I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work Reviews

• I Do Know What I Want, And It Is For You To Read This Book

  
  By A6GPV7BC611AZ on 2004-03-01
  This is THE book you MUST read if you are a victim of a layoff or pondering "What do I truly want to do with the rest of my work life?". As a maniacal researcher and reader, I bought and borrowed dozens of job search/career change books; none came close to the results I achieved from Julie Jansen's step-by-step, no-nonsense guide.

  Within 3 weeks of completing this book, I am now employed in my dream job; a job that came true because of the many exercises that are used in "I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This."

  Ms. Jansen's guide will have you writing notes to yourself, staying up late dreaming about the life you really want to have, and getting up early to implement the suggestions that are found througout this classic book.

  Do yourself a huge favor: stop searching the web, stop browsing at the bookstore, and simply order this book NOW!

  P.S. As part of my severance package, I worked with a world-famous outplacement firm. This book was so responsible for my successful career change, that I strongly advised the outplacement firm to make Julie's book mandatory reading for all new clients!
  
  

• Great resource for the mid-life career crisis....

  
  By AHH2KITO79MV2 on 2003-09-25
  Ever looked around at what you're doing at work and wondered how on earth you got to this awful place where you hate getting out of bed in the morning? Ever feel like there's something about your so-called 'successful career' that makes you feel vaguely rotten inside? Feel like what you really wanted to be when you grew up got lost somewhere along the way?

  Through a series of exercises, Julie Jensen helps you rediscover your values and passions, and to see why where you are right now is so frustrating. This book isn't about finding a job, it's more about defining yourself and seeing where you shine and where you don't.

  She categorizes people 'stuck' in their careers into six types (Where's the Meaning, Been there, Done that, Need the Money, Bored and Plateaued, Bruised and Gunshy, One Toe in the Retirement Pool), and then works through specific exercises to help those archetypes set goals that will move them towards more connection in their life.

  The book is nice in that it isn't all about having to be an entrepreneur to be happy. Most find-yourself-through-your-career books push entrepreneurship really hard and completely devalidate the whole work concept. Jensen suggests that working for someone else is fine, but making sure your needs are met is important. Many books about career change are horribly vague about how to figure out what you want to do. Jensen provides concrete exercises and examples of how people applied what they learned.

  The biggest problem I had was trying to fit myself into an archetype, since I honestly fit into three or four of them. But everything in the book is useful, even if you may not immediately think it applies to your situation.
  
  

• Very limited focus

  
  By AEUZ7244HAVWP on 2005-09-06
  Terrible book IF you are not in the business world. There is almost nothing here that related to my situation. In fact, the only situations the author seems to know anything about are people in the 'white collar' business world. Virtually all of her real life examples are human resource 'professionals', finacial analysts, and others from the 'white collar' corporate world. In my case, I have a master's degree in English and have been driving a forklift in a book printing plant for 8 years, and apparently the author doesn't think factory workers yearn for other work situations. In fact, she probably has such a severe case of tunnel vision that she wouldn't think a factory worker might even want to read her book. This book might be a good book if you are a banker looking to make a career change--I don't know. But if you're not, save your money on this one.
  
  

• Basic basic basic

  
  By A2KBK19VVLC4DI on 2006-03-01
  Most of the material in this book is obvious, trivial, or both. Whatever is left has been better covered even in "starter" career books like What Color Is Your Parachute.
  
  I bought this together with several other career change books, including Is Your Genius at Work (Dick Richards), Working Identity (Herminia Ibarra), Finding Your North Star (Martha Beck), and Do What You Are (Paul & Barbara Tieger). I Don't Know What I Want was the only disappointment. The assessment section is a joke, while the advice for individuals with different motivations to change careers appears to be written at an introductory level more suitable to somebody who's starting their first career (in which case see my comment above about What Color Is Your Parachute). All the other books I've mentioned provide either an in-depth method of self-assessment helpful in developing a plan of action, or information about the job search process that hasn't been published in popular magazines; some of them provide both.
  
  It's not worth the bother to return it, but I don't see myself keeping it around or recommending it to friends.
  
  

• Still Don't Know What I Want

  
  By on 2004-04-21
  I found out a little more about myself as far as attitudes and personality (not much I didn't already know; just a litte reaffirming I guess to have gone over the exercises), but I still don't know what I want.

  The book may help you, or maybe not, place yourself into one of the six categories the author describes on why you want to change jobs. The book may also help you itemize your values, attitudes, change readiness, personality preferences, interests and skills into neat categories. The book does nothing in helping push you to finding gratifying work.
  
  

• Inspiring, practical, and thoroughly readable
  By AYCTE2J7BOD1U on 2003-04-16
  Julie Jansen's book is inspiring, practical, and thoroughly readable - a rare achievement in the self-help field. She writes with confidence and enthusiasm from a deep well of knowledge and professional experience. This book has been essential to help me maneuver through a major career change and has directed me to the right path - a switch from the profit sector to a more meaningful non-profit job. The self-discovery exercises are fun and provide many surprising insights into one's psyche. Her concise, direct suggestions for job search, networking, and interviewing have provided an extremely useful refresher course for me. The book also includes a splendid list of valuable additional resources for further guidance.
  
  
• Useless aggregation of standard self-help information
  By on 2004-04-12
  I found the information and exercises in this book to be a simple aggregation of the standard self-help/self-improvement informaton that you'd get from an ineffective career counselor, HR manager, or a corporate management consultant. Many of the excercises are wandering and unfocused, and not very helpful in determining goals and action plans for change. I'd like my money back, but more importantly, I'd like the time I spent reading the first few chapters back.
  
  
• Helpful exercises...easy read...very useful.
  By on 2004-04-24
  This title provides effective exercises for would-be career changers and entreprenuers. After spending 10 years in the corporate world and making a couple unsuccessful attempts at small business, I found myself thinking "I don't know what I want, but this isn't it." Locked into a career that pays well, but has little else to recommend it, I've been having a hard time finding a vocation that offers fulfillment, but doesn't involve going broke in the process. The exercises in this book helped me clarify what I want (and do not want) from my work-life and helped me to develop a plan to acheive it. I recommend using this book in conjunction with "Do What You Are" by Tieger.
  
  
• Excellent, Personalized Career Guidance
  By A2NOZB6VZCTOI4 on 2006-01-04
  I have been in the same career since 1987 (I am an airline pilot), and have been seriously considering a change for the last five years. Many of the reasons I have been considering a career change (mismanagement and economic disaster in my industry, lack of long-term career prospects, lack of respect, and boredom, to name but a few) are directly addressed in this book. The book is primarily geared to mid-career professionals, but I think it is applicable to any situation in which a fairly radical career shift is being considered. Because of the author's background, human resources, accounting and similar occupations are most frequently cited in the examples, but the principles apply to other occupations equally well.
  
  The book is easy to read, but sometimes is time consuming due to the exercises, which are frequent and detailed. To really get the most out of the book, the exercises must be done, although I confess to not doing all of them the first time through the book myself. Even without the exercises, though, the concepts in the book are enormously helpful in focusing a job hunter. Although the author breaks career changers into six primary groups, you may very well find yourself in more than one category as I did. That's not a bad thing, and in fact, in my case it helped me consider facets of my career desires that I had not previously contemplated.
  
  One of the things that Jansen does very well is realistically quantifying tolerance for risk, and that is especially well conceived in chapter seven "Yearning to be on Your Own," in which starting your own business and entrepreneurship are covered. I especially like that she doesn't simply guide a reader to a decision about their suitability for self-employment, but that she also discusses the different types of businesses, to include partnerships, which are often overlooked by other guides.
  
  The "Resources" section at the end of the book is an absolute gold mine of excellent publications, organizations, and Internet sites. This section alone fully justifies the purchase price of the book.
  
  This book is a practical and genuinely helpful guide for those seriously considering a career transition. The assessments, advice, and resources in this book are first rate, and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a modest interest in a career change, and think it is essential to someone actively in the job market.
  
  
  
• Find Yourself en route to Gratifying Work
  By AH87HA8P4KHMU on 2003-03-03
  Ms. Jansen's new book is THE definitive resource for those seeking a job change or career makeover. Her series of self-assessments is both thorough and insightful. Definitely a tool to help one get more in touch with oneself -- essential before embarking on any job or career change. The author uses real examples to which the average person can relate. This is not just an executive job search tool, but one for career changers at every level -- those just starting out, those who are burned out, veteran job seekers, would-be entrepreneurs.... It's never too late to learn more about yourself, particularly during these challenging economic times when there's even more at stake with every career move. Read it, take the tests, and prepare to become enlightened!
  
  
• A wonderful book to start with!
  By ASBED89GH91KF on 2004-09-02
  This book is wonderful at helping you figure what you want. There are three sections: "Where are you?," "Where do you want to be?," and "How do you get there?" Each of these sections provides you with insight into problems that many face, things to contemplate, and reasonable steps to find more satisfying work. This book doesn't try to answer all of your questions or tell you what you should do. Rather, it provides you with a framework to help discover what potentially could be more fulfilling. I felt the resources section helpful for further reading for each of the topics.
  
  There are several exercises that help you get a better idea of what you would find interesting and satisfying. I would suggest going through the exercises with someone who knows you well. My wife was very helpful in helping me answer some of the questions and providing a different perspective.
  
  After going through the exercises, I recognized a few things I should skip and others that I should concentrate on. I haven't figured it all out yet. But, now I am a little more focused on what's important. I highly recommend this book!
  
  
• Exceptional Writing and Essential Reading!
  By A3NU8SMA4WRDNT on 2003-03-18
  Wow! I recently picked up a copy of Julie Jansen's "I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This" and couldn't put it down. This book--destined to become a classic in the career section of every resource library--is the definitive guide to finding and maintaining meaningful work in the twenty-first century. It's no-nonsense approach to assessing and, if necessary, altering one's work situation is practical, clear, and concise, while, at the same time, managing to inject much needed warmth, humor, and hope to this most serious topic. As our jobs and careers become ever more impersonalized, quantified, and rationalized, there is an ever-increasing need for outstanding books like this, which can help us master all of the "corporate machinations" without losing sight of the personal skills, strengths, and attributes that make work--and life--truly satisfying.
  
  
• Mainly Written For Those In Their Mid-careers
  By A20KN1GP08K8HM on 2005-09-23
  I've had this book for a while, and recently went over it again. The exercises and self-assessment questions where somewhat helpful, and the others require brainstorming. There's a section where it asks to select/identify skills based on experience, and when I did this, I figured, my current skills seemed too limited, since I haven't acquired most of the skills listed. I just think that this is mainly written for experienced professionals in their mid-careers; anyone may benefit from some exercises and topics, but I'm still not quite satisfied for some reason, so I decided to buy another one, "The Pathfinder," by Nicholas Lore.
  
  
• The Job You Want Is Closer Than It Seems
  By A3L3EADV1HA9LC on 2005-08-13
  This book is more than your average job-hunt-how-to. Jansen begins by empathizing with the many different horrors one could experience when mismatched with a job that just isn't for them. She begins by identifying six of the most common reasons people can't stand their jobs.
  
  Some people can't find meaning in their work and others want to move on, but feel trapped by the need for an income. It's actually rather common to feel bitter or nervous towards the working world or just be bored to tears. These days, more people are feeling entrepreneurial or feel limited by their age. Do any of these sound familiar?
  
  But what you may be feeling now is not necessary fact. "There are thousands upon thousands of people who have successfully changed their work to reflect their needs and preferences." Through her calming reassurances and encouraging stories of successful career changes, Jansen's book guides you from the brink of frustration onto a journey toward the career of your dreams.
  
  Yes, it is possible to find work you love. But before you give notice or start hitting those noisy and impersonal online job boards, Jansen encourages you to focus your job hunt on learning who you are. One of the best ways to do so is to take the time to "learn and understand what your unique values, interests, personality preferences, attitudes, and favorite skills are." But you're not left alone on this task; rather, the book gives six insightful assessments for each of these key assessment areas.
  
  From the results of your self-assessments comes even more sage advice for finding the career you want. For each of the common areas of frustration she outlines in the first chapter, Jansen guides you in determining why you're frustrated and what you'd rather have. This is followed by help in anticipating and hurdling potential obstacles between you and your ideal career plus a quick guide on how to take the next actionable steps. Laced throughout every chapter are encouraging vignettes of so many others who have taken the steps you're getting ready to take.
  
  Once you get this easy to read book, read it on your way to or from work or at lunch, when you're really motivated to be anywhere but you're job. I recommend you really read and ponder over the first four chapters. Then choose any of chapters five through nine that match the reason you're unsatisfied, and finish up with the last two chapters.
  
  This book, combined with a good career counselor and a well-connected staffing firm (mine was Headway), is essential to finding work that you really love. After all, "it's time to make yourself happy in your work."
  
  
• Not that helpful
  By AVH5PHS04Z3BW on 2006-03-09
  This book just did not get me any closer to finding the career change I was looking for. It was ok, and the exercises do make an occasional point. But for someone who is stuck in a rut trying to find gratifying work, it isn't likely to help.
  
  
• Survey? What kind?
  By on 2004-02-26
  I have to say that I like this book. The core of it is valuable and it's more useful than not. However, some of the statements aggravate me. On page 61, the sentence 'In a survey that I conducted of 110 people, more than 90 percent ranked "finding meaning" as the number one reason that they recently had changed or would like to change their careers.' Really now! What kind of survey was it that better work hours, job availability and reliability, and better wages combined came in at less than 10% of the sample set for wanting to change careers? I just don't believe a good survey would give these results. Perhaps the author is merely trying to empasize a point in talking about people who are in the group of dissatisfied workers classed in the 'where's the meaning' category but it doesn't scan right.
  
  
• A top-notch resource, money well spent
  By AU0MMZF1KEXAH on 2005-05-13
  What I like most about this book is its specificity. It is not like many other books of this genre: flimsy and unspecific. If you spend time rereading passages, taking notes, and doing the recommended exercises, you'll definitely--at the very least--come away with a better sense of who you are and what career path or paths you might want to try. I believe the other reviewers here who claim that "I Don't Know What I Want" literally changed their lives.
  
  I don't have any major complaints with this book. My one small, nagging concern is that readers must INVEST in this book--not just financially, but also personally. By this I mean readers will need to spend time and energy pondering the author's tips and approaches; a quick skim will be of little benefit. As a job market author, I congratulate Julie Jansen for giving jobseekers and less-than-satisfied employees a top-notch resource and I hope that this book survives for years to come.
  
  
• To find what you want, Understand Yourself first
  By A34JC41RKHNR9Q on 2006-05-23
  This book may not help you find a life-long satisfying career, but IT WILL help you understand yourself much better. I found the exercises easy to complete, helpful and quite informative.
  
  The book will take you through a thorough self-assessment, and I like that you can get through the book quickly, but still put it down and pick it back up later when needed. When compared to similar books, this one is easier to navigate and is not at all painful.
  
  The author helps you categorize yourself into one (or several) of the following work situations: Where's the meaning, Been There Done that, Bruised and gun-shy (recently downsized), Bored and plateaued, Yearning to be on your own and One toe in the retirement pool.
  
  I have already recommended this book to two friends in the last week. While I simply checked a copy out of the library, I recommend this as a book worth purchasing.
  
  
• This book was not helpful....at all.
  By A3FT33HGVGA8US on 2006-12-30
  This book was not what I thought at all. I thought it would help me figure out what line of work I would be best suited for. Instead, there were just random self exploration questions which didn't help me know if I would be better suited to be an accountant or zoologist.
  
  If you would like specific employment/career "what would I really enjoy doing" answers, don't get this book.
  
  
• When you are finally sick of hearing yourself complain
  By on 2004-03-14
  Who hasn't looked up from their computer at work to look around and wonder "is this it?"
  When you are finally tired of hearing yourself complain about things, check this book out. There are a lot of "discovery" exercises in the front of the book but I recommend you not skip them. You need to know where you are to know where you want to go.
  If there's one thing I took away from this book, it's that I'm the one who has to make it happen if I'm going to get anywhere. But "making it happen" isn't nearly as scary as it sounds once you start finding more about yourself. I think it was Ben Franklin who said "Who has deceived thee so often as thyself?" This book has helped me stop deceiving myself.
  
  
• Very insightful, well organized, relevant and practical
  By on 2003-02-01
  Gratifying work is certainly the foundation to high quality of life. This book can show you the path to achieving that, whether you are frustrated with your current job, contemplating a career change or actively seeking a new job.
  I had the good fortune to attend two of Ms. Jansen's lectures last fall. She is a very energetic and dynamic lecturer who speaks from experience - true words of wisdom!

  The book flows very nicely and guides you through all the steps with questionnaires. In addition, it is chuck-full-of great references. The book is divided in three sections. The two chapters in the first section are designed to help you assess your current situation and the chapters in the second section, to help you figure out where you want to be. Section three will set you on the path to getting there. Finally, she discusses her views on what it takes to be successful and the nuts' n bolts of the job search process.

  In my opinion, this book is very insightful, well organized, relevant and most important: practical. It has helped me understand the root cause of some corporate headaches I have experienced and was able to write me a prescription with the help of this book. Excellent!
  
  

• An excellent resource for job seekers and career changers
  By on 2003-02-06
  If you're like me and hate what you do for a living but are floundering, Julie Jansen's book, "I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This," is a godsend. I've heard Jansen speak. She's smart, dynamic and refreshingly down to earth. Her book is the same. Reading it is like having a private career coach or a supportive, no-nonsense friend who is always there to give you [boost] you need to stop whining about work and do something about it! It's written in Jansen's warm, straightforward style and packed with practical information (e.g., websites for finding a job, dealing with job stress, getting a free critique of your resume), self-assessment tools and action plans that are actually fun and easy to use. All of this is extremely helpful for organizing your thoughts, honing in on the real reasons you're unhappy, and discovering valuable clues about who you are and what you really want to be when you grow up. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to get serious about finding work they can feel good about.
  
  
• FROM SO MANY ANGLES
  By A3F18AI73LKQGJ on 2005-07-10
  This book is a gem. As a coach who specializes in helping people "get unstuck," I appreciated the great variety of exercises the author included. Many of my clients are Renaissance Souls (people with too many interests to pick just one)who don't fit any standard cookie-cutter mold, and this book doesn't force them to do that. Thank you, Julie Jansen!
  
  
• Worth a read if you are unhappy and don't know what to do next
  By A24YSU0GHPL11O on 2005-09-15
  I bought this book based on the title which fit me perfectly and the reviews listed by Amazon. I found the book to be very helpful in pinpointing what things made me unhappy so that I could address them in my next career move. I think that Julie Jansen approaches the book in very realistic terms (a career change will not be overnight), and I found the exercises, while at times a little long, to be valuable to discover what attributes I want in my next career and what is really important to me. Recommended to anyone looking for a guide to help you find your next path.
  
  
• I don't know what I want, but I know it's not this
  By A1LQTSYLRNCXCN on 2003-04-07
  Extraordinary book. A balanced combination of self-assessment, leading to personal discovery, and data that yields perspective. It's like a contemporized, more relevant version of "what color is my parachute?"... with the added element of deeper emotional drive. It c learly depicts the realities of today's complex work economy. Then, marrying the concept of uncovering and fufilling our life's purpose. I read a business book a week, and this is the rare occurence...smart, relevant, thought-provoking and practical.
  
  
• Do the exercises and you will get the most out of this book!
  By A2UOSVWBJSD15A on 2005-10-31
  I have been thinking about making a career change for several years now and over that time have read several different books on the subject. I have to admit that I was somewhat reluctant to do the exercises in this book. I have a patience problem and usually like to rush to the wisdom to be spelled out by the author. However after finally forcing myself to do the exercises, I realized that the wisdom that was relevant to me needed to be cultivated on my needs and desires as discovered through the questioning process. The ideas and values that were identified ultimately gave me a much clearer vision of what my options are. Some of the exercises really get down to actual work related activities and how you rate yourself in terms of skill level and desire to do them. Although the book did not give me specific advice on how to match my values and skills to a particular profession, I was able to identify some very tangible options based on the outcome of the exercises.
  
  Do yourself a favor and get this book and commit to doing the exercises. You will then need to search out other sources of information on various careers (the Bureau of Labor's Occupational Outlooks is a good place to start -- www.bls.gov). Once you can pin down the particular traits or aspects of a particular career that are important to you it will be much easier for you to find the options that could be a good fit. There are also some really good guidelines for anyone thinking about starting their own business.
  
  The bottom line is that this book is a really great resource to guide you toward making a change and finding the right career for you.
  
  
  
• Renaissance Souls Can Use This Book!
  By AT3MVCR0JZAA8 on 2005-04-24
  As a life coach for Renaissance Souls (people with too many interests to choose just one,) I'm tickled when career books don't assume everyone has known what they've wanted to be since they were ten! Maybe Mozart could do the same thing all his life, but lots of us thrive on change! This book can be a great tool when a Renaissance Soul feels "done" with one interest and now needs to move on to finding something else.
  
  
• Great Job
  By A2MTSS91D7NX14 on 2006-04-22
  I bought this book, and "Radical Careering: 101 Truths to jumpstart your Job..." so I could get some inspiration to potentially switch careers. By far, this was the better and an excellent book. This book provides a comprehensive series of exercises to capture the essence of 'What do I want to do with my life - careerwise?' Julie Jensen sincerley takes you on a journey inward to rediscover who you are and why you are what you are-- all so you can have a great career match.
  
  While she doesn't help you find a job, she does help you detail out the characteristics of a job you'd love.
  
  Through this book, I found out that I was in one of the 6 types of people stuck in thier careers, I was 'Where is the meaning'-- knowing where I also lets me know where I don't fit!! There are a lot of meaningful examples in this book, very case study like so you can relate to walking in the shoes of other people. Well written, well organized, and very thought provoking. I highly recommend it if you are at all contemplating switching careers or jobs.
  Mary
  
  
• I don't know what I want to do...this book didn't help
  By A35FHRGWIOBXP0 on 2006-11-10
  I got this book in hopes it would help me figure out or discover what I should do. There are exercises, etc, but I got to probably the first 50 pages then skimmed the rest. I wasted an hour on it...I did not feel like wasting any more time on it. Maybe I should become a reviewer and help people stay away from bad books and products. Maybe this book did help?!?!
  
  
• Now, at last I know how to find satisfaction in my career!
  By A2ODOCLNPD825M on 2003-02-18
  This is what I have been waiting for. A logical, straight forward guide to doing what makes me happy in my next career.
  I am to young to retire, and to tired to keep doing something that is wearing me out.

  Ms. Jansen's book, "I Don't Know What I Want, But I know It's Not This", gives the reader a guide through the maze and leaves the reader understanding what makes them happy in thier work.

  Then Ms Jansen helps give direction in moving into a world that makes a person say, "I love What I do"

  I hope Ms. Jansen is planning to give workshops for those of us who need to, See, Hear and Do"

  Thanks again for helping me start over at 55.
  
  

• I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It
• The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success
• Do What You Are : Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type--Revised and Updated Edition Featuring E-careers for the 21st Century
• Career Match: Connecting Who You Are with What You'll Love to Do
• What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (What Color Is Your Parachute?)