Personal Advancement
How to find your perfect fitThe difference between having a career and just a job may lie in whether you are a match to that specific job. ELLEN GOLDHAR |
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 [ 2002-05-22 ] |
Herb Greenberg, an expert in job matching, believes that 60% to 80% of people working in their current jobs are not a match.
Greenberg, president of Caliper, a leading human resources assessment and consulting firm, and author of How to Hire & Develop Your Next Top Performer, compared working in the wrong job to signing a signature with the wrong hand. It might be readable, but the quality of the signature is poor.
"The blunt reality is that if you are not a match to your job, chances are you are not going to be happy in that job. And if you are not happy at work, you can't do a truly good job," says Greenberg.
It's like anything in life: the more pleasure you get doing something the more motivated you are to do it. And the more motivated you are to do something, the more likely you will do it well.
"You can't force your employees to do a good job -- they have to be internally motivated to do it," says Greenberg.
This is why hiring for attitude and training for skill works best. An employee can be taught how to run the latest software on his computer, but it's up to him to want to turn the computer on.
No amount of training can teach people to be motivated; it's something they are personally responsible for. And it can be a challenge to motivate yourself when you're working in a job you're not suited for -- when all that job means to you is a paycheque.
A discontent employee is not good for the employer or the employee. For the employer, work performance suffers and the unmotivated employee can have a negative effect on others.
For the employee, well, they just suffer -- it's not gratifying spending the majority of your week doing something you don't want to be doing.
"People seem to feel they don't have the right to have fun at work," Greenberg says. "There is no need to go through life not liking where you spend eight to ten hours per day. When you hate going to work, it's a sign that you are not suited to your work."
If you are one of those mismatched people and want to align yourself better to your work, Greenberg suggests the following tips:
Changing careers and stepping out into the unknown is not always easy. It's also harder to change jobs mid-career, especially if you have family support responsibilities. That's why having a plan in place before quitting a job is important.
It's necessary to be ready mentally as well. "You must be willing to take a beating and you need to enter into the search with a dose of reality," Greenberg says.
You might have to take a step back before you can take a step forward. And be prepared to handle the rejection -- it might take some 'nos' before you get that 'yes.'
"But if you play to your strengths, eventually you will find a company that will work with you," Greenberg says.
It's like any marriage -- the better matched, and the more shared in common, the better the chances of a mutually satisfying long-term relationship.
(Ellen Goldhar is a manager of people development at Sun Media Corporaton, send questions and comments to ellen.goldhar@tor.sunpub.com.)
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