Dr. Barbara Reinhold: organizational services

Evaluating How Well You're Managing Your Life and Career
By Dr. Barbara Reinhold

"How Free Are You to Succeed In Your Own Way?
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Print out this quiz and keep it in your folder of career management ideas, and check back each month for a new CAREER FITNESS self-assessment exercise. After all, if you don't watch out for your career, no one else will!
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Economic and political events of the past year have certainly shown that there's not much safety in thinking your company or your boss will be looking out for your career. Clearly, the best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm. Take this quiz to assess how easily you'd be able to take care of yourself if something unexpected came up in your work life.

For each of the ten statements below, indicate on a scale of 1 (not much) to 4 (Yes, that's really me), how well each one describes what your life feels like now.

1 2 3 4 (a) I have at least 3 months net living expenses stashed away.

1 2 3 4 (b) My credit cards have no balance or very small balances.

1 2 3 4 (c) I stay in touch with old friends and colleagues in a variety of organizations and situations, so that if I needed to find work or resources to start something of my own, I'd have people to call on.

1 2 3 4 (d) I have some skills that I could use to generate income as a free agent if things turned sour at my job.

1 2 3 4 (e) I keep up with the newest things in my field.

1 2 3 4 (f) I have some nifty ideas about things I'd like to do next, particularly if things went bad where I am now.

1 2 3 4 (g) I belong to several business and community organizations so that I have contacts to whom I could turn, either for job leads or for help with starting my own enterprise.

1 2 3 4 (h) I have learned how to stand up and toot my own horn when I have something to say or to sell. It wouldn't be hard for me to do new business development for a venture I believed in.

1 2 3 4 (I) My personal relationships are in good shape, so that if I need to lean on people in hard times, I know they'll be there for me.

1 2 3 4 (j) I have faith that things will work out for the best, and that lots of the crises we face are just opportunity in disguise.

So how did you do, and what does it mean?
If your score is between 35 and 40, you're in great shape. No matter how rocky the ride, you're prepared.

If your score is between 25 and 34, you're on the right track, but you need to figure out how to push yourself a little more on each of these items.

If you're below 25, you've got some catching up to do. You might want to consider some of the books and web sites on my "Links and Books" section, and a career coach might be in order too, to help you get prepared for the possibility that you just might need (or want) to be doing things very differently sometime soon.