ey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, cre

Have you ever found yourself in the wrong job or career? I think it is fair to say that we have all had that experience. This is actually a good thing if you’re conscious of it.

I ran into a good friend of mine a few weeks ago. I’d remembered that she was going after a new position so I asked her if she’d gotten it. Her response, Yes, and I hate it! I asked her if it was just the typical fear that can come with a career change and the accompanying sharp learning curve as you develop the new skills. Apparently that wasn’t the problem because she found the job quite simple. As it turns out the very reason she went after the position is the reason she hates the job. Her previous job involved shift work and had grown tired of graveyard shifts so she went after a nice 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday job. It wasn’t until she found herself trapped inside a cubicle for the entire week that she realized how much she enjoyed the opportunities that came with the night shift. Whenever she’d had evenings or graveyard shifts she could go out for tea with her friends during the day.

I had quite a chuckle at her expense because this is the fourth career change that I’ve seen her make in the last 5 years and end up with the same results each time. She hates the new position more than the old one. Her problem has always been not being really clear on what it is she wants from her new positions. She thought she wanted to get away from working shifts and into a nice secure job with set hours. What she really wants is to have a job that offers her the autonomy to do what she wants with her days. What my friend needs to do before she embarks on her next career change is determine exactly what she wants from the job and why.

Below is a clarification exercise to help you determine what it is you want in the way of a job or career.

A) Take out a blank sheet of paper. On the top of the paper write Job from Heaven. Let your imagination run free. Design the world’s most perfect job. Create your own hours, your own activities, and your most desirable environment. The only limitation is this: it must be a job, not a life. That is, it has to have tasks in it, hours to keep, and some kind of remuneration. Include these categories: what, where and with whom?

1) What would you be doing all day?

Would you be directing on a movie set, designing hairstyles or building skyscrapers or playing hockey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, crea

ason she went after the position is the reason she hates the job. Her previous job involved shift work and had grown tired of graveyard shifts so she went after a nice 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday job. It wasn’t until she found herself trapped inside a cubicle for the entire week that she realized how much she enjoyed the opportunities that came with the night shift. Whenever she’d had evenings or graveyard shifts she could go out for tea with her friends during the day.

I had quite a chuckle at her expense because this is the fourth career change that I’ve seen her make in the last 5 years and end up with the same results each time. She hates the new position more than the old one. Her problem has always been not being really clear on what it is she wants from her new positions. She thought she wanted to get away from working shifts and into a nice secure job with set hours. What she really wants is to have a job that offers her the autonomy to do what she wants with her days. What my friend needs to do before she embarks on her next career change is determine exactly what she wants from the job and why.

Below is a clarification exercise to help you determine what it is you want in the way of a job or career.

A) Take out a blank sheet of paper. On the top of the paper write Job from Heaven. Let your imagination run free. Design the world’s most perfect job. Create your own hours, your own activities, and your most desirable environment. The only limitation is this: it must be a job, not a life. That is, it has to have tasks in it, hours to keep, and some kind of remuneration. Include these categories: what, where and with whom?

1) What would you be doing all day?

Would you be directing on a movie set, designing hairstyles or building skyscrapers or playing hockey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, cre

d end up with the same results each time. She hates the new position more than the old one. Her problem has always been not being really clear on what it is she wants from her new positions. She thought she wanted to get away from working shifts and into a nice secure job with set hours. What she really wants is to have a job that offers her the autonomy to do what she wants with her days. What my friend needs to do before she embarks on her next career change is determine exactly what she wants from the job and why.

Below is a clarification exercise to help you determine what it is you want in the way of a job or career.

A) Take out a blank sheet of paper. On the top of the paper write Job from Heaven. Let your imagination run free. Design the world’s most perfect job. Create your own hours, your own activities, and your most desirable environment. The only limitation is this: it must be a job, not a life. That is, it has to have tasks in it, hours to keep, and some kind of remuneration. Include these categories: what, where and with whom?

1) What would you be doing all day?

Would you be directing on a movie set, designing hairstyles or building skyscrapers or playing hockey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, cre

ay of a job or career.

A) Take out a blank sheet of paper. On the top of the paper write Job from Heaven. Let your imagination run free. Design the world’s most perfect job. Create your own hours, your own activities, and your most desirable environment. The only limitation is this: it must be a job, not a life. That is, it has to have tasks in it, hours to keep, and some kind of remuneration. Include these categories: what, where and with whom?

1) What would you be doing all day?

Would you be directing on a movie set, designing hairstyles or building skyscrapers or playing hockey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, cre

ey or saving somebody’s life? Would you be singing before an audience or giving speeches to thousands of people?

2) Where would you be doing this job?

Describe the environment. Inside a huge corporation, alone in your home office, on a ranch in Montana breeding horses or onboard a jetliner.

3) Who are you going to be with?

Remember this is a job, so you need to imagine all the people you will be working with - your boss, coworker, employee, business partner, or key helper. Create whatever team you will need to make this a perfect job.

B) On a separate piece of paper, create the job from hell.

You know what you don’t want, in detail. If you had problems describing the job from Heaven then this will probably be very easy. Put in everything you hate about every job you ever had or can imagine. If the devil took the time to design a job that was guaranteed to make you miserable, what kind of a job would that be?

1) Include what kind of activity you’d be doing, where you’d be doing it, and with whom.

Flipping the Negative.

Take every detail of your Job from Hell - the hours, the activities, the environment, the attitudes of the coworkers, even the weather and the feelings they generate - and reverse them exactly. Find their exact opposites.

2) Take your Job From Hell and write down the exact opposite. If your job from hell had you working in a busy environment then put yourself in an isolated cottage. It stands to reason that if you hated something then doing the opposite should be more appealing.

They say we’ll probably make 7 to 9 career changes in our lives. Doesn’t it make sense to make them smart career changes based on what you really want?