JobJoy™ Reports for Individuals
Autobiographical Inventory and Enjoyable Events Exercise

Autobiograhpical Inventory and Enjoyable Events in Your Life

Many career assessment tools utilize a story-telling autobiographical approach. I am a proponent of that method.

The following pages will guide you to do an Autobiographical Inventory, an inventory of enjoyable events and activities in your life and then to write stories from a short list of at eight or nine (you may include more if you wish).

The JobJoy reports generated will be partly a statement from your point of view. Autobiographical information can be included.

Autobiographical Information and Inventory of Enjoyable Events & Activities Instructions

This form will guide you through a process where you will be listing enjoyable activities from various times in your life.

Focus on those times in your life when you are doing what you enjoy most and feel you are doing well (no matter how small or unimportant you think it might be). Write about what is important to you, not what you did to please others, but what gave you an intrinsic sense of pleasure and satisfaction. You are the star of these stories. These are your achievements; there is no need to be modest. If you were part of a group or team you can certainly include it, just describe the enjoyable activity you did.

Please pick activities that represent your active participation in events or activities that are or have been particularly enjoyable or consistently satisfying. Avoid passive enjoyment activities such as watching movies, reading books, enjoying nature, listening to friends, attending a concert, taking better care of yourself.

Focus on something you enjoyed doing or accomplished with a sense of satisfaction. Attached is a list of enjoyable pastimes, hobbies, sporting events, clubs, and the like to jog your memory. As you go through the times in your life you might want to include Autobiographical information, you may write complete sentences if you wish; however, point or "bullet" form is acceptable.

Note the following examples:

Autobiographical Information

- School was fun - Enjoyed helping my dad on the farm - It was awful growing up with parents fighting all the time.

Enjoyable Achievements.

Avoid: "I enjoy surfing the net to research topics."
Rather: "After two years of reading, researching via web and books and daydreaming about it, I really was sitting in a studio, learning how to blow glass - while awake!"

Explain the Activity Specifically, Not Highlights

Avoid: "I got my MBA." or "I bought my first house." or "Was elected President of local golf association."
Rather: "I was able to convince the president to spend $200,000 for the new equipment." or "Bought a run-down dilapidated house and restored it to the point that property values in the neighborhood increased 30%." or "Successfully ran the district golf tournament that raised over $10,000 for our chosen charity."

Describe General Achievements with Specific Activities

Avoid: "I'm good at de-bugging multi faceted hardware and software components."
Rather: "Recruited to provide integral support to testing of Microsoft's "XBOX LIVE" Internet web-service, troubleshooting various components of this highly popular on-line game. Charged with tracking fault reports and classifying severity of bugs with game software and supporting real-time voice communication services."

An important note. This is not a time for you to give evaluations or to try and analyze. I'm looking for where the power is, and that is in the facts, people, and events of these stories.

You are ready to begin. Take your time and enjoy yourself.

Socialization Years Of Childhood (Ages 4-12)

Enjoyable childhood activities at school, at home, in the community. (List achievements)

Optional (Any Autobiographical information about this time of life?)

Prison Of Peer Pressure Teen Years (Ages 13-19)

Enjoyable activities in class, outside of class on school teams, clubs, activities. Any hobbies, interests, volunteer activities, or part-time jobs. (List achievements)

Optional (Any Autobiographical information about this time of life?)

Young Adult Years Of Choices And Consequences (Ages 20-30)

College or university activities, early career years, military years, hobbies, volunteer activities, clubs, associations, churches. (List achievements)

Optional (Any Autobiographical information about this time of life?)

The Settling Down Middle Adult Years (Ages 30-45)

Mid-career years and beyond, community activities, professional associations, hobbies, home projects. (List achievements)

Optional (Any Autobiographical information about this time of life?)

The Mid-Life Transition Years(AGES 45-60)

Peak career years, consulting projects, free-lancing experiences, publications, speaking engagements. (List achievements)

Optional (Any Autobiographical information about this time of life?)

Now from your inventory, go back with a marker and select the top eight or nine activities/achievements that were particularly enjoyable or consistently satisfying -- the order is not important. What is valuable is that the examples come from as many different age ranges in your life as possible, for example childhood, teen, twenties, thirties, etc. If you are having a problem, choosing that might help.

For each of the short-listed enjoyable activities I want you to:

1. Give in one sentence a clear statement of the Enjoyable activity. Make it a cross between a Newspaper headline, the opening statement on a TV News Story and a Proud Boast.

2. What caused you to get started in the activity.

3 Tell the parts that were particularly enjoyable. You are the star of your story so really have a good time of it.

4. Really explain what was wonderful and consistently satisfying about this event/activity.

It is optional if you want to hand in the Autobiographical notes that you made at the end of each part of your life.

Try to stick to the facts, people and events of the story. Avoid editorializing.

Guide Form

Guide form for writing your Enjoyable Activities. You may use this or your own word processor.

Enjoyable Activity #

1. One sentence a clear statement of the Enjoyable activity



2. What caused you to get started in the activity.




3. Really go into detail and give a good story of what you specifically did. Tell the parts that were particularly enjoyable.




4. What parts gave you the most sense of satisfaction and fulfillment?




5. Was there some significant reason you stopped the activity?