You may design your next job or career the same way. Think about your past jobs, write down your likes and dislikes about each of them. Then design a new path that incorporates your likes and avoids your dislikes. In my own case, I like writing, publishing, and one-on-one consulting. I want to include them in any future job. I'm less fond of interpreting financials and spreadsheets. I'll minimize my exposure to them in the future by having financial experts around.

How to Begin
Divide your work experience into short 3-5 year segments—by job title, by boss, by location, by projects, or by any other convenient method. Reason: It's easier to remember short, specific time frames than the entire past at once. Include volunteer work experience, and even hobby or sporting interests, if you're considering them as career directions.

Take a separate sheet of paper for each of these time frames, and divide the page into two columns. On the left side of the page, write down all the things you liked about the job. On the right side, itemize the things you disliked about the job—and be as specific and detailed as possible. It's not too helpful to say, for example, "I disliked the people." That's much too general. It's more useful to say, "I disliked people who were pushy and rude."

Things to Think About
Use the categories below to guide your thoughts. Since every job involves most of these items, try to include notes and comments about each:

• Boss/Top Management
  
• The Company
  
• Products/Services
  
• Organizational Structure
  
• Political Climate
  
• Culture
  
• Compensation/Benefits/Rewards
  
• Duties and Responsibilities
  
• Geography
  
• People
  
• Peers
  
• Employees
  
• Customers
  
• Vendors/Consultants
  
• Physical Space
  
• Facilities
  
• Tools and Equipment
  
• Stress Level
  
• Tasks/Projects/Activities
  
• Travel
  

This isn't a 15-minute exercise where you drain your brain once and for all. It's a "refrigerator exercise." You tape it to the refrigerator and make notes from time to time as you walk by. This is a "think piece." You mull it over in your mind for several days, or even several weeks. In general, it's better to make long detailed lists rather than short generic ones. The more data you have, the easier you'll see trends and patterns.

Examples
Here are a few examples of what others have written:

Liked about boss:

• Affirmed and encouraged me
  
• Recognized performance
  
• Fostered teamwork
  
• Objectively critiqued and coached areas for growth
  
• Like working for someone who is focused and prioritizes effectively, versus someone who continually changes priority from one thing to another—or making everything the same high priority.
  

Disliked about boss:

• micromanaged every little detail
  
• constant criticisms of minutiae
  
• disliked reporting to two bosses at the same time
  

Liked about the work itself:

• Huge variety
  
• Being the key decision maker in the department
  
• Making high-pressure formal presentations to board of directors
  

Disliked about the work:

• Less able to know what was going on in an ever larger, more complex company
  
• Lack of time and funding to improve systems as volume and complexity grew
  
• Not having a back-up to co-create, generate new ideas
  

Finishing the Exercise

1. Review your lists and look for patterns. You might say, "I see I've always liked working on projects alone with no outside supervision. Therefore, I want to limit my people interaction in the future." Or you could observe the opposite about yourself: "I've never liked working on projects alone; I do best in a team-oriented environment."

2. Make extra copies of your lists and distribute them to a few trusted family members, friends, or business acquaintances. Discuss your preferences with others to see what insights they have. Those who know us well often see connections we miss.

3. Begin to decide what you want in your next job—and what you don't want in the future. Begin to determine what you must have—these are the absolute essentials— then think about what would be fun, but perhaps frivolous. A window view of the ocean? Three weeks of paid vacation? A T-1 connection for access to the Internet?