2 . How to Choose Your Purpose-Filled Career

When you think about choosing a career, you often do it in the following two ways.

    1    . If you like writing or doing crafts, you might consider these things. This is not a bad way to go, of course, but you can’t always make money doing things you like (like video games or drinking beer). And sometimes things you like are better as a hobby or side passion.

Think about a well-paid job that you can do and doesn’t sound so bad. Maybe a doctor, engineer or lawyer? Or maybe that’s out of your educational reach, so you choose office or retail worker.     2     but often they are not something you’re really passionate about. It’s kind of like just doing something because it’s there-- not very inspired.

However, there’s another way that is perhaps better:     3    . For example, taking care of children, because you really want to help children get a great start in life, or blossom into who they want to be or getting into government or social work to improve the conditions of the community you live in or becoming a scientist to help ease the environmental crisis or find a cure for a terrible disease.     4     and if you choose one of them for that purpose, you will serve in that work feeling a sense of purpose each day.

There are endless ways to do that. The point isn’t how you serve the world, but just serving the world in some way will help you feel filled with purpose.     5    .

4 . One of the most important factors of successful job hunting is the job interview. There are thousands of people entering new careers and searching for job placement. In order to give yourself an edge over others applying for the job you want, it is important to create a solid impression during the job interview.

Because what you say during an interview is so important, there are two rules to remember. One is to present yourself in a favorable way and stress your areas of competence. However, don’t overstate; tell the truth. Second, listen carefully and get involved in what the interviewer is saying. Notice the interviewer’s interests and relate your comments to them.

If you are not certain what the job will require of you, ask questions to see whether you do feel qualified. Do more listening than talking. Don’t be afraid to ask for a second interview if you need time to gather information that will be more useful in the second interview. Most interviewers will appreciate your questions and your ability to listen and respond.

Each of us has sensitive areas, which could refer to your lack of an academic degree, a long period of unemployment, or lack of work experience if you are entering a new field. Answer sensitive questions briefly and positively. If you believe that this area presents a real obstacle to a job offer, you could be communicating this doubt to the interviewer. Many times, however, an interviewer will override these sensitive areas if you have a confident, positive attitude.

The job interview is an important part of the job search because the attitude and impression you project can make the interviewer feel “with you” or “against you”. Remember that you have the power to create a favorable impression. Interviewers have the intelligence to recognize genuine enthusiasm and interest.

5 . Regardless of how far we’d like to believe gender (性别) equality in the workplace has come, there’s still a yawning gap between male and female leaders in the professional world. A 2018 statistic shows that women nowadays hold just 5.8 percent of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies, according to Catalyst.

While it’s not a huge shock that women are somewhat underrepresented in leadership positions, what is surprising though, is the fact that females may actually be better suited to lead in almost every area, at least according to new findings from the BI Norwegian Business School.

In their research, Professor Martinsen and Professor Lars Glas surveyed 2,900 managers with a special focus on personality types. The results were clear: Women scored higher than men in four of the five major leadership-centric categories.

While some people believe that men inherently make better leaders—probably because they picture a leader with a commanding voice, which is more typical of men than women—this piece of research suggests that women are better at methodical management and goal-setting, openness, sociability and supportiveness, as well as ability to communicate clearly.

There was one area in which men scored higher than women, though, and that was on emotional stability and ability to face job-related pressure and stress. The results suggest that women are more sensitive to the effects of high-pressure or highly emotional situations.

Obviously, its important to consider individual differences.Anyone, regardless of gender may be an inspiring leader and a competent boss. But next time you're hiring for a management position, you just might want to give the resumes(简历)from female candidates a harder look.

7 . Andrea Speranza wanted to be a firefighter long before she had the right word for her wish. After one childhood adventure at a construction site ended with an iron nail embedded (嵌入) in her leg and an emergency call to the fire department, she found herself in awe. “As they gave me the medical treatment, I thought they could help everybody and do anything,” says the now 52-year-old.

In 2000, Andréa Speranza achieved her dream of becoming a firefighter joining the Halifax Regional Fire Service. Her job was exactly as satisfying as she imagined it would be, except for one thing: she still hadn’t seen another woman in her role — not in a magazine, not on television, not in real life. Speranza decided that she wanted to help young women see that they, too, could have a career like hers.

The result was Camp Courage, a program for girls aged 15 to 19 who want to learn more about firefighting. In 2006, Speranza and about 20 volunteers welcomed their first 17 participants, recruiting (招募) attendees through advertising in schools. Over the course of eight days, the girls discovered the ins and outs of being first. responders: learning how to put out fires, deliver first aid and even use the jaws of life (救生钳) on a car.

Camp Courage now runs one session every year in Halifax and is free to attend. To offset costs, Speranza and her fellow campers fundraise by holding everything from car washes to comedy nights. Hopeful campers must also submit an essay describing how they plan to help their community, or a specific individual in need. And they have to deliver on the plan—from building a bench for a senior at a bus stop to launching a local chapter of the Kids Help Phone.

Hundreds of girls have passed through Camp Courage, and 36 percent are doing exactly what 52-year-old Speranza hoped they would: working as first responders across the country. This past summer, the camp held its first session for young women in Halifax, as well as its first national camp in Calgary with plans to roll out more in 2023.

8 . Fatima has been the only woman working as a tour guide in Afghanistan. The 22-year-old grew up leading _______ through the countryside, and now she leads tourists through the streets of Herat, the third largest city in Afghanistan.

She grew up in rural Gohr Province, where there was no schooling   _______ to girls, but she convinced her family to let her take _______ if she brought in enough of an income from sheep herding. She practiced her English by listening to BBC radio, which she could _______   when high enough in the hills.

“I thought a lot during these years,” Fatima says. “My brothers and sisters were _______to get married. I decided that I would not continue in the _______. That was how I decided to work.”

She signed up for Facebook and began joining groups for people interested in history._______ that people only knew Afghanistan as a place of war and conflict, she started writing regular posts about places in her country that foreigners might not know about.

After she began writing her _______, everything changed. Fatima started getting comments and responses from her new online friends. In 2020, one of them — a man known as “Big Tom” — _______ out to her saying he was going to be traveling in Afghanistan and if she would be interested in ________ him around in Herat? She said yes.

Tom recommended her to someone else, and Fatima continued to get work by word of mouth. Eventually she came to the ________ of Untamed Borders, a boutique (精品的) travel agency that specializes in trips to more inaccessible areas. The company hired her in late 2020, and the young self-taught woman became her country’s first female professional tour guide.

Of course, being a pioneer is never ________. Fatima says many people in her life, including some of her family members, have told her that it’s too dangerous for a woman to work,________ if it means interacting with men one-on-one. Sometimes children throw stones at her while she’s guiding tourists through the local market. Other people have shouted profanities (污言秽语) at her.

Fatima says that the________of her employers and the people she has met through giving tours is what keeps her motivated. “Challenges are always a part of my life. If I give up, then other women will never________,” she said.

9 . I was about 30 years old and was working as a firefighter in the South Bronx Engine Co.82. On a restful Sunday, I was reading a copy of The New York Times. I read an article on the Book Review section which openly stated an untrue and unfair statement about an Irish poet William Butler Yeats. As I read it, my blood began to boil.

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out a letter of anger to the editor. Yeats had lived his life and written his poetry through the very essence of his Irish sensibility. It was offensive to describe him in the way that article did. I didn’t know why I felt it my duty to safeguard the reputation of the world’s greatest poet. I just knew that I had to write the letter.

After the letter got published, I received a letter from The New Yorker asking for an interview. When my article Fireman Smith appeared in the magazine, the editor of a large publishing firm called me asking if I was interested in writing a book about my life. I had little confidence to write a whole book, though the subject was worthy. I wrote Report from Engine Co.82 in six months. And it sold really well. In the years that followed, I wrote three more best-sellers.

Being a writer had been far from my expectations. How had it happened? I often found myself thinking about it. And my thoughts always came back to that letter to The New York Times. For me, the writing was a natural consequence of the passion I felt and the subjects represented the great values burning within me as I wrote.