Resume Digest Blog

Do you feel caught in a career path that is leading nowhere? Do you sense your skills are not recognised? Do you watch the clock and pine away until it is time to go home? The question is: what are you prepared to do about it?

Is job satisfaction a luxury when so many are out of work wondering if they will be evicted out of their dwelling?

You can only tackle one problem at a time and when your pain threshold has been hit it is time to action.

Is there anything you can do in your workplace to improve things? Has anything changed for the better since you joined your current employer? Did you have anything to do with it? Have you made any friends there? Have you made any efforts to make it happen?

No matter how bad your environment is you need to sort your issues into two categories: those that are beyond your control and those you can do something about. Bosses are not totally stupid and unaware of what goes on. They simply have a different perspective to yours and different priorities also (like reaching their target or facing the sack...).

Ultimately an office or factory is made up of people. While you keep an eye on the job market why not make good use of your time to sharpen your social skills. Maybe you carry an invisible sign around your neck that says: "do not talk to me - I am not interested in you" maybe your peers have a certain idea of you that needs to be dismissed.

On your way home, review mentally opportunities during the day where you could have made a difference for someone else. Could you have spoken some genuine uplifting word? Could you have lent a helping hand to ease another person's burden? Could you have stayed a bit later to finish a report someone else is waiting for?

Work on your connections. Show yourself to be dependable, adaptable, broad-minded, aware of your surroundings. It may take some time for people to pick up on the changes in your approach. In a world where everybody is looking after Number One you will shine like someone worth getting to know better.

When people see you are prepared to give out of yourself for no obvious benefit in return you will be sought after. No more rejection, no more isolation, no more intimidation.

How long can you afford to be kind and let others take advantage of it? The answer: as long as you are prepared to wait to see a change in your circumstances. If you choose to leave it will not be a wasted effort. It would have been a perfect dress rehearsal for the real opportunity waiting for you in the wings.

Do you go to work in order to survive and pay off the bills or because you are fulfilled in your vocation? For many, job satisfaction has gone out the window but there is a sense where you get the job that you deserve. Let me explain.

As labour inevitably becomes a commodity you have two choices: you can become a bureaucrat who enforces the rules or you can be an artist who is creative at solving problems.

There is enormous pressure from the corporate mindset to avoid risks and tow the party line. The rule book has been refined to perfection and you have heard it said: "We have always done it like this before. Our methods have served us well all this time. Don't try to fix something that's not broken..."

An artist on the other hand doesn't mind rocking the boat for a good outcome. It is someone who believes in what they do and find satisfaction and fulfilment by going the extra mile. They like not just to do their work but to do it well and in an elegant way. They are experts at problem solving - the sort of problems that the rule book never thought of... They are the guys who don't mind breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. If everybody else has become a cog they are the ones who know where lubrication is badly needed.

If you are the boss of an artist in your organisation you can become jealous or you can see the benefit of a subordinate that makes your department look good.

Artists are those who can see over the business horizon and are prepared to try several things just in case one idea might work.

Bureaucrats will enforce the status-quo and spread rumours to stifle any creative attempt at making the corporate machine more adaptable in its environment. They have zero imagination, cannot handle risk but can only repeat what they have been trained to do all along.

In a start-up everybody is an artist. In a large conglomerate the majority are bureaucrats obeying the rules while a handful of artists are kept out of sight for their own protection. They come up with solutions that only someone on the shop floor with a different mindset could dream of.

If deep down you know that you are the artist-type you will have a hard time during the recruitment process. People will love to hear of your achievements but they will screen out anybody who doesn't fit the corporate mould.