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Product reviews for Finding Square Holes
Judy Allen (ENTP) Typeface the BAPT Quarterly Review Volume 17 number 1
When you know who you are, and how to excel, and what inspires, fascinates and drives you, you can review and plan your career with confidence. The book is divided into three parts:
Getting started provides a detailed overview of the factors that influence our career development. It addresses the need to be aware that career problems will occur for most of us some time. Problems might relate to life stages, a job that feels right in our twenties may pall fifteen or more years later. Alternatively, external factors such a new and unsympathetic boss or organisational reorganisation may trigger the need for a new job. The main message contained in this section is that a career crisis faced openly can become an opportunity.
The reader then has an opportunity to reflect on past achievements. This can have many benefits in raising the morale of anyone feeling negative as the result of work trauma and also in providing material which will help in deciding what to do next. This is balanced by a section that looks at “what went less well”. The intention here is to ensure that disappointments are “dealt with and despatched” and the chapter provides good advice to this end.
The groundwork examines the importance of money in career choice and our attitudes towards money, what it means to us, why we need it and how much we judge to be enough. The chapter then moves on to examine the link between our need for money and our career choice. Other aspects of work are addressed including the need for balance between freedom and obligation, the provision of structure, identity and self-esteem and fun.
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is introduced in this section in a chapter headed What sort of person are you? As ever it is a challenge to fit this vast subject into a wider framework and cover all aspects of Myers Briggs into one chapter. I tried to put myself into the shoes of someone unfamiliar with type theory when reading this. The design and explanation of this chapter reflects Anita's familiarity with her task and her easy conversational style makes the subject less threatening. I would have liked more tables and less text and a constant reminder of what the words and letters mean. I might have been confused by inclusion of such phrases as “an extraverted feeling type' without more explanation. From my professional perspective I felt it did cover all the bases very well. The illustrative examples are particularly good.
Reading the section entitles “How to check the suitability of a job' is particularly useful in that it provides a means to use the knowledge of type theory to examine the components of a job and check on the fit. I have always been a little concerned about using Myers Briggs to choose a career since, as an ENTP, I might have undertaken nurse training (only 6% of nurses had NT preferences in my day!) Looked at this way I could have seen those aspects of nursing that I might easy and those that might be a stretch.
This section goes on to examine the importance of values and provides a comprehensive framework for readers to examine this topic in depth. It also addresses the questions What's important about you? and What are your assets? Working on these chapters provides both personal insights and important information for job applications. The last chapter What lies between you and your ideal career? Is more philosophical and reflects on the ways in which our beliefs about ourselves can put limit on our ambitions.
Getting practical starts by recapping the topics covered and provides information about career options. As with the earlier parts of the book this part combines practical data with helpful references to the individual personal experience of seeking a new career. The practical includes the importance of networking, time management and goal setting while the personal refers back to the importance of beliefs. Finally, Anita lists ten useful beliefs which summarise her approach to career planning.
As may be evident, I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a change in career focus. More than that I feel it has value as a guide to examining one's point in life overall.
- Getting started
- The groundwork
- Getting practical
Getting started provides a detailed overview of the factors that influence our career development. It addresses the need to be aware that career problems will occur for most of us some time. Problems might relate to life stages, a job that feels right in our twenties may pall fifteen or more years later. Alternatively, external factors such a new and unsympathetic boss or organisational reorganisation may trigger the need for a new job. The main message contained in this section is that a career crisis faced openly can become an opportunity.
The reader then has an opportunity to reflect on past achievements. This can have many benefits in raising the morale of anyone feeling negative as the result of work trauma and also in providing material which will help in deciding what to do next. This is balanced by a section that looks at “what went less well”. The intention here is to ensure that disappointments are “dealt with and despatched” and the chapter provides good advice to this end.
The groundwork examines the importance of money in career choice and our attitudes towards money, what it means to us, why we need it and how much we judge to be enough. The chapter then moves on to examine the link between our need for money and our career choice. Other aspects of work are addressed including the need for balance between freedom and obligation, the provision of structure, identity and self-esteem and fun.
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is introduced in this section in a chapter headed What sort of person are you? As ever it is a challenge to fit this vast subject into a wider framework and cover all aspects of Myers Briggs into one chapter. I tried to put myself into the shoes of someone unfamiliar with type theory when reading this. The design and explanation of this chapter reflects Anita's familiarity with her task and her easy conversational style makes the subject less threatening. I would have liked more tables and less text and a constant reminder of what the words and letters mean. I might have been confused by inclusion of such phrases as “an extraverted feeling type' without more explanation. From my professional perspective I felt it did cover all the bases very well. The illustrative examples are particularly good.
Reading the section entitles “How to check the suitability of a job' is particularly useful in that it provides a means to use the knowledge of type theory to examine the components of a job and check on the fit. I have always been a little concerned about using Myers Briggs to choose a career since, as an ENTP, I might have undertaken nurse training (only 6% of nurses had NT preferences in my day!) Looked at this way I could have seen those aspects of nursing that I might easy and those that might be a stretch.
This section goes on to examine the importance of values and provides a comprehensive framework for readers to examine this topic in depth. It also addresses the questions What's important about you? and What are your assets? Working on these chapters provides both personal insights and important information for job applications. The last chapter What lies between you and your ideal career? Is more philosophical and reflects on the ways in which our beliefs about ourselves can put limit on our ambitions.
Getting practical starts by recapping the topics covered and provides information about career options. As with the earlier parts of the book this part combines practical data with helpful references to the individual personal experience of seeking a new career. The practical includes the importance of networking, time management and goal setting while the personal refers back to the importance of beliefs. Finally, Anita lists ten useful beliefs which summarise her approach to career planning.
As may be evident, I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a change in career focus. More than that I feel it has value as a guide to examining one's point in life overall.
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08/11/2006 00:00
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