Who Am I? Finding A Job Lesson 2

Casey was a pretty good student. He earned Bs in almost every subject. He always completed his work on time and was a member of the computer science and journalism clubs. Casey had an outgoing nature, and he even served as class vice-president during his junior year. As he neared graduation, his teachers, friends, and parents began asking him what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He always laughed and said something funny like “president of the United States,” but worry secretly gnawed at him. “I know I’m a good student and have a lot of
interests,” he said to himself, “but no career seems like a good match for me. What should I do?”

                Does Casey’s story sound familiar? If so, you’ve come to the right place. You may feel frustrated that after years of education, you still don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life. Don’t despair! There are millions of people in the same boat as you who just need a little help matching their interests and skills with career options. So let’s get started! (Note: You may already know what you want to be in life, perhaps an engineer, teacher, or diagnostic medical sonographer. If that’s the case, congratulations, but you should move on to the other chapters in this book to start learning how you can get a job.)
 
WHo AM I?
This question may seem a little scary, but all it’s really asking is, What type of personality do I have? What are my interests? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What are my values? If you can honestly assess yourself, you will be more successful finding a career that is a good fit for you.

Your Personality, Interests, strengths, and Weaknesses
Maribel was an outgoing person who loved to talk to her friends and family on the phone and via email and text messages. She enjoyed biology, the outdoors, and blogging about the importance of protecting the environment, and she even got a chance to be interviewed by the local television station about a class project that helped restore a local wetland. “It was so exciting to be on TV and tell people about all of the good we did,” she said to her parents. “I just loved it!” When Maribel graduated from college with a degree in biology, she had trouble finding a job. After sending out hundreds of resumes, a research laboratory called her for an interview, and she was offered a job as a laboratory technician. Although it wasn’t quite a perfect match for her, she accepted the offer, believing that any job was better than none. After just a few weeks at work, Maribel realized she hated her job. She worked under florescent lighting in a tiny laboratory with no windows. She longed to catch a glimpse of the trees waving in the breeze and feel the sun beaming down on her face. While her coworkers were friendly, they barely spoke to one another because the work was so demanding. At times, she felt like she was in a tomb. Within a few months, Maribel had had enough, and she gave her notice.
    Maribel made a critical error when choosing a career—not finding one that matched her personality type. It’s important that you don’t repeat Maribel’s mistake.
    What is your personality type? Are you outgoing, sensitive, analytical, introverted, laid-back, or a combination of these traits?
    There are four main temperaments, or personality types: phlegmatic, melancholy, sanguine, and choleric. Each has corresponding strengths and weaknesses. The following paragraphs provide more information about these temperaments.
               “It’s important to match your personality type to a job. People with introverted and quiet personalities may have a hard time working in jobs such as sales—which require a lot of public speaking and interaction with different types of people—while those with outgoing personalities would probably thrive in such careers. Finding a job that suits your personality will make it easier to succeed in your career.”
                          Marnie Blaylock, sales worker


Phlegmatic
       Phlegmatic people are “steady-as-they-go” individuals. Their strengths are a combination of their consistency and their abilities. Those with phlegmatic personalities are easy to live with and undemand-ing. Phlegmatic individuals need to be sure that they don’t become too laid-back and not get work done or spend too much time observing the world as it passes by. Some of the most negative traits of the phlegmatic personality are indecisiveness, laziness, and timidness.
 
Melancholy
        Melancholic individuals are sensitive and gifted and often catch things that other people miss. They are faithful friends, willing to sacrifice for the good of others, excellent listeners, and perfectionists (which makes them dependable because they don’t like to let people down). Some of the most negative traits of the melancholy personality are moodiness, shyness, and pessimism.
 
Sanguine
         If you like being the life of the party, you might have a sanguine personality. Sanguine people enjoy trying new things and meeting new people and are seldom at a loss for words. They are typically cheer-ful, energetic, and good at motivating others. Some of the negative traits of the sanguine personality are arrogance, inattention to detail, and poor listening skills.
 
Choleric
          Choleric individuals are independent and self-sufficient. They are good at making decisions and are often strong leaders. Choleric people are filled with ideas and ways to implement them. They love being in the middle of the action. These individuals need to be careful that, in their excitement at generating and implementing ideas, they don’t overlook other people’s needs and ideas and act like dictators. Some of the most negative traits of the choleric personality are the need to control others, argumentativeness, impatience, inflexibility, pushiness, and insensitivity.
    
       Now that you’ve studied the personality types and selected traits from the Categories of Personality Traits, what do you do next? In Maribel’s case, it was pretty obvious that her outgoing personality and love of the outdoors were a poor match for her job as a laboratory technician. But it may not be so easy for you to match your personality traits with an appropriate career. Luckily, there are Web sites where you can take a personality inventory, a scientific test designed to help people pinpoint their personal-ity types as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
   
Your Values
        Conlan faced a tough choice. He had just been hired for an entry-level job as a public relations assistant at an electric utility company, and the hiring manager casually mentioned that the company’s latest PR campaign about its green-energy initiatives was tremendously successful despite the fact that most of its claims were “a bit of a stretch.” Conlan could read between the lines and didn’t like what he heard. The manager’s comments suggested that Conlan would be required to falsify or “stretch” the accuracy of information to improve the company’s reputation with the public. This type of activity was contrary to Conlan’s values, and he decided that he would have to respectfully tell his boss that he would not be willing to lie as part of his job. Otherwise, he would have to quit his job and find one that allowed him to be more ethical.
          How would you respond in this situation? Your answer will provide you with a glimpse of your values and ethics. What are values and ethics, and how are they important during the job search? Values are the things and principles that are most important to you. They involve our feelings, ideas, and beliefs. Ethics are a system of morals, a code of unwritten rules that guide how we act toward others. Strong ethics consist of fair, honest treatment of others (think of the Golden Rule).
 
         It’s very important to assess your values and ethics before you begin your job search. That way, you will be able to match your belief system (hopefully, highly ethical) to careers and companies that share these traits. For example, if an event such as the recent financial scandal on Wall Street really bothered you, you will want to avoid applying for a job at companies that have a reputation for poor ethics and questionable business practices. Otherwise, you might find yourself like Conlan, who was stuck in a situation that conflicted with his values.