Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Know yourself, know your career

I'm currently at the beginning of the job hunt process. Although I don't have an indefinite time to discover the perfect career for myself, I'm definitely approaching this go at it differently than in the past. R lent me a book called What Color is Your Parachute? which apart from giving good general job search advice, gives good career and self-assessment advice. There is a great focus on knowing yourself and your skills before approaching potential employers. For example, how would you answer the question "Who Am I?" if asked to write down ten answers then prioritize them? In discussing the book and its ideas with other people, one person observed that some companies work like football teams with one quarterback dictating plays whereas other are like soccer teams where people contribute more equally in generating plays. Do you enjoy soccer or football and does this match your work environment? Are you happy there? That could be a reason why (for either a 'yes' or 'no'). It's interesting to note that my previous supervisor played and loves football whereas I prefer and still play soccer. ; )