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Step 1: Identify Your
Current Skills & Work Preferences
The end result of
your completing Steps 1 and 2 is that you'll get a clear picture of what you're
really looking for and what you want to do. Armed with that knowledge,
you'll spend the rest of your time engaged in productive activities that
will move you forward towards reaching your work at home goals.
It makes
absolutely no sense to spend your time looking for a job, if a job isn't really
what you want. And, it's a waste of your time and money to attempt to
start your own business, if your personality and interests aren't a good match
for that kind of work.
I used to be amazed that more people
didn't take the time to complete these two steps. Then, I realized that
few people take the time to begin their search at this point because no one
tells us that this is where the search actually begins.
Instead, we're usually given
advice like, "Oh, you should go into this or that field because it's
'hot'," or "You should enter this occupation because that's where the
money is."
And so, most of us have entered
job fields and occupations, or started and carried on in businesses that were
"hot" or that paid us lots of money, but that made us feel
miserable. Why? Because no one placed a value upon, or taught us the
importance of, completing these first two steps BEFORE we began our search for a
way to earn a living.
These are the two most important
steps in your ENTIRE job search.
Let me show you why with this simple illustration:
If you've ever been in a
shopping mall, I'm sure you've
seen, or have even used, those maps that help you to find any store you're looking
for. You know the ones I'm talking about -- they're usually encased in a
huge, standalone display unit and, depending upon the complexity of the mall,
mall levels may be color-coded, and individual sections and stores will be coded
using letters and numbers.
Now, once you've used the map
to determine where your store is located in the mall do you just start walking
and hope that you'll somehow run into it? Or do you first look for those
three magic words, "YOU ARE HERE"? I'd venture a guess that most
of you stop and look for those words, because you know that by first learning
where you are in respect to the store you were search for, you can begin to chart a course for
getting there.
Well, finding your way to the
perfect work at home solution is no different. See, most people decide
that they want to work at home, and then jump on the internet and start running
from one Web site to the next hoping to find legitimate home-based work.
They have no idea what they are looking for really, but they just sort of hope
that they'll run into "it" somehow.
In the end, many people waste
tons of time (and lots of money) chasing after "work at home," then
finally abandon their search and conclude that all work at home ads and Web
sites are scams. Or, they end up buying into programs, business
opportunities, or working in home-based jobs that they do not enjoy, and again,
quit before they achieve any real success. They never realize that the reason
their efforts always end in frustration, and the reason that they fail to find
what it is they are searching for, is that they have
-
neglected to first
determine where they are, and
-
neglected
to determine where they are trying to go.
Knowing where you are helps you
in setting goals to get where you want to be. Setting goals helps you to
create a plan of action. And, following a plan of action helps to keep you
focused, and moves you forward toward reaching your goals.
I've enjoyed success on the
internet not because I "got lucky," but because I started by
determining where I was, where I wanted to go, and then I charted a course and
followed it. During my assessment, I asked myself, "What do I really
want to do? What do I enjoy doing? What skills do I already have,
and which ones would I need in order to get where I'm trying to
go?"
My technical skills assessment revealed that I
would need to learn a whole new set of skills. I had some of the technical
skills I needed (like really good word processing and writing skills), but when
it came to the internet, I had no skills at all. I didn't know how to
design and build a Web site, how to write an ebook, how to make money selling
products or services on the internet -- nothing. Once I understood what I needed to learn,
I just started somewhere (I took a class to learn HTML) and continued to build
from there.
Now realize, an assessment of
your technical skills is only half of the equation. Of equal importance
are your personal preferences, your values, and your work preferences. For
example, a person who enjoys gathering around the water cooler with fellow
colleagues is not going to enjoy working at home. Working at home is
mostly a solitary endeavor. Many people who don't realize their preference
in this area have either left their home-based job to return to an office
environment, or are working at home, but are miserable.
Most of us have learned the method for
getting a "job." We've been taught (or have learned) that you
start by first assessing a job, and then you learn how to do it.
The problem with this method is that your interests and work preferences --
who you are -- are not part of the equation. As a result, you end up trying to squeeze
who you are into the confines of a "box" that's only got room
for what you can do.
If you work at a
"regular" job, you witness the results of this confinement every day
-- bitter, negative, discontented people who hate their jobs because they feel no
sense of purpose or fulfillment in their work. Like robots, they wake up
every morning, shower, dress, commute to their "box," engage in
activities they either don't like to do or don't want to do, to further
interests that are not their own, then they commute back home, go to bed, and
the whole cycle begins again the next morning.
Does the "box" theory
sound familiar? Did I, by chance, just describe the sense of confinement you've been
feeling? If I did, and if you're ready to make a change, then you'll need
to learn that you can't use "box" methods to get a life. In
order to get a life, you've got to use "life" methods. You've
got to, shall we say, "think outside the box." And, to help you
begin to think outside the box, you need to start by assessing your life.
Start by taking
some time to consider what it is you really want to do. I mean, if
you've hated doing data entry for an employer at the office, you're not going to
like it much better doing it from home. If you don't really like what
you're doing, you're not going to be disciplined about doing the work, and
without discipline your work at home career will be a short one.
You also won't stay committed.
Pick up any book on the subject
of "success" or "becoming a millionaire," and you'll soon
learn that the one thing successful people have in common is that they followed
their passion. They did the thing they love to do the most.
I see so many people make
valiant attempts to make money on the internet. They sign up for programs
promising "easy money" and "quick riches." Most end up
giving up very early, and then fault the programs or businesses they'd gotten
involved with.
I wish I could help them all
understand that if they would have just taken a bit of time to assess their
skills, interests, and work preferences, they would have most likely discovered
that they had neither the skills nor the interest to get involved with the
program or business opportunity they so hastily bought in to.
I wish I could help them all
understand that if they would have just taken a bit of time to complete these
first two steps, they most likely would have spent their time engaged in
activities designed to move them forward towards success in what they DID want
to do. And, they would have been committed to stick with it until they'd
reached whatever goal they'd set for themselves.
I do hope that you can see the
value of taking the time to assess your skills, interests, and work preferences before you do anything else.
When you do, you'll save yourself lots of time and frustration. You'll also have
given yourself the best possible start to planning and traveling the
"right" path between
where you are and where you want to be. And, you won't waste your
money buying into programs, business opportunities, or schemes that will rob you
of your dream of earning a living at home.
Here are some great resources to help
you assess your current skills, interests, and work preferences. Don't
just focus on completing assessments that focus on technical or "job"
skills. Remember, it's equally important that you learn what your interests are, and
what kinds of jobs would be the best fit for your personality.
Be sure
to print off hard copies of the results of all of the assessments you complete,
because you'll need them when we define your "perfect" job in Step
2.
Free
Technical Skills/Career Assessment Tests
ALLearnatives
Telecommuting Assessment
Believe it or not, telecommuting isn't for
everyone. Take this assessment to see if you've got the right stuff to
work at home for your employer.
ACE
Training / Ace Development
Microsoft-Endorsed Skills
Assessment
Microsoft
Learning
Microsoft Skills Assessments including Security, End-user Support, Microsoft
Office System, Microsoft Windows Server System, and Visual Studio .NET.
Free
Typing/Data Entry Skills Assessment
Learn2Type
Free
online typing test
SelfTestOnline.com
Free
Web-based typing, keypad, and office skills testing
TypingMaster.com
Free
online typing test
Typing
Pal Online
Free
Web-based typing test
More
Free Assessment Tests (Career/Interests)
Career
Interests Game (MU Career Center)
Based on Dr. Holland's SDS (below), this game will help you match your skills
and interests with various job occupations. This is a great exercise to
help you develop ideas about the kind of work you'd be most interested in
pursuing. I thought it was fun, and very accurate.
Queendom.com
Tests, mind games, and tools to exercise your brain. This site is fun --
currently more than 200 tests available in various topics including Career,
Relationships, Health, and Personality.
Motivational
Appraisal of Personal Potential (MAPP)
Career Assessment testing that takes into account your motivations
CareerExperience.com
Comprehensive test that compares you to over 900 career possibilities
Low
Cost Skill Assessment Tests
Skill
Drill
IT Skills Assessment - $9.50 per test
Low
Cost Career Assessment Tests
Self
Directed Search (SDS) by Dr. John L. Holland
15 minute test that results in an 8-16 page personalized report that matches
occupations and fields of study to your interests - $8.95 per printable report
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