In high school Gary was always in the auto shop classroom and never in the library. He was that guy.

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However, when the time came he thought he needed to go to college in order to get a good job.

He went through college hating every minute of it, wishing he could spend more time refurbishing the 1969 Chevy pickup waiting in the garage at home.

After graduating from college with a low GPA and a headache, Gary went looking for a job.

With no real direction, Gary took the first job he could get because he knew somebody who worked there and they got him the job.

Gary was pretty miserable most days. Working in a cubicle, sitting in front of a computer screen, and doing work that he was not designed to do well.

The trouble was Gary couldn’t see a way out. He thought he was on a career path for life and there were no exit doors.

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, this is an all too common way to choose the type of work we do.

For those who don’t like what they do I’ve noticed three typical factors in how they chose their work.

• They chose work that just pays the bills and didn’t think about whether or not they liked it.  
• They chose work they thought they might be good at or other people told them they were good at doing. 
• They chose work based on the kinds of work models and industries they were exposed to and were easily available to them (i.e. corporate employee, government, manufacturing, agricultural, self-employment, etc.) 

The problem is we often choose a career based on short term needs and overlook our ability to be intentional about our careers. Trust me, I know supporting ourselves and/or a family are absolutely important needs – short term or not.

However, when it’s time to make decisions about the type of work we want, we have the pressure of short term needs combined with the lack of personal insight needed to be intentional about our career.

Like Gary, we can feel stuck in a job or career path with no hope of something better. So what do we do?

If you’re in this situation I encourage you to look at your current work as a stepping stone to something greater.

The work you hate now could be planting a seed that will blossom into enjoyable work in the future.

Take this time to look inward at who you are and pay attention to what you’ve learned about yourself with your current work situation.

You may have only discovered what you don’t like, but that is part of the process of finding your passion and ultimately finding work you love.

Gary’s now working toward moving into a career he will love. He’s grown a lot and he is more sure of what he wants to do every day. And yes you guessed it, he’ll be working with cars.

Question: How do you think most people choose their careers?

[box type=”shadow”] If You Feel Like Gary Try This Exercise: 

Write down ten things you’ve learned about yourself as a result of doing the work you’re doing now? Then go through your career history and do this for each job you’ve held.

• What types of activities energized you?
• Which activities drained you?
• What is something you’re really proud of accomplishing in your work thus far?
• Was there a time when you failed in your work? What lessons did you learn from that? [/box]

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JD Hancock via Compfight

I know that may sound like a really strange question.

You might be thinking, what do you mean by “supposed to be doing?”

Most discussions about what you want to do in your career don’t revolve around this question.

Here’s what I mean.

If you ask a friend what they were supposed to be when they grew up you’ll likely get a response like:

“I was supposed to go to medical school and become a doctor.”

“My mother wanted me to be a full time stay at home mom.”

“I was supposed to go into the plumbing business with my Dad.”

“My parents didn’t care what I did as long as I made a lot of money.”

“I was supposed to get my MBA and climb the corporate ladder.”

In her book “I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was” Barbara Sher says this is an interesting question,

“Because even if you can’t figure out what you want to be doing, you probably know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing.”

The problem is we often have trouble figuring out the type of work we want to do because we’re trying to please the person who told us what we were supposed to be doing.

We are all influenced for better or worse by so many external factors.

We are each part of a family, neighborhood, community, and culture who influence us.

All of those influencers have an impact on how we shape our decisions when it comes to our careers.

Often we can’t even pinpoint who we’re trying to please, we just know there was an expectation of us to do something that fit within the mold of what it means to work where you come from.

Now let me say that not all influencers are bad. In fact, most of the people in your life were probably well intentioned. They truly wanted what was best for you.

However, their guidance likely was targeted toward things that worked for them or they thought would have been better for them.

Maybe a parent or influential adult had done well in a corporate position and they knew you could do the same even though you hate staring at a computer screen all day. Or perhaps they always wanted to be a jazz pianist but never ventured into that area so they put you in piano lessons even though your hands felt like potatoes pounding on the keys.

The key to enjoying your work is to be able to know yourself well enough to know what makes your heart sing.

Unfortunately most of the people around us aren’t tuned in to listening to us or paying attention to what we do well. I mean can you blame them? It’s hard enough to figure it out ourselves let alone for someone else.

It’s not their fault and it’s not your fault. There’s no one to blame here. It’s just the way it is.

However, it’s absolutely essential that you figure out if what you’re doing now is in alignment with who you are.

Does it bring out the best of your personality?

Does it allow you to use your greatest talents and skills?

Does it connect with what you value and what you’re passionate about?

If it doesn’t, then I’m afraid you’ve got some work to do.

But don’t be afraid of hard work. Be afraid of working at something and succeeding in something that means nothing to you. That would be the greatest travesty of all.

Question: So tell me, what were you supposed to be doing with your career?

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(Note:Some of the links in the post are affiliate links)

Ultimately, choosing a career direction comes down to one thing.

Photo Credit: hobvias sudoneighm

What do you want to do?

That’s it.

You can take all the personality assessments in the world, go through tons of exercises, and work with coaches.

However, when all is said and done you have to make a choice and move toward a goal.

You may say, “but I still don’t know what I want to do”.

That may be, however, my hunch is you actually have some ideas but you’re talking yourself out of them.

These are what Howard Figlar calls your “yes, buts”.

Yes, I’d really like to do X but you see I can’t because…

The challenge is your “yes, buts” may be very legitamate.

You may have some major obstacles in your path to doing what you love to do.

Yet at some point, you need to take your “yes, buts” out, dust them off, look at them, set them on the shelf, and make a decision to find solutions to overcome them..

Sometimes your “yes, buts” have been so scary you never wanted to look at them.

I would encourage you to not only look at them but examine them to their fullest extent.

Feel the fear.

Then start doing two things.

1) Get more information on your problem. Let’s say you want to be a dentist but you don’t know how you’ll feed your family while you spend years in dental school and not go into a mountain of debt. You’re not the first person to ever face this dilemma. Find a dentist who had the same problem but overcame it. They are out there. It may take some work, but you’ll find someone you can talk to and ask how they did it. This goes for pretty much every type of career and situation you can think of.

2) Create solutions and implement them. In the previous example you may have found someone who was in the exact same position you are in now. You may discover there are certain dental schools where you can go part-time while you work or schools that offer financial assistance. Maybe you’ll need to move to a cheaper place to live for a time. Maybe you’ll decide to save up for dental school and go in 5 years. I don’t know.

It really boils down to asking yourself how bad you want something, what creative solutions will help you get there, and what cost are you willing to pay?

Nobody said this would be easy.

But you can do this.

We live in a wonderful nation. Full of freedom and opportunities.

The solutions are there if you look hard enough.

Use your creativity and your enthusiasm for a new career in this process.

Can you see it?

You’ll get there and you’ll love it.

Question: Have you ever found a solution to an obstacle in your life you never thought you’d figure out?

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When you don’t like your job and you feel stuck, one of the best things you can do is take a personality assessment.

Photo Credit: hobvias sudoneighm

Two of the best, most reliable and valid personality instruments on the market are the DISC and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

The MBTI was the instrument I used during my career transition and it literally changed my life.

Or maybe I should say it explained my life.

You see, none of us are completely objective when it comes to evaluating our own personalities.

We all have blind spots about how we engage with the world.

The other thing that happens is we devalue our strengths.

A certain thing comes easy to us so we disregard it and think everybody can do this. In our mind it’s nothing special.

The DISC profile and MBTI help get us see ourselves more clearly and understand what we do best.

There are some significant differences between DISC and MBTI.

DISC will provide you with four areas of personality and will tell you which one is your most prevalent, second most prevalent, third, and fourth.

You will primarily be a D, I, S, or C.

D = Dominant or Driver – Do you know someone who is assertive, to the point, and wants the bottom line? This is the D style.

I = Influencing or Inspiring – Do you have any friends who are great communicators and friendly to everyone they meet? This is the I style.

S = Steady or Stable – Are you a good listener and great team player who is loyal and steady? The is the S style.

C = Correct or Conscientious – Have you ever worked with someone who enjoys gathering facts and details and is thorough in everything they do? This is the C style.

My primary style is S followed closely by I.

The MBTI on the other hand measures four different areas of our personalities and provides you with a four letter type.

(I) Introversion or (E) Extraversion – This aspect of our personality determines the source of feeling energized. Either by being alone or from interacting with others.

(N) Intuition or (S) Sensing – This is how we prefer to take in information. Either through our five senses (S) or through themes, meaning, and patterns (N).

(T) Thinking or (F) Feeling – This preference has to do with how we prefer to make decisions. We either prefer a more objective and analytical approach (T) or a more people focused and empathetic approach (F).

(J) Judging or ( P) Perceiving – This is how we prefer to organize our lives. We either prefer a very structured approach to life (i.e. love calendars, schedules, and to-do lists) (J) or a more free and open approach to life (i.e. no schedule or calendar, likes to keep options open) ( P).

So, for example, my MBTI type is INFJ.

Now that you know a little about each of the assessments here’s why you need to take them:

1. It will give you objective insight into yourself you otherwise may not know. Many people after taking DISC or MBTi will say, “Did my mother write this?” It’s amazing how well it explains our behavior and thinking.

2. It will help you identify your strengths. The best way to do work you love is to do something you are crazy good at. When you play to your strengths in what you do it will feel natural and fulfilling.

3. It will help you identify your weaknesses. We all have limitations and you will be better off knowing what they are and avoiding doing anything related to those areas of your personality.

4. It will help you filter different opportunities based on how well they fit your personality. When you do determine a career path to pursue you will still need to wade through the many options that will come your way. Knowing your personality and what you do well will help you make the best decision when the time comes.

You were uniquely designed and there has never been anyone on earth like you. The more you know about yourself the higher your self awareness will be.

This will lead you to having more options and allow you to make better decisions. In the end you will find the work you enjoy because it will be connected to who you are at your core.

Questions: Have you taken DISC or MBTI? What’s your type? How has it helped you to know more about your personality? 

(Consider adding a comment below)

*Warning!* Shameless self promotion. You can purchase both assessments on my website by going here.

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Do I go to Starbucks or Peete’s?

Should I wear the blue shirt or the green shirt?

 Photo Credit: Julia Manzerova via Compfight

What about big decisions?

Decisions that have some weight to them.

Should I choose this school or that one?

Should I choose this job or that one?

We often have multiple good options to choose from.

Which is the best one?

I’m teaching a class on critical thinking next week and I want to share with you one of the tools I cover.

This tool can help us make better decisions with those bigger dilemmas we face.

You can use this tool for a variety of decisions from choosing vacation spots, to vacuum brands, to choosing the type of work you might enjoy.

The tool is called a Grid Analysis Worksheet.

Here’s how it works:

1. List all your options as row labels on the table. For example, if you are trying to choose     between laptop brands you may list Apple, Dell, Toshiba, etc.

2. List all your factors, or criteria, as column headings. Using the laptop example, factors to consider might be cost, speed, hard disk size, etc.

3. Next, give each of your factors a weight on the row labeled “Weights”. Give them a weight from 0 (no importance) to 5 (extremely important) depending on how important each factor is to you. For example, cost may be a 5, speed may be a 3, and hard disk size may be a 0. Note multiple factors can have the same weight.

4. Next, work you way across the table rows, scoring each option on each factor. Score each factor from 0 (poor) to 3 (very good). Note you don’t need to have a different score for each factor. You can score all of your options as 0 if none of them are good for a particular factor. For example, Apple may be a 0 for cost, a 3 for speed, and a 3 for hard disk size.

5. Now multiply each of the scores for your options by the weights you gave each of your factors. For example, if you gave Apple a 3 for speed you will multiple 3 by the weight you gave the factor of speed. In this case you gave speed a weight of 3. So you would multiple 3 by 3 to get a score of 9.

6. Lastly, add up the scores for each of your factors for each option. The option that scores the highest is the option you may want to consider.

If I haven’t completely lost you at this point, I hope you try using the Grid Analysis Worksheet with your next big decision. You’ll be surprised how much more confident you’ll feel about your decision when you’ve run your options through this exercise. Let me know if you try it and how it works out. I’d love to hear from you.

Question: How might you use this tool for a decision you have to make?

(Add your comment below.)

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You hate your job but right now it’s the only thing standing between you and the homeless shelter downtown.

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You park your car, turn off the ignition and you begin to feel the zest for life being slowly drained from your inner being. Like bathwater after you pull the plug from the drain.

Sound familiar?

I hope not. However, I’m afraid it’s an all too common occurrence.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help yourself get through the day.

Here are six ways to survive your work day when you hate your job:

1. Know you’re not alone. The majority of American workers don’t like their jobs. According to a recent Gallup poll seventy-one percent of workers are disengaged with their jobs (HR translation: disengaged = hate their jobs). Seventy-one percent! This means when you get together with nine of your friends the odds are six of them hate their jobs too. For some reason it helps to know this.

2. Go outside. If your work environment allows you to take a break outside, do it. Something about being outside helps to calm us down. Take a walk down the street and back. If you already work outside, well, I’m not sure. Maybe go inside. The point is to change your environment even if it is only for a moment.

3. Have a friend at work. Research and polls have found those who have at least one friend at work will find their work more interesting. I must admit I’m lousy at this but I’ve seen it in action. I also think women are better at this than men (in my experience). Those who have a friend or friends at work have a built in support system every time they go to work.

4. Schedule some quiet time. I once coached a client who found he could change his attitude toward his job by scheduling times to get out of his cube. This client would take his laptop and go to the cafeteria to work and would avoid the constant interruptions associated with cube life. If you don’t have the luxury of leaving your workspace you may have to get creative. Put up caution tape around your work area, hang a sign on your back that says, “Do I look like a people person to you?” I don’t know, but do something to give yourself some much needed quiet time at work.

5. Focus on the future. This is the key to everything mentioned above. None of this will ultimately solve the root of your problem. It’s only a band aid. If you truly hate your job then you must start searching for another job or become self-employed. You can survive your workday if you know it’s only a matter of time until you’re on your way somewhere else.

6. Fake it. It does you no good to mope around co-workers. Unless they are your friend, they don’t care. They probably feel the same way. Your boss doesn’t want to see your sad face either. You’re not a victim. Remember, you make a choice every day to go to work or not. You are in control of your attitude. Smile, you’ll be surprised how it will help you survive your workday.

Now when you get to work you will at least have a plan. You may still hate your job, but you’re in control (at least a little more). Remember, this is only temporary. You’re working toward getting a new job or a new career you enjoy.

Question: What other tips do you have for surviving the day in a job you hate?

(Leave your comment below.)

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You went to school, got a job with a good company, and set yourself on a career path your parents would be proud of.

Photo Credit: Zach Klein via Compfight

Or maybe you just took the first job you could find because those student loans were coming due.

Either way, you took a job and now you hate it.

You wonder how this happened. How did you end up doing something every day that sucks the zest for life out of you?

The problem is you don’t know what to do. You don’t know what else you want to do. Even if you did know, you don’t know how to get there.

The good news is there is hope.

This problem can be resolved by doing some real soul searching and assessing three major areas in your life.

Area 1: Your Strengths and Personality

Who are you? What are you good at? If you answer those two questions accurately more than half the battle will be won. Fortunately you don’t have to figure this out on your own. There are a number of resources to help you answer these questions.

One very good and inexpensive way to determine your strengths is to use the Strengthsfinder 2.0 (not an affiliate link) assessment.

Another more comprehensive tool you can use is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is the most reliable and validated personality assessment on the market. Most Fortune 500 companies provide the MBTI to their employees and I provide the MBTI to all of my coaching clients. I highly recommend it.

Area 2: Skills and Abilities

By the time you are 25 you have likely used hundreds of different types of skills to accomplish something. What have you noticed you are particularly good at doing? Which skills do you enjoy using the most? Is there something you would like to be able to do but have not tried?

However, just because you may be good at something doesn’t necessarily mean you enjoy using that skill. You’ll know you’re on the right career track when you find a skill you also enjoy using.

Area 3: Values, Interests, and Dreams

What is important to you? What do you find yourself doing during your non-work hours?

Some may ask you what your passion is. I say rather than search for the holy grail of passion, take a look at what you are already doing. What types of things do you find yourself drawn toward? Do you enjoy backpacking, blogging, kayaking, data analysis, talking to people, etc. Your interests are the seeds to discovering the kind of thing you would enjoy being paid to do.

Also, when we’re seven years old it’s Ok to say you want to be an astronaut but when we grow up we forget to continue dreaming. You need to tap into your inner seven year old.

What do you find yourself dreaming about during the day? Even if you think it would be irresponsible and impossible to do, the key is to allow yourself the freedom to dream about the job and the life you want.

When you put all of these components together, you should have a pretty good idea of what you would rather be doing. The next step is putting together a plan to get to where you want to go.

You’ll be saying sayonara to that job you hate in no time.

Question: When you were seven years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?

(If you liked the post [or not] leave a comment below. You’ll get a response from me.)

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Doing non-creative work you don’t enjoy. 

I ordered lunch the other day and one of the servers preparing my chicken sandwich muttered under his breath, “I guess this is what I get for being a history major.”

He went on to explain his frustration with his job and how he was dying to do something different and more creative.

It’s an all too common story. Feeling stuck in a job and settling for work that sucks the zest for life right out of us.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In fact, now more than ever, we need you to do work you love to do and express your creative genius. Here are 3 reasons we need you to unleash your creativity in your work:

This is an excerpt of a guest post I wrote for Jeff Goins’ blog. To read the entire post go here.

The best way to open this post would be to have a meaningful story about how my ebook 5 Essential Steps to Landing Your Dream Job was inspired by the night I couldn’t sleep so I watched the J.K. Rowling episode on the Biography channel when she goes back to the apartment where she lived pre Harry Potter and breaks down in tears as she ponders how far she has come. I stayed up all night, wrote my manifesto then looked around my house and thought, “I wonder how my sunshine yellow walls will look on the Biography channel someday?” However, I’m afraid I don’t have a meaningful story like that to draw you in.

Sure, I went through a fairly dramatic and traumatic career change, sold my house, moved in with my in-laws, started a business, dissolved a business, quit three jobs in one year and eventually found my way again. But those stories will have to wait.

Right now all I have is shameless self-promotion and a passion to help you with your career journey so you enjoy what you do for work every day.

My ebook 5 Essential Steps to Landing Your Dream Job is available for free download when you sign up for my newsletter. So if you’ve ever asked yourself the following questions this ebook might be helpful for you:

What do I want to be when I grow up?
Which kinds of careers will I find meaningful?
How do I get through the job search process?

If you download the ebook please email me your feedback on the book or leave a comment below. I’d love to know what you think, good or bad.

Oh, one last thing. What types of topics related to the world of work and your career would you like to see featured on my blog?

Comment below. Thanks!

Everything was going well on the first day I wore them. A little stiff here, breaking them in there, the usual with new shoes. However, at some point during the day I noticed some significant discomfort on the top part of my foot. I just chalked it up to the break in period of new shoes so I did’t bother to do anything about it. However, it started to really hurt and it was becoming a distraction. Then it hit me.  I don’t have to suffer like this.  I have the power and the ability to untie my shoe, readjust the fit, and keep moving. Freedom! I felt like William Wallace in a pair of Keens.

This led me to start thinking about how this can often happen in our careers. Sometimes we needlessly tolerate pain in our careers when we have the ability to change our situation. But how do you know when enough is enough? Here are some indications it might be time to start making a change in your career:

1. You dread Sunday night. When I was at my lowest in my previous career I would loathe Sunday nights.  Saturdays were great. Sundays during the day were wonderful. However, after dinner on Sunday night I knew I would be back at my cube in a matter of hours and it was like someone had sucker punched me in the stomach.

2. You’re taking a lot of time off. If you find yourself regularly taking unplanned vacation days or sick days just because you can’t bear the thought of  being at work it’s probably time for a change. I once had to take an “emergency” vacation for a week because I just could not take it any more.

3. You’re doing the bare minimum to keep your job. When you’re less than fired up about your job its going to be difficult to go the extra mile. Maybe you’re not exactly slacking on the job but in your heart of hearts you know you could do more. The job gets done but you just can’t bring yourself to put in that extra effort because in the end you really don’t care about it.

4. You are completely exhausted when you get home. I’m not talking about just being tired from working. I’m talking about going straight from the garage to your couch tired. You feel like you have nothing to offer your friends, family or significant other because the life was slowly sucked out of you all day at work. One day after an extremely stressful day at work I sat on the couch, skipped dinner, watched TV for 5 hours straight and then crawled into bed without remembering a thing about what I had watched.

5. You look forward to your dentist appointments. Any interruption to your work day is a welcomed reprieve. When you find yourself loitering in your optometrist’s lobby after your check up rather than returning to work, it may be time to start dusting off that resume.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms you might want to start thinking about making a change. It may be that just a change of scenery in the same line of work will do the trick or maybe you’re looking at a complete career overhaul.  Either way, take a look at what you’re experiencing in your work life and take control of the situation. Oh, and if your shoes are bothering you just bend over, untie them, and fix the tongue.  It worked for me.

What kinds of things have prompted you to make job changes or other changes in your career?