If you are working at a job or in a company that doesn’t have you leaping out of bed every Monday morning, try following these tips from Richard Bolles, the guru of work search, in his book “What Color is Your Parachute?”

View your job as temporary. Over 54% of the working population work for someone else, so longevity at a job is dictated by the company not you. Never stop networking and updating your resume. Certainly live in the moment and be a focused, dedicated employee but always keep your ears and eyes open to opportunities that really turn you on! The average length of employment today is 2.4 – 3 years so don’t decorate your work space too lavishly.

View your job as a seminar. To keep your job alive, you have to stay motivated. Constantly look for chances to increase your expertise and skills, volunteer for difficult or out of the norm assignments. Sign up for training and look for opportunities to get yourself out of your comfort zone. Offer to attend conferences and workshops and report back to the department with your learnings. Ask questions and then ask more questions. Read trade magazines and business books related to your profession and industry.  When you enter the work world your education is only just beginning.

View your job as an adventure. Look at challenges as an adventure, as a solution to be solved not a problem to be overcome. Put humor in the job you do; look for the lighter side of life. Make a routine task a step-by-step achievement, reward yourself with each successful step achieved. Success by the inch is a cinch, by the yard it’s hard.

Try to find satisfaction in the work itself. Find whatever pleasure you can from just doing your job. It takes a lot of hard work to turn a 9-5 job into a dream job. You may have heard about the toll booth attendant who was seen dancing beside his toll booth every morning while commuters poked along through his gate. When asked what he was doing he replied, “I’m enjoying my job.”

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Colleen Clarke, Career Specialist & Corporate Trainer

www.colleenclarke.com

Author of Networking How to Build Relationships That Count, How
to Get a Job and Keep It

Co-author of The Power of Mentorship; The
Mastermind Group