This month we are helping introverts with their job hunting. Please leave a questions about getting interviews or a comment relating to getting interviews. I will be giving away some freebies to some of the people that comment, so it’s worth your while. I will also try and answer your questions.
I reply to most questions personally by email, rather than by responding to comments, so get your questions in.
Thanks
Martin
Hi,
I received a spookily accurate personality profile from you a few weeks ago, and am extremely interested in your personality profile cert.
Julie
Hello Martin,
I really appreciate the effort you are putting in to try and make a difference, believe me it is appreciated. Too many times I have sent off a resume knowing that I was a good fit, and nothing , it has gone into the proverbial black hole which seems to be many recruiters … I once worked for a short period in recruiting, and with this particular company (I know it is not the norm ?) it was all about closing and getting someone in … it didn’t matter one thing if they were a good fit from a skills, knowledge let alone a cultural fit
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A very interesting assessment. Uncannily accurate. I am currently working on a business book and may well make reference to this site. I have found it most useful, not only in confirming what I already envisaged my personality to be but also in gaining a better insight into various working environments.
Know how it works and you can work it!
a few repetitive statements…and a few which arent true about me. I answered the test true to myself.
such as strongest assests – 1&3 could be argued to be the same thing. as 1 states “stick to any (underline) task to completion. 3 states the same.”
I also struggle to stick to mundane tasks, always leaving them for as long as possible. I do them eventually because thats what Im paid for but I resent it greatly.
I dont necessarily enjoy working in a team, prefer one to one or lone working. But i will work in a team if needed, but only shy away from the limelight because i feel uncomfortable with other people trying to take over and battle to be better than one another.
im not satisfied with this report and would like my money back please.
Im good at everything, but nothing really fills me with any passion. I end up getting bored easily then sabotage myself.
My CV is very colourful because of this, because I keep trying everything and anything to see if I will love it (not just like it for a little while).
Thank you Amy D! Your opening sentence could not summarise my situation better.
To obtain the Dream Job I need to be constantly challenged and nothing frustrates ( and at the same time impresses) me more than watching less able (in my opinion) people progress tremendously well because they can put up with the tedium that every job contains without needing passion and subsequently not comprising on quality of output.
How I wish I could do that!!
You have described a classic South East personality type. I sit close to that region myself so can relate to you quite well. You have a couple of problems. If you are relying on CV based recruitment then you are stuffed as it doesn’t like variety.
So if you are depending on your CV getting you a job you have a problem. I can show you an alternative in Step 2 of the 3 Step system, where you can make your varied talents work for you not against you.
I have a dream job – my own successful business – dream office, the works. Still moaning my head off as I am the worst boss I have ever worked for. I have been reading all your posts and there are a few things I think worth mentioning. The perfect job just ain’t out there, so stop howling for the moon and realise there are times you need to compromise. The money isn’t out there, and there will always be someone else with half your skills earning twice as much as you – learn to get over it. You are more employable employed – are you really going to sit at home for months mailing out CVs rather than get a job picking and packing somewhere to keep wolf from door and make contacts? Don’t keep firing off CVs for jobs that you cannot fulfil at least 80% of the skills, knowledge and experience required, and if you do you should set out clearly in your letter what you can bring to the party. Recruiters/employers are looking for a solution to a problem and your covering letter and personal statement on your CV should set out to the reader how you can provide the solution. Forget your USP (‘why should we employ you?’ No idea mate) and think UPTH – how are you Uniquely Placed To Help the employer. Finally, don’t gold plate the CV with skills you don’t own, it will come back and bite you on the rear end.
Thanks Carol, I agree with much of your sentiment and your comments make me smile.
The trouble with all advice, is that it is general. What’s right for one person isn’t true for another. This is why the 3 Step System is personality centric.
Carol made some good points and for some people they will be spot on but not for everyone.
Glad it made you smile. I have been around a year or three in roles up to Board and beyond but I am still capable of being shocked by clients.
I must say that the profile you provided me with some long while ago was spot on and confirmed I am in the right role being in business on my own behalf.
Thanks to all of you who have expressed understanding about my position!
Its great to see the community helping. This is why I created the Sovereign Club as you can help each other a lot more than you realise. Not just with moral support but with real practical campaigning stuff. I will show you how in the 3 Step System.
A miracle! A real honest to God indisputable miracle! I used to feel so jaded by the plethora of ‘I kid you not’ promises to land my dream job! Like Alistair I agree – paying out more money isn’t the way forward. Applicants (and recruiters) can only use the same data as yourself. I am 50 years old now. My dream of becoming a entrepreneurial success grows slimmer each day. I have agonized over my penurious state until I felt it was sending me half mad. Nothing has changed for years now. Except a slow awakening to the fact that I seem to have gone for jobs I wasn’t called to, but able to do. I howled (often quite literally) when I was rejected for jobs, but inwardly wasn’t phased – I knew I performed as well as I could and forged ahead regardless. I realise now that most recruiters that used their ‘hunches’, sensed the job wasn’t right for me. I wouldn’t fit in. Sometime I knew it. I was fooling me. Not any more. in the book, ‘Aces of Diamonds’ the answer to your success is said to be ‘under your very nose’.
I am broke, I have debts (up to my eyeballs) but I have never felt more at peace because my days purposes are in the main accomplished. I live very simply, rest – and believe the impossible!
Marlene, not quite sure how to respond. I think anyone that relies upon CV based recruitment is bound to become jaded. It’s an unfair fight. This is why I developed the 3 Step System. There is a better way to approach job hunting. The old fashioned way never worked that well but today it is practically obsolete.
I have found the competition in the market place, trying to be unique in applications very difficult, as well as finding employers that are not agencies. I have also experienced a lack of confidence from my last job that I acquired after a recent redundancy turned out not to be the right fit for me. Even applying for temporary jobs is extremely competitive.
My ideal position would be working in the health sector in administration but to work as a Medical Secretary agencies are requiring 2 years experience. I am now awaiting to work in the NHS bank to hopefully achieve that.
I think a video that includes how to get hold of vital contacts for unseen jobs would be very useful.
Suzy, These are good points you raise. It sounds like you have some ideas as to what you would like to do (Step 1 will help you confirm this rather than “suck it and see”)
You also need to look at tilting the odds in your favour and that means not job hunting the old fashioned way, as that is just a bludgeoning punch up. A bit of a Kung Fu approach if you like.
I’m 46 and sometimes I think that it’s too late for me and I’m too old to be able to start a new career. Who is going to want to train up someone of my age when there are youngsters out there who will be able to do the job for a fraction of the money that I can? I have been in my current company for 8 years working as an Administrator and have had no chance of progression at all. I spreak fluent French and Spanish and have done Italian to AS level in evening classes as well as a part time Foundation Degree in Business and Management whilst I have been working. I did the latter in an attempt to provide something that would compliment my languages and make me more marketable. My company wouldn’t pay for my degree and when I completed it they weren’t interested. I have looked at language related jobs but on the whole they are not skills that are regarded as an expertise and tend therefore to be poorly remunerated. My problem is that I have never known what I want to do. How I envy those who have always had a clear sense of what they are aiming for! I would love to find a careers test that could assess my skills and then give me some job ideas that those skills would fit into. It would be a starting point at least. As it is at the moment I am bored, unchallenged and stagnating and I don’t see any way out.
Hi Lou,
Don’t know where you live, (I live in UK) but I found that the Career Scotland website had a section that allowed you to test your skills along with what you actually like doing – I found it quite useful. Try using a careers place near you to help identify other types of jobs and options available. I too am that bit older and the same as you – didn’t know what I wanted to do. You can look at so much on the internet that in the end you become bogged down with everything and it makes you feel worse!
One thing did strike me however………I don’t know your circumstances but with your qualifications if you are in UK why don’t you look at marketing yourself abroad – European Parliament. Some agencies such as Hays recruit for abroad & I have recently seen a number of jobs which may have suited you. You can also try other agencies & find out if they do European placements. The pay is usually ok but the bonus is the packages that can be offered. I think you have a lot to offer but need to attack it from a different angle – I think you will be surprised. Try typing in ‘jobs in France’ or Spain, Belgium (most speak French) or even the Government agencies here.
Hope that helps! Best of luck (PS If you are in the UK you can apply for certain grants for further education for which you may be eligible)
PS 1 last thing – don’t let your age put you off – you have many skills that you maybe don’t realise – with age comes wisdom, reliability and a strong work ethic!!!!!
Val
Thanks Val. Yes, I am based in the UK (Just keep going South until you fall off the edge of England and you’re there!!) I will definitely look at Careers Scotland, it sounds an interesting site. I did get a grant for my Foundation Degree so don’t know if under our new government these still exist or if I would be eligible for any more. I have actually lived and worked abroad in France and Spain (I taught English as a foreign language in Spain and worked as an au pair in France). I wouldn’t totally say no to doing so again though I suspect that you’d have to jump through quite a few hoops to work for the European Parliament. (Do you think they’d mind that I’m not exactly pro EEC!!!!!) Anyway I will look at Hayes and see if anything jumps out.
I really appreciate your comments, thanks again.
Lou
STOP RIGHT THERE!!! As I am not that far of 46 myself, I have to say that it is no where near too late.
Knowing what you want to do is something that eludes most people. It’s bloody hard, which is why it is Step 1 in the 3 Step System. Over 60 modules all about your personality that will help you discover what the hell you should be doing with your life. And it is never too late to embark on a new career.
I feel you are making another common mistake by looking at your skills instead of your personality. Your real value lies in your personality, that cocktail of things that makes you, you.
No one should suffer boredom or stagnation. Let’s get you your mojo back and find you your thing.
I think what is standing between me and my dream job is a) identifying what it is – I feel I have just drifted into similar kind of work and with looming redundancy I can feel panic setting in and b) limitations in travel to work distance due to family committments
Jackie, You speak for millions. Most people don’t know what they want to be when they grow up and nearly all of us drift into our careers. With Step 1 you can find your thing; that thing that you can do better than anyone, that comes naturally to you.
Jackie I rarely get out my pyjamas because I choose to work from home. You shouldn’t feel bad about that. If you want to work close to home or even at home then so be it. Let’s figure out how.
Thanks. The information is insightful.
When I was in my 20′s I had my dream job – I was a guitarist in a Christian rock band. But it faltered financially and I had to get a ‘real’ job. Now I’m a chartered engineer with a post graduate qualification in information systems working as a business analyst for a FTSE100 company. But it’s not my dream job. How can I regain the sense of mission, purpose and value, creativity, comradeship and downright FUN while making the world a better place and earning enough to get my kids through university?
Andy, all of this is possible. we know this because there are many people who love their work, make a valuable contribution and earn great money. The 3 Step System will give you a step by step process to get you there.
Thanks for this information, I am struggling to find a role which is not then suddenly taken off the market as a change of plan. I went for interview, loved the role and company, got great feedback but then the job disappeared.
The test and report are very good but like most tests are mostly an approximation of items although they can be accurate and very accurate.
They can sometimes not show the styles and preferences easily when some of the traits or styles can be difficult to measure.
I liked the trial but would only use it as a guide and not a definitive sample.
I have read a few of the comments here and I have a similar situation about have experience, have training in progress with several career jobs or work options in progress (showing diversity of skill and talent) but I have a large gap in my cv and perhaps perceived gap in activity because of unemployment.
Although this is not a large problem at present, when I complete qualifications which are at a similar level to the experience and the management roles I had, this would make being selected for work easier…
however the issue to change might be to get my cv read without recuiters finding it difficult to present the cv for selction, most recruiters prefer very recent employment for selection, although I have indicated I am making a career change and adding qualifications to add to experience.
I can not afford the course just now but would try to make cash available to take the course if or when I can. I can send you a private email with a few suggestions.
Your advice is very good… I have also considered DISC among other instruments to get a view about my self development, employment performance tests and personality profiling.
All signs are encouraging… but the biggest challenge for the job (not sure if it dream job…maybe next job is intermediate job) might be to raise my profile and get new contacts to help me use my experience to get employer interest. Immediate contacts I had are no longer readily available to help improve my chances of linking with employers or different parts of the workforce, although with my training this is less an issue and is increasing, in quite a short time it will improve.
Anyway in the meantime, now is the better time to consider what else you can offer me and what I maybe can offer you, waiting is never an option.
look forward to hearing again soon.
Ken, You need to make sure you watch The Shocking Truths video (you will have received an email about it today) as I deal with your issue about CVs and career change in some detail.
I appreciate you sharing your experience and I have to say that I deal with all of this in The 3 Step System. I know money is tight, but you should give it a go for at least a month and see how far I can get you. You are entered in the prize draw so you may get lucky.
Could have been me writing the report! spot on!
Hi,
I’m interested as I have just taken voluntary redundancy and now need to get myself back into the job market. All help appreciated.
Kind regards.
Paula
Paula, I love a volunteer, particularly a volunteer for redundancy. You have taken the biggest step, the rest of it is easier from here and quite exciting. Come and join me on the inside and let’s get you started on the most exciting journey of your life.
Getting shortlisted for interview.
Getting interviews is a bugger these days. The long lists are longer than ever and the process is stacked against you. Make sure you watch The Shocking Truths video as I explain exactly why and what to do about it.
Hi Martin,
I’ve been impressed by the accuracy of your remarks and the usefullness of the advices you’ve given…you have provived me with a great insight both into my personallity as well as into the recruitement process.
Wright now i’m planning to find a job in Canada. So issues like not using my mother’s tongue language, different social customs e.t.c do concern me.
Many thanks for your free seminars.. Spending a weekend in london is out of the question for me, the cost of your online courses is an issue…..
Stam, Thanks for your kind words. I think you will be surprised at the cost of the 3 Step System. Check out today’s video and I will see you on the inside.
Hi Martin, all your information is very good, I appreciate your time and dedication to help all peolple, I cannot take this course is very expensive for me. Thanks so much is a pleasure to know you.
My dream job is likely to be advertised in terms of experience. My experience is not of having a dream job. I know quite a bit about what I’m good at and have a few ideas about what I find rewarding. They don’t necessarily fit into a job title, and the job advert won’t be describing them.
Rosemary, Job titles are a very blunt instrument. I will show you more interesting ways of deciding what you should be doing with your life.
Hi Martin,
there is a huge barrier that stand between me and my dream job. First I am trying to get the answers which kind of job will be really the best for me. I know some of my strenghts and I would like to focus on jobs where I can succeed. It is a little frightening me if I am trying to go to the wright direction.
Katja
My lack of self confidence (which I know is not justified) that’s based on a period of over 5 years absence from corporate life. At the moment I feel desperate about getting any job rather than looking at what my dream job might be. This is paralysing me from doing anything constructive.
Trying to sell myself at an interview is a given as it is for everyone. It amuses me when people tell me I interviewed very well, but it seems not well enough to get the job!
My main problem is getting the interview. I have lots of skills and good experience (though I don’t have degrees and quals) but I think my problem is communicating that both in a CV and in an interview and finding a way to convince employers of my value.
I find it fascinating that when I do get a job, employers think I am wonderful when they see the things I do.
John in Oz
Could it be sabotage within the organization you work in??? Nepotism and long tenure of employees who see newer employees as a threat, which in turn influences your career development and advancement within that organization. Tricky situation whereby, you need the job, you can see an opportunity exists for advancement, however having difficulty asserting myself to the people who matter and make the decisions – which at best is difficult to recognize – lack of trust in this organization, a poor direct line manager above me and a culture of fear – am I in my dream organization ?? Is there any hope for me in this organization??
Hi,
the right interview! I am just missing the right interview, I am able to write really good CV, but anyhow when I got to the interview it already happened that a blind spot came out!!!!
Looking forward to the material!!!
From a CRM point of view you are making an amazing great job!! Really well done!
For the first time in a long time I feel understood. I’m not the “incredible, invisible, inaudible woman” I feel like too often. Now all I need is a small loan or lottery to read the whole thing…
I feel I need to know the trick of how to sell myself properly at the interviews. That’s where the secret lies. I would really like to learn that from you.
Money. Money and social isolation as a direct result of working overtime and a second job due to lack of – guess what? – money. I know we’re to keep our personal and professional lives separate but what do you suggest for those of us who’s personal lives put sudden, serious monkey wrenches in plans that were working beautifully? I’ve lost the financial ability, a once thriving professional network, time and energy to makes changes to my financial and employment situations. They desperately need changing. I once thought this was soooo easy….I used to coach others with this type of thing. Now I’m just lost – and everyone that promises help expects to be paid. Now what?
What stands between me and my dream job ME, my limitations.
thankyou for all your advice, you seem to know me well
I think what is standing between me and my dream job is lack of confidence in trying something new
What is standing between me and my Dream Job?
My false perceptions…
PS
What I’ve noticed Martin is that you seem to be addressing your stuff to those 100K jobs. Not everyone is after managing a team of people or working in some high-falutin corporation. And we’re not all going for jobs where they do pschometric interviewing. My only interview this year (got 1 last year too) was held in a village community hall, for a part time position.
True enough, I blew it, but I was close apparantly, did better than I’d thought, but not good enough and……the guy that got it had the right experience. That one – getting close to my dream job – I think I could have nailed though, had I interviewed better than him on the day.
What is preventing me from getting my dream job?
Ooooh where to start?- my CV – too eclectic, too broken up (low boredom threshold). My age – far too old to be still thinking about what that dream job looks like. Wrong experience/qualifications, even though I know that shouldn’t make as much difference as it does – go tell that to the recruiters/interviewers who are not looking at this kid.
Add to their soul-crushing lack of interest (interview? – what interview?) my ever -diminishing lack of confidence, sense of having screwed up, made the wrong choices at the time or the right choices but at the wrong time and fear of becoming thoroughly unemployable as I lose all normal way of interacting with people in a work situation and become more and more ‘unsuitable’ to be quaint about it.
Add to this the inability to do all that funky networking, putting yourself about (where’s the money to travel, get dressed appropriately?)
Not enough time to concentrate on the dream job path as having to chase every stupid job out there now that I’ve passed 18 months unemployed and have a JSA personal advisor on my case.
Wrong location up here in the north – Ross-shire. Actually it’s not the wrong location, it’s the perfect location for the kind of thing I want to be doing, but maybe not as much opportunity as Central Belt or further south – and lots and lots of competition from similar folk who’ve come here for just the same reasons and all want MY job – and they are relevantly qualified and experienced to boot.
I’m sure I could come up with more excuses, you’ll haveheard them all but I’m bored with this now – I empathise with Alistair back along and I’m a lot older than he is but at his age I was fit and getting fitter, now I’m sinking into decreptitude!
Fear is stopping me, fear I may not get a job or earn what I currently do, although I’d like to earn more than what I currently do and work in a completely different field. I’d like to work in a much more creative field than I currently do.
Hi Martin
What’s standing between me and my dream job?… Not knowing what my dream job is doesn’t help. Not being able to craft my CV in a way that shows my skills and abilities clearly enough. Not being good enough at interviews. Above all – not having the time to spend trawling through websites for opportunties and responding to them.
this is amazing, a 5 stars test!
It’s very helpful, thank you!
In the Middle East where I am currently based, at the time of selection an individual normally ends up in a dream job. it is only later when one starts in the job that the reality hits home, the goal posts have been shifted – swim or sink!!!
PS: you must start your workshops here, perhaps I can assist in organising these. Send me an email on my hotmail address: hrbarkatali@hotmail.com.
I am based in Doha, Qatar.
brilliantly concise and accurate
I made a mistake filling this out by misreading the object of the website. I thought this is a business opportunity. I live and do business in the United States. You are offering a personality profile for money and to further interview skills to obtain a job. I don’t need a job…but I am always interested in creative business ideas. I am self employed and have been so for the last 20 years. I know who I am and what I want. I also like the thrill of being in charge of my own life. Corporate America doesn’t hire people like me. The interviewer isn’t capable of thinking independently enough to relate to an applicant (IF I would even consider applying) like me. Thanks for the entertainmant!
Hi, Martin.
I have just paid and i am waiting for my report.
Hi, Martin
What’s you said were attractive, the trouble is that I am a 40years old, had middle management experience within a multinational company. Now I have two yong babies, been trying to get back to work, hasn’t been successeful. I am not sure wheather is my age, my situation, or simple that I do not have a good CV.
I would like to have buy, then I don’t know how much interview that I would get.
many thanks for your offer.
It was a very useful piece providing us necessary information for doing good in mid-level or leadershi positions. What I felt in some places was lack of examples and as such did not understand the point well. I would suggest to put up some glaring mistake statements of interviewee and what should be the ideal answer as an example to understand some of the points better.
Interesting stuff ……… i`m going for a job in January which i really want, i could do with an advantage so i will up for leaning how to get one !
What’s standing in the way is having no language to translate all the things I’m good at doing into marketable traits.
I’m in the process of trying to reallocate my time to rewrite my CV; I have a postively toxic part-time post, am over-qualified for many things, and have a peculiar set of skills.
I’m leery of spending money I feel I don’t have and starting something else I end up short-circuiting. but I may get myself sacked if I don’t leave of my own accord soon! Something to include would be “How to stay employed whilst plotting to leave as soon as it’s feasible”.
And managing exit interviews would be brilliant, too.
thanks!
Clarity about my personal passion, how I could then evolve it into being a source of income.
Many thanks
Thank u for a spot on reading. I am pleasantly surprised by yr accuracy and prompt response. The Report is a true reflection of my personality and my working ethos. I’m impressed!
Very interesting, I was cynical to begin with, but I have to admit that this report describes me very well. I realise that you are basing it on a certain set number of personality types and through a process of using the questions to lead to a conclusion, but it must take some pure skill to write the questions in such a way as to distil a personality type. Impressive!
Very accurate! A confidence boost for the most part – the critical part I was aware of and do make positive moves to ‘control’ (at 53 I have learned something!)
Now having taken this first step have to find something to suit in a difficult job market – been wasting my time for 3 years!
I am an optimist and I will find my third ‘career’.
Thank you.
this is sad. too rough and general. almost like a horoscope thing. results give near to nothing. professional should never trust a single and rough and short test like this is, but use only scientifically supported methods. i would keep such a loud voice of this service. sorry.
Thank you very much for Guiding me. This was what I was looking for? So I am very happy that your test and your test guides people in right way and in good and easy words.
I am very thankful for your suggestions.
Regards,
Latikshay
to be frank, i was expecting some global statements as feedback…
But i should say i am spellbound with the accurate report – BINGO- you pulled the words out of my keyboard, Great job & thanks!!!
V. flattering and well-designed to make me open my wallet!
Thanks, it is accurate (5 stars), but I have seen fuller, comprehensive versions that are not quite so positive.
I was at a loose end and curious to see if my psychometric profile had changed since I last took one about 15 years ago – i.e. if I’m mellowing with age…
I’m not!
Thanks again,
Ian
It showed exactly same as me, very happy with result.
i found your test very good. its really exercises the mind
I feel bad that you did not say upfront that the report is for sale. If i knew that, i would not have bothered to take it. Give that information upfront
Come on sister there’s no such thing as a free lunch — get wise! You obviously don’t work in marketing. Please don’t take this as a nasty criticism, you are right it should say upfront but as you say your self, you and many others would not have participated and so may not have been drawn into a possible sale. This is the way marketing works and because we live in such a competitive world, marketing has to become more sophisticated. How ever I found the free stuff really helpful, so maybe not a free lunch but a free little snack that I will run off with and chew over at my leisure. I wish you well.
Amazing!
I took the test and the results were so accurate,its amazing to know that so much is captured such a short exercise.
I am amazed!!!Really I am like that!Thank you…
report was very accurate and a great set of questions to work through and challenge your thinking about your career. I think its still needs a bit of tweaking before its as user friendly as it could be, but it has been a fantastic asset to working out what my ideal job is going to be. Thanks!
To do a job well, you definitely have to love it. You have believe in the product, understand it’s place in the market, have faith in it’s reliability and know that you are ultimately tied to it. When you love what you’re doing/selling/marketing there’s a buzz that comes along with your role – something almost undefinable that makes you want to be at your job early, stay late and excel in all your efforts. You may not always hit the target, but loving your job means knowing you tried – there are no self-recriminations, no guilt, no cover-ups…just sheer determination to try harder next time – while still retaining your optimism, character and self-respect
Hi , really wonderful and helpful . Excatly you are reading the personility.
Hearty congrats.
With regards,
( Rince Issac )
These site is too encouraging .keepup its building our evidence and to see ourself as important.
Wal almost 100%.Its as if u have taken an xray of me or as if you know me for a long time. This adds more confidence and enthusiasm to excel. thank you for that assesment. I will get my copy 2moro if its still available at that price !
Thank you for the insight, has given me a lift.
This is a very interesting site. I don’t actually need it for myself but I have sent it on to my daughter who is looking for career advice. Many thanks
the report you made about me was quite accurate.
I particularly appreciated the hints given to me on how to turn some of my weaknesses into positive aspects.
Hi Martin,
Thank you for your various invitations. I’m currently studying at Law School and have returned to my studies to try and attain higher qualifications so as to attain my ambition to become a Barrister. These promotions you currently have on are not for me but I do appreciate your invitations.
Regards
Salan
P.S Feel free to send me other promotions.
Hi Martin, all your information is very good, I appreciate your time and dedication to help all peolple, I cannot take this course is very expensive for me. Thanks so much is a pleasure to know you.
Thanks BD. That’s very kind of you. I understand that many people can’t afford a workshop but I will have more online products, free and low costs coming out shortly.
EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT ME IS TRUE. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING. THANKS FOR THE REPORT.
Thanks for invite but can’t make it this time. I agree with most of your observations and your assessment of myself was spot on! Good luck on the day.
Thanks Diane. Got lots more stuff coming soon. You’ll love it.
Thanks martin for your concern.Am not to able get your offer because i would not be able to come .Its too far and too expensive for me.please sent me your vedio.
More news of online products coming soon. I have members in 93 countries so I realise very few people can make it to London but don’t worry I have plenty of help coming your way.
thanks interesting but need work to get money etc
so full circle
i guess
thanks
HI ,Martin, thanks for your offer.but now I`m not going to buy it.
No problem Fucheng. Thanks for your contributions to the discussion.
I’m ok at the moment thanks
Thankyou for my report, very accurate and interesting
Can I just say I read Nigel’s comment and could tick virtually every box there in terms of my own situation. No matter HOW I try to tailor my CV to the job in question, the fact remains that I won’t get it because I don’t have the experience. On the other hand, I have been turned down for hundreds of jobs because I’m allegedly over-qualified, and potential employers think I would jump ship as soon as something more suitable came along (which admittedly I would, but it doesn’t help not being able to get the foot on the bottom rung of the ladder). At the moment I am working in a supermarket (with a PhD in German), but desperately want to get out of retail. I have paid substantial amounts of money for several types of retraining (Microsoft qualifications, a post-grad course in the public services, to name but two) and have paid to have my CV done professionally). This has all been in vain, so I am now at the point where I am very, very sceptical about forking out ANY more money for retraining of any kind. So sorry Martin, but I can’t really afford to take up your offer, and even if I could, I wouldn’t get the time off work to attend a weekend event (the default position in my job is that you work EVERY weekend). Sorry to sound like a “doom and gloom monger” but that’s just the way it is. I’m 43, with two young kids, but it won’t be too long before the oldest one becomes aware that her daddy hasn’t “made it” in the world of work. Therefore I just have to keep firing off applications for anything and everything (no matter how slim the chances might be) and hope something comes up.
Alistair, This is why I do what I do. I have every sympathy with your situation and I hope I can do something to help. Even if it’s just using my free stuff. Let me see what I can come up with to help. Pretty sure we can do something for you.
Alastair – don’t worry about your girl not seeing you make it…show her the challenges of the world and how to survive them, answer the hard questions well and be her daddy. It will mean more than what other people define as success.
Hi Alistair,
I’m too having the same issues finding employment….I have 12 years of call centre, management experience in the mobile, broadband, customer services, sales through service and collections.
The feed back I’m receiving is that I have excellent operational experience, great personality and very passionate about delivering a great service to customers yet still no job offer..I’ve applied for positions at a senior level down to an advisor level
You need to remain positive, try not to get cynical as something out there has your name on it I’m sure….I’m also sure that your family love and cherish you no matter what job you have….
Keep your chin up and good luck in your job search
Debbie
sorry, no can do. do expensive. but thank you.
Lynn, Not a problem. I will be releasing more online services soon as I know very few people can get to London. Keep watching your email.
I am approaching 40 end of October and still don’t know what I want to do!! I’ve been a secretary/administrator all my life and am also an actor (when work comes my way which isn’t often). I am at a crossroads right now as I feel I may give up the acting but to go into what?? I hate my job and am looking elsewhere again in admin roles but more in creative industries am just waiting for something to come along that inspires me but haven’t found it yet. Any advice right now would be greatly appreciated.
King regards
Fiona
This is very clever psychological assessment.
It is truely true!! I like it.
I am a therapist and I’m having so many really exciting ideas about my career at the moment that I’m not sure which way to go – partly due to inspiration from YOU! But I often seem to have a block that stops me and it is this – I don’t really know if I have as much or more to offer than others in my field and then I am scared of using these “exciting ideas” if they aren’t good enough? I have a really good, faithful clientele, but due to government cut backs I have lost a group who were being referred to me. Because I was soo busy, many of my clients admitted that they don’t recommend me to anyone because I am already too hard to get!! But I’m not snowed under now and it’s been great as I’ve had time to think and dream about developing my treatments etc, however I’m now ready to attract more clients again and earn more money – I really WANT to!! I prefer not to advertise as some of my treatments are massage, though I guess I could be selective in my targetting… any suggestions?
Thanks for inspiring me and soo many others. PS the Scottish accent is very easy listening!! Best wishes with your projects Stef
Hallo Martin. I really would love to come to one of your seminars, but the problem is I’m based in Swaziland, a small African country in the southern hemisphere. However I would lie to start my own busines. I have an idea of what I want to do but now my problem is putting together such a great proposal that it will blow potential investors away and give so much work that being an employee will no longer be an option, but a word that no longer exists in my vocabulary!!
How can I go about it?
Hi
Its very encouraging to understand how i can fit in a job environment and i would wish to access my report, however am in Kenya and am not sure the means and terms i can use to pay for the same.
This site was really helpful in helping me become more confident in my abilities. It also gives you the right description and the mails give you little tips on how to improve yourself. Thank you a lot …
It is really interesting! Thanks for making me assured of who I am, I’ve been thinking of maybe it is the influence of my surrounding and the moods but its not, its real me!.Thank you and wish more people get to know of this site.
We get most of our traffic by word of mouth, so please spread the word to your friends. thanks.
Hi Martin
I went back into education later in life and fell into my first job because of interest around the subject/understanding of it. I have carried on in associated fields and am now at a point of facing redundancy in Feb or possibly December due to current talks about the budget cuts. I feel like am floundering, have little motivation as feeling so undervalued and really dont know where to go or what to do. I would love to be in a job I felt passionate about because that kind of motivation is the best but how and where to discover your inner passion and then find the job to match?
Hi Jackie, I know this is a difficult time. Although redundancy is forcing the issue, it sounds like you need a change, something where you are valued and where you can discover some passion for your work. You shouldn’t settle for anything less. It takes a bit of thought but I can give you the process to get you there. Make sure you start off facing the right direction or you are likely to end up in a job which feels just like the one you are about to leave. And that’s no fun.
I totally agree with the contents of my report and this will further put me in a pivotal position to further my career.
I thought it was a good report of myself. I feel it is a good idea to follow up a self assessment every 6 months to a year as experiences in life changes, mood changes, and other factors in life change.
So it would be good to continue doing a psychometric test and have advised my friends too, to try them out.
I hope that I can find that dream job!!
Thank you.
Waoo!
Hi martin, I have just browsed thru your answer to some of the questions, and what came to my mind is that indeed the workshop looks tpo be the thriller.
Keep doing the good thing chief.
My budget does not allow for travelling now.
Moses,
Botswana
Moses, you are too kind. Thank you. Botswana is on my list of places to visit.
After attending several career workshops each describing the sheer drudgery of being in the wrong job, the utter depression that sets in on Sunday knowing i have to go to work on Monday, the guilt and feelings of utter worthlessness felt because i hate my job (no matter which current job I’m in) i am now somewhat sceptical that any workshop will provide me with an answer or steer me towards my dream career.
I have read several books some based on traditional methods i.e think about what you wanted to be or enjoyed doing when you were younger to a fairly new (to me) path of just getting involved in anything and seeing where it takes me – easy to say but not so easy to achieve in a small town with my motivation at an all time low and a lack of resources to pay for further seminars, workshops or career coaching!!!
At this point i am no longer sure what i am cable of doing and fear that my frustration is quickly turning into bitterness which manifests itself into hostility to any future jobs.
So for now, for the first time in my life i am trying to redefine myself outside of a job role. However, my lack of funds means that i am tempted to get any job i can find within fundraising (despite not liking it very much and knowing that my personality traits are not suited to the often stressful environments and attention to detail required by such not for profit jobs.
So if this is the case ……….would it be wise for me to hock the family silver to attend another workshop in the hope of finding a ‘dream’ career’
Tina, I’m going to say something that I probably shouldn’t say. If money is tight do not spend it on this workshop. Don’t get me wrong this workshop will blow your mind but I need to make sure people make responsible purchases. If its food or the workshop, you need to choose food. From your comment it is pretty clear you need a major change. I would worry about you going back into something you have already discovered doesn’t do it for you. You need a plan and you need it quick.
I admit I love teaching, still there is something that bothers me and that’s the impossibility to apply my knowledge due to bureaucracy. I mean, I live in Romania, I have the CELTA course and nobody seems to care about it. No matter how much I would love to advance somehow, it seems all the doors are locked. Even more, I applied for a couple of jobs in Great Britain for the summer, I got the interview, I was told to come there and then, just because I was a Romanian and I didn’t have a work permit, I had to give it all up. It’s very frustrating to know that you can do more, you’re willing to do it and you receive no support. So, my burning concern is how to deal with this situation, how to convince myself that maybe, someday, I will manage to do what I really like the way I like it.
My burning concern is, how to get to an interview for a suitable well-paying job when you’re 55 years old?
I’ve had my own business (loved the work, freedom, highs and lows), migrated to England and must support a family while I again work towards my own business (and decide what that should be).
Spot on! Great site and very usefull
if your personality is suited to the job you will just have an intuition about things and will find it easier to learn and apply your learning to the job you will see the future in that area and be able to train or plan for that future. also you would hope that you would be working with like minded people as they would have been drawn to the same work as you so you will get on better and be understood better. your boss and colleagues will judge you more kindly as you will have a mutual understaning of each other which is very important as often misunderstandings cause conflict in the work force if you are doing something out of goodness and what you think is needed but your boss or colleague feels threatened by it or does not understand it they may wish to sabatage as they wish to keep you in your place as they dont understand why or what you are doing. you will gain more satisfaction from your work and from the environment you work in so your health and well being will be better
I expected a very long test but was surprised to answer a few questions and get a personality.
Kindly send my free report to this address.
Thank you.
Gibson,
Thanks for your interview in the video.They encorage proffessionals to be focused.My trouble is i am focused but getting there is a like a miracle .When we apply jobs online and moreso internationally we are denied the chance because we are not authorised to work in the said countries.What is the international bodies doing to enable the proffessions to work all over the world?for example ,you do invite us to workshops but we are not in a position to come because of the financial hinderances and authorisation.Its not that we do not want to attend .Please keepup -well done work.Send us more educative materials they are helping us gratelly.Thanks and God bless you
This just a question .Am a prcurement proffessional.Am currently pursuing a BCOM degree in the university.i need an advice on what specialliazation field to choose in my last 2 years.Accountingand finance ,Supply chain Management or Operation Management.
“Why is your success dependent on doing a job you love?”
Time. Enjoyment. Motivation. Money
What is the point of time if you work in a job that you do not love, that time for happiness is being wasted. I have experienced jobs where I have loved them for a year and then totally lost motivation for them the next. I perform my best and get no positive feedback, no recognition for my efforts. Enjoyment is a key factor that to me relates to motivation, if you love doing something then you are motivated to keep doing that job or activity.
I am 26 and have been working/studying for a career since I was 16, I am still at the crossroads of where I want to be, I am more interested in being happy in a job and going home happy than I am to making ‘alot’ of money and going home dull and depressed. I have spent the last 4 years studying to be a Highschool Physical Education teacher and now I have nearly finished my course I am second guessing if that is really what I want to do, my thoughts always go back to .. ‘Will I be happy?’
My belief at the moment is that I would not be happy to do it.. at this stage, but what next? Am I too indecisive.. should I just do it and see if I am happy? Or should I continue on in the midst of not knowing where I am going and where I will be in the near future and just float around until something else pops up.
“Why is your success dependent on doing a job you love?”
Martin you’ve hit the nail on the head time and again with my personality type and the tasks and environment I fit best. It has been like a healing balm poured over me.
I have found myself in my current very diversified job, drawn to certain aspects of it that make me feel guilty when I do them because I enjoy them so much. Somehow I’ve got ingrained in me that unless I’m suffering I’m not pulling my weight.
Your mini-course so far has actually liberated me and I find myself energised now in the direction I enjoy and my employers have taken notice that I can be more of an asset to them than we both thought if given the liberty to do so.
For me it ties in with my belief that we are all uniquely created and have a life mandate to fulfil and give account of, which will give us the most joy, sense of purpose and success.
I have largely missed this for so long and knew it all the time, but have a sense of starting to slot into that purpose now which is so exciting.
Thank you so much for your work!
I’m so in the wrong job!
You should have something alike for Careers too,
It’s magnifico!
Hi Martin
This is exactly me!!!!
I can believe that this short test say you as much??? about whu I am?!
I know this on some way. Like: I do it, it is more power than me then I repeat
the same reaction then I judge myself – why I do it? to make get harder for me? Still this same mistake. Wrong for myself.
And you find it. This unhappines inside me. I Let other to use me becouse of circumstances, responsibility, can not refuse myself to finish duty in best way.
May be I find how to stop my self and being more assertive?
Thanks to name the feature of my character and disclosure for me.
Many Thanks I appreciate what you do!
Anna
My success is dependent on doing a job I love because, when you love what you do, you want to do more and when you do more your enthusiasm grows. We all know that attitudes are contagious so everyone you are working with becomes more entusiastic and the energy just builds. Just writing this has reminded how ‘work’ used to be for me and how positive and successful I was. I haven’t changed but circumstances have and I know I have to get back to doing something that really lets me be me.
Because we all deserve the best! We all deserve to be happy with what we are doing in life…
I didn’t want to put a link to my web-site on my first comment because I don’t want anyone to recognise who I am.
In actual fact you are not teaching me much, just reinforcing things that I have been telling people for years. Even the psychometric test held no surprises; I’ve taken these tests since the beginning of the 1990s, sometime through business sometimes (as per this time) simply out of personal interest, they’ve all produced similar results.
Having said that, I think the money spent has been worthwhile and it’s all very interesting.
Career development, I’m on the way to 60 years old so it’s a bit late for that. I used my job to travel; it wasn’t so much of seeing the world as stopping from being bored. However, being with various companies has given me diverse experiences. Now I desperate to settle down with my girlfriend but can’t find anything long term. The last job I had to leave because I wanted to do it properly; one at the beginning of 2009 because the company wouldn’t fulfil its contractual obligations. I left the company previous to that (after almost 2-years) because they agreed to improvements in working conditions and then refused to keep them.
I could go on and on, in all case the company has been happy with my work and it’s usually my decision to leave. Doing a good job is important to me, it’s the only way I can enjoy work (about a third of my total life). If I’m not satisfied with something I’ve done I can torture myself for days and more. I sometimes wonder though if it’s only me that thinks I am doing a good job. After all, doing a good job is achieving what the customer (boss) wants not what makes me happy.
I could go on but will resist that for now.
I have read through the comments already posted, and have found that there are many like minded thinkers out there! I too feel that in order to be successful in one’s chosen career, one has to be carrying out a role that they not only believe in, but feel passionate about. This will shine through to clients, customers, colleagues and managers alike.
I spent 19 years in a job where I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘work’, but was still unhappy due to the ‘workplace culture’. For many years I was the sole female in a male dominated environment…as a consequence I suffered bullying and sexual harassment (amongst other things!) from some male counterparts.
Needless to say I’m no longer there….I returned to uni and completed an accelerated LL.B. and Post Grad Diploma in Legal Practice, only to find that there are virtually no traineeships available…so, where now?!
Roxy, the universities have a lot to answer for. They take on students with no regard as to their future. “Passion” is a common theme throughout these comments. I believe I can help people find something they are passionate about.
Martin, my two passions are Law and helping others, so I cannot attribute the blame on the university. It was always my wish to complete a law degree, but had never been lucky enough to have the opportunity. That opportunity presented itself just over three years ago, and I grasped it with both hands. I did not think for a minute that it would be so difficult to get a job when my studies were complete. I guess the economic downturn hasn’t helped matters.
I want a job where I fee I contribute to society, or its welfare, but I also want to be in a financially rewarding job. Something of a conundrum!
I don’t think you should have to choose between contributing to society and being financially rewarded. There is a way.
This report is absolutely brilliant, full of insights & ideas. Some of the personality stuff is obvious & some a complete revelation.
Not exactly the key to a new career, but I’ve got a better a idea of what the door looks like.
Thanks,
Barrie
Thanks Barrie, really appreciate the comment. I will let the team know as you will make their day.
Definitely thought provoking. I recognised all the traits of characters, good and bad, but overall, I would hire me!!
I’ve been working in the Drug and Alcohol recovery field for 20 years.
Sadly, the elements that I was attracted to in the work (therapeutic Communities, Group work, Psychodynamic approaches etc etc) have all fallen out of fashion in recent years and been replaced by contract culture. Management, of which I have some good experience, has become purely stats and outcomes based. Its regressed as far as I’m concerned.
I’m 58 with a good relationship, and I want a new direction, and adventure. Like previous contributors, I stay in the work because I can do it, and because I do it well, but it gives me no satisfaction, and solves none of my life related issues anymore. Time to move on!!
Robert, this is such a common scenario, I really appreciate you sharing it. It’s sad when you have to move on from a vocation but the environment you work in has changed. You need to find an environment that is compatible with your personality. Let’s see what we can do.
Hi I’m 25 and working as a statistician i hate to say this but i don’t like my job not one bit because i don’t see myself doing it in the next 10 to 20 years. I live in RSA so i will not be able to make it for your workshop, maybe i can buy a copy of the video of the workshop later on if you have any. I really need to learn how to make good money and what job will be the best fit for my personality.
Babebantsi Appolos
Johannesburg , South Africa
Babebantsi, I will figure out something for you. I have a lot of members from all over the world, over 90 countries. Keep watching out for emails and make as much use as you can of my free stuff.
As a kid I was never that interested in engineering, I wasn’t that hot at metalwork and woodwork, I got no satisfaction from that type of activity.
) is and be able to provide for my family whilst doing something I love.
Strange then that I should end up in the Royal Navy as an engineering apprentice!
Once I was doing the apprenticeship I was determined to pass it despite the traditionally high failure rate and my lack of passion for the subject! I passed, and ended up spending 14 years in the Navy, enjoying the camaraderie and the travelling immensely but not really having a passion for the actual work.
Having left, the best way to get a job was to use the qualifications I’d gained, years later I’m still in engineering and feel I can’t leave because it’s the only thing I can earn enough money doing to support my family.
When you love what you do it’s a natural progression that you’ll become good at it, I believe your subconscious drives you forward.
I would love the chance and the direction to find what my ‘special purpose’ (unashamedly stolen from the Steve Martin film ‘The Jerk’
The Jerk, now that’s a great film. You and I have a lot in common Robbie. I ended up with a degree in Physics. When I bumped into my old physics teacher many years later and told him, he burst out laughing. Even he knew that me having a degree in physics was just plain wrong and bordering on silly. We are examples of the adaptability of man. We have proven that square pegs go into round holes, if you hit them hard enough. But it’s not right. Just because we could, doesn’t mean we should.
Most burning concern–career direction, this means whether I`m on my right pursuing way. So I have to find out the statue of liberty!!!
Fucheng, you need to make sure you climb the right tree. Most people are in the wrong forest.
Thanks to you Martin, you`re right most people are in the wrong forest,So I have to make out my way.
Doing a job I love means I’ll be playing to my strengths and abilities and it’ll be fun. I’ll feel motivated, enthusiastic, energetic, happy and also confident in my contributions and interactions with others.
The question is do you know what your natural strengths really are? Most people don’t.
My most burning concern about career development is that I never actually do everything I am capable of , fulfil my potential and experience all that I can but rather spend a long time wondering and essentially miss out on opportunities out there.
David, Many people feel like they are “missing the party”. You need to find your thing. Once you find it, everything else slots into place. I can help with this.
Why is your success dependent on doing a job you love?
If you are lucky enough to do a job you love, you will be successful without virtually any effort. This effortlessness is due to the fact that what you are doing is perfectly aligned with your “true personality, and as a result success will follow.
Frank, let me take the “luck” out of it and let’s make it happen. I have some tricks for you that will do that.
The success is so dependant on a job you love, because only the job you love could motivate you enough to be successful all the time.
Best regards,
Katja
Very true.
As a 60 year made redunadant 3 months ago, who has worked all his life and with 18 years of service with my last employer, how can I convince recruitment agencies and prospective employers to consider my applications and accept my reasoning for applying for lower paid jobs which I have identified as a good match to my working life personality?
I have spent a lot of time looking at this issues because it is very common. I will be including a section in the course. We can crack this together if you are up for it?
Being a square peg in a round hole causes stress and with stress comes failure in many guises
At one point in my past career, I was that person – a perfectly round peg, in a perfectly square hole…not through choice, but through…in a way you could call it bullying, i.e. “it wouldn’t be in your best interests to refuse this position”!? As a consequence, I Accepted the position, and completed the 3 year period of tenure…disliking, but making the most of almost every minute, and requesting a transfer after two years…unsuccessfully of course! Asi es la vida! And yes, it did cause an element of stress…in whatever guise!
To be in a job that you love means that you are no longer in a ‘job’ but rather a ‘hobby’! By that I mean that we all look forward to following our hobbies and enter into them with enthusiastic, contagious joy. We look forward to a monday morning as a treat, not a burden.
The enthusiasm is passed to co-workers and is self feeding. Because of that your personal (as well as the company) success goes from strength to strength.
At the end of a work day you go home in high spirits and low and behold that is comunicated to the family and that becomes a further joy!
Work is play, John, work is play. Don’t settle for less.
I have worked at senior level in public financial managment and accounting for nearly 20 years. Last year I took ill and as a result I have fallen out of love with my work which I enjoyed for years. Therefore I have not worked since instead doing things I enjoy. However my next question is what do I do next and what are my options?
Well doing things you enjoy is paramount so you have got the right idea. people evolve over time so what was satisfying ten years ago, stops being so. I think you have simply evolved and in need of new challenges. You are a different person today than you were ten years ago, at least as far as your work needs. We cover this in Step 1. You’ll love it.
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