THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET: LOOKING FOR LIGHT : A Pop Quiz : Is It Time for You?

Do you need to junk your job? Or do you really need to change your whole career? For a little insight, take this quiz written by Los Angeles marketing and career counselor Joyce A. Schwarz. She also is the author of “Successful ReCareering: When Changing Jobs Just Isn’t Enough,” published by Career Press (Hawthorne, N.J.).

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1. If you won the lottery and were guaranteed an annual income of $65,000 a year, what would you do next?

a) Use the money to pay off my charge cards and go back to law school.

b) Move to Montana and work on a dude ranch.

c) Buy a 50-foot sailboat and travel around the world.

d) Buy the company I’m working for and run it the way it should be run.

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2. You loved your boss and enjoyed your job, but you were romanced away by an executive recruiter who promised you greener pastures. Now the rumors are flying about cutbacks and you’ve heard your name bandied about. What do you think you should do now?

a) Take the severance package and enroll in a few courses to hone your computer and artistic skills so you can be a CD-ROM developer.

b) Invite your old boss out to lunch and see if he anticipates any openings.

c) Stay where you are; a few clouds do not mean a storm is brewing.

d) Develop an emergency plan that takes care of you. You can parlay your skills into an independent contract that allows you to venture off on your own.

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3. Your plane is grounded in Hawaii because of bad weather and you won’t make it back to work on Monday after a two-week vacation. Your only thought is:

a) I hope the storm lasts a week; I’m dreading going back to work anyway.

b) I’m glad I brought my laptop computer with me. Hope the hotel fax machine stays open all night so I can finish the deal I worked out in my mind while lying on the beach.

c) I can’t wait to tell the boss how a Honolulu office could be a gold mine if I headed it.

d) Maybe I’ll call Wolfgang Puck and see if he would consider joint-venturing a Spago on Pago Pago.

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4. You’ve been unemployed for six months and you’ve submitted more than 100 resumes without getting a single worthwhile interview. You’ve heard that 80% of today’s jobs are filled through personal contacts, not by blanketing the market with resumes. And you’re finally ready to:

a) Upgrade your high-tech skills and investigate the new entertainment technology arena by enrolling in a university extension program and attending a Women in Film luncheon.

b) Take off to San Francisco with your spouse and combine it with a side trip to a trade show in your chosen field; make sure you introduce yourself to three VIPs in the exhibits area.

c) Send out some more resumes--what could it hurt?

d) Cash in a certificate of deposit and work 24 hours a day, if necessary, on the cut-rate software you’ve been designing in your spare time.

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5. You’re working at a job just to put yourself through school, but now they want you to manage the office too. It means more money. Should you accept?

a) Not before you explore other options in the field you’ve been training for at college.

b) Yes; it will give you a chance to gain valuable management skills.

c) No; it will interfere with your social life.

d) Not unless they agree to your new business development plan.

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6. Your 25th reunion is just around the corner. You circle the date on your calendar and wish:

a) You had not listened to your guidance counselor or your parents.

b) You still lived in the small town where you went to school.

c) You were 20 pounds thinner, owned a sports car and had married your school sweetheart.

d) They hadn’t scheduled the event for the day your company is going public.

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7. Your company called a meeting and gave you 24 hours to determine whether you want to take early retirement with full benefits or stay on staff but endure a major benefits package cut. Your intuition tells you that:

a) You’re ready to make the change now. You know what you want to do and are ready to go for it.

b) If you knew what else you could do, you might try it.

c) The security of having a job is just too important to risk. Besides, your family is opposed to you making any major change.

d) Controlling your own destiny is the most important thing you can do. The corporate world is your past, not your future. You pick up the phone to call your financial planner about what to do with the buyout settlement.

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8. Experts say that people start to feel they’re in a dead-end job after about three years in the same position. So you:

a) Are not surprised that you’re very unhappy in your current situation.

b) Wonder why you haven’t made a switch sooner.

c) Are angry that you’ve spent so much of your life working.

d) Wish you’d spent all those overtime hours building your own business.

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9. You go to a Hollywood party where you learn that Bill Cosby was once a shoe salesman and that Whoopi Goldberg worked in a morgue. Their success inspires you to:

a) Do what you always wanted to do as a kid, not what your parents told you to do.

b) Perfect your own stand-up comedy routine.

c) Wish your high school garage band had stayed together, because you’d be on MTV by now.

d) Quit your day job and pitch Cosby and Goldberg for your new business management firm.

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10. Your division has been consolidated and your assistant was promoted to be your boss. This makes you:

a) Turn in your resignation immediately.

b) Realize that your experience is more valuable elsewhere. So you start seriously feeling out the competition.

c) Relieved that you won’t be put on the spot to take over this zoo after all.

d) Talk to your colleagues about forming your own start-up venture.

SCORING

Figure out your score by adding up your points. This should tell you how ready you are to make a change. Making a career change is a full-time job that will occupy your life for the next year or two, so make sure you have a strong network of support. a-5 points b-4 points c-2 points d-6 points

50 points and up: You’re ready to begin a career change now, or even start your own business. You have taken time to identify what values are important to you. You’ve honed your technical skills and you know it’s critical to match your personality to the job or business, not the other way around. This time, the decision will come from your gut instead of your head. You may still want to get some additional education and career guidance or counseling.

30-49 points: You probably would benefit from a job change, but make sure the change fits your personality. Just getting a job that pays more money may not be enough to fulfill you. Consider doing the same job in a different setting. For example, instead of working as a CPA in a large corporation, think about doing accounting for a nonprofit group.

29 points and under: You may want to stay at your present job. Think about exploring retraining opportunities with your current employer, getting some continuing education or joining a support group to help you clarify what’s important to you. You may be among the 40% of U.S. workers who see their jobs as just a way to make a living, contrasted with the 57% who get a sense of identity from their jobs, according to a recent Gallup Poll. You may find that your present job will suit you just fine if you make some changes in your lifestyle--maybe spend more time with your family, exercise or develop a hobby. If you’re unemployed, you may need to enroll in full-time retraining or vocational school to “re-career” for tomorrow’s changing economy. Just be prepared to change, because if you don’t, someone may make the change for you.