I am a big fan of your blog. Thanks for all that you write. I was actually pointed to your blog by my former boss (a good boss) who took a lot of interest in helping me to develop at my previous company…until about my last year there, where her focus shifted elsewhere.
That’s why I started the job I am in now–plus it got me back to the industry I want to continue building my career in, which is pharma.
Now, I am dealing with a boss who doesn’t understand what it is that her team does all day and therefore, cannot provide constructive feedback or guidance. Please note that this is not the person who I originally reported to when I began working here, but there has been quite a bit of tumult and restructuring in the last year and I have landed in her purvue. In addition to not providing direction, she also passes most of her work down to me. And it is unclear, even to people around me that at her level who have made comments to me about the situation, what she is doing on a day-to-day basis. My frustration level is at almost a 10, and I need help in managing up.
Can you point me in the direction of a blog you may have posted on this subject? Or, if there isn’t one, can you consider writing on this topic?
I was recently reading your interview advice for a phone interview I had for a teaching position at an elementary school in Michigan. Apparently I did really well and the interviewer subtly indicated that I would be invited to an in-person interview, which is really great. The only problem I have is that I wear a veil over my face, I’m Muslim. I was reading your advice on acing interviews and I’m not sure how to increase my likability factor, or to make myself more like the interviewers. Short of taking off the veil, do you have any ideas for how I can increase my likability and still get the job with the veil on?
In every job I’ve had, after a brief initial buzz (maybe two weeks) I feel despondently bored. This will happen when the role is well suited to my ENFJ personality, if I’m good at the job or even when I’ve initially felt really passionate about the role (like working for a children’s charity). And so I leave with this sense of incompleteness. I’m 33 and I’m torn between pushing through and finding that one amazing something or accepting that, as my father says, I’m just scared of hard work.
I’m re-reading the book, Do What You Are, and, as an INFP know I need to find work that is meaningful and feels authentic. I struggle with the part of me that also feel a great need for adventure, travel, and spontaneity. This seems missing from a lot of the research I’m finding. Are some people just genuinely restless? How can you tell if the urge to live/travel elsewhere, make new friends and lovers in foreign places, is your authentic self coming out or a form of escapeism?
I am writing a blog post round up of the best advice on the topic of defining your own life. So, I want to ask you, how would you define the phrase ‘a life on your terms’. Or, asked in another way, what does that phrase mean to you as an individual?
Do you have any tips on having a successful book launch and what
strategies helped you the best?
I’m 25. I’ve been a professional musician for 3 years. I am in a committed relationship with a man I love.
My music career appears to be on a precipice, but it hasn’t made it to the level of national awareness yet. I am attracting Grammy-nominated producers, good agents, etc. My career could escalate hugely in the next 5 years. I do not have unrealistic rock star goals (Lucinda Williams is a role model).
I am pregnant with twins. I’m deciding whether to keep them. I’m afraid if I have these kids now, I won’t have the energy or desire to pursue music success. (I would rather be at home with them… I think.) I’m essentially a small business owner. Plus, music means lots of travel, and the industry puts a premium on youth. My window seems more finite than it would appear to be in other industries.
My relationship with these unborn twins could be one of the greatest things in my life. I am certain that it would matter more to me than winning a Grammy.
That said, I could wait and start to have kids in 5 years or so. If I make it above the scrum, I might be able to coast on my music business achievements for longer and hang on to my rung of the career ladder until I’m ready to start climbing again.
I think I could survive both an abortion and birth. I’d have a hard time with an abortion or with giving up music, but I would do what I had to to recover.
I’m stuck with all these feelings and no definitive answer. The clock is ticking. These babies are growing inside of me. Any advice?
I work for a luxury apparel company – great group of people, but I’m not being creative and I feel like life is on repeat….sitting in an uncomfortable chair, staring at google and and eating my ritual salad. I am so not a ritual person.
I’ve had lots of life experiences, lots of jobs. I’m just trying to figure out what I’m passionate about and where I fit in in the job world. Do you have tips or models on how to narrow down your field of work you want to be in? I feel like I have so many things I enjoy and want to explore and its completely overwhelming at times. Well, all the time. I’ve done the pros and cons list over and over again. I just can’t nail it down. Any advice on how to nail it would be so great.
Hi Penelope,
I have a dilemma about this topic: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/07/19/blog-under-your-real-name-and-ignore-the-harassment/
The quandary is that I write about suicide. Anonymously. This allows me to protect my career and also avoid censoring myself. Now that I’m gaining some readership and preparing to take my blog to the next level, I am concerned about never having a body of work to attach to my real name, because I’ve finally accepted that writing is the one thing I would regret not taking a shot at in this life.
So while it’s hard to ask, “What would you do if you were me?” because you write about taboo subjects all the time and accept the risk….what does one do if it’s all risk and extremely low potential for reward? Start a completely different blog under my actual name with “safer” content? Stay anonymous and continue to write what seems to matter to people, and worry about it later? I have your words in mind:
Thanks,
[Name redacted]
>http://www.downfromtheledge.com
As a general rule of thumb, should people with ADD go on their own? I am trying hard at my third thing in three years and I am finding that I still make a lot of mistakes. It gets to a point where I space out and lose time. I try focusing and buckling down, but things still go bad.