Career Epiphany
[ This is an abstract of a
longer commentary which I posted to my other weblog. ]
Before you can do any thinking "outside the box" you need to realize that there is a box and that you've placed yourself within it. For years, I have been struggling with the question of "what do I want to do with my job". At least a decade ago, I made a set of Pro and Con lists, variously entitlted, Programmer, System Administrator, Tech Support, Quality Lead.
In the years that followed, I added Technical Writer and Webmaster to the lists. I added a list of generic Preferences and another for Interest Areas. But I was still thinking inside my box.
Last week, I had a job interview. One of the interviewers looked at my resume and commented that I have done many different things and held many positions programmer, tech writer, quality lead, web weaver. Then he asked, "What gets you out of bed in the morning? What do you really love to do?"
Good question.
I thought about it, and then I said "quality, process, and documentation".
We talked some more, but my brain continued to churn over the question.
After a while, I had the answer. It came in the form of an epiphany, one of those insightful, lightbulb-over-the-head, "Ah Ha" moments when you feel like slapping your forehead and saying "Du-u-h! WHAT was I THINKing before this?!"
I've been asking the wrong questions. I've been mislabeling the boxes.
Read the complete article in commentary…
Slightly Off KIlter 