SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right. So you have decided that you are ready for the next chapter in your career, whether it's leaving a current career and moving to a new one, or maybe it's jumping back into the workforce after being at home, taking care of children, parents, health issues, whatever it might be, you're ready to start your next career chapter. If you fit into either one of those categories, this episode is for you. We're going to be looking at how to use the Enneagram, what you know about your Enneagram type in real life, specifically in the job hunting process, and specifically in three parts of that process. One, we're going to look at how to do some pre-work to set the stage, really give you some clarity, give you some, you know, clear direction about where you want to take this. We're also going to look at how to use the Enneagram in the resume writing or application process. And then third, we're going to look at how to use it inside of an interview. Now, this episode is really for those of you who are looking to move into a career working for another company, corporation, organization of some type. I do have an episode planned for Enneagram for Entrepreneurs. If you're looking to transition more into a side hustle or running your own type of business, that will come later. This is for those of you looking to apply to someone else's business. So just want to clarify that. When you are ready, I will see you inside this week's episode. You're listening to the Enneagram MVA podcast, a show of understanding people at work, including yourself, usually talking about the Enneagram, sometimes talking about other resources and methods, but always bringing value and having fun along the way. I'm your host, Sarah Wallace, certified Enneagram coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator. And I cannot wait to see you inside. Learning about the Enneagram is a lot of fun. It can be funny as we have talked about in the past. Sometimes, though, the thing that isn't as clear is how to actually use it in real life. And so I'm doing some of these solo episodes to give practical, very direct and specific ways for how to use this incredible tool called the Enneagram. And I love it so much, not just because, you know, you know some qualities and it does feel good to feel validated and you can learn more about others and see their different perspective. I love it because it also can give you language for how to describe what you're thinking or feeling or why something matters to you. I found that in my own journey, like that has been one of the most important takeaways is just realizing, oh, that's why I do that. And here's a way to say that. And we had a type two informant that I'm so appreciative of for opening up and being willing to share life on the inside as a type two. And one of the things we talked about was the aha moment that she had when she realized that this ability to read people and in a meeting, like notice who was tuning out, who was ready to leave, who was getting annoyed, who was really engaged, and just kind of that constant. Um, it was a gift and also could be an energy drain of just how much she was paying attention to how others were feeling and how they were doing, and her aha moment when she realized that not everybody did that, which they absolutely don't. So it's giving some um just some insight into things that maybe come so naturally to you that you don't realize that they're strength. It also, I think, helps you communicate and understand yourself. And then I guess be able to communicate the things that are important to you. There are a lot of things in the world that you know get talked about that should be important to us, maybe family, safety, money, um, you know, travel, seeing the world, living life to the fullest, like whatever those things are. We see memes and inspirational quotes about. And I think that that that can be helpful, but the Enneagram can give you some additional, more detailed clues about why that's important to you and what specifically about that is important to you. And then also give you permission to not have it certain things be important to you, and you value maybe more or less common things or some other things that maybe you feel like, oh, I should find this important, but actually find this more important. So it just kind of validates your priorities and gives you permission to have them be, whatever it is that you want them to be. And then the last thing that I love about it is that it gives you a really clear picture of what growth looks like for you and for those around you. And growth is going to look different for each of us. And here's what I mean by that. Um, I was actually on my Enneagram University coaching group call with the program that I got certified with earlier this week. And we were talking about this exact thing that, you know, speaking up, raising your hand, speaking up, sharing a new idea, offering a solution at a group meeting could be a huge growth moment for someone like a type nine, for example, who maybe doesn't always um who maybe isn't even always in touch with their own feelings um or opinions. And then to have the courage to raise your hand and speak out is huge. But for somebody else, maybe like a type three or a type eight or a type seven, who maybe is more comfortable, you know, just sharing ideas, speaking up, um, that's not necessarily going to be a growth. So it's the same thing, but different levels of, you know, effort, bravery, intention for those different types. You know, same thing with um setting a boundary, you know, that might be really difficult for somebody who identifies with the type two energy to say, no, I can't help with that, or to say um, to do something um that feels selfish, whereas for somebody else, that might be a little bit more comfortable just to say, no, can't do it, right? And so same thing, but it's just again, that the growth um can is very different. So I love that part of it. And I'm bringing all of this up because these are things that we can take and apply to the job hunting process. And so that's just kind of a general overview about how to think about usefulness and application of the Enneagram. And then now I want to get into some specifics about how to how to use um some of those benefits and advantages of the Enneagram in this, oh, what can be a very long and hard, frustrating process, uh, but also really rewarding when when you end up landing where it is that you want to land. So the first thing that I wanted to talk about was some pre-work and how you can use the Enneagram to set a really strong foundation for this job hunting process to offer clarity and direction around what types of jobs you're going to be looking for. Um, you're not going to be looking for, the type of company. So I have a list of seven questions and I'm gonna give them to you now. So feel free to take notes or um you know make a note to come back to this section because these questions are, I think, really good. Um, question one is okay, let me understand why do I want to leave? What is it about my current employer, my current role that is causing me to want to leave? And when you look at your type, maybe you pull up your Enneagram type, you look at your strengths, your challenges, your tendencies, how you think about the world, how you handle conflict, um, how you, you know, like to be given feedback and critiqued. And do you like to work in a group environment or not? And we're actually going to get to that in just a second. Um, I think that will help give you a some new things to think about. Maybe you already have a list like this that you've started, um, or maybe, or maybe not. And so this can can help you start one, but understanding what you don't want moving forward is just as important, as I'm sure you already know, um, as understanding what it is you do want. And sometimes we don't know what we want. It and then and it's easier to start with the things that we don't want. So I would start with that question and using your Enneagram type quality, strengths, challenges to help you answer that question. The second question to think about it are are there any pieces that you do enjoy with this current role? And if so, what are they? And again, you can look at, okay, my my strengths as a, you know, type three potentially, you know, I'm I'm okay, I can be assertive, I'm tend to be future focused, can be charming and diplomatic, and um, I can read a room, also very good at reading people. So maybe I'm in a sales role and I enjoy the the the kind of the challenge of you know working with somebody to get them to say yes, or how how can I understand what it is they need to get them over the line, for example? Um, anything like that coming up for you, what it is that you do enjoy about your job. And then what are you looking for in your next chapter, in your in the next career? What are what are things? Is it flexibility or are you more looking for job security? Are you looking for an opportunity to do more solo, alone work, or are you feeling like, oh, that's one of the things I didn't like? And now I'm looking to be around others more, whether it's in an office or a really lively Slack chat type of company. Um, are you looking to is meaning important to you working for or towards a specific cause? Or is it, you know, is pay part of that? And, you know, you can have all of this, but just kind of ranking what is most important to you can also give you clarity and the type of career that you're looking for next. Something else to think about, and it can be kind of difficult, but it again, I mentioned this at the very beginning of the episode about understanding our strengths and kind of taking them for granted, but how the Enneagram can shine light on the fact that not everybody has this, not everybody does this so naturally. So, thinking for question number four, what are things that set you apart? What is your unique selling proposition? Is what they used to have us say in sales. What is that for you? Is it you is it your ability to um remain calm and be diplomatic and to see different sides of a situation like a type nine? Is it your ability to be bold and direct and handle conflict and move things along, potentially like a type eight? Like what are some of those qualities and tendencies of a type that your type that do really resonate with you that you can list here? The fifth question to think about is okay, I'm thinking about the role here that I don't want, that I potentially do want. Now, thinking about what type of company culture is best suited for my personality. Is it a larger, more established corporation where they have processes? They probably have a really robust and structured onboarding process and annual reviews and policies and just a lot of clarity, a lot of systems, so that you are always knowing what to expect. Or are you more inclined to prefer maybe a fast moving, kind of constantly changing startup type of company? And that would feel really fun. Like you don't know what the day is gonna throw at you, and that feels exciting. Um, you're trying new ideas, you're moving fast, you're not necessarily worrying about processes and systems and um things like that right away. You're just looking to get it going, get it off the ground. Now, for some people that could be the dream, other people that is the nightmare. So just understanding what type of company culture, um, type of organization are you looking for? Question number six is how do you prefer to be managed? What type of manager, what type of leader are you looking to work for? Are you more, you know, uh you prefer kind of a more managed approach? Like you want your boss touching base often. Um, maybe there's regular check-ins, weekly meetings, morning meetings, like, you know, that that just feel like, okay, I am, I know what to expect. Um, it's clear, you know, I'm able to run questions by them, whatever it might be. Or are you somebody who prefers maybe a more kind of laissez-faire type of management style where it's like, let me reach out to you when I need to. If I have a question, I'll let you know. Um, otherwise, just let me do my thing, let me do my work, let me hit my goal. Um, I'll let you know when I need to.

unknown 14:32

Right?

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Neither's there's no right or wrong here. It's just understanding your preferences so that you are not just going into the right role for you, but the right type of culture, working for somebody that's going to align with your personality. Uh, the last question here are your work preferences or environment preferences. Last week on the um actually two weeks ago at the recording of this podcast, um, and the understanding people weekend newsletter, we talked about the seven parts of self-awareness and what exactly those were. And one of them was understanding the type of environment that you thrived in at home, at work. Like, are you somebody that prefers to work in kind of a bustly, energetic coffee house somewhere, coffee shop where you're kind of working alone, but you're around a bunch of people and it just feels exciting? Or are you somebody that that would drive them insane and you need peace and quiet if you're going to be working alone? Um, are you, do you prefer to go into the office and be around other people and work in a team? Like what would feel best for you? What would feel most energizing, less draining? What type of working hours? Um, what type of boundaries as far as emailing, you know, after standard work hours? What's the expectation about answering emails, um, working on weekends, taking vacation, like all those types of things? Like what is important to you? What do you really care about? What do you need based on your personality, your values, your priorities? Um, so thinking about those. So those are some pre-work questions just to start thinking about so that you're going into this hunt, this job hunt, um, with, like I said, some some clear direction and understanding of yourself to help you maybe more quickly say, nope, not that job, or okay, yes, this is worth taking the time to really sit down and put together a stellar, you know, cover letter. Really take the time to fill out this application because these this role like meets all of these things. Okay, so that is part one or process one, I guess, of how to use the the Enneagram in your job hunting process, or piece one rather. Piece two is that resume updating, maybe application piece where you are highlighting your strengths, communicating effectively what makes you different. And we've talked about this a little bit already. And I mentioned again at the very beginning how the Enneagram can give you language to be able to describe what it is that is unique about you, what it is that you enjoy, how to maybe position your former work experience that really highlights your unique personality and your unique talents and strengths. And so in this situation, I would maybe open up. Um, I know if you're listening to this podcast, I know that you have uh at least two or three Enneagram books on hands, if not more. Um, so open up one or two of your Enneagram books, flip to your type, and just take some notes. Like, how did they say some of those type descriptions? Um, what really stood out to you? How have you seen that the way that they describe that show up in your past experience? And um, you know, obviously not everything is going to be applicable to you and every uh quality of that type, but it may give you some new ideas or some more specific language to use in your actual resume when you're describing um your strengths and looking at how to position your your former um career experience, as well as maybe some things to say in your cover letter. Um, so so using that, um, making it your own, but that can give you so many ideas and again just give you that realization that not everybody has these strengths that you might think, or you know, you may be leaving a couple out. And so looking at the the strengths and qualities of that of your type um can maybe jog some new ideas, um, some things that you you just weren't aware of about yourself that that in fact do exist. Um one thing that I wrote down here is, you know, if you happen to be a six, um some of their core qualities, for example, are being able to connect the docs, really explain some complex ideas and situations and problems. Um, they're able to create clear processes, create structure. They tend to be incredibly loyal, they tend to be really prepared. So, how can those qualities, what qualities, I guess, of that first really resonate and are true for you? And then how can you word those and position those on your resume? As a type nine, I wrote down another example that you might be a you might list that you're a great team player, diplomatic, um, relationship and communication skills, you know how to really listen. Um, you tend to be solutions focused versus playing the blame game. Um, you're humble, willing to share the spotlight, willing to give your team credit. Um, so not saying that you would say it exactly like that, but just jogging some ideas for what does make you unique and how to say it on your resume. All right. And then the last piece of this process is the interview process that I'm not saying this is the last piece, but just for for this episode, this is the last piece we're going to be looking at. Um, and that's the interview. And I have mainly how to ask questions when it's your time to be the one asking questions, to take advantage of that section for sure. Um, I think that once you do the pre-work that we talked about today, answering and reflecting on some of those seven questions, um, updating your resume, the language and wording and that, you will be more than prepared to answer and articulate your own answers to the questions that you're getting. I think it will absolutely help you in the interview prep in that way too. And then I also think it will help in the opportunity that you have, hopefully that you have. If they don't, I don't know. I maybe question that. Um, but the opportunity that most interviewers will give you to ask your own questions. And so asking things like what type of work environment will I be in? Do I have a choice? Do I have options? What are my options? Um, obviously, you know, the role itself is. Important to understand, but you know, do I have the ability to shape this? What type of variety? If variety is important to you, what is a typical day look like? What does a typical week look like? What is the next step? What does growth look like in this role? Um, expanding on some of that understanding beyond just, okay, we expect this person to do X, Y, and Z. Great. How do you expect that person to do X, Y, and Z? Where do you expect that person to do X, Y, and Z at? Um, how often? When, right? We kind of talked about like your working hours and that type of thing. So understanding the role, but also where you will be doing that role. Um, and then we mentioned this a little bit too, but making sure you're asking those questions about your boss. Who would you be reporting to? Is it the person that's interviewing you? Can you find out some additional clues from who whatever whoever it is that's interviewing you about that boss? What's their communication style? How do they like to be um, you know, are they more direct? Are they um, you know, have the person kind of fill in the blank and then understand, all right, is that gonna work for me or is that gonna be natural? Is there gonna be some um, you know, some tension that I'm just going to have to put more effort and intention to navigating through? And I'm gonna come back to that in just a second, actually. Um, I just had a mental note and circle back on that. Um, and then what are your priorities? Again, you know, what type of what are your boss's priorities? What are what's important to them? Is it doing something right? Is it um the customer? Is it excellence in the product, excellence and the service? Is it building relationships? You know, what is it? And you may not necessarily want the same exact priorities as your boss. You may the the selling point for you might be I'm bringing in this other way to complement what you already have. Um, so that's something to think about. What are their expectations? What are their values? Just understanding and using some of that Enneagram language to ask some of those questions. Like what is a no, you know, a um, I was gonna say no-brainer, but what is a deal breaker? There we go. What is a deal breaker for you in somebody that you report to? We talked about hands-on or hands off, you know, what do you need? And then the thing that I wanted to come back to was that there is no best job, best role, best type of company, best type of boss for a specific type. There is no like, oh, type sevens, this is the best type of boss. Oh, type twos, this is the best type of company culture. This is the best type of role for a type one. Um, I think also looking into your type, but also understanding your subtype or those um instinctual variances or instinctual biases that you may or may not have heard of, um, where we're talking about self-preservation, we're talking about social or teaming energy, we're talking about one-to-one or pioneering energy. Um, that will absolutely also influence your answers to those questions at the beginning, to some of your strengths, to your priorities. So if you're ready for it, um, dive into some of that as well to give you even a fuller, richer picture of your qualities, your strengths, your priorities, what you want next in your career. Um, and then also giving, allowing that to also spur some additional questions about what type of person that you would be working with, how do their values align with that, overlap with that, complement with that? But what I wanted to say is that, you know, it's all about you know, your choice, it's you choosing intentionally to make something work, to uh to allow something to work, I guess, based on you know, taking intentional action, maybe shifting some thoughts, shifting some beliefs. And if if that job, if that role is important to you, you know, what how much energy are you willing to put into that? How much um, you know, maybe I'm just thinking of myself, you're a type seven. It doesn't mean that you can't be organized. It doesn't mean that you can't have a routine, that you couldn't do something that required paperwork and details and organizing. It just means that it may not come as natural to you. It may be a little bit more draining. Um, it may uh, yeah, it just it may be a little bit more difficult. But if you love the company culture, if you love your boss, if you get the flexibility to work wherever you want to work, then maybe some of those things outweigh the role. Maybe not. Maybe, maybe not, right? I I don't have those answers for you. I'm just giving you some questions to ask yourself to hopefully help you uncover your own answers. So that's it today. Um, you know, I hope that was helpful. Uh I know that, oh man, this I I've said it, you know, before, but this is hard, this is a hard process. So I do hope, um, and and I'm sure that you are, you know, seeking out additional books, articles, podcasts about this process. There's so much more to it that I don't know about, um, that I know about, but we just didn't talk about today. I know there's amazing career coaches out there. Um, so in addition to some of this, you know, seeking out what else do you need? What other support do you need to help you on this career path? And you know, we spend a lot of time in our job. And uh it is worth taking this extra time to to deep dive into yourself, to uh to your personality. This kind of sounded funny, uh, to your personality and and understanding, studying yourself, I guess is is what I'm trying to say here. And uh it takes time, and some of the answers aren't always what you want to hear, um, are hard to are hard to digest, but just uh the more that you understand, the more clarity that you have, and then the more that you can move in the direction of what it is you do want. It's like that that donkey fable or what's that that story about there's a guy walking down a dirt road and he passes this guy on a donkey or a horse, maybe. And the guy walking says, Oh, hi, um, where is it that you're heading, sir? And the guy said, you know, I don't know, wherever the donkey wants to go. And um, sometimes that's how we can live life. That was that was a terrible telling of that story. It's way more impactful when you get the words right, but I think you get the gist. And um, so it's it's uh the more that we can really know about ourselves and know what we want, the more active we can be and intentional we can be into moving in that direction rather than drifting, not as intentionally, um, kind of being on default. Well, I uh I appreciate you being here today. If you are new, welcome to the Enneagram NBA show. I hope that if you enjoyed this episode, you will subscribe and join us each week moving forward. If you are a regular listener, thank you as always so much for being here. I I appreciate your support. I appreciate your engagement, I appreciate hearing from you. So thank you. Um, if you haven't already, I'm gonna ask you if you would be willing to leave a review. Uh, you hear all the podcast hosts asking for it because it really does matter. So if you have a moment today to leave a five-star review and just a short sentence or two about what you enjoyed about this episode or the podcast in general, I would so appreciate it. And then if you happen to be starting the next chapter in your career, starting the job hunting process and would like some additional guidance, support, encouragement, understanding of yourself, I'm gonna invite you to check out the next chapter sessions that I have over at Enneagram MBA.com forward slash Enneagram dash coaching. And these are a three-pack or an eight-pack session set where you get to pick when you use them. You can use them all in one week, you can use them once a week, you can use them every other week, whatever you want to do. Um, they are there to be of use to you as needed to better understand yourself, give you some clarity in that next chapter process, uncovering, like what we've talked about today, what it is you want, what it is you don't want, what's going to align the best, um, what are some of your natural gifts that you don't realize that you have, what are some potential challenges that have been keeping you from getting to where you want to go? Each um package does come with a assessment. It might be the typing assessment if you don't yet know what your uh dominant Enneagram type is, or it might be the uh subtype assessment, the instinctual variant assessment and how to apply that to your next career chapter and better understanding and studying yourself. So um I'm starting to take new um coaching clients starting in January. So if that feels like something fun and helpful to kick off the year with, I'm gonna invite you to click the link in the show notes here over at EnneagramMBA.com forward slash Enneagram-coaching. And with that, I will see you back here next week.

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Thank you for listening to the Enneagram MBA podcast. Sarah offers Enneagram assessments for employees and entrepreneurs and workshops for company teams and women's groups. To learn more about how Sarah can help you or your organization better understand people at work, visit EnneagramMBA.com.