I Don't Know What I Want, but I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work by Julie Jansen

Product Details

Synopsis

The quintessential guide to kick-starting your career- now updated to address the challenges of today's economy

With our current economic situation, more people are unemployed now than at any other time in recent history and many who do have jobs are overworked, maxed out, and miserable. In this revised and updated edition of I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This, career coach Julie Jansen shows how anyone unhappy with their employment-or lack of-can implement a real and satisfying career transformation. A range of quizzes and per-sonality exercises help readers to identify the type of work for which they're best suited, and then Jansen shows them how to transform this uncertain time from a period of crisis into an opportunity for positive change..

Publishers Weekly

"Close your eyes and...imagine what it would feel like to be happy and excited and fulfilled in your work." Can't do it? Career coach Janson's no-nonsense volume just might help. Herself a former disgruntled employee (she worked in broadcasting, recruiting, outplacement and other fields), Janson is a big proponent of jobs that suit: work, after all, "is not 'one size fits all.'" She identifies six reasons people find their employ unsatisfying, from boredom with an overly familiar routine, to insecurity in the face of discrimination or a toxic boss, to lack of focus on work due to an eye on upcoming retirement. Several quizzes and questionnaires ("When you think about the things you find meaningful, what comes to mind?"; "[Do you] prefer to be the leader rather than have others lead"?) help readers identify their job problems and the kinds of work they might find more meaningful, as well as build confidence in their choices. Janson offers stories of those who made the career change successfully (or in some cases, found a way to renew their interest in their old positions) as well as guidelines for becoming more entrepreneurial. Her advice is seasoned and her tone encouraging, making this a solid resource for people who know they don't like what they do; it might also be a wakeup call for others numbed into job complacency. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Biography

Julie Jansen is a career coach and sought-after professional speaker at both corporations and non-profit groups. She has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, Redbook, Psychology Today and Cosmopolitan.