How To Find Direction: Your Compass
Job Search Truth #1:
Until you take yourself seriously and come to grips with your skills, value, traits, and interests….the essence of who you are….you are not likely to find or create enjoyable and satisfying work.
OLD WAY ASSESSMENT
The Old Way search is predicated upon your specific past experience, job titles, degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Old Way thinkers believe they fill in the missing pieces of themselves by taking tests and profiles. These tests, profiles, and evaluations may provide you with information about yourself, you end up with more “bits and pieces” rather than an integrated and holistic picture of yourself and what you want in your world of work. Without any new understanding of skills, values, traits, and interests, you are likely to stick with what is familiar…what you’ve always done, even though you know in your heart that there are other exciting things out there for you to do.
NEW WAY ASSESSMENT
The New Way search is predicated upon all that you already know about yourself…and more. New Way thinkers know that their transferable skills will carry them into new career fields. They understand that they have many options available to them in addition to what they have done in the past. Career changers have re-combined their skills, values, and traits in new ways and marketed them into exciting new career arenas. Others found work they enjoy in their current industries. These people see themselves as dynamic and have much to offer, rather than feeling stuck in a box defined by their past work experience.
The Tough Reality: Self-assessment is the work nobody wants to do. Yet, it is critical to find satisfying work. And, all the exercises, computer print-outs, counseling, and group work in the world will not give you what you crave: THE ANSWER. You want to know now and absolutely what your next job or career should/will be. You want to know the job title. You believe you must know this before you can start your search.
It is not the purpose of assessing skills, values, traits, and interests to give you the answer. It is the purpose of self-assessment to give you clues, ideas, and information on the things (plural) that you might want to do in the future.
Tougher Reality; It is these clues, ideas, and information that form the foundation of your job/career transition. The answers (plural) about possibilities for your future come from the research process.
