| |
| |
|
Careers & Employment Information |
|
|
|
Are You Bored By What You Do?
Is your working life in the doldrums? Do you feel stuck in a rut? Uncertain about the future? Depressed by what you can see ahead? Still looking for a job that will fully engage your interest? If so, you're like millions of others who face each working week more with resignation than excitement. It's not that things are bad. They just aren't as good as you would like them to be. So would you like to be doing something you truly enjoy? Something that builds on your strengths and really means something to you? Of course you would. It's easier than you may think. What I've been describing is job:life alignment. When you're out of sorts with your job and your career, it's because you and the work you do are misaligned. It doesn't engage your interest fully. It doesn't play to your main strengths. It doesn't pay you enough in return for your effort -- and I don't just mean money. Payment comes in many forms and the most important to you may not be financial. What Causes Misalignment? Put briefly, what you're doing isn't lined up with the most important values in your life. Values are far more than simple beliefs or personal standards. The word has been hijacked by politicians and preachers and become debased in the process. Values are the source of everything that's most important in our lives. They're the inner drivers and fundamental needs that make us who we are. You can't live without discomfort and frustration if your most cherished values are violated or ignored. Few people can even tolerate such a situation for long. When you hear about people walking away from their job, their friends or their family, that's the result of an irreconcilable mismatch between their values and the situation they're in. Now that's an extreme and most of us don't have to face such a dramatic situation. But we may find oursevles facing continual small misalignments between what truly matters to us and the way we are currently living our lives. It's like having a pair of shoes that don't quite fit, and walking around all day with sore feet as a result. You can do it, but it isn't how you want to spend your time. Why Tolerate It? The obvious question is why people tolerate things being like this. Why don't they vote with their feet (sorry!) and move to another job or another employer? For a start, people are generally far more aware of what they don't much like than what they do, so the feel the need for a change, but don't know what change to make. They aren't sure what would be better -- or they assume a job they love is just a dream; they'll never be able to work anywhere that really fits them. Since they don't know how to set about changing the situation, they stay where they are. Better the devil you know. In time, they tell themselves it's how life is and convince themselves they have to put up with it. The Way Out But there is a way out -- and it doesn't need a visit to a shrink or a postgraduate degree in psychology. Nor do you have to take up meditation or spend hours on inner searching (unless you want to, of course). All it takes is the willingness to set aside around thirty minutes and follow a few simple steps. The result will be a clear picture of your most important values -- a blueprint for what's going to provide you the greatest satisfaction in your working life and how to go about finding it. And once you know this clearly, practical steps to get your work and your values back into alignment are far, far easier. Let's be honest. Getting this alignment back into place may take some time and effort. I'm not going to pretend it's a slam dunk. You may have to make some changes. But you knew that, didn't you? And you aren't afraid to change a few things -- provided you know the right way to go about it. Is It Worth It? Only you can answer that. Ask yourself whether you're prepared to spend half an hour doing some simple research on your life, in return for a clear idea of what you need to do to escape from the rut you're in. Is it worth it to be able to go to work expecting interest, excitement and fun? You see, even if you can't imagine changing your job, or pointing your life in a new direction, there are still many ways you can make your current situation more aligned with who you really are. Remember, we aren't talking about extremes. Just the everyday things you can do to improve the quality -- and rewards -- of your working life. Here's What To Do Take a piece of paper and write down all the things you most enjoy about your work. What you find most interesting and most exciting. What makes you feel good. Don't agonize about your choice. Just do it without thinking too much about it. Put this piece of paper aside and take another one. Now write down all the things you dislike most about your working life. The things you put off as long as you can. The activities that put you in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Take the first sheet again and look for links and similaries. Are there items that go together naturally? Find a name for these categories. It might be "having new ideas." Or "making my own decisions." Or "having good working relationships." Don't try to find a clever name. You're the only one who will see this activity, so go with whatever categories make sense to you. Now do the same for the second sheet -- the one with the things you dislike. Look at the positive and negative categories you've assembled. Do any of these go together? Perhaps the negative is the opposite of the positive. What you're looking for are the fundamental values that give you the most satisfaction from work and wroking life. Go for these whenever you can. And the negatives? Just try to avoid them. That's it. Nothing complicated or difficult. But it could transform the rest of your life. And do it now. The greatest cause for living a boring life is constantly putting off doing anything about it. Adrian W. Savage writes for people who want help with the daily dilemmas they face at work. He has contributed more than 25 articles to leading British and American publications and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Chicago Tribune. You can find his blog on ethics, diversity and living life to the full at http://www.adriansavage.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Phone Interviews: Prepare to Ace Them! More companies are saving time and effort by doing initial telephone interviews before committing themselves to hours of time assessing and evaluating applicants. They are doing this because, frankly, it's a good way to save a team's time from interviewing obviously unqualified people. Finding a Job Under Tough Circumstances Anyone can find a job. That's right, I said "anyone". Always Have a Current Resume What is the biggest mistake people make with resumes?People write their resumes as a chronological summary of everything they've done in their professional lives. Employers only care about one thing: what you can do for them. Nonverbal Interview Behavior Non-verbal interview behavior can drown out your verbal self-presentation.Practice interviewing in front of a full-length mirror or, better yet, videotape yourself if you have access to such equipment. Four Job Interview Mistakes That Can Torpedo Your Chances of Success What are the worst mistakes job hunters make? It turns out there are four big ones. These four mistakes turn up repeatedly when executives responsible for hiring talk about the reasons why someone didn't get a job offer. What is Workers Compensation Fraud What is FraudFraud occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally conceals, misrepresents, and makes a false statement to either deny or obtain workers' compensation benefits or insurance coverage, or otherwise profit from the deceit. The key to conviction is proving in court that the misrepresentation or concealment occurred knowingly or intentionally. How To Become A Computer Consultant Have you ever wanted to become a computer consultant, but you weren't sure if you could cut it? Do you have a basic understanding of computer-systems, strong problem-solving skills, and a desire to help other people? If so, then you already possess the main abilities and traits that you need to become a computer consultant.In this article, we'll look at the business opportunities for computer consultants, the reasons why there will almost always be a strong need for good computer consultants, and what it takes for you to achieve success if you want to become a computer consultant. Intuition: The Secret To Your Career Success For far too long, we moderns have relied on our analytical/logical brain to make important life decisions. It is my belief that our imaginative/creative brain holds the key to better, smarter and more soulful decisions. Making The Best Of Yourself At Interview You are just about to leave university You are just setting out in the job market You have a number of hurdles to get over before you have the job you have been dreaming of. You find the thought of an interview daunting. We Rejected Your Résumé Today Hi, I am Mr. Employer. Should You Join a Modeling School for Petite Modeling? If you are thinking of breaking into the petite modeling industry and wondering if you should hundreds of doll ars on modeling school or classes you need to read this article. Here are few facts about modeling schools. The Computer-Friendly Resume The evolution of technology is changing the traditional methods for job searching and recruiting. More and more companies are now relying on computers to initiate the process of hiring and are filling their database with candidates with skills that are easily searchable. Telecommuting Interview Tips Telecommuting Interview Tips- By Nell TaliercioYou've made it! Your cover letter and resume got you to the interview process.. Seven Steps to Better Networking If published statistics are accurate, employment agencies and search firms fill about 20% of all jobs in the US. Job boards fill anywhere between 2% and 8%. An RX For Your Résumé Whether you are an accountant, virtual assistant, or a corporate executive, your job skills are constantly refined. A new sales presentation you've organized or the new spreadsheet package you've mastered should be included on your résumé. Rekindling Passion for Work Passion comes in many forms. I'm focused on the version of passion that is "boundless enthusiasm". Jobseekers! Look For Smoke, Not Fire "If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always received," said some wise person. This is certainly true when it comes to job-hunting, especially during a "sucky" economy. Resume 101 Whether you've been downsized, are looking for a career change or are just starting out, your resume speaks volumes about you. If your resume doesn't make it past the first cut, you're doomed; no matter how qualified you are. Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part Two Are you in denial about the lifelessness of your resume? If you are reasonably qualified for the type of work you seek, yet your resume is consistently failing to win you interviews, then you need to face the reality that your beloved document is dead. Try these professional resume writing techniques to resurrect your resume and your job search today: Problem #3: Resume Is Blind In your eagerness to cut your job search work load have you reduced your objective statement to something grandiose and vague, something that you hope speaks to every employer but which, in fact, communicates to none? A resume with no focus is blind; without a clear focus in your resume an employer cannot perceive what you're offering them; without a concisely stated vision in your resume an employer cannot grasp the big picture of how you fit into their organization. Networking is the Key to Star Performance in Everything You Do. Many people's idea of networking relates to the 'size of their Christmas Card List, rather than the quality of their relationship with each person on that list. Similarly those people network, but few reap the rewards of zeroing in on their potential.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
