CareerJournal: Career Opportunities - Career Information - Executive Careers

August 26, 2009

Quiz: Are You a Career Activist?

Take this quiz to determine your activist quotient. Answer true or false.

22 questions; estimated time to take this quiz: 5 minutes. Your answers are not recorded or shared with anyone.

1. I routinely ask myself if I am happy, involved and learning.
Yes	No
2. I know how to leverage my skills to get better assignments.
Yes	No
3. I'm aware of the sacrifices I've made and made them based on a thoughtful analysis of pros and cons.
Yes	No
4. People think of me as someone who is passionate and engaged in my work.
Yes	No
5. I'm aware of my strengths and the environment in which I'm most effective.
Yes	No
6. I've learned something new in the past six months.
Yes	No
7. I define myself by my skills, not my job title.
Yes	No
8. I'm aware of what I'm going to be learning during the next six months.
Yes	No
9. When I'm unhappy with my work, I do something about it.
Yes	No
10. I'm prepared to be seen as pushy if that's the only way I can ensure my work needs are recognized.
Yes	No
11. I wouldn't take on a project I'm not interested in simply because my boss expects me to.
Yes	No
12. If a business acquaintance cancels a meeting three times, I will not reschedule it.
Yes	No
13. I'm prepared to lose clients if the only way I can keep them is by doing work that compromises my professional standards.
Yes	No
14. Just because someone is a client or a boss doesn't mean he or she can treat me in a way that compromises my dignity.
Yes	No
15. I'm prepared to vote with my feet if my needs for a balanced work and personal life aren't met.
Yes	No
16. I'm prepared to turn down a lucrative assignment if I would find it personally painful to complete (unless I need to pay the bills).
Yes	No
17. I've assembled a select group of mentors and friends who provide me with professional and emotional support.
Yes	No
18. I feel stretched in my work.
Yes	No
19. I'm prepared to do work I don't like if it increases my longer-term options.
Yes	No
20. If my boss scheduled a last-minute after-work meeting that conflicted with a personal commitment, I'd try to get her to change the meeting. If my boss didn't, I wouldn't go to the meeting.
Yes	No
21. I won't put up with being pushed around.
Yes	No
22. If I'm not learning or I'm unhappy in my work, I'll actively seek out alternative opportunities.
Yes	No

-- This quiz is excerpted from "What Next? The Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life" (DK Publishing, 2003) by Barbara Moses

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