the surveys and exercises I’ve outlined above, hopefully you have a better sense of where you think you should be headed. Or perhaps there is a job you always thought you’d like? (you mentioned nutrition and wellness) Do you know anyone in that profession? If not, contact a company you’d be interested in and ask for an informational interview. Just let them know you are re-evaluating your career and that you’d like to learn more about their job and industry. People LOVE talking about themselves, so it shouldn’t be hard to make a meeting with someone. When you get them, ask them questions such as:

How did you get into this job and why did it intrigue you?
What do you like best about it?
What do you like least?
What would you say are the top three traits someone with this job should have?
How do I get into this type of career and is there a demand right now for this type of work?
What do you suggest I do to learn more about this career?

I think one of the best questions to ask yourself in self-evaluation and job discovery is: How do you want people to remember you?

Want to make an impact, cause a change?
Want to be known as a master in something?
Want to be remembered as a great listener?
Someone who brought beauty to the world? (think gardener, painting, designing, etc.)
Someone who was in the spotlight?
Want to be remembered for your leadership?

How do you want people to remember you? What types of words would you be proud to hear tied to your name?

But the job isn’t everything. You also mentioned how much the people you worked with RUINED your first job. Keep in mind that even if you have you DREAM job, that can be completely moot if you are working with someone who makes your life miserable.

Complete the sentences below to explore your preferences related to your work environment.

I prefer an organizational culture which…

I prefer a manager who is…

I prefer coworkers who are…

I work best in an environment that is…

My ideal work setting would be…

When your looking at potential places of employment, be sure to consider these questions…

And finally, ask yourself: when you were little, what did you want to be “when you grow up”?

OK, so maybe you wanted to be a ballerina. While that might not be a realistic career right now, there was a reason you were drawn to that as a child, Did you like expressing yourself creatively? Maybe you liked being seen as graceful and confident? See where I’m going with this?

Now, has that changed and why?

Oh my goodness, as you can see I can go on and on and on about this for hours! I’m making myself stop. I think I’ve given you a great start. Like I said, I would really recommend picking up some additional reading, such as the book I suggested. I think it’s really important to remember that we are all on this journey. You might have your dream job now, but things change and priorities shift. What may sound ike a great job may throw your work-life balance out of whcak! It’s all about evaluating priorities, staying true to yourself and your interests. We never have it all figured out, and as soon as we think we do, life normally thros us a curveball. As long as we stay true to ourselves, embrace our interests and strengths and surround ourselves with people we love, we can’t be too far off — right?

Where are all of you on your career journey? Are you doing what you thought you would? Do you work just to have a job and focus your passions and skills on your hobbies? Are you on the oath you envisioned?

What road are you on? (image credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/)

Tags: inspiration, self-evaluation

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 9:45 am and is filed under Solve It. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.