19 Apr 11 How to Find a Job You Love and Where You Excel

Authenticity is key in looking for work. Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, shares about that in this video (click to see embedded video):

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Tags: attitude, authenticity, branding, communication, Employment, interviewing, Job interview, Simon Sinek, video

26 Feb 10 The hardest part of your job search

What is the hardest part of your job search?

Is it finding contacts to one of your target companies? Is it building a list of companies you’re targeting? How about preparing for interviews?

For me, the hardest part of my job search is also the most important part.  What I’m about to say is echoed time and again from people I’ve interviewed for the How I Got My Job job search success stories podcast. I believe it’s the most important part and most often the hardest. Because it requires so much work up front. (more…)

Tags: 48 Days to the Work You Love, Employment, job hunt, Marketing, Seth Godin

09 Nov 09 Pursuing Your Passion

Ever feel like someone’s trying to tell you something?

1. Early this afternoon I did an in-person interview for How I Got My Job with a good friend of mine, Marc Hopkins, about how he got his recent job as an adjunct professor at a local university. During that interview he talked about YourOneDegree.com. From their website: “Your One Degree is the specific focus and direction you were put on planet earth to pursue and accomplish.”
2. Later this afternoon, while browsing the aggregate feed for this year’s National Podcast Post Month (NaPodPoMo) website, I found this post from Will Brown entitled Pursuing Your Passion. I was intrigued so much that I had to take a second listen.
3. My good friend and Cincinnati-area colleague Cliff Ravenscraft from GSPN.tv has a blog and podcast entitled Pursuing a Balanced Life. You may have seen some updates on Twitter with the #PABL hashtag; Cliff and this community are behind that. He left a high-paying job selling insurance to pursue a passion in podcasting and has been able to make a living doing that. I’ve heard him share his story a number of times, and I continue to be inspired.

Maybe it’s that being in transition removes a lot of the other constraints I felt like I was under when I was working full-time, but I’m at least seeing a lot more varied opportunities come my way to try new things.

What about you?

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Tags: Cliff Ravenscraft, GSPN, mission, multiple careers, NaPodPoMo, One Degree, PABL, passion

23 Sep 08 Treading Water in a Job Search

I’ve been reading a book called One Person / Multiple Careers by Marci Alboher. It’s got me thinking differently about how I see my life and career.

I have been searching for a position that combines what I do with social/new media with the business intelligence/development stuff I get paid for. I am still unsure if and how these both can be done, or if I should continue pursuing these disparately.

I have had a number of friends suggest that I pursue a career in new media marketing, because I’m great at it. My nature has not been one to take risks, and I know that has limited me from opportunities.

I feel like I’m treading water right now. I know that I’m not passionate enough about different programming languages to spend time trying to keep up with that technology. I am more passionate about interacting with people.

What do you think? How would you recommend I continue my search? I’m open to your suggestions.

Tags: multiple careers, self-assessment

29 Jun 07 Test drive your dream job

This is interesting. One of my Twitter friends told me to check out Vocation Vacations.

Related tags: getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking daniel+johnson+jr twitter vocation+vacations

11 Jan 07 Find Your Ideal Career

While driving home from work yesterday, I listened to the Buckeye Drive Time podcast, #122. If you’re not familiar with the format, Tom Rockhold shares an Ohio moment, three podsafe songs – songs that independent music artists have permitted to be played on a podcast, and three podcast promos – audio commercials for other podcasts. It’s designed to be a drive-time alternative to mainstream radio.

One of the promos I heard yesterday was for Find Your Ideal Career, which I found really intriguing. Michael Spremulli helps college students figure out what they want and discover their ideal career path, sometimes referred to as the “Simon Cowell of personality profiling”. It looks like the podcast is brand new; I haven’t listened to it myself yet.

I’d have to imagine that the show could be useful to anyone wanting some more advice on their own career assessment, whether you’re in college or not. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Related tags: getthatjob get that job job hunt job search career advice career assessment professional development personality assessment michael spremulli find your ideal career buckeye drive time tom rockhold podcast

29 Dec 06 From the Comments – Advice on Uncovering a Passion to Turn Into a Career

Earlier this week I wrote a post entited, “You’ve Fallen – Now Get Back Up“. I got a comment, and because my response was rather lengthy, I decided to put it into its own post. Also, I wanted to provide you all with an opportunity to share your advice. Here’s the comment:

Just stumbled onto this blog as a new effort in my 10-year unsuccessful search to uncover a passion that I can turn into a career, preferably an unconventional one.

Any advice for someone who is not afraid to try and fail, but who is desperately afraid of failing to find something to try?

First of all, thanks for leaving a comment.

10 years is quite a long time. Without knowing much about you personally, I can only offer some general advice and come from the perspective of job seeker myself. I guess it’s really good that you’re making steps toward looking.

When you say that you’re “desperately afraid of failing to find something to try,” I have to wonder what you’ve already done in your quest to learn more about yourself. I know of several types of career assessments available (check out the blogroll or search around here or via your favorite search engine).

I believe that the key for any job seeker is really knowing himself. You have to know what your where your interests and aptitudes lie.

I also believe it’s important to do some “market research”. Find a need and fill it.

I also believe that a single blog is not the end point. There are many others out here with other points of view and their own wisdom. So read what others are saying.

Lastly, and you’ll read this elsewhere, get tied in with other people. I’m talking about networking. I encourage you to try out JibberJobber (see the link on this page). It’s a great tool that I’ve started using to manage the details of my job-searching relationships, and I’ve found it to be very helpful so far.

With that in mind, don’t be a stranger! If you’d like to contact me directly, send me an email: danimal0416 [at] gmail [dot] com

Related tags:

getthatjob get+that+job job+hunt job+search career+advice networking professional+development dan+johnson

12 Apr 04

What Career Choices Do ENFJs Make?

ENFJ is one of the sixteen Myers-Briggs Types. I’m an ENFJ. For more information on what this means specifically, you can check out this web page. You could also search it in your favorite search engine; there’s a Google search utility on this blog, as a matter of fact.

I belong to an ENFJ email group, and the following message was sent out recently:

I am in between jobs and wanted to know what other people do for a living.

I am also very interested in whether you consider this to be your passion or a career or a just a job.

Thanks.

As I began to read the replies, I thought that it would be useful to post them here. Here’s one:

The basic tread of ENFJs is a quest to teach. Even though I don’t teach professionally now, I am always

learning stuff so I can teach. I did teach classical piano for 15 years but grew to hate it because while I did have good and exceptional students from time to time, most were just being enriched by their wealthy parents.

Below is a list of my life’s work experience. Please do not think of me as a jack of all trades and master of none because that is not true. I just get bored after awhile and want something new. I have been blessed with the ability to change professions, for

example, after fifteen years in the auto business becoming the top salesman for Ford in New Jersey, New York and PA, I started taking lessons on the piano and went on to a full time career in music.

1. Movie Usher.

2. Construction worker. ( Under my father )

3. Heavy machinery driver. ( Florida Turnpike )

4. Radar Operator US Army.

5. Radio Operator US Army.

6. Supply Seargent US Army.

7. Auto Salesman.

8. Auto Parts Department Manager.

9. Auto Service Department Manager.

10. Auto Sales Manager.

11. Piano Teacher.

12. Piano Tuner.

13. Pianist.

14. Accountant.

15. Real Estate Salesman.

16. Insurance Salesman.

17. Computer programmer.

18. Investigator for State Police.

19. Stock and Bond Investor

Interesting. Here’s another reply:

I’m so drawn to teaching that after only three years of being a High School teacher I’ve put my hand up for having a prac teacher from the local uni. So now I teach the kids and help a new teacher learn how to teach.

It’s quite an addiction!

High School teaching is a passion, but not necessarily a career. Like [a previous person mentioned] I see myself getting itchy in a few years. I’ve always fancied going off to Bible College and becoming the pastor of a church. But I’m scared my heart will be too much in it, which would be very dangerous if things went poorly.

Yet another ENFJ replies:

My first thought on this subject was “career choice?” I don’t feel that I was able to make a career choice. I kind of fell into my line of work. I did extremely well in Office Education in high school (but I probably would have done well in other subjects–it

was a VERY small school and there were very few programs available outside of the regular curriculum), and when I needed to make money after I graduated I secured an administrative assistant position at the refinery which was our small town’s primary employer. I worked while I went to the local junior college. Soon I was married and we moved to a slightly larger town so my husband could attend a university. Of course, the dutiful wife (I score spades in dutiful), the primary income generation fell to me. An agency got me an interview with a large bank and after working in various departments I was promoted to receptionist in the trust department, where the Sr. VP

and trust officer happened to also be an attorney. My husband, the gypsy, moved us all over and it seemed that one thing led to another, always working for attorneys, because the work was the highest paying clerical work. (Meanwhile every attempt of mine to go to college was thwarted by said husband…now my ex!) And I *was* a very good secretary, anticipating the needs of my bosses (and attorneys are VERY needy), well organized, proficient. But I was a secretary. I found it extremely demeaning, because I knew I was capable of so much more.

Now, I find myself LOVING my job at a lawfirm–because I am allowed to be SO MUCH MORE! I am still a legal secretary, but also a legal technologist, handling the technical needs of the firm. My goal is for the job to work into full time technology, and I think it is a reasonable assumption that it is just a matter of time. And believe it or not, I like have the secretarial work when I am experiencing information overload and I need to process or just to do something at which I excel. I have always been appreciated in

my jobs, but I have never felt fulfilled until now.

I have been a “job hopper” because I “still hadn’t found what I was looking for” to coin a U2 lyric! I, and I suspect others of my type (ENFJ), needed variety and to feel that I added unique value. Now I get to do many different things, have lots to learn, many challenges, and I have found the right environment (jeans, relaxed atmosphere, great coworkers). I notice that I am learning not to take things personally, that I no longer expect to win every battle and indeed that some things are not battles anyway. For instance, I asked for business cards, but the firm does not provide business cards to anyone but attorneys and paralegals. I will just print my own and eventually I’m sure I will get firm cards, I realize they have never had anyone in this position and are not ready to set this precedent. I think all of the personal growths I am recognizing are really just due to wisdom, which has come with my advancing

years. I don’t make top dollar, but thanks to my husband I don’t have to anymore.

I know this is way more than you wanted to know, but I’ve waxed eloquent on other occasions about how dissatisfied I was with my occupation, and I just wanted to share what a great change has occurred.

I still feel that it resulted because of circumstances (which I attribute to God) and I’m so grateful! I don’t think it is bad, obviously, to keep changing and hunting and striving for the ideal. (That said, I didn’t get a lot of interviews due to my poor tenure!)