5 Ways to Recognize Success in Your Career

Success at work is not merely a matter of promotions and increased salary, though being accessible to our jobs 24-7 often makes it difficult to step back and evaluate success in any other way. But career success can be assessed in various ways.

Here are five ways to view your career success without considering your salary as the primary factor.

Added Responsibility. When you’ve gained the trust of your company and supervisor and have been handed additional responsibilities, such as new tasks or projects, managing an important account, or overseeing the work of others, you know you’ve attained a degree of success. You would not be provided these responsibilities without attaining the trust of your company, and your company’s trust in you is a strong indicator of your level of success.

Growing Network. In a successful career your network of contacts and colleagues expands, grows, and deepens regularly through networking events, working closely with colleagues and customers, and attending workshops and conferences.

Balance. You can view success through the lens of the balance you experience between your career and your personal life. This does not mean you never feel stressed, nor that you don’t take work home with you but that you are able to set aside your job when you need to recharge and are able to enjoy your family life and hobbies.

Job satisfaction. A strong indicator of your success is your satisfaction at work and people tend to be satisfied in their job when they are able to use their strengths, skills, and interests to do meaningful work that provides a positive benefit to society.

Learning Opportunities. No one likes to be stagnant in their job and career, and successful careers enable you to constantly learn and grow in your profession through continuing education, trainings, workshops, and on-the-job experience.

When you are successful in your job and career in these areas you will often discover that you are satisfied with the financial aspects of your career, too.

Four Ways to Enjoy Your Job Today

Many of us experience days when we are not motivated to go to work and we find ourselves disinterested in the job. It is at those times that we need to remind ourselves of the purpose behind our work and reconnect with our goals.

Below are four ways to approach your job today to help you gain a greater sense of satisfaction.

Strive to do excellent work. It can be easy to float through the day just getting by with “good enough” but it’s difficult to feel passionate about our work when we’re stuck in mediocrity. Whatever tasks you have on hand today challenge yourself to excellence. Take the initiative and strive to do your best, whether it’s cleaning a window to perfection, delivering a stunning presentation at a meeting, or preparing a sandwich at a fast food restaurant. You can improve the quality of the tasks and responsibilities you perform, and take pride in doing excellent work.

Find meaning in your work. In most jobs you can find some meaning in the work that increases your motivation and enjoyment of the work. If you are cleaning bathrooms you can find satisfaction in knowing that you are supporting the health of others by keeping this space clean and hygienic. A cook in a restaurant provides the food that energizes and fuels his customers. Think beyond your tasks and responsibilities today and focus on those who benefit from your work.  

Commit to serve. Look out for opportunities to help and assist others today. Instead of simply focusing on yourself and what you need to accomplish take a look around you. If someone on your team is struggling to complete a task or seems to be overwhelmed offer to help. If you work with the public or have regular contact with customers make a point of asking yourself, “how can I best serve those I come in contact with today?” You’ll likely find that by helping others you’ll experience a greater sense of well-being at work.

Connect with your colleagues. Find some time to interact with your co-workers, to share a laugh, a smile, and to offer some support. Your job will be much more enjoyable if you share the load with others and develop meaningful and supportive relationships with those you work with. 

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: How Do You Motivate Employees

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career and life development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

 The video below from Harvard Business Review offers some useful ideas for motivating employees and improving job satisfaction.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 4 Reasons You Hate Networking and What to Do Instead

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 4 Reasons You Hate Networking and What to Do Instead: "see if you can find events in your area that pertain to your area of expertise or professional interest while combining a social or recreational element."

• 5 Tips to Create Your Best Future: "Gather your facts, balance short-term gains with long-term growth and make a call. Then live with the results."

• 9 Things Ultra Productive People Do Every Day: "In other words, they do the least appetizing, most dreaded item on their to-do list before they do anything else. After that, they’re freed up to tackle the stuff that excites and inspires them."

• Why More Millennials Are Choosing Blue-Collar Jobs: "Employment in the trades is booming, and might even offer better pay than some positions for which a college education is a prerequisite."
• Profit Sharing Boosts Employee Productivity and Satisfaction: "These feelings of reciprocity are often linked to perceptions of fairness and justice underpinning the exchange between labor and rewards, and they can generate organizational commitment and loyalty in a way that a simple bonus or raise cannot."

5 Steps to Evaluate Your Career and Job at Year-End

As you come to the end of the year you might be getting some feedback from a manager or a supervisor about your work performance this year. It's great to get useful feedback from your employer and this often offers much to consider and implement in the upcoming year.

However, you should also conduct your own personal evaluation of the past year and how you did in relation to your career goals.

Here are five things to evaluate when assessing your career progress:

1. Major projects completed. What did you work on this year? Did you contribute to the completion of a major project in the past year? How successful was it and what was your role in it? Be sure to celebrate your achievements from this year.

2. New skills developed. Did you learn something new this year, take a class, or develop new skills through the completion of the projects you identified above? How do these new skills and abilities impact your career goals? How can these new skills move your career in the direction you envision?

3. New contacts and collaborators. Take some time to identify new contacts, collaborators, and friends you made over the past year. You might want to take a few minutes to reconnect with them before year-end. Think about some ways you can add some value to their life and career and seek a way to help them attain their goals. You can also spend some time identifying how these relationships might contribute to your career goals.

4. Areas for improvement. Be sure to consider the things that did not go well in the past year. Make an honest assessment of your role in the failure and identify ways you might have handled the situation/project/task differently.

5. How satisfied were you with your work? Take some time to consider what you liked and didn't like about your job and career path. Are there some things you can change to increase your level of enjoyment?

Finally, after you've completed your evaluation, update your resume and LinkedIn profile so you'll be ready for any new opportunities at the start of the new year.

4 Ways to Improve Your Job Satisfaction

When you've been in a job or a career for a few years (or sometimes even a few months) you can come to a place where the position has grown stale and you start feeling a little dread and anxiety on Sunday evenings.

Perhaps you're no longer challenged in your work or you don't get along with your supervisor or a co-worker.

Here are four ways to improve your job satisfaction and help make those Sunday evenings before starting the work week a little more enjoyable.

1. Attitude adjustment. It's no secret that our attitudes and beliefs play an important role in our job satisfaction. We tell ourselves how unhappy we are with certain aspects of the job or with someone we have to work with. We complain to others. Instead, take some time each morning to consider three things you appreciate about the job. They don't have to be profound and can be as simple as the job provides you with an income, or you enjoy the short commute. Focusing on a few positives about your work can help you start the day better.

2. Try something new. Identify a project that needs to get done and volunteer for it, especially if the project plays to your strengths or involves learning some new skills. Taking on a new challenge and learning something new will go along way towards increasing your job satisfaction.

3. Meet someone new. Make a point to avoid eating alone. Invite a colleague or co-worker to join you for lunch or a coffee break and don't just talk about work. Making a new friend on the job can make work more interesting and give you a good reason to look forward to the day.

4. Get organized. If you are disorganized or fall behind in your work it can make it difficult to enjoy your job and can increase your stress levels and anxiety. Clean and organize your desk, your computer, and your work environment and you'll feel more prepared to take on the responsibilities your job requires.

Making these four minor changes to your work routine can greatly improve your job satisfaction and make you eager to get to work on those important projects and tasks every Monday morning.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Networking Success

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 7 Secrets to Networking Success: "Always be willing and eager to help others with an introduction or your time. And do not expect anything in return."


• What Would Make You More Satisfied and Productive at Work?: "If we have no sense that the work we’re doing taps our strengths and our preferences, or provides us with a sense of meaning, we’re likely to be less engaged and productive at work." 


• How to Land an Interview Using Social Media: "Most employers do online searches on candidates before extending an interview or job offer. If the results come back showing their deep knowledge or interest in areas related to the organization, the likelihood of getting a call will be much greater."


• How to Start Thinking About a Career Change: "To make a successful career change you will need to organize and articulate your assets in a way that you and the prospective employers can easily understand."


• The Career Dilemma of When to Move On: "The decision to leave a company and move on to a new project is never an easy one. You leave behind years of work and often a stable, promising business for a world of unknowns."

Four Ways to Earn Workplace Respect...and Career Happiness

Aretha Franklin may have been on to more than she realized when she belted out a soulful tune in 1965 asking for a little respect.

It should come as no surprise that respect is important to professionals, but a recent study by researchers at the University of California-Berkeley indicates that they key to career happiness and social well-being at work isn't money: it's the respect one feels from one's peers.

How does you cultivate respect at work? Follow these four best practices to earn the admiration of your peers and make your work-life more satisfying:

1. Stay true to your word: One of the most significant ways to earn respect is through integrity. Sticking to your word speaks volumes about your character, shows reliability, and lets people know what they can expect from you. Resolve to more closely correlate what you say with what you do.
   
2. Practice courteousness: People are emotional creatures, and how you treat them conveys a lot about you. Regardless of how you feel about others, treating them with esteem and graciousness will not only help you cultivate a relationship with them, but show those around you how aptly you are able to handle your relationships.
   
3. Stop gossiping: Nothing can kill respect more than gossiping about others. Not only are you creating a negative atmosphere at work, others will wonder what you say about them when they aren't around. If your coworkers start gossiping, refuse to contribute or - better yet - excuse yourself from the conversation.
   
4. Show initiative: Creating a reputation as one who completes projects well is a great thing to do, but anticipating business needs and acting on them will reward you with a reputation for taking initiative, a much sought-after quality of professional character. What business needs are not being met, and how can you help?

Through simple changes to your workplace habits and behaviors, you can create an immeasurable amount of respect from your colleagues...and increase your workplace satisfaction while you're at it.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

1. This is What I Learned from 3 of Silicon Valley's Giants
"Most of us walk around with an artificial glass ceiling on what we can accomplish.  We find 100 reasons why an idea won’t work.  This holds us back from reaching our true potential."

2. Networking Tips to Help You Land Your First Job
"I think people misjudge Twitter as a career and networking tool. It is a phenomenal research tool for following companies, people and industries that interest you and learning what they want you to know about them."

3. When Choosing a Job, Culture Matters
"Some organizations will excite you. They'll stimulate your success and growth. Others will be stressful. They may lead you to quit before you've accomplished much or learned what you hoped to."

4.  Does "Ready, Fire!, Aim" Describe Your Job Search Approach?  
"So, then, what’s the answer to effectively competing in today’s job market? It is to have a good, well-thought-out action plan, and then to effectively implement that plan."

5. Why People Stay Mired in Their Careers
"Here are five reasons people stay stuck in their careers and what you must avoid to find satisfaction and success in yours."

How to Find What You Love to Do

I am not one of those people who have known since they were five years old - or even twenty five - what they wanted to do. I went to college, not because I had a goal in mind, but because it was expected of me. For almost fourteen years, I was not happy in my career. Some may say, why didn't you just make a change?

You should be prepared to realistically spend 40 to 50 years working full-time. Why spend all those years doing something that does not make you happy? In my opinion, there are two main reasons that people don't pursue their "dream" job and do what they really love to do. Once these two reasons can be overcome, there really is no stopping you from pursuing what you really love to do.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Steve Jobs

Reason #1
The first reason is that people don't have any clue as to what kind of career will make them happy. This was definitely my case. I did not have the knowledge or resources to help me assess what career I fit best into. Your first step in finding out what you love by assessing your values, your personality, and the type of work environment that suits those both. Often, instead of doing what we love to do, we struggle between what we think we can do, what we (or others) think we ought to do, and what we want to do.

Sit down and write out an exhaustive list of your skills first. Next, in a column next to your list of skills write out your interests. Write down every interest you can think of, including those subjects of which you have knowledge. For example, I really enjoy mysteries. I approach each customer interaction as discovering hidden treasure and helping them uncover the mystery of what accomplishments they have not yet realized. Evaluate your list of skills and interests and chances are you will find correlation between the two that you can bring together.

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. - Margaret Young

Reason #2
The second reason is that we are not asking ourselves the right questions. The right job enhances your life, it feels natural because it is an extension of your personality, and it does not force you to do things that you do not do well. It simply reflects who you are.

Ask yourself these questions when you are deciding what is the right job for you:

• Do you look forward to going to work?
• Do you feel energized by what you do?
• Do you feel respected and appreciated for the contributions you make?
• Are you proud to describe what you do?
• Do you enjoy and respect the people you work with on a regular basis?
• Do you feel optimistic about your future in the job?

The path toward career satisfaction is quite simple, although not easy. Figure out your preferences and then find a job that accommodates them. Good luck pursuing your career love!

Soften the Career Change Blow

Last month I wrote about changing careers and things to keep in mind when undergoing that transition. It was a personal piece for me, as I was only one class away from completing all coursework for a PhD when I decided to quit. The decision to quit was very logical: I had become bored and listless in my studies and I felt that I was chasing a credential more than engaging with a subject that I felt passionately about. It didn't make sense for me to continue.

What ultimately made the decision difficult was telling the people who were closest to me that I was quitting. The reactions I received-shock, disappointment, fear, confusion-were entirely natural and what I expected. Careers are put into a different category than other aspects of our lives because we associate where someone works with who they are. So when someone makes an abrupt shift or change in career, we're forced to change how we see them, even though what one does is such a small component of their being. If I had told my friends and family members that I had stopped eating meat, I would have received a reaction...but not one as visceral as I did when I told them I was switching careers.

How do you soften the blow for those who care about you when you tell them you want to change careers? Follow these tips to make their (and your) coping process easier:

Expect a strong reaction: As I stated above, reactions to news like a career change can be powerful. Whether there is a financial investment in your decision or not, be ready to engage in a conversation with someone who might be reacting negatively. Listen to where they're coming from and show them empathy and understanding. It's unrealistic to get what you're not willing to show.

Be honest: When you tell your loved ones that you want to change careers, be honest and upfront with them. Explain how you are feeling about your current career and what prompts your desire to change.

Mobilize: The question your loved ones will ask you after "why" is "what now?" I recommend that you have some kind of plan in place before you broach the conversation will show your seriousness with which your treating your decision. Whether you know what you want to do next career-wise or you are unsure, show that you are committed to getting things figured out.

I was able to get the support of my loved ones and have embarked on a career that I find truly satisfying. The decisions you make don't just affect you; follow these tips to smooth over your transition.

Stuck in a Career Rut? Get Curious.

My wife and I recently hosted four adults and three children in our home. Having no kids ourselves, the pitter-patter of three little pairs of feet was both an exhilarating and stress-inducing experience.

Knowing that we would have a one-and-a-half year old in our house, we did our best to "childproof:" we picked up all loose objects that would fit in a little one's mouth and removed all small obstacles that could interfere with his wobbly but zestful gait. After a quick inspection the night before, we felt confident that we created a safe environment.

We were wrong.

It wasn't long after the children had arrived that their youngest was getting into drawers, pulling on window-blinds, and finding every chink in the armor that was our "danger-proof" house. It was humbling, and my wife and I were kept on our toes. But for every time that I had to leave my seat to take out of George's (name changed) hands something that would hurt him or hurt one of our belongings, I was struck by something that I found fascinating...

...his curiosity.

George explored his surroundings with an inspiring level of zeal and interest. What's this? What's in here? What does this do? What would happen if I thew this? What would happen if I pulled this? His actions were pure curiosity: he wanted to discover. What a powerful perspective to possess!

In our career lives-whether we are looking for work or still employed at the same company for decades-our capacity for curiosity can change our attitudes, performance, and success. Use the questions below to create strong, leading answers for yourself.

How does my current situation make me feel truly engaged?

What about my current professional life do I find interesting?

How am I demonstrating success through what I am doing right now?

What about me is keeping me from the professional success that I desire?

What personal qualities will I tap into to create to the professional life that I want?

Leave it to a child to remind us all the powerful revelations that come from simply being curious about ourselves and our surroundings. My challenge to you is to look at your life through a child's eyes and get curious about everything. See what you discover about yourself and your environment. Act on that curiosity and your desire to create a life of your choosing.

Open some drawers. Throw some things. Pull on some blinds. See what happens. And, most of all, enjoy.

Book Review: The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change

I was introduced to The Shark and the Goldfish by my boss. He tacked a post-it to its cover that said “I think this will change your perspective on things” and left it on my desk.

My first impression wasn’t positive. The story is illustrated, so it reminded me of a children’s book. The opening statement--Are you a shark or a goldfish?--made me wonder what the heck my boss was trying to tell me. Was he suggesting that I needed to be more of a man? I didn’t get it. I skimmed the book’s contents within five minutes, decided the story was too hokey for my tastes, and dismissed it as unimportant.

Sometime later, a coworker recognized the book in my cubicle and asked me about it. After explaining why I didn’t really read it, my coworker agreed that although the story was corny, the message is what really mattered. He suggested I try reading it again, saying “Make sure you read the introduction this time.”

After reading The Shark and the Goldfish front to back, I’m happy to report that I get it now. The author Jon Gordon starts off with a confession saying that of course a goldfish, a freshwater fish, cannot survive in the ocean. Gordon goes on to explain that his “Shark or Goldfish?” concept started out as a story he liked using in motivational speeches. The story is intentionally short so he can communicate his point quickly. Consequently, The Shark and the Goldfish is more of a quick-and-dirty tool than a magnum opus:

A goldfish is alone is his bowl, perfectly content with being fed each day. During a trip to the beach he is accidentally swept away into the ocean, where he starts to go hungry. He fears that he is done for, until he meets a friendly shark who challenges his thinking.

The message shines through in this bit of dialogue between the shark and his newfound friend: “You know what your problem is?” “I’m starving and no one will feed me.” “No, you are waiting to be fed.”

The focus of the story revolves around one important truth: You can’t control the events in your life. You can, however, choose how you respond to them.

This truism is the motivation that the shark uses to teach the goldfish how to “be a shark.” In order to be a successful shark, the goldfish will need to work hard for his food. Furthermore, it’s not a “once in a while” type of work -- it’s a mindset that reinforces the need to work hard every day.

It is a lesson that translates well into dealing with adversity. If you’re unemployed, you can’t wait for jobs to come knocking at your door – you must actively search for jobs and beat out the competition to a job offer. If you’re working in a dead-end job, you can’t wait for something better to land in your lap – you must actively seek out new opportunities. If you’re anxious to get a raise or a promotion, you can’t wait for someone to notice you – you must take on extra projects, leverage your contacts, and do other proactive tasks that will help get you get noticed.

Though the main focus of The Shark and the Goldfish is about turning misfortune into fortune by seeing opportunity in the midst of adversity, there are other lessons to be learned from the story. The book highlights these different lessons that the goldfish learns through illustration: Whenever the goldfish learns something, he’ll inscribe a reminder into different rocks or pieces of coral throughout the ocean. The reminder that resonated most with me is the importance of faith over fear.

Faith and fear are similar because both are beliefs of a future that hasn’t happened yet. Fear is the belief in a negative future, while faith is a belief in a positive one. Fear is most common, because of the multiple forms it comes in. There is fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of starving, fear of change, and even fear of fear. Because fear can be so paralyzing, it’s no wonder that so many people will settle for their small goldfish-bowl world. We are content, so long as we’re being fed.

As a result, we forget about our options for a different future. We lose sight of our own potential because our faith in a positive future is drowned out by all of the fears we carry.

In The Shark and the Goldfish, the goldfish successfully overcomes his fears. In the face of adversity, he chooses to be proactive. Despite negativity from naysayers, he proves himself to be a shark capable of finding more food than he’d ever need. He decides to create a school for fish that once thought like himself, and teaches what it takes to be a shark like him.

At about 80 pages, many of which have less than 15 words on them due to illustrations, The Shark and the Goldfish can be read in under an hour. Gordon admits that he’s received criticism regarding the length and simplicity of the book, and I almost dismissed its significance because of just how small it is.

In spite of my poor first impression, I am grateful that The Shark and the Goldfish was recommended to me a second time, because I see now what my boss was getting at. When it comes to success, attitude is everything. With a proactive approach to life, you can handle everything that’s thrown at you, even if it’s as terrifying as the vastness of the ocean to a tiny goldfish. You realize that against all odds, you are still in control over yourself. As a result, you are in control of your life.

As Gordon puts it, the choice is yours. What do you want to be? A shark or a goldfish?

Having a Job vs. Building a Career

College students: have you ever had someone tell you that he decided that he will never work a day in his life? You may ask yourself “how is that possible? EVERYONE has to work!” The operative words in the sentence are “work” and “decided.” Work is generally associated with an obligation, something that you have to do to survive. However, the decision you can make is to see work for what it can be: a stepping-stone in your career, a path to personal and professional fulfillment. If you feel that you’re going to work every day, follow these steps to start building your career:

• Understand your reasons: If you are employed during college you most likely will not be at that job for the rest of your life. Engage in some self-assessment: why are you working there? Perhaps it’s the only work study job that you could find close to your residence hall, or maybe the pay was greater than the alternatives. The idea here is to get clear with your reasons why you took that job, to think about this decision critically. Once you are clear about your reasons you can make some new decisions. What are your most important needs right now? Is it to pay loans? Maintain a lifestyle? Work close to your residence hall room? Or maybe you now want to find something that fits more with your academic interests?



• Make the decision: When you have achieved clarity regarding why you are working where you are and your needs, you can make the decision to stay or go. No job is meant to last forever and your needs not being met could be a sign that you are not feeling fulfilled. But if you decide that this position truly is meeting your needs, there’s only one thing left to do…



• Excel: Blow away your boss, your boss’s boss, and your coworkers with your ability to perform, your upbeat demeanor, and your willingness to take feedback and criticism. Show initiative and put thought into your job, looking for ways to improve it and improve yourself. The skills that you are accumulating and the attitude you are displaying are now part of your career and will carry you for years to come.

To paraphrase author James Allen, circumstances do not make you: they reveal you. By putting thought into and assessing your employment needs, you can create a foundation that will bolster your chances of success no matter what career field you choose. Choose career success today.

A Career Exploration or Learning Vacation

If you’ve spent time thinking about a dream career and wished for a way to give it a risk-free test run, you may want to target your vacation to explore a career or interest.

What to Expect from a Vocation Vacation

Vacations focused on exploring a specific career are commonly called “vocation vacations.” People pay for these short-term work experiences to gain a hands-on opportunity trying out a career.

Certain companies specialize in vocation vacations, which range in cost from $500 to $2000 for a two-to-three day experience. Don’t expect to find your run-of-the-mill, everyday career using this method; for example, some people have taken vocation vacations to experience roles as wine makers, chefs, innkeepers, dog trainers, and sports announcers.

Participants are paired with professionals/mentors in the career they’re exploring. Mentors work alongside the mentees, assigning tasks, answering questions, and providing guidance. These vacations don’t provide the skills, experience, and education required to land a job. However, they do deliver career snapshots and hands-on experiences that may help you decide whether to formally pursue a particular career. At the very least, a vocation vacation is exciting and fun, and for many this is the goal.

Vacations Geared toward Learning

Some vacations are designed to promote learning within a particular area of interest. Learning vacations may tie into a person’s career interests, but are intended more to foster a personal interest, hobby, or passion. For example, you might pursue studying abroad, second-language courses, culinary or travel programs, photography tours, or writing workshops. Some programs may result in a certificate of completion; however, all promote growth and fun.

A learning vacation demonstrates your willingness to learn new things and can sometimes be promoted on your resume or in an interview. Fees and time commitments for learning vacations vary significantly, so it is best to tap into online and offline resources to narrow your interests and find one that fits.

Book Review: The Secret of Transitions: How to Move Effortlessly to Higher Levels of Success

My first impression of Jim Manton’s Secret of Transitions was that it was a typical self-help book. I fully expected Transitions to contain general topics written in a motivational tone. I anticipated 130 pages of simple suggestions that were little more than common sense. When I sat down to read it, I predicted that I’d gain maybe one or two original thoughts.

Thankfully, Transitions is not your typical self-help book. Manton uses real-world examples in the form of short stories to convey lessons he’s learned from his own life. He opens on the subject of “awakening,” where he explains an interesting revelation that caused him to promptly trade away job security for happiness. According to Manton, living consciously is accomplished by following one simple truth: happiness requires purpose. Once he realized this, he left the comforts of his day job in pursuit of a more purpose-driven life as a career coach.

It’s a quick hook that leads to more short chapters discussing other lessons, like how conscious awareness of reality creates intention, which in turn helps to overcome fear. He stresses the importance of working with others, acknowledges that conversations can create transitions, and notes that there are no shortcuts for excellence.

Some of Manton’s stories span multiple chapters. I really enjoyed the tale of his combat experience in Vietnam, because it’s not a heroic tale. When pinned down by enemy fire, he stopped fighting back, and felt frightened and guilty about how his inaction endangered his fellow troops. It was a story illustrating how he wasn’t cut out for combat, and how his choice to enlist in the army to prove his father wrong was a mistake. A far cry from the typical Hollywood Hero story, I feel like Manton’s Vietnam story makes him seem more human.

The majority of his book, though, focuses on the story of two corporate players who don’t see eye-to-eye. As a young person, I had difficulty relating to what these potential chief operating officers found interesting or important – but I expect another reader might find their story riveting. What distanced me from the corporate story was Manton’s change in style: most stories are a reflection of past memories with him narrating, but the corporate story introduces characters and tells their story via extensive dialogue. It reads more like a fiction novel than a self-help book, causing the story to feel more imaginary. Consequently, the underlying lessons are less powerful.

All in all, Manton’s Transitions is a unique look at his personal experiences as a human being, as he shapes his love for inspiring people into a passionate career as a life coach. His casual storytelling captures your interest early in the book. He makes his points quickly with short chapters, and offers several good book recommendations for topics you might want to explore further. If you read Transitions, you can finish it in an afternoon, but will gain a lifetime’s worth of notable experiences that will help you during your own life’s transitions.

Characteristics of a Positive Work Environment

As a job seeker, you should identify things that are important when selecting an employer. Some aspects of the job, environment, and company culture, while not obvious, may impact your job satisfaction.

Below are job characteristics that some employees say are important to their overall job satisfaction. These employees are from a range of occupations and industries. Take a look and consider the following factors when interviewing and before making an employment decision.

Pay and benefits: Unquestionably, pay and benefits are important. However, they don’t usually make up for other aspects of the job that might create dissatisfaction. As cited in a BNET blog, Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, states that most employees leave as a result of issues with their job, manager, culture, or work environment—and not because of pay.
Leadership with vision and purpose: A company’s leaders typically define the vision, purpose, and goals for the business. Ask yourself whether these align with your own professional values and goals.
Company culture and work environment: Find out if a prospective employer’s employees feel appreciated and that their work is valued. Is there a sense of mutual respect between management and employees? Does the company care about work and family-life balance? Do employees appear positive and happy? What is the overall energy or vibe in the work environment?
Manager’s work style and personality: Who you work for has a big impact on job satisfaction, so find out as much as you can about your prospective boss. What is this boss’s reputation among the employees and management? What is his/her personality like? Ask the boss directly about management style, expectations, and how he/she handles conflict, differing opinions, etc.
Opportunity for growth: A new job typically offers many growth and learning opportunities. However, once you settle into the job, what is your career path? Is there opportunity to add new skills and knowledge? Will there be advancement opportunities?