The Career Planning Process - Who Am I?

The traditional starting place in Career Planning is WHO AM I? The previous article discussed looking at your Current Situation and Your Dreams. Taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a good step in helping you to put your perceptions and abilities into focus. The more you can verbalize about yourself, the better you will be able to know how to translate your talents into the world of work.

Knowing temperament patterns is useful. Some people make the mistake of thinking that having a particular temperament means that you can never do something outside of that range. That is not true. Knowing temperament helps us define what takes the least energy for us to do - what is most natural. But human beings also like a challenge, so people usually experiment with aspects that are not as easy. For instance, a person who scores Introverted may challenge himself to become more Extraverted so he can become a public speaker. At mid-life, it is not unknown for a person who scores Thinking to get in touch with his Feeling aspect.

The Who Am I? changes with age. People grow in their jobs. Jobs that once seemed difficult can become hum-drum. Values also change. A person whose greatest value was adventure can now yearn for more security.

Youngsters are being taught that they are likely to have multiple careers within their lifetime. People in their 50's are looking at their lives and asking, "Is this all there is? I want to make a change in my life." Spouses can hit the stage of re-evaluating their lives at different time periods. One can be ready for a major change, while the other is content with the status quo.

It's not a bad idea to take stock of who you are and how comfortable you are with your current situation every once in awhile. This is particularly important for Idealists and for Rationals who have longer time perspectives than Guardians and Artisans. Guardians compare their status mostly to the past and Artisans are best in grabbing opportunities in the present time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Am I reasonably content with my current life situation?
• Am I using my talents in a way brings self-satisfaction?
• Am I giving myself challenges so that I will continue to grow as a person?
• If someone else observed me, would they know what I was good at and what I valued?
• If I died today, would I have left a legacy that I am proud of?

If the answer is no to three or more of the questions, it is time to go back to the drawing board. Write down your talents and what is important to you. In the next article we'll consider your options.