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About This Quiz
Just admit it, your life can be more than a little bit like a circus sometimes. You might feel like everything is going okay, but then all of a sudden there you are, underneath the big top, putting on a show whether you like it or not, and you aren't always the master of ceremonies.
Sometimes it is all you can do to keep things going in your life without having everything fall apart; it is at those times that you are most like a plate spinner or a tightrope walker. Other times you are handling things so well that it's hard not to show off, and be like a trapeze artist or a lion tamer. And then there are times when everyone in your world is wondering why you are acting a certain way, and taking so many risks; that is when you seem a bit like a sword swallower or a fire eater. And then every once in a while, all you do is beat yourself up, like laying on a bed of nails or shooting yourself out of a cannonball. What type of circus act is more like your life?ÂÂ
Don't be a clown. Take this quiz and find out.
Do you face clients?
All the time, but not usually when they are happy.
Rarely if ever
I pitch them all the time.
No, I'm in the rear with the gear.
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Do you deal with executives?
No, never
Only if I'm very successful, or a big failure.
They're the only people I deal with.
Just one
Do you have a technological job?
Sometimes I do it over the phone or by email.
I often deal with paperwork, which is usually done online.
No, but I need to understand it.
No, I'm mostly about busywork.
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Do you have an industrial job?
No, I deal with interpersonal stuff.
Yes, I'm the one pushing buttons.
No, I'm on the conceptual side of the business side of things.
No, I'm an assistant.
Do you work alone?
No, there are a few of us, but we work separately.
Sometimes, but sometimes I'm part of a team.
I do.
No, I work closely under my boss.
When you are part of a team, what's your role?
Customer facing lead
I'm usually saddled with all the actual work.
Creative lead
Team slave
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What are the consequences of your failure?
Some unhappy end users
A couple jobs get delayed a few days.
The company's major moves don't take place.
My boss screams at me for two solid minutes and mes me feel like the smallest person on Earth.
Do other people think they could do your job?
Probably
No
Yes
Everyone does, but no one would want it.
How important is your job to the overall company?
Not very
I'm the grease that keeps the wheels turning.
I'm a thought leader.
I'm important but totally underappreciated.
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What would happen to your career if you had a bad day at work?
I'd go home, have a cocktail, and be fine.
I'd just have to come in on the weekend to finish.
The company would miss out on some major opportunities.
Every day is a bad day at work.
How contradictory are your job responsibilities?
They're pretty straightforward.
They only contradict with regards to how I should spend my time.
My orders are not contradictory, and I have a lot of influence over them.
Totally, 100% contradictory
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Do you answer to more than one master?
I have one supervisor, but I have to listen to complaints all day from others.
I have a few.
My relationship with my boss is a two-way street.
I have one boss, and they are a taskmaster.
What do you do with your time off?
I try to be alone.
I lay on the beach.
I go someplace cool where I can spend money.
I just sleep and watch Netflix.
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Are you well paid?
Not enough
I'm compensated, but not in proportion to the hours I put in.
I'm paid a lot for very little, very difficult work.
I'm paid nearly nothing for a thankless job.
Did you have a long path to your current place in your career?
No, I pretty much stepped into this job from my first.
I'm about six years in.
It took me ten years to get here.
I've only had this job a month or two.
Are there safeguards against your failure?
Yes, a desk too long to reach across to strangle me.
Not many. If I mess up, it usually falls to me to pick up the pieces.
No, none
Yes, a "line around the block of people willing to replace me."
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Do you ever feel under threat at work?
Occasionally
Not by people, only by my workload
No, only I can damage my career.
I feel like my boss could fire me any moment.
Do you always just do as you are told?
No, I nearly never do as I'm told.
I always try.
No, I'm the one with the ideas.
I do, though I don't always succeed.
Is your job to make everyone happy?
No, it's to listen when people aren't happy.
No, it's just to do the jobs.
No, it's to convince someone of an idea, even when it doesn't make them happy.
It is.
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Can everyone really be made happy?
No, never.
Sure, if you work hard enough.
People can be convinced that you made them happy, even if they aren't.
I don't know, but I'll try!
How close to being in charge are you?
I'm in charge of my department.
I'm two steps below that job.
Even the people "in charge" answer to me, though I'm not yet in charge.
I'm as far from that as possible.
Are you on track to be an executive one day?
No, I'm where my career track ends.
Maybe, if the right role opens up.
Yes, I'm the tip of the spear.
No, I'm at the bottom of the chain.
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Given your experience, do you know when it's okay to let something go wrong, so you can concentrate on something else?
I let people get disappointed all the time.
Yes, you have to be able to assess when something can be allowed to fall through the cracks. If everything is important, nothing is important..
In my line, there's no room for any failure, ever.
If I failed, even in a menial task, I'd get fired.
Have you ever been chewed out in front of a large crowd of colleagues?
Every day
No, I'm usually left alone unless I mess up.
No, I'm worshipped.
Yeah, it happens from time to time.
If you got chewed out by the boss in front of the whole company, could you handle it?
Of course I could.
It might affect my performance.
Not while I'm doing my job.
I'd turn myself into knots.
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You Got: