I am sure you are familiar with the ‘To Do’ list, the one that often rules our lives and measures our progress – or lack of it – with check marks or strokes of the pen.

It can be a useful tool to help you see how you are moving forward, giving you a bit of positive feedback.  But the trouble is that To Do lists have a tendency to be never ending – as you cross one thing off you add another three and so leave you feeling that you are forever running to catch up.

Does that sound familiar?

OK, so rather than get stuck into the pros and cons of To Do lists, why not turn the idea on its head and explore how you could use a ‘To Don’t’ list instead?

So what would that look like?

I am sure you can come up with many ideas of your own, but let me get you started with a few suggestions of my own.

Don’t procrastinate waiting for everything to be just right

Whatever job you switch to there will be some good and bad aspects, so stop waiting for the perfect answer to fall into your lap.

I know they say if you don’t know where you are going you will probably end up somewhere else, but you are more likely to start gathering some good ideas if you start moving and exploring on any direction.  Don’t wait!

Don’t forget to think laterally

It is so easy to cling to what you know – that is where you feel safe. But by sticking with the familiar you are missing a world of possibilities. Try some lateral thinking games eg how many different career ideas can you come up with, what are the most unlikely ideas you can come up with, what jobs are 1 step away from yours, then 2 then 3… See how far that takes you imagination. Don’t take your career so seriously. Be playful!

Don’t rely on the opinion or approval of others

Whose career is it anyway?

In fact choose very carefully who you ask for feedback from. And once you have heard what they have to say, remind yourself that they are staying safe while you are the one being courageous.

Use that as a filter before you let their caution sway you too much.

Don’t fear failure

Too often you may find yourself being overwhelmed by the possibilities of what might happen if it all goes wrong.  You envisage yourself living on the street having lost your home and family. OK, let’s get real here, that is extremely unlikely to happen. Take a look back over things that have gone wrong for you in the past.  You are still here, you have survived, you are probably wiser as a result.  So start looking at failure as an opportunity to grow and embrace it as something positive rather than something to be avoided at all costs. The most succesful people have the most failures.

Don’t set yourself up for ‘if only’s

Is your current career allowing you to really give of your best and to learn and grow and you do so? If not, then you must do something about it.

Do you really want to be one of those people who in their later years only looks back with regrets?

The only person who can make sure that doesn’t happen is you, so get moving!

I am sure you can add more to this list!

So rather than get hung up with the tyranny of the ‘To Do’ list, try creating an inspirational ‘To Don’t’ list instead.

What do you think?

• What will you have on your ‘To Don’t’ list?
• What will you do to ensure that you avoid these traps?
• When will you get started?

Enjoyed this blog?

Did this post touch the spot for you?
Then use the icons below to tweet it or share it on Facebook
or click the’Here’s how…’ link for more ideas

The post Your ‘To Don’t’ List appeared first on How to Change Careers.

If you really hate your current work, you may be tempted to rush into a new line of work. Anything has got to be better than your current job!

But before you rush into choosing a new career direction, it is essential that you stop and take stock so that you don’t just end up repeating the same mistakes.

Where to begin?

You start by taking an long, hard look at yourself.  Let’s face it, if you don’t really know much about yourself, how will you be able to assess if a new career will be a good fit?

There is loads of information on this site that will help you to discover more about what makes you tick.

Why not get started right now by reading some of the articles below?

Big Goals Or Baby Steps? When did you last climb a mountain?  OK, it doesn’t have to be a physical one – you may prefer to use this idea as a metaphor. When did you last undertake a big challenge that you knew would be a bit of a long haul, one that stretched you, a goal where you experienced moments along the way where your commitment began to waver? Are you running out of fingers as you count off the instances, or are you still scratching your head as you try to find an example? Read on…

Review Your Skills Carrying out a personal skills audit is an important step when you are planning a career change. If you are serious about changing careers, then you need to build up a detailed understanding of your strengths and talents. If you are clear on this, then you can assess career ideas with your skills and strengths in mind. Work which allows you to do what you are good at will be more fulfilling for you and your employer is likely to be happier with the results you produce too! Read on…

Are You A Builder Or A Maintainer? OK, this is making a very broad distinction, but when you look at how people like to work, you will find that they mostly fall into one category or the other. So what do I mean by Builders and Maintainers? This distinction is described by Jim Bright in his book Should I Stay or Should I Go? Let me start by asking you a few questions. Are you a Big Picture person or do you prefer to focus on getting the detail right? Do you love being involved in creating something new or do you enjoy making a ‘well oiled system’ run smoothly? Read on…

Which Animal Are You? This is an exercise I have done myself and used with clients too and I was reminded of it as I was watching the dogs and their owners in the local park this morning. So let me ask you – if you were to pick an animal to describe how you are in your life right now, what would it be? Read on…

What’s It All About? OK, it is time to look a little deeper. It is only too easy when you are considering a career change, to focus on superficial details without ever really dipping down to explore the heart of the matter. So you revise your resume, your scour the job ads and look for career ideas that seem to match with your skills. Or maybe you do some Read on…

Who Will You Be? Who will you be – it’s up to you! I’m writing this at the turn of the year and of course that means it’s New Year resolution time again, so what are you lining up for the year ahead? Are you trotting out the old favourites? Lose weight, give up smoking, get fit…even finally change career? Read on…

Know Your Strengths Could you sell used cars? Now you may be relieved to hear that I am not suggesting this as a possible new career option for you to consider – although of course it is the perfect job for some people, so I don’t want to knock it! But what can you learn from Read on…

You Matter Most Realising that you matter most is not self centred or indulgent.  When you are planning a change of career, taking a closer look at you is the best place to start. Before you can really promote yourself to a prospective employer, you need to really know what you are ‘selling’. It’s YOU. This article was prompted when Read on…

Other Career Change Article Categories to explore

Career Change | Mindset & Motivation | Barriers To Change | Know Yourself |

Practical Steps | World of Work

The post Know Yourself appeared first on How to Change Careers.

‘I want to do something interesting’

As a career coach that inevitably leads me to ask…

‘So what do you find interesting?’

or

‘What does interesting look like for you?’

This is one of those words that means something different to everyone, so to find your list of interesting career choices, you need to start with yourself.

What do you mean by interesting?

A job that…

• Is unusual – different from the everyday. Something nobody will have heard of?
• Involves a particular kind of activity or subject matter? And what is your particular interest – nuclear physics, grunge music, the great outdoors, politics….?
• Will absorb your attention and keep you engrossed?
• Requires you to constantly come up with new ideas?
• Is constantly changing with every day being different?
• Allows you to meet lots of people?
• Engages you intellectually and demands that you are constantly learning?
• Etc., etc…..

The list goes on.

Finding out what you are interested in
– ask yourself

In theory it should be easy to list your interests and to use this to identify interesting career choices. But somehow, when the question is asked, it is not so easy after all.

Here are a couple of approaches you may find helpful.

1. Imagine that money is no longer an issue – you can access all the funds you need to live on and to do anything you want. What would you do?OK, after you have bought the big house, had the fabulous holidays, shopped till you drop…then what? What activities or themes would be at the centre of your daily activities?
2. Look back over different stages of your life, say…childhood, teenage, young adult, mid life. On
   separate sheets of paper, list what you were interested in, passionate about at each stage of your life.What activities were you regularly involved in? What are the underlying themes in the items that come up on your lists? Are there any interests which have been buried, but which you would like to return to?

Finding out what you are interested in
– look around you

You can also test out your interests by looking outwards for inspiration in the world and from the people around you.

The interesting career choices you are seeking are under your nose, if you are willing to just open your eyes and your mind enough to see them.

Become a career detective
There are literally thousands of jobs and careers out there, and one of these might be just the thing you are looking for. Take an everyday situation and use it to prompt your thinking.

Here’s an example, to get you started.

You are sitting on the train on the way to work. How many jobs can you identify from what you see around you?

• • Just getting the train to run – train driver, signals engineer, transport manager, mechanical engineer

• • The train is running late – customer services manager, public relations officer

• • Designing the train inside & out – product designer, interior designer, materials engineer

• • How other passengers look – fashion designer, optometrist, hairdresser, doctor, tailor

• • Someone is reading the paper – newspaper editor, journalist, photographer, advertising executive

• • Someone is listening to an iPod – musician, music producer, computer software engineer, advertising branding specialist

• • Parent with child – nursery nurse, children’s toy design, paediatrician

• • Teenager reading – school teacher, author, youth worker

• • View out of the window – civil engineer, garden designer, retail manager, pilot, police officer

Get the idea?

See how many interesting career choices you can come up with this way. Keep the ideas coming for as long as possible before you start to narrow down to what you are interested in.

Ask others

Talk to people about their jobs. What do they do? What do they find interesting about their jobs? What their friends do? What would they be interested in doing if they had a completely free choice?

Be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that because your best friend finds his job as an actuary really interesting, that you would enjoy it too. This is why you need to investigate what it is about the role that they enjoy and make your own assessment about whether that would appeal to you too.

The key question to ask is…

If I had to do this all day or a big part of my job involved this, would it hold my interest?

Remember that no job will be 100% fascinating. There will always be some routine or mundane aspects of any role. The key issue is to explore what will hold your interest.

So when you are investigating interesting career choices, make sure you look both inwards and outwards to help you find the answer to what will interest you.

The post Looking For Interesting Career Choices appeared first on How to Change Careers.

Geoff Hansell

“When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back at you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

I had been in the same career for the past 18 years, I had been moderately successful, but there were more downs than ups. But I kept telling myself, welcome to the world of work, this is just how it is, stress is part of work. Little did I know at the time I was in the wrong career!

As I continued to progress through my career, I had many pitfalls and challenges, which involved working for 6 different companies in those 18 years. Not too bad, but when you consider that I worked at my first job for 9 years, that means I had 5 jobs in the 9 years after I left what I thought would be my womb to tomb job.

After a tumultuous 4 years with my last company, 2 probationary reviews, and very close to being canned. I was down about as far as I could go. I knew I wanted to quit that job and career, this time for good.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life (at the young age of 46 years) but I did know that if I stayed at my current job I would continue to be unhappy, and that unhappiness had already begun to seep into my personal life. I was sure of one thing though, I did not want to leave one dead-end job for another.

So, I began with what I liked; I like computers and the internet, and writing so I changed my resume to highlight my skills; what I could do, rather than what I had done. I knew there was a job out there that could use my skills, I just had to find it.

I was on the usual job hunting sites, looked in the local paper, and even met with a life coach (who is the pastor at my Church.)

Then it happened, I saw an ad in my local paper for the job I had been looking for, it involved reasearch, the internet, exactly what I was looking for! I interviewed for the job, was offered it, and accepted this entry level job because I knew it would grow into something better. I have been at this job for 2 months now, and it is going great!!

If you are a career changer, and reading this I wish you good luck in your hunt. You can get the job you want- Just have faith in yourself, and others will also.

The post Out Of Darkness, And Into Light! appeared first on How to Change Careers.

Moira Laidlaw, Virtual Teacher

I’m 55 and all my professional life I have been a teacher and loved it. It’s a vocation for me and I think that makes me very lucky. But it hasn’t always been a smooth road to travel.

In 2001, being unmarried and without children, I went to China as a volunteer with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) as a teacher-trainer in a poor western college.

Six years later I contracted a virulent and painful form of rheumatoid arthritis in both feet, which meant I very quickly became disabled and had to give up my placement and come back to Britain.

Suddenly I was leading the life of someone twenty years older, confined to the house, coping with excessive pain and wondering how on earth I was supposed to carry on. Earning a living was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to find a way of getting through the agonising days. Thank heavens I lived in a country like Britain, however, with its National Health Service and services that could help me learn to cope.

Once I had overcome the worst of the adjustments I had to make – developing a fear of being outside and being stared at in a wheelchair, coping with being largely immobile, dealing with chronic severe pain, relying on the kindness of friends and family – and I had always been so independent – I began to realise that my situation didn’t simply hinge on my disability, but on a sense of self-worth as a capable human being who wasn’t using any of my gifts.

It wasn’t just a case of wanting to be employed again, it was also about wanting to be useful. As a teacher I had had a role, played a part, made a contribution. That was important to me. I could, theoretically, stay on Incapacity Benefit and Disability allowance and make ends meet, but I didn’t want just that.

A friend suggested I look at possibilities at the Open University, in other words find out if I might be employable in some capacity that wouldn’t require me to leave the house. I wasn’t sure at first. I was still feeling fairly incompetent and vulnerable, but I realised as well that the only person who could change this situation would be me.

And so now, for the second year running, I am a tutor on a Masters course called Education for Development at the OU.

My students are living in countries like Ethiopia, The Ivory Coast, Burundi, South Korea, Italy, Germany, the UK, Eire and other parts of Europe. Some of them are from my old organisation, VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), some work with financial organisations concerned with development.

Some are teachers, and some have no connections at present with either of the two main strands of the course. I work entirely over the internet with them, through email, skype, telephone sometimes, and through synchronous tutorials using a technology called Elluminate.

The first time I ran this course – starting in October 2009 for six months – I found all the new technology and ways of working quite difficult. It seemed strange never to meet my students, but as time has gone on and now at the start of my new module-group, I realise that the technology really does enable me to work with people very closely and although I’m a virtual teacher I’m just as real a teacher as I ever was.

This has had a profound effect on my sense of self, done my self-esteem a lot of good living as I do in a world in which now I am “the one over there in the wheelchair”. I feel happier, more fulfilled, purposeful and have a sense of making a significant contribution.

It’s a part-time job, but that suits me really well, given the pain-levels I have to negotiate daily in terms of when and how I work. Flexibility is really important to me.

I think this is probably the most creative and productive thing to have come out of my change in circumstances. I really was scared about changing things that seemed to point towards who I was. In fact the challenge has shown me that being disabled is genuinely only a part of my current experiences. Being in pain all the time continues to be a pain, but it’s no longer so prescriptive.

My life belongs to me again.

Moira Laidlaw, 21.11.10.

The post Becoming a Virtual Teacher appeared first on How to Change Careers.

I am from India and have been working in an IT company for more than 5.5 years. I have tried to change into another profile inside the company itself. But it is really very hard and a hand full of lucky people got thru in this way.

I badly wanna do an MBA and move into HR profile. But now I am stuck in such a way that the only way I can escape this job is to put my papers and remain money-less. But I have lotsa of debts and I cannot afford to do so. I cannot depend on my parents.

Please suggest me some way to get into a decent job for a while and at the same time get some time to study/prepare for B-school examinations.

Comments for In IT for over 5.5 years – how can I change now?

Rating Several routes forward by: Cherry You say ‘a handful of lucky people got through this way’. So you can move to a different department within your company. What have they done that’s helped them make the move? They are not just ‘lucky’ – you need to find out what strategies they used. Can you talk with them and discover what they did? Who do you know in HR? You need to build your contacts in this sector so you can learn more about what the job involves. This will help you understand the work and you may get some useful leads and contacts regarding routes into the HR field. What attracts you to HR? What particular skills and experience do you have that will make you more successful in HR? If you go for an interview you will probably be asked that question so you need to think through your answer in advance. You say you want to do an MBA too. Do you have to do both? Is an MBA an essential requirement to get into HR? What other training could you do that would qualify you more specifically for the HR path and which might be less expensive? What do you hope to get from studying an MBA which is a broader qualification? There could obviously be a significant cost for you if you go back to study full time, so what about part-time study? Would your current employer support you either financially or just in terms of giving you the time off to study? If you know you have a significant expenditure ahead of you, then clearly you need to plan for it, so what can you do to revise your current spending and reduce your debt? If you know you have issues around how you deal with money, then I recommend this great ebook by Supercoach Michael Neill – Money Made Fun. You may also wish to explore developing some online income streams that will complement your earnings. I have built the How To Change Careers website using SiteBuildIt and I highly recommend it for creating an online business. Take a look at this page for more information. Finally it seems to me that you are visualising what you want as an enormous and almost impossible task. You are setting it up in your own mind as something you don’t really believe you can achieve. This mindset will make it harder for you to get what you want! Take some time to revise how you think about your goal – as a challenge, yes, but one you can approach with creativity and positive energy. This will mean you are more open to ideas that may help you move forward and you will be more willing to take chances. Everyday just keep your eyes and mind open to the question ‘what can I do to make my goal a reality and who can I ask to help me?’

The post In IT for over 5.5 years-how can I change now? appeared first on How to Change Careers.

After 7+ yrs of experience in banking should I move to SAP Banking if given a chance?

Comments for Shift from Trade Finance Banking to SAP Banking

Rating What Do You Think Is Best? by: Cherry  What does your instinct tell you? Do you want or need to change direction? Does it amount to a positive development in your career? It is impossible for me to answer this question for you Amit, and it is one that you need to answer for yourself. The only way to do this is to ask yourself questions like the ones I have already posed to help you assess the pros and cons of the move. Let me ask you a few more.  If you would be earning the same money and have the same status after the move would you consider it? In other words does the new role hold some intrinsic interest for you? Are you thinking of a move because you are bored or frustrated in your current role? Do you need a change to stop you from stagnating in your career? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of the move? You have to live with it in the end so your opinion is more important than other people’s. Will the move potentially open up new longer term possibilities for your career development? What new skills will you learn? If you could fast forward 10 or more years, what would you like your working life to look like then? Will a move to SAP Banking take you towards that place or away from it? How will you feel if you do nothing or if you reject an offer of a move? I hope these questions help you weigh up the pros and cons in your own mind. And my opinion? I think the best way forward is to follow what you want and not be swayed by others who may have an opinion on how you should live your life! Finally, why not take a look at this page on the HTCC website: Decision Making Tips There are suggestions there about how to make decisions that you may find helpful.

The post Shift from Trade Finance Banking to SAP Banking appeared first on How to Change Careers.

I know a lot about my personality type INFP and have learnt a lot about myself over the years but I still cannot decide what to do.

I’m in college now and I finally decided to double major in Psychology and Economics. I chose these because they are my interests and also because I heard that they are flexible majors in that there are many options and opportunities for jobs within these two majors. That is why I feel a little less anxious now.

However, I still do not have any specific career in mind. It is of utmost importance to decide what I want to to do because every internship, experience, activity I undertake should match my future career.

I truly want to be happy and fulfilled in whatever career I choose. PLEASE HELP ME WITH YOUR ADVICE!

THANK YOU!

Comments for Career Confused

Rating Relax and enjoy the ride! by: Cherry Douglas  Reading your question, the main thing I want to say is to give you permission NOT to know what you want to do! Making career choice a burden In many different ways you seem to be burdening yourself with this career choice issue as major life changing decision – ‘I view it as an important, life-long decision’, ‘It is of utmost importance that I decide…’, ‘every activity I undertake should match my future career’. By talking to yourself in this way it is no wonder that you are feeling weighed down and frozen into indecision! Where do these ‘rules’ about your career come from? Are they yours or someone else’s? How else could you define the word career so it feels less burdensome? Yes, in the past the typical career was chosen at 16, 18 or 21 and you then dutifully worked your way up the ladder till you retired at 65 or so with a gold watch. The old rules no longer apply This just does not apply any more – and in fact this model of a career has always been a bad fit for some and if they have had the courage, they have carved out a very different trajectory through their working lives, one that did not fit the traditional pattern, and they have been happier for being true to themselves rather than to some external one size should fit all model. But the world of work is much more fluid now; change happens at a pace we have not experienced in the past and workers need to be ready to adapt as they go along. It is highly unlikely that young people starting on their careers now will pursue the same thing for the whole of their working lives. Go with your personality preferences And with iNtuition and Perceiving in your MBTI type, you are likely to be much happier with a career that is relatively unstructured, allows you room to try new things and not be pinned down. You may well have several careers before you retire and that’s fine! So yes, you need to start somewhere and if you know yourself well, you will be able to see which options would be a good place to start. But please do not think of this choice as ‘a life-long decision’. You will grow and change over the years and what is a good fit for you now may not work for you at 30 or 40. See yourself as embarking on a journey of exploration where you will regularly stop and take stock of where you are, and at these points you may choose to go off in a totally new direction. How much more fun will that be that tying yourself down to one thing for ever?! And don’t forget, work is allowed to be fun! I suggest you change your mantra to ‘I want to be fulfilled and happy in all the different careers I pursue throughout my life’ and then just think about the first steps on the journey. Knowing it does not have to be forever will make it a lot easier to get started.

Rating INFP careers by: Anonymous  As an INFP, I related to the problem addressed, and have only just worked out for myself at age 51 that my “career” is a series of stages, each teaching me something new before I move on. I think part of the problem comes from our perfectionism – wanting to get things “just right” rather than allowing ourselves to experiment.

Rating Still uneasy by: CAREER CONFUSED (STILL!)  Hi Cherry! I am the college student that posted this question about a year ago!!!! Thank you for your advice and you are right that I viewed it as this all important life decision. I put the word career on a pedestal. I have since then changed my perspective, however I am still feeling uneasy at not being able to figure out what I love. It is really frustrating because I just feel so scattered without any direction. You are right when you say to treat it as a series of experiments. However I think my situation is a little different because I am an international student studying in the U.S. I will be graduating next year and it is really hard to get a work visa to stay here in the states. Therefore, in my situation it is even harder since I don’t even know what I would like to do. I’m really worried. I know that everyone I speak to says to not worry and that you have to get experience in a variety of things to know what works for you. But I do not have that luxury at the moment. And I think for some of us, it is in our personality to be more sure of ourselves and life direction when we have discovered certain things. ANY FURTHER HELP/INSIGHT YOU CAN PROVIDE ME WITH WILL BE IMMENSELY APPRECIATED!! THANKS A BUNCH!

Rating Try following your skills and abilities by: Cherry  Hi! Good to hear from you again and glad that my comments have helped you to change perspective on your career a little. I understand that your situation as an international student adds another layer of complexity to the issue. What does this actually mean for you? Do you have to find an employer in the US who will take you on as an intern or employee in a professional ‘career’ role for your visa to be extended? If your top priority is to stay in the US, then you could for now take a different line on career choice by asking yourself ‘what are the jobs I am capable of doing and would find reasonably enjoyable?’ Any employer will want someone who is competent and who will make a positive contribution to their organisation. Take a look at your skills and use these as a guide. We are all capable of doing many different jobs perfectly satisfactorily (many people do this for their whole working lives) and as people have obviously said to you, why not just get started with something that will allow you to show yourself as capable, committed and easy to get on with? You say ‘I think for some of us, it is in our personality to be more sure of ourselves and life direction when we have discovered certain things.’ So what do you need to discover about yourself to feel more sure? And how will you discover it? Whatever it is, perhaps the way to find out is by trying something rather than thinking and analysing and expecting the perfect solution to pop up! It is a bit like wondering what the view from the top of the mountain is like while standing at the bottom. The only way to find out is to start putting one foot in front of the other! Once you start moving, you can adjust your route in the light of experience.

The post Career Confused appeared first on How to Change Careers.

I’ve been trying to decide what to do as a career change.

Ive been in this place for over a year now and still can’t decide. I’ve taken time off to travel, went back to my old career (as a teacher) but to a new school and still am not happy.

I don’t know what to do. I did your personality test and came up as ISFJ / ISTJ.

Any suggestions. I’ve got NO IDEA what I want to be doing!

Comments for Still can’t decide what to do

Rating Using MBTI to help with career change by: Cherry  Sounds to me as if you probably need to free up your thinking and consciously using the opposites of your MBTI preferences can help with this. Sensing and iNtuition With your preference for Sensing, you will prefer to approach your exploration in a grounded way, trusting tangible facts and what you know based on your experience. Your challenge is to tap into your iNtuition, which for ISFJ types is the least preferred function. To get you thinking creatively and laterally you need to ask questions like these: If I were your fairy godmother and I granted you an income for life so you were free to spend your time doing what you wanted, what would it be? OK, you might enjoy lounging around doing nothing much for a while, but then when you began to get bored, what would you do? And taking another perspective, if you were getting towards the end of your life, what would you look back on with pride? What would make you think ‘that was a life well lived’? How many possible career ideas can you come up with? Go for quantity not quality and include weird and wacky ideas too. Take the time to explore your ideal lifestyle, not just your ideal job. Sometimes career ideas can emerge from defining how you want your life as a whole to look. Judging and Perceiving J’s like to make decisions quickly so they can start planning, but you need to hang in there with the uncertainty. For the time being, you are not allowed to say ‘yes, but…’ to any ideas that crop up and you should not worry how achievable the ideas are, what matters is that you just get ideas flowing. The J in your type will be frustrated at not knowing but just go with the flow for now and stay open to reviewing possibilities anew as additional information emerges. Introversion and Extraversion With an introversion preference you are quite likely mulling this all over in your head and going round in circles. If you draw on the extraverted approach and start talking to other people about their jobs you will gather new information, ideas and perspectives. Ask yourself what would an extravert do to explore career ideas – then go and do it! Thinking and Feeling You are not sure which way your preferences lie here, so be sure to use both to assess ideas. What are the logical pros and cons of careers you may be considering and also how well do they fit with your personal values? I do remember reading that ISFJs can have the hardest time changing careers because all their preferences draw them to stick with what is familiar and not rock the boat. So you will need to pull against your preferences to break out into a new career. Finally, do as much as you can using the exercises on HTCC to build up a detailed picture of who you are and what makes you tick. Then you can use that as a template to hold against job ideas and see how well they will fit.

The post Still can’t decide what to do appeared first on How to Change Careers.

Hello, I am an ENTP type, and a current office manager. I have started an interior design business focused on residential decorating, at the same time as working as an office manager at a preschool. I am drained, of course, and ultimately resenting my business.

Am I just tired from having 2 jobs to balance, or in interior design really not for my personality? I love coming up with the vision, and finally seeing it completed, but I do struggle with the details of completing the design projects. But my question is, can I ultimately and realistically be a successful designer with my personality type?
Thank you for reading!

Comments for ENTP as a Decorator, Interior Designer

Rating The Right Job For An ENTP? by: Cherry This is a really interesting question, connecting your personality type to your career choice and I can see where the potential is for frustration on your part. First of all I am curious about what was it that made you set up the business in the first place? What is missing from your current role that made you look elsewhere to find a way of expressing it? What are the rewards of the interior design work in comparison to the office manager job? And what is the appeal of self employment too? How important is it for you to have a job where you can express your creativity? If you won the lottery and had enough money to live on for a couple of years, what would you do? Would you leap at the chance to really take your interior design business seriously? Try imagining for a moment that you are working full time in your design business. What is the range of demands on you in making that business run smoothly? You need to get the business in – using your Extravert skills to network and publicise your service. You need to come up with the ideas – using your iNtuition and creativity. You need to project manage the job to completion and make sure you get paid – this would normally be more of an S & J strength so I can understand that you might find this side a challenge. Are you hiring decorators to do the work for you or are you trying to do that yourself? Bottom line is that to be successful in running an interior design business you will need to use some skills that don’t sit comfortably with you – but this does not necessarily mean you have to abandon the idea, you just need to work toward delegating them as soon as possible. A good rule of thumb in business is ‘Only do what only you can do’ – in other words delegate the stuff that anyone could do and retain what is your own specialist area. Your specialism is the creative side, so you would probably benefit from getting some help with the detail of project management and administration at an early stage – and the actual decorating if you are doing that too. Who do you know who has more of the SJ eye for systems and detail who you could get some help from? You do not need to employ a member of staff at this stage – it may simply be a matter of paying a virtual assistant for 5 hours work to set up some systems for you or for doing a monthly clear up of all your admin. I imagine that while you are trying to do two jobs at once, there really will be an element of just trying to squeeze too much into the available time, so no wonder you are feeling exhausted. You need to separate out how you feel about running your own design business from your current tiredness in order to assess its real potential for you.

Rating Wow, great ideas, and questions! by: tiffany Wow, great ideas, and questions. Funny thing is I got out of property management [one of my favored careers] to pusue decorating. I took the job as an office manager to help with insurance costs, etc. If I won the lotto, I would immediately open a boutique style home furnishings store, employ a staff, and own the the design circuit in my area, so while I do hate the details, the result of great design is a passsion. I now am thinking of possibly going back into a self employed property management project, to lessen the stress. I just don’t know what to do…Your advice was excellent on delegating and not giving up.

The post ENTP as a Decorator, Interior Designer appeared first on How to Change Careers.