Please help an ISTJ find the right job fast

Right now you need a job, any job--not only your dream job. It takes years to job hunt these days and in my unfortunate experience of late, you can only get hired for a job if you have basically done every aspect of the job before because nobody wants to train you and they HAVE enough perfect candidates who've done everything so that they don't have to. I know you don't want to settle, but if you really need a job and have a short timeline going on, you're probably going to need to. Sorry. Figuring out "what you want to do" comes after getting money enough to eat and live. And yeah, maybe this might involve having to do retail or food service if things get that bad. I don't think grantwriting is for you (you're gonna run into the "you can't get hired for it without any experience" issue with that one), or any field that involves schmoozing/promotion if you're that shy. And library science has so few jobs that it's probably not worth doing more school at age 44 to try to land one. You mention having a kid, so I don't know if you're able to flexibly move ANYWHERE for a library job either what with custody arrangements. saucysault has a point about keeping in mind what the options are in your area and needing to fish from the pool you already are in, so to speak. "I have no problem doing PT work to pay the bills while I continue searching, but I don't feel like I'm skilled enough to seek out freelance writing/editing work. Do I go to a temp agency to look for secretarial work or retail jobs in the mall?" I think temping would be a great idea for you, actually. Whatever gets the money coming in. I actually think you come off as quite literate and coherent and a good writer from your post, so I think you probably ARE skilled enough to handle going after writing/editing work on the side. People just need to be able to read and comprehend what you edited, you don't have to know the finer points of grammar. I don't know if freelancing is right for you if you don't like interviewing/schmoozing/social anything, though. But if you have a temp job and want to try it on the side, maybe. Anyway, right now I think it sounds like your strong suit "don't have to train me" skills are in writing/editing, and that should be what you shoot for right now.

Big hug! Transitions like these are hard, and adding the pressure of finding the ultimate dream job on top of that doesn't sound like what you need right now. I also don't think Myers-Briggs is really that great of an indicator for career path. I'd suggest that you continue PT work at a stable company with a manager who respects you, understands your situation, and will give you space to explore FT work at a more reasonable pace. What state are you in? Have you looked at which markets/verticals are hiring, and where there's job growth? If you enjoy the graphic design / social media work, you may want to consider marketing services roles, where there's lots of collaboration and better options for temp-to-perm situations. memail me if you'd like to chat more. Also, you may want to do some research on Myers-Briggs. Here's http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28315137 as a counterpoint to its efficacy.

I think the unfair reality is that failing to learn/fake the practice of extroversion, for at least some portion of the day, means seriously restricting both the kinds of job opportunities and income available to you. Some amount of schmoozing or socializing or client- or coworker- or boss-courting is unavoidable, even in salaried roles. Good communication is part and parcel of professionalism, in pretty much any field. I think it would serve you better to learn to 1) fake it and 2) recover from faking it, with a lot of self-care. And then find work where it's not required as often. But it won't ever be 100% eliminated, unless that's at some cost to you (money, freedom, lifestyle, etc.).

For the love of all that is holy, don't get an LIS degree. Worst decision I ever made. My diploma's not worth the paper it's printed on (I actually threw it away). HOWEVER: consider trying to just get a job in a library. IMO the profession is being deprofessionalized and someone with your skills and inclinations might be able to find a niche.

I kind of feel like you are going about this the wrong way. What are the job opportunities like in your specific location? Have you talked to people that are local in your are that have a job you would like? What do they think about the local job market? I'm in Public Libraries right now, and love it, but there is a huge mismatch between available positions and people that want the jobs. The people that self-select for library jobs are actually not usually bringing the skills we want. For one thing, I would never hire an introvert, they are over-represented and we need extroverts in my organisation (and every organisation I am aware of). So, unless there is a specific local job someone can point you to I would not go into libraries. Good for you in making positive choices. Taking temp work sounds like a good idea as a way to get a feel for local employers and build a network of recent references.

Ditch the library idea. Library jobs are hard to come by, period, and archives jobs are unicorns. In my library school cohort of 200, fully a third said that archives was their goal. That's 80 people who now have 5 years more experience than you - just from one school's online program, one term. And there are like 3 archives jobs. What about technical writing, if you're interested in/competent at science?

Many of my previous jobs have been random assignments I took to pay the bills. There was no career plan. ... I absolutely do not want to settle for just anything again. I want to encourage you to reframe this in order to build your confidence and present yourself well to potential employers. While it's true that some people set a career plan in place and just tick off the mile markers as their career speeds forward as planned, that is becoming more and more rare these days. Employers generally don't expect you to stay on one career track for your entire career; they just want you to adapt quickly to the changing environment, and that's what you're doing. There are plenty of people who have enviable careers, who look great on paper, who have actually had plenty of moments of not having any idea what they'll do next, or of taking whatever was available in order to pay the bills. That's normal. And what they do with that, is they try to fit it into a narrative, like "I was just so interested in X, and wanted to try my skills in Y environment" until the whole saga sounds like it was an intentional journey instead of a seat of the pants panicfest. Don't let them fool you. They have been where you are. Just focus on the overlap of what you love with the job you're applying for, based on its description. Maybe it offers an opportunity to write and edit, which you love. Maybe it will let you sink your teeth into a big project and concentrate on it until it's finished, which you love. And then you trace back whichever thread of things you enjoy and are good at back through your previous projects. Good luck!

ISTJ would be a good fit for a grants manager position -- the person who tracks when reports are due and helps get the grants out -- or a grant writer. But you will probably need an Executive Director or Development Director to buoy your anxiety and depression. It's hard to raise money when your confidence is in the toilet. But if you have someone there to say "we're going to ask for $X for these three programs," you'll do fine. I also know an ISTJ who is great at copy writing and copy editing. However, she does use her confidence to get clients and negotiate a livable pay scale. Could you find a staff job doing this?

Don't strike grantwriting off the list yet. It doesn't always have to involve schmoozing. In bigger organizations, there can be people doing the actual writing and project-managing of grant proposals (and grant reports!) who are totally internal, and different people do the external schmoozing and networking. At my nonprofit, our main grant writer is extremely introverted and hardly ever talks to funders. He is definitely not required to go drum up business. In nonprofits it's fairly common for communications functions and development functions to be in the same department (or sometimes same job). You do have some experience with communications, writing and the nonprofit world, and it sounds like some experience with managing information. That's useful! In your shoes, I'd look at straight-up grant writing and communications jobs at http://www.gcn.org/careers/Georgia-nonprofit-jobs (and maybe also at http://www.glga.org or http://team.georgia.gov/careers/ government), and would also look at general admin jobs that were supporting communications and grant writing functions, to help you get experience. Good luck!