Is your workplace’s “look and feel” stimulating? Are the people friendly and fun to be around? Are the managers and supervisors consistently supportive and authentic? Does your workplace foster trust and advancement? Even more important, do you get to work on the things you love?
Related:4 Things You Can Do To Be Happier At Work Today
Are you fully engaged in what you do every day? In other words, are you happy in your job?
This is more important than may be immediately obvious. Dr. Sonja Lyobomirsky, Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Riverside has researched the consequences of happiness and discovered that it has multiple byproducts which benefit individuals, families, communities, and society at large. These include:
Higher income
Greater productivity & work quality
More satisfying & longer marriages, more friends & richer social interactions
More activity, energy & flow
Improved physical health
Longer life
Dr. Lyobmirsky has found that happier people are more creative, helpful, charitable, and self-confident. They also have better self-control, self-regulation, and coping skills.
When it comes to your worklife, these are critical questions to ask yourself, says Career Happiness Coach Erica Loren. “It is important to be clear whether your work environment is or is not supporting your career goals or passions. You need to be proactive in understanding what you need for career advancement.”
Loren notes that your happiness “set point” is based on three factors: [1] DNA (50%); [2] your life circumstances (10%); and [3] you (40%). She cites research from the Institute of Leadership & Management that the most important on-the-job motivators for most people are:
Enjoying the job (59%)
Getting paid well (49%)
Getting along with colleagues (42%)
Being treated fairly by managers (22%)
Having control over their work (22%)
Receiving bonuses (13%)
There are a number of ways to clarify your on-the-job motivators and pursue career happiness. The most important thing according to Loren is take your own career happiness seriously and recognize that it is your responsibility. Workplace disengagement is a huge issue facing companies today, says Loren, “This is a cancer that is ignored even though it negatively impacts people and their workplaces. This toxicity needs to be addressed because it’s a viral process that left untreated, eats away at attitudes, productivity, efficiency, and creativity at work.”
As your own Chief Happiness Officer, you can forge a healthy framework that helps you to identify those issues you can control. Loren finds that such a framework typically consists of action steps such as:
Discovering the ‘big why’ in your life – why do you do what you do?
Taking control of your worklife so you can make powerful, proactive choices
Forecasting your future – what gaps do you perceive in your education or skills?
Developing short- and long-term goals complete with “Plan A” and “Plan B” plans
Creating a phase-out plan, if needed, to enable you to transition in a new career direction
There are a number of tools that can help you turn your career happiness around, from character strength and value assessments to leadership assessments that measure your attitudes, perceptions, perspective, and reactions under stress.
“Having a coach is also a great way to explore what you’re not happy with when it comes to your career,” notes Loren, who also employs journal coaching to encourage weekly web-based reflection on key career topics.
It’s important to recognize that finding career happiness is a process. “Many people want to feel better right away. This is not a quick fix. However, those who fully engage from the start do see amazing results in all aspects of their lives, not just their jobs.”
Those professionals who are wise enough to pursue career happiness report that they feel a deep inner confidence they never had before. They say they earn more money as a result, have better quality of health, and feel free of heavy burdens such as shame, guilt, anxiety, fear, and stress. “My clients tell me that other people comment on how good they look and behave. They say their families actually like to be around them more than ever. Some even report that their career happiness has worn off on others who are then inspired to engage in the same pursuit.”
If you find that you’re playing small in your career, experience intermittent or ongoing distress in your work, or know you need to move in another career direction but don’t how, get help. Don’t settle for less career satisfaction than you deserve. Though this is often a taboo topic, it is vital to resolve whatever career issues you’re facing so you can avoid dragging this same baggage from job to job.
If you’re ready to experience more happiness in your career, check out Loren’s upcoming Career Happiness webinar on June 9th, 2014.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
Bigstock
Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
Bigstock
Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
Bigstock
Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
Need more help with your job search?
Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.