Your deepest secrets (3)

Do you worry about people thinking less of you if they found out your secrets? Are you concerned that some of your secrets could impact your job or your relationships?

Changes this year (1)

This week we're going to look at what has changed in your life this year.

Are you still in the same job you were in at this time last year? If not, is the new job better or worse than the last one? If you're still in the same job, have your responsibilities changed? Your title? Your co-workers? Your salary? Your boss? Your view?

Pointing the way

Who provided an example to follow, practical advice, or inside connections that helped lead you to one of your first jobs?

This week's theme is pointing the way.

Vibes good and bad

Do you generally feel nurtured and valued at your workplace, and that you are given the psychological space to do your best work? Or are you at cross purposes with your co-workers at all times, fending off subtle (or not-so-subtle) attacks on your professionalism?

This week's theme is your workplace.

Tools of the trade

What is one tool on hand at your workplace that you enjoy having a chance to use?

Do you generally have the right tools at your job for the things that you're asked to do, or do you sometimes have to improvise and struggle with tool that don't quite fit the task?

This week's theme is your workplace.

We don't talk about that here

In most workplaces, there are several subject areas that are out of bounds for normal conversation. What is one of these subjects, one thing that you would like to talk about with your co-workers, given the chance?

This week's theme is your workplace.

Home and work

How far is it from your home to your job? Did you make a point of picking a job close to home — or picking a home close to your job?

Do you work at home? If so, do you make any effort to differentiate your work space from your living space?

This week's theme is your workplace.

Your workplace

Think about your workplace as a place, apart from the work that you do there. Is it a well-lit, comfortable, cheerful place? Does it have a picturesque or historically significant location? What are some advantages that your workplace offers, or some ways that it enriches your life?

This week's theme is your workplace.

9 to 5

How much freedom do you have with your work schedule? Do you have to go to work every day? Or can you work at home sometimes? During the work day, are you constrained by regularly scheduled meetings and tight deadlines, or are you at liberty to do your work in the manner you see fit, in a way and time frame that suits your personal style?

This week's theme is freedom.

At your podium

Do you use your voice professionally, as an actor, singer, DJ, teacher, or public speaker? If not, what are the times and places when your voice makes the biggest difference — the times when it's important for you to speak clearly and powerfully so that you are heard and understood?

This week's theme is your voice.

Tell us a story: just doin' my job

What was one time at work when you felt like a real hero?

Moving backwards

A few times a year, the planet Mercury appears to reverse its course for a few weeks and move backwards across the night sky. The backwards motion is an illusion; Mercury in fact continues steadily forward in its orbit around the sun.

In the same way, our life stories move steadily ahead, but sometimes it feels as though we're moving backwards.

What was one time when you turned around and went back to where you started? Did you move from place A to place B, only to move back to A shortly afterwards? Did you leave company C for a job at company D, only to have C buy D a year later? Did you make a big change in the way you do things, only to find that the first way was better after all?

This week's theme is moving backwards.

May I help you?

In your wildest fantasies, if you could own any kind of a store, what kind of a store would it be?

Going postal

What kind of stress does your work cause for you? Are you stressed out by the things you have to do there, or by the people you work with? Or unexpected crises that cause extra work? Is your work stress the kind of stress you can leave at the office, or do you bring it home with you?

This week's theme is stressful situations.

Tell us a story: the job not taken

What was a business that you made tentative plans to launch, or a career that you started preparing for, or a job offer that you seriously considered, before deciding to go in a different direction instead? What ultimately helped you make your decision?

In my other occupation, I'm a . . .

Imagine that you are starting to create an alternate-reality life for yourself, with an alternate life story very different from your ordinary life. The first step in this process is creating your alternate-reality business card. With no practical concerns to limit your choices, what job title would be fun to put next to your name on your business card?

Yeah, I could do that

What is the loftiest job that you think you'd be good at, even though you might not have any formal training or official qualifications for the job?

This week's theme is your livelihood.

Luring you away

What's one thing — other than a salary bump or a bonus — an employer could offer you that would get you to leave your current job for a similar position?

This week's theme is your livelihood.

Fringe

What is one interesting non-financial advantage of your current job situation?

This week's theme is your livelihood.

You'd make a great bartender

What is the career that other people seem to think would be a good fit for you? Did any of the standard school aptitude tests turn up anything strange or interesting as a possible career for you?

This week's theme is your livelihood.