For years the military has utilized a battery of aptitude tests that actually do a fairly good job of discerning skill sets. Why aren't these tests available to taxpayers?
Peterof CA8:49PM February 14, 2010
Shell, you're absolutely right. Having someone to help guide you through can have a significant impact (witnessing that impact is a big part of what I love about my own coaching practice). That said, not everyone is in a place where they are ready or able to engage a coach. So the more they can develop a habit of self-inquiry and learn to be their own coach, the better off they will be.
Bill, thanks for chiming in. You bring up an excellent question. I can't say that it sounds like you did anything wrong that led you down the path to a bad situation. It sounds like you just wound up on the receiving end of some less-than-preferable changes. And that, for better or worse, is all part of the game.
It would be nice to say that we can pick a path and we'll be on track for life, but often things don't seem to work that way. No path is guaranteed. I think one of the best skills people can develop is an ability to surf their changing reality.
In your situation, for example, that surfing might have looked like acknowledging earlier that the situation wasn't tolerable and resolving to make a change. Maybe it would have involved saying, "OK, why was this my dream job? What are the characteristics I had here that I want to carry forward? What else is out there that might allow me to experience that?"
As the saying goes, change is the only constant. Part of staying energized and inspired on our career paths involves recognizing those changes and surfing to adjust to them, aligning ourselves with new directions and opportunities.
Curt Rosengrenof WA1:54PM February 13, 2010
After spending more than 40 years in the work force, I have found that few people end up with the job they originally aimed for. I have found that changes in managers or unhappiness with your manager can affect your future. And these changes are beyond your control. With a degree in Journalism, I began my career as a newspaper reporter. Discovering that my top paycheck would be abouts $100 a week, I quit and joined a large advertising agency in Chicago. When we lost a client I was forced to find a job in the sales promotion department of a large manufacturing company. This was my dream job. But my boss quit and I was forced to work for a man that even Mother Theresa would not tolerate. By now I was over 40 and choices were definitely limited. I stuck it out for another 5 years but my original dream job had deteriorated into a "hate to go to work every morning." What did I do wrong?
Bill Johnsonof CA11:41PM February 11, 2010
OK, at the risk of sounding arrogant and self-serving, as a career path counselor or person who helps folks do all of the above and found her passion doing this work, I'm going to say this: I fully agree with everything you wrote and espouse them on a daily basis. However, navigating one's career is sometimes better done with a professional -After all, choosing one's career is one of life's biggest decisions, challenges (for most, not all folks - say the 50 percent you mentioned) and something that takes up the better part of one's day for a good part of one's life. Just as there are thousands of self-help books that tell you step by step how to think and act in a way that is mentally, physically and emotionally healthy, using a book or a step by step approach without a professional to discuss the gray areas that come up throughout this process of asking all these questions and writing them down can be daunting. After all, we'd all be incredibly healthy in every area of our lives if we read a small percentage of the books and written advice out there and actually did something about it. Those of us in the profession who are reading this understand this simple truth. There is no substitute for one on one or small group support that provides the structure, the accountability and the human response to those gray areas that often mean the difference between making a real career path choice and sticking with it, or falling off the wagon only to return to the real daily grind. The investment is never as much as ongoing therapy - or even close. But the results can be life-changing and very results-oriented.
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Peter of CA 8:49PM February 14, 2010
Curt Rosengren of WA 1:54PM February 13, 2010
Bill Johnson of CA 11:41PM February 11, 2010
Shell Mendelson of TX 4:09PM February 11, 2010