Feature Article: Deploying Your Intuition to Find Your Ideal Career
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
What's New on Quintessential Careers: Latest Additions
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search
Notes from the Editor: About this Issue...
With one exception, we've published an issue on career assessments in each of the
six years of QuintZine's existence and have each time also updated our
assessments
review chart. We've again updated the chart with several new assessments
added and updated information about others. All the assessments
offer at least one version that is no cost or under $30.
Our Quint Careers 10th anniversary RV has arrived! Our special vehicle will be hitting the road in November, visiting
10 Florida colleges in 10 days. We again invite you to preview our 10th anniversary site,
10CareerStories.com,
as it develops and culminates in our big November celebration.
--Katharine Hansen, Master Resume Writer, Credentialed Career Master,
Certified Electronic Career Coach, and editor at
kathy@quintcareers.com
Feature Article: Deploying Your Intuition
Deploying Your Intuition to Find Your Ideal Career
by Katharine Hansen
Where do you turn when you're baffled about what career to choose --
or what career to choose next? A natural inclination is to try
assessments, which can be extremely helpful in providing food for
thought about careers you might be suited to. In fact, Quintessential
Careers offers a
guide
to inexpensive and no-cost online assessments.
But most of us have, to one degree or another, a tool right between
our ears for choosing a career -- the intuition embodied within our
minds. Call it gut feelings, call it a set of hunches or "Eureka"
insights, call it "stomach art" as the Japanese do, call it what you
will, but your intuition can be a powerful tool for making career
choices. "Knowing something directly without going through a long
analytical process," is how Lynn Robinson describes intuition on the
Web site of the North Carolina Division of the International
Association of Administrative Professionals.
This great resource for high-school and college students from the U.S. Department of Defense includes an
assessment called the Work Interest Quiz, which describes appropriate occupations for test-takers
based on the RIASEC scale (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, and Conventional).
The site also offers a resume-builder, as well as information and resources about careers and
job-hunting, finances, and, of course, the benefits of a military career.
Ad: Start Your Job-Search Right with a New Resume!
Quintessential Resumes & Cover Letters is now providing solutions
with unmatched quality in the areas of career planning, professional resume writing, and interviewing, having
successfully helped tens of thousands of clients, from executives through individuals beginning a career,
succeed in their career goals.
Alex writes: "I am a student in college. I recently have been getting pressure from my family to pick a major
and a career, but I'm still taking classes and learning about new subjects, and while I realize the importance
of choosing these things, I really have no clue what I want to do. I mean, isn't this what college is supposed
to be about? Why can't I just enjoy the learning and not worry so much about the major and the career?"
David writes: "I'm trying to get a job for the summer, but I don't know where to look at how to fill out an application for a job.
I'm not dumb or anything like that, but it's my first summer looking for a job. Could you please help me out without giving
me a full essay on how to get a job?"
Sabrina writes: "I would like to request, time permitting of course,
that you may send me a sample letter of how to request/obtain
a reference from a past and current supervisor."
Angela writes: "I recently went on a job interview where the person conducting the interview asked me how much
I made in both my current and previous job. I told the interviewer, who
then called my past employer and asked him how much I made as well. I was appalled that the
employer did this and don't really even think it's legal.
Is it okay for a company I am applying with to contact my past employer and ask him
or her how much I was making while employed there? This past employer was not a reference
of mine, and in my opinion, should not have been contacted and asked how much did so
and so make when they worked for you."
College Toolkit --
dedicated to helping students find and apply for scholarships and learn about the college admissions process.
Students can search through a database of more than 4,000 colleges, and explore 900 careers.
It is one of the most comprehensive sites for life after high school. No cost.
CV-library.uk --
a job site for job-seekers searching for jobs in the UK, where you can
search jobs (by keyword, industry, location,and posting date), post your CV,
and register for a job-matching service. No cost to job-seekers.
Sales Jobs in Ireland --
a job site for job-seekers searching for Irish sales jobs in all industries, where you
can search jobs, post your CV, and register for an email job-matching service.
The site also includes sales tips, sales training, and a monthly newsletter. No cost to job-seekers.
United Planet --
a volunteering site from an international non-profit organization devoted to fostering cross-cultural
understanding and supporting communities in need, partnered with the International Cultural
Exchange Federation (ICYE), offering 6 month and one year volunteer opportunities
worldwide as an alternative to the Peace Corps. No cost to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest Additions section.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Writing on BostonWorks.com, Penelope Trunk flouts the kind of mentality job-seekers demonstrate
when they take career assessments and try to get to know themselves better so they can choose the
right career. Instead, Trunk suggests there's no way to know a career is right for you unless you try it.
Rather than figuring yourself out, Trunk says "You should just start doing something." She indicates that
it's not so bad if it turns out to be the wrong job for you because you'll still learn from it and take something
away with you. Trunk doesn't mention that there are ways to try out jobs before making a long-term commitment --
such as job shadowing, internships, and informational interviews.
Read Trunk's full article.
An unusual -- but extremely useful -- form of career assessment is one that measures not your
internal personality, values, skills, and so on, but explores what external observers think of you.
The 360Reach assessment enables users to request feedback from an unlimited number of
respondents during a 30-day period. The people selected to provide input can give feedback about
your rational and emotional attributes, your greatest strength and greatest weakness, the team role
that most suits you, etc. They can also provide any additional comments they want to share.
360Reach includes two projective exercises to validate data and enable
you to gain richer insights into what those around you think about you.
Register here for teh 360Reach assessment.
Career fulfillment specialist Patricia Soldati tested 30 career assessments and offers these tips:
There is no single gold standard despite the fact that every company touts its assessment as such.
It takes considerable time and a sizable investment to create an assessment that is credible,
predictive, and clear in interpretation.
Most of the Internet freebies lack, or at least, don't publish such credentials; the old
saying 'you get what you pay for' probably applies. The upshot: online freebies are
more fun than fact; many are simply a teaser with limited reporting -- as
enticement to pony up for a fuller assessment.
Higher-priced assessments don't necessarily mean better or more valid; they may be
more proprietary and therefore, require a greater level of interpretation and support.
Career experts unanimously recommend taking several tests for a well-rounded,
vocational picture. You end up with expanded self-awareness, more options, and less
risk than by taking a single assessment.
Professional interpretation of results is one of the best investments you can make in
your career-change process.
Soldati's favorites: For personality assessment, the classic Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI); for interests and preferences, the Strong Interest Inventory, and if you think
you want to run a business, add Strong's Entrepreneur Assessment. She also likes the
Motivational
Appraisal of Personal Potential (MAPP).
If your school, organization, business or other
entity has a Web site, we welcome you to link to Quintessential Careers.
If you already have a link from your site, we want you to know we
appreciate it. If you don't have a link to us, please
send a request to your site's Webmaster to establish a
link to Quintessential Careers. Thanks so much!
For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our
Link to Us page.
Need a career expert for a story or article you're working on? Searching for college,
career, and job news? Interested in learning more about Quintessential Careers?
Our Press Room
is your one-stop location for getting the information and resources you need.
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* GLBT Job-search Issues
* The Demand for Good Writing Skills
* Annual College Admissions Panel
* Alternatives to College
* Storytelling that Propels Careers
* Annual Career Doctor Compendium
* The Value of Internships Abroad and Study Abroad
* Top 10 Fears of Job-seekers
* For Job-hunting Success, Develop a Detailed Job-Search Plan
* How to Build a Personal Advisory Board
* Keep Your Career Dreams Alive
* MBA Career Portfolios
* Pre-Hire Background/Credit Checks
* Noncompete Clauses
* Financial Aid/Scholarship Timetable
* Build Confidence and Avoid Insecurity in Job Interviews
* Empty Nest Job-seekers
* Are You Sabotaging Your Job-Search/Career?
* Lifelong Networking
* Networking for the Shy
* Working Night Shifts/Odd Hours
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more... including Quintessential Careers' 10th Anniversary!
