It happens to the best of us. We lose our passion for our job. The reasons can be many but what is important is learning how to restore the passion, the excitement, the intensity, and the newness to our occupation.

Why do we lose our passion for a job we once loved?

The reasons can range from outgrowing a position with no advancement opportunities to an overbearing boss to just plain old boredom. You may have taken a job because of the money only to later discover that your personality characteristics aren’t what the company wants or needs. You may have been promised raises or promotions only to see them disappear or you could have jumped into a position without learning anything about it first.

Why work to restore your passion for your job?

Working in a job where your soul is sucked right out of you isn’t how I want to spend my life, and I’ll bet you feel the same. I’d much rather be engaged in my work, to feel that what I did was important, not just to the company, but to ME.

Working in a job where you’re just going through the motions isn’t fun. It isn’t satisfying. And it isn’t your only option. You CAN restore your original passion for your work.

How to restore your passion for your job

First, insure your personality characteristics line up well with your job.

If you’re a “people person,” you won’t be happy in a two person office where one is the boss and you’re the other one. If you love crunching numbers, you probably won’t be happy working the sales floor at a department store in the mall. If you enjoy being creative and in control, you will not be happy working on an assembly line. The thing to remember is that every one of these positions exactly matches up with someone else’s personality traits. The key is to find out what you enjoy and then find a position that aligns with your personality. To find out more about yourself, read Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself.

Second, realize how important your job actually is.

I’m not going to fall for the “I’m just a cashier” line either. As a cashier, you come in contact with dozens, perhaps hundreds of people every day. YOU are usually the last contact a customer has with the company before heading out the door. That is an important position. Many times you can either make someone’s day or ruin it.

Think you’re “just a middle manager?” Listen, you are the bridge between the engine of the company (field/line employees) and the people driving it (staff and corporate employees). You may not like where they steer the company, but you can still voice your opinion, give feedback from the field, and relay information that can help the company improve. You probably wanted to do that when you originally took the position.

Third, remember how badly you wanted this job in the first place

Go back in your mind and recall the excitement you had when you called your significant other and told them about your job offer. After all, you wanted this job and YOU applied for it. No one MADE you take it and chances are good that you were once thankful to have it. Rekindle those emotions and turn on your thankfulness.

If you can’t restore passion for your job

If your personality doesn’t line up well with your job, if you cannot uncover anything remotely important about your work, if you never really wanted the job in the first place … do something about it.

Remember, you don’t HAVE to work there. You aren’t being held captive and you aren’t trapped. Even in a poor economy there are still thousands of jobs available as well as thousands of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Don’t fall into the mindset of “poor old me.” Get up off the sofa and make something happen for yourself and your family. No one wants you to be happier with your work than you and your family. Your boss wants you to be happy too. Happy employees usually create happy customers.

The important thing is, no matter what you do, do it well and do it with gusto.

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.

Ever wonder how much the average employee “costs” their employer? Most estimates are in the two to three times annual salary range but employees, particularly new employees fresh from the interview and job offer process, rarely know how much this new employer is counting on performance.

Unless you’ve actually run a company and hired employees, it can be difficult to fathom how much an employee costs an employer. The costs can be significant and unless that employee is able to pull his or her weight by producing revenue or something of value, the employer won’t, and shouldn’t, hire him or her.

What does an employee “cost?”

There are a myriad of costs associated with hiring anyone these days. Some of these are one time costs and some are ongoing. Regardless, they have to be paid by someone. Among them are:

Recruiting

Advertising for the position, identifying candidates, reading resumes, making phone calls, transportation, interviewing, meals, hotel expenses, use of vehicles.

Salary

Straight salary, commissions, signing bonuses, payroll processing.

Human Resources

Paperwork to set up the employee, training expenses, background checks, drug screens.

Space

Office space, cost of furnishings and furniture, cubicle costs along with repairs and maintenance.

Equipment

Company car, computers, telephones, cell phones, copiers, printers, printer ink, and other equipment necessary to do the job. Be sure to add repairs and maintenance.

Benefits

Retirement matching, costs of maintaining the retirement fund, life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, dental plans, dependent care assistance, tuition reimbursement, vacation, sick pay, paid holidays, Holiday bonus (ham, turkey, etc), promotional gizmos and gadgets with the company’s logo, etc.

Taxes

Federal, state, and local taxes, unemployment taxes, FICA (Social Security), Medicare, workman’s compensation all must be calculated, processed, and paid.

Bad Hire Costs

They happen. Unfortunately, studies indicate that a bad hire can cost the employer between two and three times the employee’s annual salary.

Separation Costs

Firing or losing an employee can be as costly as hiring one. Litigation, attorney costs, funds spent to defend the company’s position.

Soft Costs

Soft costs are very difficult to quantify.  The opportunity cost of time spent managing employees is often overlooked and generally underestimated. A full time employee wants someone to design a career path, conduct regular, performance appraisals, and provide coaching and counseling sessions. Some experts estimate that as much as 20% of a manager’s time is spent in these areas.

Other soft costs could include mistakes made by employees that don’t warrant termination but must be paid nonetheless, performance reviews, meetings, and other difficult to quantify costs.

Bottom Line

It’s a wonder that more employers don’t use temporary services and consultants.

If you provide more value than you cost your employer, you are golden. The important thing is to always know the value you provide, quantify it, and keep a record of your accomplishments.

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.

New Year’s Resolutions are notorious for being kept … for about 6 days. But there are several resolutions worth keeping this new year. If you’ve “had it up to here” with your job, or if you’re currently unemployed, finding new or better employment opportunities is a resolution you have to WORK for … rarely does a new or better job come searching for you.

There are two tough parts to finding a new job:

1. Actually finding an open position
2. Interviewing well enough to get the job offer

Finding open positions

The first step is to decide what it is you want to do. What are you passionate about? What motivates you to do your best work? Back several years ago I wrote an article about how to discover your passion. Those 20 questions are essential keys to helping you discover what it is you love to do.

After you reach a few conclusions about your passion, you’ll have to uncover which companies work in that area. You probably already have an idea but there are other sources and options for finding an open position or which company specializes in it:

• Your favorite search engine – Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.
• Your network of professional contacts
• LinkedIn – allows you to build a network of professional contacts. It’s a great tool for job-seekers (thanks to Janet for pointing out my omission of this resource!)
• The Ladders ($)
• Vault.com ($) – Vault has job boards and allows you to research companies.
• monster.com
• Executive Search Online
• CareerBuilder
• Job.com
• Snagajob (mostly hourly positions)
• Executive recruiters in your industry – check in trade journals or online
• Your newspapers classifieds

Learning to interview

Finding an open position is like finding a gold nugget. You better make the most of it when you uncover one. That’s one reason I wrote The Inner View of Your Interview. Interviewing skills are almost non-existent with many candidates but that doesn’t have to be the case with you.

Once you learn how to tilt the interview in your favor and how to say what you need to say so you are the natural fit for the interviewer’s open position (both are covered in the book), you’re in a much better position to get the job offer!

Get started today on your resolution to get a better job!

The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be working at a job you love, one that fulfills you, that challenges you, that you look forward to each and every day. Make part of your resolution to create a personal action plan and stick with it. Don’t wallow in self-pity, get out there and MAKE something happen. It all starts with you and your action!

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.

As companies figure out how to do more with less, more and more people are finding themselves in the unemployment line according to a recent report by Bloomberg. According to the report, payrolls decreased in 28 states led primarily by North Carolina with 12,500 jobs cut in one month (November).

As economists continually “get surprised” by the dismal economic data that’s drip-drip-dripping on us like some sort of twisted water torture, there ARE people getting jobs. Why? They are highly prepared for their interview and use the tips and techniques found in The Inner View of Your Interview.

The fact remains that the most qualified candidate doesn’t always get the job offer. I’ve watched a company pass over someone for a purchasing agent position who had an MBA, was fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and had with a wealth of purchasing experience in favor of someone who showed more drive and determination by learning everything about the company. They simply presented themselves better and were better prepared for the interview. Fair? Perhaps not, but life isn’t fair and you owe it to yourself to ethically use any advantage you can find to better yourself and your family.

Your job is secure?

You may think so, but even the most secure positions are vulnerable these days. Even if you are merrily employed today, you never know what will happen tomorrow.  By practicing CCM, Continuous Career Management, – keeping your resume current, networking with others in the industry, using the S.O.N.A.R. method to develop your success stories (page 13 in The Inner View of Your Interview), and knowing who the key players are in your industry – you will always be ready should a career disaster strike.

Today there are thousands who wish they had prepared for job cuts, layoffs, and reductions in force. Make sure you’re ready ahead of time. Like my great grand-daddy used to say, “Son, dig your well before you’re thirsty.”

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.

Okay, you’ve passed the interview with flying colors (of course you’re one of the thousands of people who’ve used the tips in The Inner View of Your Interview!) and now the company wants to make you an offer. The problem is you’ll have to move 450 miles away from where you currently live. Do you accept the offer?

There are a lot of things to consider when faced with a job move. Of course the most important consideration is whether you have a job where you live and, if you don’t, moving may be your only answer. But what if that isn’t the case? What factors should you consider?

Factors Affecting A Job Move

1. Family & Friends

How will your family, both immediate and extended, react? In many cases, your immediate family is aware of the situation, but extended family such as in-laws, cousins, and many friends are not. You may think “they may not like that I’m moving but they aren’t paying my bills” but remember that money isn’t everything.

2. Cost of living

How much more or less will it cost to move to your new location? There is a VAST difference between somewhere like Anderson, South Carolina and Seattle, Washington. Many of the job boards have online calculators to help you figure this out, but I found a good one at CNNMoney. Incidentally, a $75,000 salary in Anderson needs to be over $111,000 in LA just to break even.

3. Property Taxes

Moving from a state like New York to Arkansas will be a shocker – your property taxes will decrease by over 60 percent! But it cuts both ways. Make sure you know the differences between how your two locations assess property and how they tax it.

4. Heating and cooling costs

If you’re moving from a moderate climate such as San Francisco to a much colder climate such as Minneapolis or a much warmer climate like Miami, you’re going to be faced with much higher heating and cooling costs. Make sure you factor that into your decision. How will you like winter starting in October and running into May? On the flip side, moving from Orlando to Buffalo, you’ll have to buy a snow-blower and a whole different wardrobe.

5. State and local income taxes

Where you’re moving could be a bargain or a real shock when it comes to taxes. Some areas have zero income tax, but make it up in other ways, while other areas tax you like there’s no end to your ability to pay. Make sure you know what you’re getting into.

6. Keeping up with the Joneses

I don’t want to keep up with them either, but many people won’t use their self discipline to ignore the Joneses. Moving into a $500,000 home in Richmond, Virginia nets you an average lifestyle in a relatively average city. Buy a home for that same price in Little Rock and you’re suddenly surrounded by people driving luxury cars, designer clothes, and living a country club life. It WILL affect how you think, so plan ahead.

Don’t let ANY of these factors stop you from looking for a better life in another city. Remember that all of them can be turned into a positive depending on which way you’re moving. And be sure you use these in your salary negotiations. You may come out farther ahead than you ever imagined!

Be on the lookout! I’ll have an eBook coming out soon that covers everything you need to know about MOVING. I’ve moved over 30 times in my life so use my experience. I’ll keep you posted on when this new eBook is ready.

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.