Getting a Job - How to Start

Work is much more than simply a way of earning money. It defines us as people in our society. Think of the number of conversations that focus on what you do for a living. Introductions are often based solely on this: "Mike, I'd like you to meet my friend, Jan. Jan is a marine biologist." Or, "Jan works at the new shopping center in town." At social gatherings people spend a great deal of their time discussing work-related matters, and it's easy to begin to feel left out if you can't join in with a horror story about your boss or coworkers. So it's taken as understood that you want to work. But you don't just want any old job if you also want to retain your sanity. One of life's little pleasures is to wake up each morning and think to yourself, "Wow! Another day at work." One of life's miseries is to wake up each morning and think, "Ugh! Another day at work." It's important to find a job that will prompt the first response rather than the second. So how do you find out what job will make you happy (and keep you sane) before you've spent years training for it? Easy, really. You just have to know yourself. You need to know: