There's no magic formula for re-employment: it all comes down to hard, introspective work that entails taking an honest look at yourself and asking key questions about your strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. At PIT, we tell new members that you must truly know yourself before you can effectively begin to market yourself. Finding re-employment requires you to match your abilities and personal skill set to an employers needs. You must be the answer, and convince your future employer that you have what it takes to solve their problem by filling the open position. You won't be able do this effectively until you have answered the key questions in this chapter and completed the introspective work required to know yourself.

There are many excellent books devoted to helping you learn about your professional self and choose a new career direction and qualified counselors who can provide you with batteries of tests and vocational advice. (

What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

PIT members have used the following questions and exercises to hone in on these present-day realities. I believe you, too, can use the questions and exercises to gather information about the person, and the professional, you've become and to decide whether you want to "stay the course" or change your career direction.