Fertilehealthy

I’ve been a stay-at-home wife for the last 18 months.  It’s been great in most aspects.  Except the pay, of course.  That really sucks.

There were a number of reasons why I stopped working.  I was the Financial Controller of a hotel and although I loved my job, it was pretty stressful.  I often worked long hours, but I didn’t mind as long as my efforts were recognized.  Then we got a new General Manager, who did not like me and tried her best to make my life difficult.  She succeeded.  This was shortly after I got married and we were actively trying to get pregnant.  The stress didn’t help, so we decided that I should resign and spend a few months just looking after myself and destressing.  Losing weight and going to gym.

Right. 

Lately my husband’s been making a lot of noise about me going back to work, because we’re in an economic recession and could use the extra income.  And I have been resisting.  I just can’t go back into an 8-5 office job.  I really can’t face having people around me all day.

Of course I feel guilty and selfish.  I’m sure most people don’t really want to do what they do day in and day out.  Craig works really hard in his business, although of course he won’t work any less hard if I were working. 

I was talking about this with my friend Charlotte the other day and she made me see the enormous emotional benefits I’ve reaped from this sabbatical.  It’s true, I am a very different person from the frustrated executive eighteen months ago.  I’ve healed so much.  I’m much more comfortable with who I am.  Allowing myself to be dependant on my husband was a huge step that I’m glad I took.  It taught me that I can rely on someone other than myself.  That I can safely let go…

Having said that, I would like to do something that would generate some income.  Something that would be on my own terms and in my own time.  I don’t want to have to wear heels, panty hose, corporate suits and endure the rush hour traffic.  

Charlotte suggested becoming a researcher for writers.  Apparently writers don’t know everything.  They hire researchers to find facts for them, mostly from libraries, arhives and online.  Researchers are given a fixed period of time in which to compile the information needed and are paid per project.

That sounds perfect for me!  I love research!  It means I can still go to gym whenever I want to, wear my casual clothes and travel non-peak hours.  I’m definitely going to look into that.

Elize did a personality test on her blog and I thought I’d try it too.  The assessment provides a snapshot of one’s personality and is part of a series of tests to evaluate potential employees.  This is the result.

The word that springs to mind when pinpointing the nature of individuals with this type of temperament is ”disciplined”. They are extremely professional, controlled and studious people, keen and conscientious. Underlying this control, however, is an emotional individual who experiences self-doubt, irritability and anxiety from time to time. This side is unlikely to be seen very often and their impact will generally be more businesslike, matter of fact and polite. They certainly are not vivacious or demonstrative individuals and people who wear their heart on their sleeve tend to make them uncomfortable. At the same time, they do have a genuine concern for others, which only tends to come through once they know people particularly well. Perhaps in a work situation it is unlikely to show at all, but there may be more evidence of this when they are dealing with close friends.

People with this type of temperament have two prime motivators. On the one hand, they are particularly keen to ensure they are disciplined and organised, that everything is structured and that they can work through their tasks in a sequential and orderly way. Security and avoidance of failure are also particularly strong needs for them and they are very focused on thinking ahead, considering pitfalls in ideas and honing in on details to avoid errors. In fact, they can be seen by others as very pedantic, although the personal discipline they have can control some of this pedantic nature in terms of helping them decipher when detail focus is needed and when it will hinder their performance. Stress will occur for them when they are required to deal with a situation that is outside their area of experience and outside the boundaries that they are required to work within. They like clarity, structure and well-defined parameters within their role and you are unlikely to see them step outside of these. However, again the control factor comes to the fore in terms of providing them with the initiative to take charge of their own work and make decisions, once they have built up the confidence in themselves to trust that the outcome is likely to be correct.

Analysing facts and information, weighing up various options and calculating whether an idea is likely to fall over is their general approach to work. Professionalism is first and foremost in their mind and they certainly want to achieve a quality result. Intolerance or irritability can occur if they are dealing with people who are less than conscientious or focused and they certainly do not tolerate a slapdash approach or laziness in others. They are, however, quick to find fault with themselves and with others, perhaps at times becoming particularly fussy in terms of pinpointing minor errors that do not have a large effect on the overall result but has prevented the work from being perfect.

On an interpersonal level, they are formal, open communicators, not shy or backward in coming forward but, more inclined to be direct and forthright in what they say than someone who can “dress up their words” or apply a great deal of tact or diplomacy. They do, however, like to work collaboratively in a group environment and will go over and above the expectations that people have of them to help people achieve their goals.

SummaryThis type of temperament is indicative of a true critical analyst who loves research and enjoys getting into the fine detail of a project and looking for the potential flaws or weaknesses. Critical analysis is their forte, so they are well suited to roles such as:

 

R&D Psychologist; Cost Accountant; Pharmacist; Accounting Auditor; Laboratory Technician; Analyst/Programmer; Market Research Analyst.

Well, that doesn’t make me sound very warm, caring and fun, but it does tell me that I’d probably be a good researcher!