Happy Holidays Kevin. Prince may be disappointed 🙂 but it sounds like you smashed into a proverbial career brick wall. Thanks for sharing your unique story = everybody has one. Misery can actually serve as a valuable teacher + future motivator. Once you are in that certain spot you try never to return. You have successfully turned a negative workplace experience into a fulfilling career. I enjoy reading your thoughtful posts. Cheers.

Great thoughts Jorge, thanks for sharing interesting ideas. Self-assessment is an ongoing process and one that many job seekers often dismiss in the trials of a search and selection process. It’s an imperative step to finding lasting + fulfilling work. I hear you, individuals need to find the right balance with economic realities. Ideally, it’s an ongoing process where life intersects career. Thanks again + Cheers.

Appreciate your kind + thoughtful feedback Jacqui. Self-assessment is often misconstrued as self indulgence when it’s actually a core step in a thoughtful career process. Agree completely, so often the hurried pace of our current culture is a barrier to a targeted + introspective career selection process. Certainly this recession has added a layer of complexity to the urgency factor as well. It’s wise for seekers to take the much-needed time. Long-term = think future rewards. Happy Holiday Cheers.
.-= Meghan M. Biro´s last blog ..MeghanMBiro: chuckles 🙂 > RT @lindseypollak: A $25,000 customized cupcake car in the Neiman Marcus catalogue [via @patkiernan] http://ow.ly/Hyg9 =-.

One item that really struck me was your reference to self assessment being a ‘hard look’ vs. ‘self indulgence.’

Truly, one of my concerns about the rapid pace of social media and the current world culture is the seeming ‘need for speed.’ Consistently, I encourage prospective resume clients to slow down, be introspective and work through a phased, multi-week process to really hone in/redirect their job-search message (it works! not every goal, or phase toward a goal, must be achieved in the stroke of a computer key).

As well, your encouraging individuals to take some time during this holiday season to assess their situations, assess/research appropriate companies for their skill sets, assess their own factors that impact their appeal to companies, etc., is spot on.

Combining thoughtful, introspective methodologies with traction-focused ‘action steps’ blends well to spark effective job-search results.

Jacqui

You mention that Personal Values sometimes take a back seat. That’s a relevant point, but I’d like to address when you just have to take the job you may not really want. (You gotta put food on the table.)

In that case, introspection is even more valuable. If you know where you stand you are better prepared to proactively anticipate conflicts before they come up and better prepare for them. You can make a game out of “outsmarting” what is likely to come up in your workplace. This mentality goes with the saying, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

If you do have to take a job you dislike, introspection can help you make a game out of coping. Your feather in your hat is to rise above the predicament and find joy anyway.

I wrote my own introspective article “Five Steps for Beating the Christmas Bah Humbug Job Seeker Blues” (see http://www.careerjockey.org/five-steps-for-beating-the-christmas-bah-humbug-economic-blues/) describing what I’m doing to stay very positive during the coming weeks leading up to Christmas.

Hope this helps.
.-= Jorge Lazaro Diaz´s last blog ..Five Steps for Beating the Christmas Bah Humbug Job Seeker Blues =-.

Happy Holidays!
.-= Kevin W. Grossman´s last blog ..Making sense of your PR distribution options (no registration or batteries required) =-.