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Maximizing Job Satisfaction

Getting the most from your job

"Find a job you like and you add five days to every week."
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

For many of us, the idea of finding a job that is really truly satisfying – the kind where work isn't really work anymore - is pure fantasy. Sure, professional athletes, ski patrollers and golf pros may have found a way of doing what they love and getting paid for it. But is there actually anyone out there who dreams of sitting at a desk and processing paper, or watching products fly by them on conveyor belts, or working to solve other people's problems?

Career dreams are one thing, practical reality is often another. When they happily coincide, seize the opportunity and enjoy it! Luckily, when they do not, it's good to know that it is possible to get job satisfaction from a practical choice of career. Job satisfaction doesn't have to mean pursuing the ultra-glamorous or making money from your hobby. You can work at job satisfaction, and find it in the most unexpected places.

The heart of job satisfaction is in your attitude and expectations; it's more about how you approach your job, than the actual duties you perform. Whether you work on the farm, a production line, in the corner office or on the basketball court, the secret is to understand the key ingredients of your unique recipe for job satisfaction.

Identify your satisfaction triggers

There are three basic approaches to work: is it a job, a career, or a passion? Depending on which type of work you are in right now, the things that give you satisfaction will vary...(Sign in to read more.)

Full text of this article is available to Premium Members of the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club. If you're a Premium Member, please click here for full text, or sign in below.

Member Sign In: Username: Password: If you're not yet a member, take our FREE tour, and find out how much you get.       Membership has its benefits Take our free tour to find out how to get everything you need to put yourself on the fast-track to life and career success: Comprehensive management and career training with our Extended Toolkit of more than 270 career-enhancing skill-builder articles, and more than 25 Downloadable Bite-Sized Training Packs, teaching you key new skills in focused one-hour sessions. Regular career-success coaching in our Coaching Clinics, helping you explore career issues and build the mindset and motivation you need for lasting success. Completely up-to-date knowledge of the latest ideas with our MP3-based Book Insights(with downloadable transcripts), reviewing recent management and career books in detail. In-depth exploration of career issues in our in-depth, MP3-based Expert Interviews with leading career and management experts, helping you make the most of your opportunities and stay abreast of leading-edge career and management thinking. Your personal, unique, global community of excellence, in which you'll join thousands of like-minded professionals. Learn from their experience, find out what's worked for them and get help when you need it. Help and support from the Mind Tools team, totally focused on helping you make the very most of your life and career – wherever you are in the world. All this, for an introductory fee of US$1 for the first month, and a low monthly subscription! (You can cancel at any time.) Click here for our free tour! >>

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New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club Premium members

Using Holland's Codes - Shaping your career to suit your work personality
Schein's Career Anchors - Understanding what inspires you in your career*
Behavioral Assessments - How personality affects the way people do their jobs*
Benziger's Personality Types - Checking you're using your natural talents*
Locus of Control - Finding out who's in charge of your destiny
The Wheel of Life - Finding balance in your life
Using the Life Career Rainbow - Finding a work/life balance that suits you*
Making the Right Career Move - Choosing the role that's best for you

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

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