Introvert. Extrovert. Introvert. Extrovert. Who are YOU?

Neighbors-helping-Neighbors USA, Inc. (NhN) is a cost-free, highly successful peer-led volunteer support and networking group targeted to individuals who are actively looking for work and interested in reinvigorating their job search.

Membership is open to anyone in career transition, including unemployed or underemployed individuals and recent college graduates in the fields of business, non-profit, and education, as well as persons re-entering the job market, struggling small business owners and retirees looking for part-time or volunteer work.

For more info www.neighbors-helping-neighbors.com

Working because we want to.
Working at something we love.
Working for a company, an idea we love or at least like, doing something we like and getting paid enough for it. That is the ideal, that is what we dream of, it is what we see others doing, those few, those magical few….
Are we doing this?

If you have lost your job, if you are unemployed, if you are underemployed, you might be asking yourself this question: What do I really want to do?

Really? If the last job was just a job, a bread and butter job, could the next one be something better? Something that would make getting up in the morning a little more enjoyable? Something that would make retirement a sad experience as you would ask yourself, why would I want to leave?

So many people are doing it.
So many people have done it.

It’s not about living a carefree life. No job is perfect as absolutely nothing in life is perfect. To have the expectation that you will one day have the perfect job is preposterous. You may as well wish for unicorns and flying pink elephants.

But to have a job you enjoy most of, maybe a job that only has one element you do not like, instead of, say ten, that would be something pursuing perhaps.
The advantages of this are simple.

Interest is tapped from your passions, ideas and interests that are important to you. That interest can grow and you will grow with it. In my case, I volunteered with an organization I liked with an interest of mine. My interest, my passion drove me and my resume shows this! I have taken on more responsibility and made more progress, getting me closer and closer to my goal of becoming a junior technical writer.

There are tests, all kinds of paper work, computer forms, all kinds of systems designed by psychologists and career experts to help you along the way. In fact, maybe you should look into a few of them.

But the first step to doing what you want to do is understand who it is that is asking this question. Who on Earth are you?
How do you think?
What makes you feel alive?

First off: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Extroverts are outgoing, very interested in the outside world. This is where they gain the most mental stimulation from. They are the people-people, they love to travel, and they are, at best, friendly and outgoing. When these people are alone, when they have nothing to do people-wise, they tend to get bored, a little unhappy. The energy expands; they come to life with people, around people, working with people.

Introverts are just the opposite. Introverts are interested within their own minds; they gain the most mental stimulation from building and working with their own minds, intellectual topics. When they are around people for too long, when they are not alone with their own thoughts or topics, they will feel drained, tired, done for the time being. They might need a few minutes to go off and collect their thoughts.

Many an expert believes these are two sides in which if you are strong in one area, you are weaker in another area. Others believe one side is simply more dominant than the other. I have known and worked with people that I find it hard to designate, to label. But, as I am not in a field nor am I heading into a field where I might have to, I generally am content to shrug and more forward.

But I know I am an introvert and I have made my future career decisions based on that fact. This knowledge of who I am is the foundation of what I do, where I go with my life and who I surround myself with.

Here are some good examples of Extrovert Careers:
Teaching, politics, sales, managing and brokering. Others include, human resources specialist, actor, public relations, emergency medical technician, physical therapist, financial advisor, mediator, dental hygienist and doctor, interviewer for employment, computer support specialist, and recruiter.

Here are some good examples of Introvert Careers:
Writer, artist, sculptor, engineer, composer, computer software engineer, accountant, pharmacist, accountant, paralegal, graphic designer, translator, technical writer (where I want to go!), market research analyst, civil engineer, animal keeper, veterinarian, zoologist, Research and development, teacher or professor, healthcare, consultant, singer, dancer, or anywhere else where you can be your own boss.

Know who you are, and you are much closer to finding work you actually enjoy!

NhN Meeting Locations
Founding NhN Library Program

River Edge Library
685 Elm Street
Thursdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201.261.1663
http://riveredge.bccls.org

Bergenfield Library
50 West Clinton Ave.
Tuesdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201-387-4040
http://bergenfield.bccls.org

Hawthorne Library
345 Lafayette Avenue
Tuesdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 973.427.5745
http://hawthorne.bccls.org

Westwood Library
49 Park Avenue
Mondays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201.664.0583
http://westwood.bccls.org

Ridgewood Library
125 North Maple Avenue
Thursdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201.670.5600
www.ridgewoodlibrary.org

Waldwick Library
19 East Prospect Street
Mondays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201.652.5104
http://waldwick.bccls.org
at St Lukes while library
room is renovated

Mendham Township
2 West Main Street
Brookside, NJ 07926
Mondays 6:30pm-8:00pm
Phone - 973.543.4018
www.mendhatwplib.org

Englewood Library
31 Engle Street
Mondays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone -  201.568.2215
www.englewoodlibrary.org

Mahwah Library
100 Ridge Road
Thursdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Summer Meeting Day
Tuesdays 7pm July -Aug
Phone - 201.529.READ
www.mahwahlibrary.org

Maplewood Library
51 Baker Street
Wednesdays. 7:00-8:30pm
(except 4th wed of each month)
Phone - 973.762.1622
www.maplewoodlibrary.org

Cedar Grove
1 Municipal Plaza
Thursdays 6:30pm-8:00pm
Phone - 973.239.1447
Http://cedargrovenj.org/library

Fair Lawn Library
10-01 Fair Lawn Avenue
 Mondays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone - 201.796.3400
http://www.fairlawnlibrary.org

Ringwood Library
30 Cannici Drive
Tuesdays 10:30am-12:00pm
Phone - 973.962.6256
www.ringwoodlibrary.org

Oakland Library
2 Municipal Plaza
Thursdays 10:30am-12:00
Phone - 201.337.3742
http://oaklandnjlibrary.org/

Emerson Library
20 Palisade Ave
Tuesdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Phone -  201.261.5604
http://emerson.bccls.org

Oradell Library
375 Kinderkamack Avenue
Tuesdays 1:00pm-2:30pm
( every other week )
Phone - 201.262.2613
http://oradell.bccls.org

Cranford Library
224 Walnut Avenue
Wednesdays 6:30-8:00pm
Phone - 908.709.7272
http://cranford.com/library

Hasbrouck Heights Library
320 Boulevard
Mondays  1:00pm-2:30pm
Phone - 201.288.0484
http://hasbrouckheights.bccls.org

Lake Hiawatha Library (Parsippany)
68 Nokomis Ave.Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034
phone:(973) 335-0952
Tuesdays 7:15-8:45 pm.
http://parsippanylibrary.org/our-branches/lake-hiawatha

Monmouth County Library
Eastern Branch
1001 Route 35
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702-4398
Phone: (866) 941-8188
(732) 683-8980 (Freehold area