Week #12- What Color is Your Parachute- Ch. 10

This week I read Chapter 10 of What Color is Your Parachute and it was about our handicaps. This means anything we think that will hinder us from getting a job. Things such as: I'm not pretty enough, I'm too fat, or I'm ugly. Stupid things like that, that actually don't matter when we are applying for a job. Bolles actually says, "If all this were true, there would be only three weeks in our life when we are employable!" He goes on to say that we are all handicapped. No one isn't. We all have those insecurities about ourselves. He says most of us think about reasons why employers won't hire us instead of thinking about the positives and why an employer would hire us.

A way that we can try to help us think about the positives is by creating a chart. On one side of the chart you put skills you do have and then on the other side of the chart put skills you don't have. And find a list of transferable skills from somewhere. There is a list of them in this book in Chapter 8. Once you're done creating the list of skills that you can do, pick out 5 of your favorites and then write down a time when you performed this skill. This will help you to focus on the positive and the things that you're good at.

Another handicap that he talks about is shyness. He says if you are a shy person than you need to go after a job that you are enthusiastic about and you are curious about. This will help you to become less shy. Most employers like you to stand out above the rest, so if you don't because you're too shy, this could be a big problem for you. So that's why you need to find a job you are super enthusiastic about.