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Can you suggest a career based on my skills and interests ("Parachute" book)?


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Helllllloooooo

 

I'm unhappy with my current career, so I've been doing "some soul-searching" to find myself again. I've been going through the self-ID exercises in "What Color is Your Parachute" in order to rediscover my transferable skills and interests. Chapter 9 in the book asks me to pass these two lists to other people to see what careers (fields, titles, positions, etc.) they elicit. I'd be much appreciative if you took a stab as well...

 

Skills:

  1. Create, Invent
  2. Solve Problems
  3. Imagine
  4. Make, Produce
  5. Construct
  6. Shape, Sculpt, Model

 

 

Fields of Interest:

  1. Emerging Technology
  2. Science
  3. Nature
  4. Strategy Games (i.e. board games)

 

 

Thanks for any input you can provide!

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What is your education and experience? What are you qualified to do? Finding happiness is a combo of matching your talents, education, etc with your passions. Get an excellent profile with a good head shot photo up on LinkedIn. List your education and experience. Update your resume.

 

Upload your contact lists and see who is on there so you can start making "connections". Find former classmates, coworkers, etc. Truth is..."who you know" is still very important.

 

Join groups and clubs that reflect both personal and professional interests. For example join your high school and collage alumni associations. Join any associations that reflect you professional experience or interests. Also join some groups or clubs that interest you and reveal a civic/volunteerism side. The environment, animals, whatever. Become a well rounded person.

 

Be much more specific when referring to your skills and interests and demonstrate competence in those through examples. Anyone can say "I'm creative", etc.

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What is your education and experience? What are you qualified to do? Finding happiness is a combo of matching your talents, education, etc with your passions. Get an excellent profile with a good head shot photo up on LinkedIn. List your education and experience. Update your resume.

 

I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. My work experience has been in technology consulting. Most of the work was very technical and detail-oriented, which I am not suited for. A bit of the work in user experience and design, which I did enjoy and feel suited for, but I do not think I have enough background here to be hired full time as a user experience designer or similar.

 

 

Be much more specific when referring to your skills and interests and demonstrate competence in those through examples. Anyone can say "I'm creative", etc.
I realize this and it's frustrating. I'm fairly honest about my abilities, and I would never say that I'm hyper analytical or great with logistics, but I really am creative (imaginative, out of the box thinking, crafting). You're right, however, that everyone can and does say they're creative. But because I've been in a non-creative profession for so long, I do not have any great examples that I'd feel comfortable demonstrating in an interview. I mean, I wouldn't bring creative writing or some woodworking I've done to an interview.

 

I feel stuck because I have a work background that has not made use of my strongest abilities, and now I am having trouble conveying that I have them at all.

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How can you not be suited for something you have a degree in? I mean, if you didn't have an aptitude for it, you would have failed your classes or wouldhave not been accepted into the major. engineering IS creative because you take that creative idea, and work it into something concrete - where it actually can be made and is not just in someone's brain. Its creating even if you don't think its creative

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A bit of the work in user experience and design, which I did enjoy and feel suited for, but I do not think I have enough background here to be hired full time as a user experience designer or similar.

 

Bridge this gap by pursuing technical writing experience, training development and UX design as a junior on the team. You don't need to apply for senior positions, and you might even pursue jobs in your current field that cross over into these areas to gain more experience. Some classes in the field can also help. Stress this experience on your resume as well as listing the course work you take in it, and this will flag the resume sorting algorithms to raise your resume for such jobs.

 

Everybody needs to junior in new fields before they can senior. Seek support positions in this field and build your experience and skills over time.

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