Cosmo/CareersCoach Goal Setting Challenge: Week Two

Refining your career

How the quiz works

For the second week of the Cosmo/CareersCoach Goal Setting Challenge, we would like you to complete a mini quiz. The quiz is designed to help you recognise your career requirements. Career requirements are the things that you absolutely must get from your working life. The quiz will also help you to weed out the things that may not be so important to you, after all. There are no right or wrong answers. This quiz is very personal and just for you to see. Use the quiz as a tool to gain the personal insight that will allow you to set clear goals in week three.

What you need to get started
• 10-15 minutes to complete the quiz
• A pen and notebook
• The ability to be very honest with yourself (no-one needs to see your results).

How to complete the quiz

First, read the situational statement under each heading. Read the three possible responses under the heading and write down the letter that most closely resembles what you would do if you were in that situation.

Finally, once you have completed all three situations, go to the bottom of the document and read the section titled "What your answer says about your career requirements".

Situation one: job satisfaction vs salary

You are offered your dream job. It's a job that you have been dreaming of your whole life and now it could be yours. The only problem is that if you take the job, you will have to take a step back in regards to salary. Faced with this situation you:
A. Take the job.
B. Take the job on the condition that the employer agrees to increase your salary within one year.
C. Use the job offer as an opportunity to negotiate a pay increase from your current employer.

What your answers say...

A. You place job satisfaction way ahead of salary. Keep this in mind when setting your career goals to ensure that you choose goals and goal-related tasks that allow you to work towards complete job satisfaction.
B. You believe that job satisfaction is important but you are also mindful of earning a good income. This means that job satisfaction is important to you but it does not necessarily need to be your primary focus when setting goals.
C. You are a smart operator who is clearly very concerned about achieving your earning potential. Keep this in mind by ensuring you set goals that will help you achieve this objective.

Situation two: work/life balance vs career promotion

You are working on a high-profile project. Your manager tells you that if you bring this project in on time, you will be promoted. You realise that to make this happen you are going to have to put your personal and social life on hold for the next month. Faced with this situation you:
A. Put your personal life on hold and work day, night and weekends to bring this project in on time. You must win the promotion.
B. You compromise by working back for half an hour each day and focus on better managing your time, hoping you can finish the project on time.
C. You go home on time every evening, believing that management should not expect you to have to meet unrealistic deadlines.

What your answers say...

A. You are totally committed to winning career promotion opportunities and working your way to the top. With this sort of commitment, you can afford to set high goals. Just be sure that you break each goal down into smaller workable tasks so that nothing can hold you back.
B. You are conscientious and probably very good at what you do, but you are not prepared to give up your life to win a promotion. Keep this in mind when setting goals by ensuring that you are pushing yourself. Don't forget to work towards the goals that will really make you happy in the long term.
C. You value work/life balance far more than promotion opportunities. This is a great quality, but you need to be careful about how your passion for maintaining work/life balance could be viewed by management and team members. Consider setting goals around image, relationships and time management so that you can achieve your career goals and still maintain your work/life balance.

Situation three: structure and stability vs opportunity to influence

You are solidly working away in your job when one day your manager walks in and announces the organisation is restructuring. Faced with this situation you:
A. Start jumping inside with excitement because a restructure provides you with an opportunity to share your ideas and influence the new structure of the organisation.
B. Feel apprehensive, sensing that this could be bad news or it could be good news. You are just not sure until it all pans out.
C. Start looking for a new job because there is no way you are going to hang around waiting for this mess to unfold.

What your answers say...

A. You are very positive, energetic and full of ideas. For this reason you should look at setting goals in areas that will help you build influence, communicate effectively at all levels and really make things happen!
B. You are a cautious person who would thrive in a structured work environment where you are given clear guidelines. When setting goals, keep this in mind. If you want to get out of your comfort zone to get ahead, do so gradually for best results.
C. You are not a person who likes uncertainty. For this reason it would be a good idea for you to set goals that will allow you to achieve security. Job security, financial security and personal security.

Find out what your answers say about your career: www.careerscoach.com.au

By Lisa O'Brien