Back to Planning Page

"So You Want to Work With People..."
You may have always assumed that you like working with people because your social contacts have usually been pleasant. Here is a chance to test just how much you want to work with people, to what extent, and what capacity.

Identify the 5 most appealing aspects and prioritize 1 through 5, 1 being the highest. Check two or three of the remaining activities that are the least interesting to you.

___ Influence the attitudes, ideas of others.
___ Investigate people by obtaining information about them.
___ Gather information through direct contact with people.
___ Provide service to others.
___ Help people with personal problems.
___ Mediate between contending parties.
___ Instruct other people in various tasks or skills.
___ Make decisions about others.
___ Organize others; bring people together in cooperative efforts.
___ Supervise others in their work.
___ Manage the work of others, be responsible for their output, even
      though not in direct contact as a supervisor.
___ Confront others, present them with difficult situations.

Check two or three of the following statements if they apply to you:

___ I want to be part of a working team.
___ I want to have people seek out my help or services, come to me.
___ I want to seek out other people, go to them.
___ I want to see different people every day that I work.
___ I want to work by myself most of the time, infrequently
      working with others.
___ I want a lot of contact with a small number of people.
___ I want brief (one-time) contacts with a large number of people.
___ I do not mind being interrupted by people, to be on call as their
      needs require.
___ I like to be able to regulate my own hours, decide when people will
      see me through regular contact
___ I want to get to know a group of people and when I can get away
      from them.

If a new program of some kind were being developed, which of the following roles would you prefer?

___ I would want to design (create) the program from the start
___ I would want to translate the program into a plan of operation.
___ I would want to sell the value of the program to potential users.
___ I would want to conduct the program myself.
___ I would want to manage others who operate the program.

Describe the kinds of people with whom you would most like to be involved in your work group. Describe the characteristics and types of colleagues and co-workers you would most prefer to work with. What kinds of people would you like to provide a product or service for.

I like people who:

______________________________________

______________________________________

I like to work with people (co-workers) who have these characteristics:

_____________________ _____________________

_____________________ _____________________

_____________________ _____________________

_____________________ _____________________

I would like to provide a product or service for these type of people:

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Describe the people with whom you definitely do not want to be involved in your work.

I do not like people who:

_______________________________________________________________