20 July 2011
If landing a new job is on your resolution list, I’m encouraging you to scratch it off. Most people want to change jobs for the wrong reasons-namely, to solve non-work problems. Here’s why that’s faulty thinking:
When it comes to careers, there is not a right answer.
There is not one, certain kind of job that is right for you. There are lots of jobs that are a good fit for your personality, and it’s likely that you are doing one of those jobs already. The problem is that many people think they should be doing something else with their life - people often have an idea of who they should be that is different than who they are. And this is what makes people think they should change careers.
My favorite career guide is Do What Your Are, by Paul Tieger. Tieger is a psychologist who specializes in matching people’s personalities with jobs. He says you should spend the effort figuring out who you really are and what drives you so that you can land a job that let’s you use your strengths. This book taught me that every job is fulfilling to someone; it’s just a matter of proper matching. And what makes a job fulfilling is not about the company you’re at, or the perceived quality of your career path.
I bet you are thinking, “Well, some jobs are definitely bad: coal mining would be too much for me.” That might be true, but the same is true with being a lawyer: Both jobs totally suck. The reason is that you need only three things to make any job good:
- Control over your work environment
- Control over your workload
- Challenging goals you can meet
Article sourced from BNET. You can read the rest of the article here. You can also do your own personality type test at personalitytype.com.