This may sound silly to you, but if you don't read any other post on my blog, this is the most important thought I can share with you. Your biggest challenge during your transition period should be making sure you UNDERSTAND YOURSELF...what you like to do and what you don't like to do. As a leader in the military, you probably have a better sense of yourself than most, BUT you really only know yourself in the military environment. You need to get to know your true-self again....outside of the military filters.
Take some time to just think about and ponder what you love to do and what
types of tasks you are naturally prone to enjoying. At this point, don't even
start to think about specific jobs, careers, companies. At this point, just do a
little dreaming about what you think the ideal type of tasks you might enjoy
doing are. (The typical temptation at this point is to jump right into jobs and
thinking about how you will make money....do not go there yet. At some
point, I will suggest that you to do some realistic assessments of which
direction seems most reasonable given your situation, but there will be plenty
of time later to immerse yourself in reality. For now, just do some
self-introspection.)
Ask yourself a few of the following questions to get your brainwaves moving:
- What types of things do I enjoy doing in my free time?
- What types of jobs/tasks did I enjoy doing as a child?
- What is my dream job (one that I would do for free)?
- What did I enjoy about the military? What did I not enjoy?
- What subjects did I like studying in high school/college?
- What am I good at? What skills do I have?
- What am I not good at?
- What sort of environment do I do my best work in?
- What type of environment would I hate to work in?
- What motivates me?
It can be helpful to start notebook or some document to capture your initial thoughts and
reactions to these questions.
These questions are only the beginning of determining what might be the right career for
you...because this is an individual journey, this should be an individual exploration. If you
don't spend time doing this you will likely find it difficult to find the right direction for your
life and career. Again, we will get to a point where I suggest that you do some research on
industries, companies, etc, but for now just focus on understanding the most
important person in your life...YOU.
Here are a few tools, sites, books that I have found helpful in learning more
about myself,my strengths, my interests. There are many out there....these
are just tools and resources I have come across over the last 10 years that I
have found personally useful. You are welcome to find your own and post
them on the blog in the comments section. (please include a brief explanation
of what you liked about the tool, site, resource.)
Enjoy Exploring....your search has begun!
Resources:
Internet sites
http://www.humanmetrics.com/--free Jungian Type/Myers-Briggs test on this
site. Gives you a 4 letter identifier for your personality that will open up lots
of resources. Once you know your type, use your favorite engine to find a
wealth of info.
http://www.personalitypathways.com/ -----site which provides lots of info on
Myers Briggs, which is a great starting ensuring you know yourself.
http://www.personalitypage.com/html/careers.html --provides more Myers-
Briggs info,including potential career fields.
Strengthsfinder 2.0 --is a book which you can purchase that gives you a code
to take their test. This can help you determine what your strengths are and
how to understand and leverage them for success.
Books (available on amazon)
"Do What You Are", Tieger & Barron.
"What's Your Type of Career", Dunning.
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