What Color Is Your Parachute 2018 by Richard N. Bolles copy

Don’t ever think to yourself: “Well, I see what it is that I would die to
be able to do, but I know there is no job in the world like that.” Dear
friend, you don’t know any such thing. Now I grant you that after you have
completed it, you may not be able to find all that you want—down to the
last detail. But you’d be surprised at how much of your dream you may be
able to find. Sometimes it will be found in stages. One retired man I know,
who had been a senior executive with a publishing company, found
himself bored to death in retirement, after he turned sixty-five. He decided
he didn’t care what field he worked in, at that point, so he contacted his
favorite business acquaintance, who told him apologetically, “Times are
tough. We just don’t have anything open that matches or requires your
abilities; right now all we need is someone in our mail room.” The sixtyfive-year-old
executive said, “I’ll take that job!” He did, and over the
ensuing years steadily advanced once again, to just the job he wanted: as a
senior executive in that organization, where he utilized all his prized skills,
for a number of years. Finally, he retired for the second time, at the age of
eighty-five.
Always keep in mind your dream. Get as close to it as you can. Then be
patient. You never know what doors will open up.
Second, You Need to Try On Jobs Before You Decide
Which Ones to Pursue
You know when you go shopping at a clothing store you try on different
suits (or dresses) that you see in their window or on their racks. Why do
you try them on? Well, the suits or dresses that look terrific in the window
don’t always look so hot when you see them on you. The clothes don’t
hang quite right, etc.
It’s the same with careers. Ones that sound terrific in your imagination
don’t always look so great when you actually see them up close and
personal.
What you want of course is a career that looks terrific—in the window,
and on you. So you need to go talk to people who are already doing the
kind of job or career that you’re thinking about. The website LinkedIn
should be invaluable to you, in locating the names of such people.
Once you find them, if they live nearby ask for nineteen minutes of their
time face-to-face—Starbucks?—and keep to your word, unless during the