Thursday, March 06, 2008

Zeitgeist: A Zagat-Style Approach to Your Career

A good post from the Shifting Careers column/blog in the NY Times.
Excerpt:
"When it comes to career and life change, thinking is overrated. What you need is a way to get beyond your own subjectivity, without simply adopting another person’s subjectivity. One method is to create a right-brain file. Another is to interview five to 10 people who know you in a structured way.
To set up the interviews, create a short questionnaire (six to eight questions) with questions like:
* What are three things I do really well?
* What are three things I don’t do so well?
* Based on what you know about me, what job or experience have I liked the best in the past?
* Based on what you know about me, what job or experience have I liked the least?
* What are three things you can imagine me doing?
* What’s something you can’t really imagine me doing?
* How do I get in my own way?
Pick a variety of people who know different facets of you. You can ask friends, family members, colleagues, and people whose views you respect but whom you rarely speak to. Ask open-ended questions that encourage people to expound; avoid questions that can be answered yes or no."