“What Color Is Your Parachute”

What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles has been in print for 4 decades but it also has been updated and revised annually. In any event, What Color Is Your Parachute is as relevant today as it was those decades ago.  In my opinion, the book is much more than a job hunting book, it’s about really finding out who you are and getting out of your comfort zone. We all have that “zone” we feel most comfortable in, we do not feel stressed, and we don’t need to make “Change” our friend. However,  job hunting or career transitioning in 2012 and moving forward will continue to be about getting out of your comfort zone; we can accomplish this by taking baby steps at first and then taking risks. I certainly do not mean the kind of risks that would be unethical, immoral or the kind of risk that would put your health or life in danger; I’m referring to the kind of risks that would help you develop or improve upon your survival skills with regard to job hunting and more importantly running your Life. We know of risk management for an organization but perhaps, we need to think of it in terms of ourselves and develop a risk matrix where we evaluate the  probability and the consequence of the event on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is low and 10 is high.  Some examples of events would be,  starting a new career, starting your own business, going back to school, doing an internship, volunteering, or relocating to a different geographical area. To get started I would recommend utilizing a risk matrix software which you can download for free at http://www.freedownload3.com\software\risk_matrix_software.html , you will have to adapt it for your personal needs but it’s an example to follow.

Strategizing is risky business but it is essential to grow and see the possibilities in your life. Today we need plan A, B & C; we should have the foresight and flexibility to initiate any plan at any time if we have to make an unexpected turn/change. The rationale to having plans in place is that we can make that “go, no go decision” sooner and not continue on the same unsuccessful path; as they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.

 I would recommend reading chapter 13, self-inventory. In my opinion, a self-inventory will help define who you are and the value you bring to the table. Of course, “What Color Is Your Parachute” is a book worth reading in its entirety, the book is for both the job hunter and for the person trying to identify their purpose and mission in life.

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