What Your Party Conversation Says About Your Ideal Work

What sort of people do you prefer to talk to at a party? According to Richard Bolles, author of What Colour Is Your Parachute and long-standing career change guru, your answer to this question will determine the work environment that suits you best.

Understanding the type of environment you flourish in is essential to finding or creating your ideal work. And the people you surround yourself with - colleagues, clients, suppliers, partners - are a key part of your environment.

Bolles' "Party Game" gives you a quick and dirty approximation of your "Holland code". Developed by Dr John Holland, this 3 letter code not only sheds light on your optimum people environment, it also provides insight into the careers that best match your interests and abilities. You can take the official questionnaire online at www.self-directed-search.com for only USD5. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Or, have some fun now by trying out the Party Game below:

1. Draw a hexagon and put a letter by each corner (RIASEC).

2. Imagine the hexagon is a room and you are at a party. In the different corners stand groups of people with different abilities and preferences, represented by the letters below.

3. After reading the descriptions for each letter below, which corner of the room would you naturally gravitate towards? Note down the letter.

4. After 15 minutes, everyone in the corner you have chosen leaves for another party. Of the corners that remain, which would you be most drawn to? Note that letter down.

5. After another 15 minutes, this group also leaves for the same party (don't get paranoid, it's not because of your conversation!). Of the remaining corners, which one would you most enjoy being with for the longest time? Note this letter.

6. The 3 letters you have chosen are a guesstimate of your Holland Code.

7. What has this process told you about the type of people environments you most enjoy? And those you should avoid?

8. If you'd like to verify your code and find out in more detail its implications, go to www.self-directed-search.com and take the questionnaire.

R for "realistic" - People who have athletic or mechanical ability, or who prefer to work with objects, machines, tools, plants or animals, or to be outdoors.

I for "investigative" - People who like to observe, learn, investigate, analyse, evaluate, or solve problems

A for "artistic" - People who have artistic, innovative, or intuitional abilities, and like to work in unstructured situations, using their imagination and creativity

S for "social" - People who like to work with people - to inform, enlighten, help, train, develop, or cure them, or who are skilled with words

E for "enterprising" - People who like to work with people - influencing, persuading or performing, or leading or managing for organizational goals or economic gain

C for "conventional" - People who like to work with data, have clerical or numerical ability, carrying things out in detail, or following through on others' instructions.


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Sarah Cooper is a career coach who specialises in working with people who want to follow their passions, express their creativity or help people or society in some way. Sarah worked as a solicitor, then as a marketing manager in the voluntary sector before defining her own ideal work. Kick start your new life by signing up to Sarah's FREE mini e-course 5 Keys to Finding Freedom By Doing What You Love at http://www.cowsfrommywindow.com