Customer Reviews

I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work

5 star:		(26)
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1 star:		(8)

 

 

Ever looked around at what you're doing at work and wondered how on earth you got to this awful place where you hate getting out of bed in the morning? Ever feel like there's something about your so-called 'successful career' that makes you feel vaguely rotten inside? Feel like what you really wanted to be when you grew up got lost somewhere along the way?

Through a series of exercises, Julie Jensen helps you rediscover your values and passions, and to see why where you are right now is so frustrating. This book isn't about finding a job, it's more about defining yourself and seeing where you shine and where you don't.

She categorizes people 'stuck' in their careers into six types (Where's the Meaning, Been there, Done that, Need the Money, Bored and Plateaued, Bruised and Gunshy, One Toe in the Retirement Pool), and then works through specific exercises to help those archetypes set goals that will move them towards more connection in their life.

The book is nice in that it isn't all about having to be an entrepreneur to be happy. Most find-yourself-through-your-career books push entrepreneurship really hard and completely devalidate the whole work concept. Jensen suggests that working for someone else is fine, but making sure your needs are met is important. Many books about career change are horribly vague about how to figure out what you want to do. Jensen provides concrete exercises and examples of how people applied what they learned.

The biggest problem I had was trying to fit myself into an archetype, since I honestly fit into three or four of them. But everything in the book is useful, even if you may not immediately think it applies to your situation.

This is THE book you MUST read if you are a victim of a layoff or pondering "What do I truly want to do with the rest of my work life?". As a maniacal researcher and reader, I bought and borrowed dozens of job search/career change books; none came close to the results I achieved from Julie Jansen's step-by-step, no-nonsense guide.

Within 3 weeks of completing this book, I am now employed in my dream job; a job that came true because of the many exercises that are used in "I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This."

Ms. Jansen's guide will have you writing notes to yourself, staying up late dreaming about the life you really want to have, and getting up early to implement the suggestions that are found througout this classic book.

Do yourself a huge favor: stop searching the web, stop browsing at the bookstore, and simply order this book NOW!

P.S. As part of my severance package, I worked with a world-famous outplacement firm. This book was so responsible for my successful career change, that I strongly advised the outplacement firm to make Julie's book mandatory reading for all new clients!

Most of the material in this book is obvious, trivial, or both. Whatever is left has been better covered even in "starter" career books like What Color Is Your Parachute.

I bought this together with several other career change books, including Is Your Genius at Work (Dick Richards), Working Identity (Herminia Ibarra), Finding Your North Star (Martha Beck), and Do What You Are (Paul & Barbara Tieger). I Don't Know What I Want was the only disappointment. The assessment section is a joke, while the advice for individuals with different motivations to change careers appears to be written at an introductory level more suitable to somebody who's starting their first career (in which case see my comment above about What Color Is Your Parachute). All the other books I've mentioned provide either an in-depth method of self-assessment helpful in developing a plan of action, or information about the job search process that hasn't been published in popular magazines; some of them provide both.

It's not worth the bother to return it, but I don't see myself keeping it around or recommending it to friends.

I have been in the same career since 1987 (I am an airline pilot), and have been seriously considering a change for the last five years. Many of the reasons I have been considering a career change (mismanagement and economic disaster in my industry, lack of long-term career prospects, lack of respect, and boredom, to name but a few) are directly addressed in this book. The book is primarily geared to mid-career professionals, but I think it is applicable to any situation in which a fairly radical career shift is being considered. Because of the author's background, human resources, accounting and similar occupations are most frequently cited in the examples, but the principles apply to other occupations equally well.

The book is easy to read, but sometimes is time consuming due to the exercises, which are frequent and detailed. To really get the most out of the book, the exercises must be done, although I confess to not doing all of them the first time through the book myself. Even without the exercises, though, the concepts in the book are enormously helpful in focusing a job hunter. Although the author breaks career changers into six primary groups, you may very well find yourself in more than one category as I did. That's not a bad thing, and in fact, in my case it helped me consider facets of my career desires that I had not previously contemplated.

One of the things that Jansen does very well is realistically quantifying tolerance for risk, and that is especially well conceived in chapter seven "Yearning to be on Your Own," in which starting your own business and entrepreneurship are covered. I especially like that she doesn't simply guide a reader to a decision about their suitability for self-employment, but that she also discusses the different types of businesses, to include partnerships, which are often overlooked by other guides.

The "Resources" section at the end of the book is an absolute gold mine of excellent publications, organizations, and Internet sites. This section alone fully justifies the purchase price of the book.

This book is a practical and genuinely helpful guide for those seriously considering a career transition. The assessments, advice, and resources in this book are first rate, and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a modest interest in a career change, and think it is essential to someone actively in the job market.

This title provides effective exercises for would-be career changers and entreprenuers. After spending 10 years in the corporate world and making a couple unsuccessful attempts at small business, I found myself thinking "I don't know what I want, but this isn't it." Locked into a career that pays well, but has little else to recommend it, I've been having a hard time finding a vocation that offers fulfillment, but doesn't involve going broke in the process. The exercises in this book helped me clarify what I want (and do not want) from my work-life and helped me to develop a plan to acheive it. I recommend using this book in conjunction with "Do What You Are" by Tieger.

Julie Jansen's book is inspiring, practical, and thoroughly readable - a rare achievement in the self-help field. She writes with confidence and enthusiasm from a deep well of knowledge and professional experience. This book has been essential to help me maneuver through a major career change and has directed me to the right path - a switch from the profit sector to a more meaningful non-profit job. The self-discovery exercises are fun and provide many surprising insights into one's psyche. Her concise, direct suggestions for job search, networking, and interviewing have provided an extremely useful refresher course for me. The book also includes a splendid list of valuable additional resources for further guidance.

This book is more than your average job-hunt-how-to. Jansen begins by empathizing with the many different horrors one could experience when mismatched with a job that just isn't for them. She begins by identifying six of the most common reasons people can't stand their jobs.

Some people can't find meaning in their work and others want to move on, but feel trapped by the need for an income. It's actually rather common to feel bitter or nervous towards the working world or just be bored to tears. These days, more people are feeling entrepreneurial or feel limited by their age. Do any of these sound familiar?

But what you may be feeling now is not necessary fact. "There are thousands upon thousands of people who have successfully changed their work to reflect their needs and preferences." Through her calming reassurances and encouraging stories of successful career changes, Jansen's book guides you from the brink of frustration onto a journey toward the career of your dreams.

Yes, it is possible to find work you love. But before you give notice or start hitting those noisy and impersonal online job boards, Jansen encourages you to focus your job hunt on learning who you are. One of the best ways to do so is to take the time to "learn and understand what your unique values, interests, personality preferences, attitudes, and favorite skills are." But you're not left alone on this task; rather, the book gives six insightful assessments for each of these key assessment areas.

From the results of your self-assessments comes even more sage advice for finding the career you want. For each of the common areas of frustration she outlines in the first chapter, Jansen guides you in determining why you're frustrated and what you'd rather have. This is followed by help in anticipating and hurdling potential obstacles between you and your ideal career plus a quick guide on how to take the next actionable steps. Laced throughout every chapter are encouraging vignettes of so many others who have taken the steps you're getting ready to take.

Once you get this easy to read book, read it on your way to or from work or at lunch, when you're really motivated to be anywhere but you're job. I recommend you really read and ponder over the first four chapters. Then choose any of chapters five through nine that match the reason you're unsatisfied, and finish up with the last two chapters.

This book, combined with a good career counselor and a well-connected staffing firm (mine was Headway), is essential to finding work that you really love. After all, "it's time to make yourself happy in your work."

I've had this book for a while, and recently went over it again. The exercises and self-assessment questions where somewhat helpful, and the others require brainstorming. There's a section where it asks to select/identify skills based on experience, and when I did this, I figured, my current skills seemed too limited, since I haven't acquired most of the skills listed. I just think that this is mainly written for experienced professionals in their mid-careers; anyone may benefit from some exercises and topics, but I'm still not quite satisfied for some reason, so I decided to buy another one, "The Pathfinder," by Nicholas Lore.

Ms. Jansen's new book is THE definitive resource for those seeking a job change or career makeover. Her series of self-assessments is both thorough and insightful. Definitely a tool to help one get more in touch with oneself -- essential before embarking on any job or career change. The author uses real examples to which the average person can relate. This is not just an executive job search tool, but one for career changers at every level -- those just starting out, those who are burned out, veteran job seekers, would-be entrepreneurs.... It's never too late to learn more about yourself, particularly during these challenging economic times when there's even more at stake with every career move. Read it, take the tests, and prepare to become enlightened!

Wow! I recently picked up a copy of Julie Jansen's "I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This" and couldn't put it down. This book--destined to become a classic in the career section of every resource library--is the definitive guide to finding and maintaining meaningful work in the twenty-first century. It's no-nonsense approach to assessing and, if necessary, altering one's work situation is practical, clear, and concise, while, at the same time, managing to inject much needed warmth, humor, and hope to this most serious topic. As our jobs and careers become ever more impersonalized, quantified, and rationalized, there is an ever-increasing need for outstanding books like this, which can help us master all of the "corporate machinations" without losing sight of the personal skills, strengths, and attributes that make work--and life--truly satisfying.