Finding the right path ... for right now
April 26, 2019 11:55 AM Subscribe
I'm going through a job search and looking for advice on what career fields and jobs I should pursue.
I'm job searching and just went through "What Color Is My Parachute." I'm trying to brainstorm different career fields and jobs that might be a fit for me.
The book has you identify three knowledge fields and five skills that you think are your 'top' knowledges and skills. For me they are:
Knowledge fields:
1. Storytelling
2. Behavioral Psychology
3. History
Skills:
1. Create, innovate, and invent.
2. Use acute senses (hearing, smell, taste, sight) to convey meaning.
3. Communicate well, in person, methodically and deliberately.
4. Use my brain to come up with new ideas.
5. Initiate, be a pioneer and a resourceful leader.
It then says to ask your friends what jobs or work these eight data points suggest to them. So! I figured I would ask you all.
Other info
-Knowledges usually point to a career field.
-Skills usually point to a job-title or job-level.
-Combining two or three of the knowledges into one specialty is what can make you unique.
I've gotten some feedback from people IRL and would love some more wild guesses. I'm open to everything. Thanks!
I'm job searching and just went through "What Color Is My Parachute." I'm trying to brainstorm different career fields and jobs that might be a fit for me.
The book has you identify three knowledge fields and five skills that you think are your 'top' knowledges and skills. For me they are:
Knowledge fields:
1. Storytelling
2. Behavioral Psychology
3. History
Skills:
1. Create, innovate, and invent.
2. Use acute senses (hearing, smell, taste, sight) to convey meaning.
3. Communicate well, in person, methodically and deliberately.
4. Use my brain to come up with new ideas.
5. Initiate, be a pioneer and a resourceful leader.
It then says to ask your friends what jobs or work these eight data points suggest to them. So! I figured I would ask you all.
Other info
-Knowledges usually point to a career field.
-Skills usually point to a job-title or job-level.
-Combining two or three of the knowledges into one specialty is what can make you unique.
I've gotten some feedback from people IRL and would love some more wild guesses. I'm open to everything. Thanks!
Best answer: Marketing! I know a bunch of people in marketing and adjacent fields, and it's all about telling a story using what you know about people, their behavior, and how they use sensory information. Given your leadership skills you might want to look for managerial roles.
posted by capricorn at 12:17 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by capricorn at 12:17 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Design researcher. Communications role at a company or nonprofit.
posted by pinochiette at 12:38 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 12:38 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Therapist, marketer, clergy (pastor, rabbi, etc), teacher/instructor, communications specialist, public speaker.
posted by dog-eared paperback at 1:01 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by dog-eared paperback at 1:01 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Storytelling and psychology made me automatically think of marketing or advertising. If you don't have a specific skill like writing or graphic design, maybe an event planning role where you have to come up with ideas, out together physical set-ups and deal with a lot of people would be a good role for you?
posted by AppleTurnover at 2:17 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by AppleTurnover at 2:17 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm also looking at changing careers! I think the above are great suggestions, especially marketing and advertising. I don't have any experience in those fields so take that with a grain of salt . Sometimes the way a profession is described in books or school is different from the real world. For example in healthcare, understaffing and budget cuts can make it very challenging sometimes to provide the absolute best care possible for every patient 100% of the time . There can be a lot of prioritizing.
I would suggest speaking with people in the field or searching for online communities in those respective fields. Reddit actually has a number of helpful subreddits for many professions.
I have a number of family friends who are very extroverted, great storytellers. They have found lucrative careers in sales. They work in Pharmaceutical Sales and industrial type sales (a company that cleans/washes employee uniforms, sells cleaning supplies, fire extinguishers, etc). They make great money but have to hustle hard to gain/maintain clients. This profession requires a certain personality (I couldn't do it) and is not for everybody. They certainly made more money than I did my first year as a biology graduate!
posted by mundo at 10:42 PM on April 26, 2019
I would suggest speaking with people in the field or searching for online communities in those respective fields. Reddit actually has a number of helpful subreddits for many professions.
I have a number of family friends who are very extroverted, great storytellers. They have found lucrative careers in sales. They work in Pharmaceutical Sales and industrial type sales (a company that cleans/washes employee uniforms, sells cleaning supplies, fire extinguishers, etc). They make great money but have to hustle hard to gain/maintain clients. This profession requires a certain personality (I couldn't do it) and is not for everybody. They certainly made more money than I did my first year as a biology graduate!
posted by mundo at 10:42 PM on April 26, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! This is a great list to start with.
posted by tooloudinhere at 1:01 PM on April 28, 2019
posted by tooloudinhere at 1:01 PM on April 28, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by wellred at 12:07 PM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]