Are you motivated and effective at your current job, but recognizing that it is getting a bit stale? Are you bored with the job you currently have? Have you mastered the tasks such that they are nearly automatic? Are you less motivated to do your best than you once were? Are you handcuffed by the salary and health insurance?
A good job should help you stretch and grow, and develop additional skills. One of the best ways to remain motivated, productive, and engaged in your work is to be doing work that makes the best use of your talents and abilities.
All too often, supervisors fail to recognize special skills and talents and need to be prodded or reminded. You may need to speak up during a review meeting to indicate that you’d appreciate having more challenging work to do. You can also do a bit of reconnaisance to kick start a conversation in that direction.
Mark is a productive and conscientious mid-level employee in a company that sells its product only on a wholesale basis. It has a few excellent outlets, and some long term contracts, as well.
Mark knows that one major contract will expire soon, and with the tightening of the economy, realizes that any new contracts may well be signed for reduced quantities. In order to maintain current production levels, and especially to grow, Mark also realizes that new markets will be necessary.
When Mark travels, he uses his own time to explore additional outlets for his employer’s products. He recently discovered two areas that might help the business grow into a higher-end niche, and plans to ask for a change in his current duties to allow him to do some outside sales. He feels his experience in ensuring product quality at time of shipment will help him reach potential customers with a knowledge of exactly what his company is prepared to deliver. I am sure he will be successful at expanding his job and helping his employer’s bottom line!
- What do you see as you successfully complete your own tasks that could enhance the reach, scope, or effectiveness of your organization?
- What other areas would you like to learn more about?
- Is there an opportunity for you to shadow someone else at work to see if that is an area you’d like to move into in the future?
- Are you already doing your best and wanting to do better?
Take some time to explore the possibilities that may be right in your own back yard before you commit to going elsewhere. You may be surprised by what is right under your nose!
Using References Effectively in Your Job Search
Checking references for job applicants isn’t what it used to be. Many organizations, fearing litigation, warn their employees not to divulge anything more than dates of employment if they’ve been called as a reference for an employee or former employee.
Savvy interviewers may also call people they know in organizations on your resume, looking for information under the radar of your formal reference list.
I recommend annotating your reference list to make checking references easier for your interviewer, easier for your references, and more effective for your job search.
Include a brief note for each person who is a reference for you, including how they know you, to give context, and what kind of information they might be able to help with. Give this same framework to the reference when you contact him/her to ask them to speak on your behalf. It will help them focus more effectively when they are called.
Mildred Culp, Ph.D. recently interviewed me for an article she wrote in the Modesto Bee, and you can read her entire article here:
http://www.modbee.com/2011/10/16/v-print/1907417/workwise-what-no-one-told-you.html