Job Search and the “Adventurer, Enthusiast, Explorer, Fireball”

Type 7 of the nine Enneagram social styles is motivated by adventure and the avoidance of pain. Life is to be lived and shared. We only go around once, so let’s have some fun! Sevens are fun to be around. They are the life of the party. When a Seven is out of work, they need to work through the pain of the job search and not avoid the process by distracting themselves with other fun activities.

I have a client that is a Seven and he recently landed a new job which is close to my office. My client was thrilled with the new job. He met a new colleague and discovered that the colleague was a pilot and had his own airplane. I got a call and an invitation to go flying that afternoon from my client, which I turned down. Of course my client is also a pilot with a lapsed pilot’s license – and I don’t know the other person.

Sevens are interested in almost everything and they are engaging and interesting. When a Seven is looking for work fun often gets in the way. It seems like the charity golf tournament gets priority over interview preparation for a key job position. It is painful, preparing for an interview. The Seven would rather depend on their charm, engaging personality and wit to handle the interview.

Sevens are action oriented and believe it or not they are thinking types. When doing their job search, they need to slow down and think things through before taking action. The Sevens typical approach to problem solving is to take action and figure it out as they go. Sevens can come off as flaky and ill prepared, which can hurt them in their search for a new job.

The “typical” American hiring manager appreciates a job seeker that has a thoughtful plan and shows some discipline in executing the search process. Go back to my article on Type 3, The Achiever, to review the social style. If a country could have a social style America would be a three country. When a Seven interviews with a Three, he can feel very uncomfortable as the three drills into the details of the many achievements that a Seven often has. Once a Seven achieves a goal, they often quickly move onto the next object of their attention. The achievement is over, past, gone why remember all details?

Sevens can get confused with their job targets. Because they are so interested in so many varied subjects, they can spend too much time bouncing between potential targets. Sevens simply are interested in many occupations and can always see the potential in the job position, but the reality is that they need to limit their choices and focus on their top targets. This approach can seem boring, especially if they are not getting many interviews. It is painful to stay focused, suffer through the pain of boredom, and conduct a disciplined job search.

Sevens need to conduct an interesting job search and constantly meet new people. A thoughtful plan which focuses on discovery is very helpful. Sevens should be in many job clubs or job search clubs and associations. They should set aside “quiet time” to do their critical thinking and analysis, so they can use their charisma to research and investigate job positions by talking with people.

Informational interviews are the key goal that a Seven should use to measure the effectiveness of their search. When a Seven is confused about their job search, the charity golf game is very attractive. Of course, the Seven is often “lucky” so they may end up talking themselves into a job on the golf course.

We all need Sevens in our lives and in our world, because they are fun to be around and most of the time they are successful. If you are a Seven, be kind to yourself by making time for fun and quiet time for thinking, then enjoy meeting all the new people as you do your research.