However, this is not a blog telling every reader that they must find a career they are passionate about! While some individuals work in an area they are extremely passionate about, most of us will not… and that is okay. In fact, it can be more than “okay”. Ask yourself these questions to find out how satisfied you are with your career.

The Role of Work in Your Life

First, assess your views about your career. Would role should work play in your life? Is it a means to maintaining your lifestyle? Is it something that allows you to spend time on your hobbies? Does work provide a fun, rewarding and/or challenging component to your life? Each individual views their career differently. Review your definition and assess if your career meets it.

What You Value Most in Career

Also assess what you value most in a career: advancement, creativity, flexible hours, learning, meaning, stability, variety, etc. Are those values being met? If not, are there ways for your career to meet those values? What other career seems to have those values?

While many of us will never be as passionate about our career for 46 years like Roger Ebert was, we can still find immense satisfaction in our work. By understanding 1) the role you want and need work to play in your life and 2) how your career aligns with your values, you can find career satisfaction, enjoyment and fulfillment in your career. If you are unsure about these, working with a career coach can give you the necessary perspective.

What???s your strategy?

Going after a newly created or vacated position requires a few fundamental steps:

• Let the right people know you want the job
• Take on the responsibilities of the position on top of your own
• Get your work/initiatives in front of the decision makers
• Gather internal support

Let the Right People Know

First find out why your manager left ??? before approaching your superiors. Did your boss get a promotion? If so then see the path they took and consider how you can do the same. Indicate to your superiors that you want to fill that role and show them that you can do it. Depending on your relationship with your old manager, she/he could be an advocate for you to take on this position.

What if your old boss asked to leave? Try to find out the reasons why. Was her/his strategy not effective? Did she/he butt heads with upper management? It would be wise to show management that you don???t have those issues or that you have a different game plan. Be prepared to communicate your own strategy and show your ability to get those items done.

Within the first week of the announcement that your boss is leaving (or has left), subtly but directly let the decision makers ??? typically management ??? know that you are interested in stepping in. Schedule a one-on-one with the remaining managers to find out what initiatives your old boss was working on that you can continue. At the same time, drop the fact that you are going to step and do these things and you???re hoping to step into your former boss??? old role. Don???t boast or bash your old boss or talk to much ??? short and direct!

Take on the Responsibilities of Your Boss??? Job

Many times you don???t receive warning that your boss is leaving. Therefore, you need to prepare for the scenario that your boss won’t be in the next day. The time to prepare is when your boss is still employed. Work with your boss, push her/him to explain their strategy, ask about current conversations with upper management, and help out with areas that your boss is challenged with. A little extra work now will put you in an excellent position to step in.

Regardless of why your boss is no longer employed, reach out and ask for tips and insight. Make it clear that you wish she/he was still around. Tell your former manager how you benefited from her/his leadership and express your gratitude. Maintain a positive relationship with your former manager because you may need to ask for more advice!

All this work makes it possible for you to step into your boss??? shoes ??? participate in her/his meetings, drive their initiatives, provide guidance and direction for the team. If your boss was managing other people, don???t assume that you are managing them. Instead, position yourself as someone who can pursue answers to any HR questions they have or take any appropriate issues to upper management.

Proactively Engage and Avoid Pitfalls

Warning: your boss??? departure may have the other managers thinking in lots of directions. Are they thinking about replacing your former boss with an outside hire? Are they considering breaking up your group? Swiping your team???s funding? Your former manager may have been fighting for your group’s existence. If you want that promotion you???ll need to quickly get up to speed and continue that fight. That???s also an easy way to get recognized as your former boss??? successor.

Your former boss??? direct reports may be wondering why you are acting like their new boss. Be proactive and tell them why. You see the need for someone to continue working on a project or taking on a regular duty that belonged to your old boss. Nothing is stopping your fellow employees from doing the same. In fact, encourage them to help out. If another manager asked you to help out then let the others know exactly what was asked of you and what that means you will be doing. It???s okay to tell your co-workers that you want the role and you are hoping management will see you as a competent replacement.

Get Recognized for the Extra Work

If you are taking on the responsibilities of your former boss on top of yours, you are probably putting in a fair amount of extra time. It will all be worth it if you make sure that your initiative shows up. Here are some ways:

• If you are developing strategy, then schedule meetings with team members and management to get their feedback or just their opinion on your initiative. A 30-second pitch is all you need to make people aware of what you are doing.
• Announce in meetings that you are taking on an initiative that addresses one of the topics in the call. Tell people what you will deliver and ask them to contact you to be involved.
• Organize the leaders of other groups (with relevant expertise) to collaborate with you on your initiatives. Take the lead, get their buy-in and ask them for a deliverable that is in their wheelhouse or area of expertise.
• Re-organize your team to focus on your initiatives. Even if you only get a fraction of their time, get them to help you produce a meaningful deliverable. Give them proper credit, of course, but get their help the same way your boss did.

Gather Internal Support

Many times the decision to promote you will come down to one person???s opinion. The tactics above are geared towards showing that person you???re right for the job. You will also want to speak to other peers and managers of that lone decision maker ??? those who will influence his/her decision. Therefore, try to speak, one-on-one, with those who could influence the decision. Tell them about your plans and what you are doing. Mention your interest in the position and then let go. Those other managers will see the job you are doing and will mention your name when asked about it. When you shine, others will notice. Good managers will see this and act in the best interest of the company ??? push for your promotion!

Don???t Wait Too Long

After you have done the job of your former boss for a reasonable amount of time (1 month? 3 months?) or after you carry your company through a big initiative, you should now ask for the position. Schedule some one-on-one time with the decision makers and make your intentions clear:

• Tell them you would like the position
• Give 2 or 3 of your strongest supporting achievements
• Ask them if they will consider you for the job and, if so, when

Maintain professionalism at all times. If some disappointing information comes your way, take it in stride and move on. Later you can process the information, calm down and prepare a response. Don’t hesitate to bring in a mentor or career coach to help with brainstorming and advice.

Powerful Alumni Networking

A good portion of alumni are happy to help out fellow alumni in their career or job search. Whether an individual graduated in the same year or 30 years before, many are happy to help a fellow alumnus achieve their goals. You share a connection and a common experience.

Networking in a New City

Did you recently move to a new city and you’re looking for a job? Many individuals move to a new city without a support system or a job. Finding career opportunities without a set network in a new city can be very challenging. Use this linkedin.com tool to find alumni that may be able to provide information on the city, a popular industry, the state of the work force, or tips for a job search in that city. If you are still considering a transition to a new city, evaluate who will be part of your local network. Alumni may be a great source of information as you consider the job market and the move itself.

Researching Career Transitions

If you are contemplating a career transition, use this feature to identify alumni who work in the career you are considering. They would be great individuals for you to conduct informational interviews with to learn more about the career field or even run your potential career transitions by.

Increase Alumni Networking

Even individuals who are happy with their career may want to increase their network for many purposes, including skill assessment, developing relationships, etc. Or you may want to connect or re-connect with individuals from your university to discuss their career transitions too.

The alumni feature of LinkedIn has many features that can be useful for individuals in all aspects of their career. Take a look and see what information you find useful! Also find out how we can help increase traffic to your linkedin profile.

What is interesting, though, is that the recession seems to have made a lasting mark on the values individuals find most important in a job. Forbes magazine recently posted an article on the drivers that cause employees to leave their company.

In this employment survey, the number one thing individuals were looking for was stability. It’s a reflection of how comfortable employees are with job risk since the recession. They want a company who appears steady or an industry that seems solid. That was unlikely at the top of survey in 2006 or 2007. Other top drivers were: compensation, respect, health benefits, and work-life balance.

What do you think of this list? Would any of these drivers be on your list in considering another position? Or do you have other factors that you place above the five listed in the survey? If you don???t have a list, now might be the time to make one. It would be interesting to see how the last five years impacted what you value in your career and company.

This year, I want you to review your goals with the obstacles in mind. Don???t avoid thinking about the obstacles, otherwise, you may dismiss your goals or feel overwhelmed by them. Define the obstacles that might get in your way. The act of writing down those obstacles forces you to make a plan to overcome them. If you cannot think of ways to overcome the obstacles, reach out to a career coach or others for ideas and help. Sometimes we are too close to the issue to have the necessary perspective. Others may be able to generate ideas that might not have occurred to you.

This year when you create your goals, embrace the obstacles. It might just be your ticket to achieving your goals.

• Never be afraid to build relationships with corporate recruiters. While the recruiter may not have an opening that fits your skills at the moment, you never know when a position will open up that meets your skills and the recruiter???s needs. That being said, corporate recruiters are tasked with filling positions at their company with an individual who is the best fit. Their job is not to ???find an individual a job???.
• Make it easy for corporate recruiters to see how you fit the position. Do not make them work to see how your skills might be used for that position. To do this, use keywords in your resume, do not use functional resumes, and be focused ??? demonstrate in the resume and cover letter how you will fit that position at that specific company. Don???t add anything to your resume that will weed you out of being considered for the position. Recruiters get so many resumes that they are looking for individuals to weed out, not ???pull into??? the stack.
• Show the recruiter that you will fit in. During an interview the recruiter will also be looking for whether you mesh with the team you would work with – the style of the team and the pace of team. If asked behavioral questions during the interview give very specific examples, provide results, and talk about what you specifically did to achieve the results.
• Show passion for what you do and show initiative. The recruiter wants to see not only if you want the job, but also that you would excel in the job and enjoy the work.
• Corporate recruiter “don???ts”:
  Don???t say, ???I am the perfect fit for the job??? as there is no such thing as the ???perfect??? fit.
  Don???t ask recruiters if they can get you a job.
  Don???t ask recruiters to critique your resume.
  Don???t ask the recruiter where you fit best in their company as you need to know this information already.

It isn’t easy to get an interview with a company but the job search tips above give you some insight into what recruiters want. Help the recruiter and you will also be helping yourself.

The list is quite extensive and my clients and I use many of the sites. It???s hard to narrow it down, but a few of my favorite sites are below:

• Glassdoor ??? the user-written ???inside scoop??? on interviews, company culture and salary
• Indeed ??? this job aggregator is easy to use and efficient for keyword-based job openings
• LinkedIn ??? the sheer volume of members and ways to connect with individuals makes this site extremely valuable whether you are an active job seeker or not
• The Wall Street Journal Careers site ??? there is an immense amount of free career content for individuals looking for a new job or looking to advance in their current career path

The internet is full of websites individuals can access for career information, new jobs, tips/techniques, etc. including our online career counseling center. Forbes did a good job identifying 75 websites that can be particularly helpful. What is your favorite site from their list? Which website is missing that you find particularly helpful? Please share in the comment section below.

• Re-assess your goals. Are they still relevant? The goals that seemed important in January, may no longer be of interest. If so, make them relevant and actionable.
• Measure your attainment. If you didn’t accomplish all of your goals then be honest with yourself in answering to this question: why didn???t you take action on your goals? Did you lack the time? Did you lack the drive? Did you prioritize them lower than other items you needed to accomplish? Then answer the following question: how will I work on them this time around? At this stage, you need to schedule specific time each week to work on these goals.
• Evaluate your goals. Are they broken down into manageable tasks? For example, if your goal is to find a new career, identify ways you are going to achieve that goal. If your goals are not broken down into tasks, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the thought of accomplishing them. Finding a new job or career takes many steps so start listing specific steps for each goal.
• Prioritize your task list. What are the most important tasks for you to accomplish? How quickly do you want to achieve them? Since there are only two months left, schedule specific due dates for each goal.
• Take action. Start with one task and complete it, then move to the next.

Will you achieve your goals by the end of 2012 as you had planned? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on your goals. Oftentimes, the hardest part to achieving a goal is getting started. If you know you can’t achieve your career goal by the end of the year, at least get started on it. Taking action now, will create momentum so you can be well on your way to achieving both your career goals, both short term and long term, by the end of next year.

• What impact does your current job/career having on your life right now?
• What is the true cause of the fear? Dig deep. If you say the fear is that you are unsure if the change will work out, then ask yourself, “what are the ramifications that scare you?”
• If you make a change and it doesn???t work out, what will you have learned or gained?
• If you make a change and it doesn???t work out, what will you have lost?
• If you make a change that doesn???t work out, how likely will you want to come back to your current job? Would it be an option?
• What steps can you take to make this career/job change less risky? (i.e. educate yourself on the profession or company, conduct more interviews at your potential new employer, etc.)
• If you don???t make a change, what does your life look like?
• If you make the change and it does work out, what does that life look like?

Fear of the unknown can keep you from taking steps toward a new job or career. Don???t avoid the change because of the fear. Instead, seek career change advice and realize that nothing in life is certain. However, you can control your preparation for a job/career change to reduce the risk and ease your fears.

However, leadership, motivation and inspiration are key skills managers need, but oftentimes aren???t able to get the training needed to grow these necessary skills. There is often a lack of time to seek out and attend the training that could help those leaders grow and develop those key skills. In his blog, Kyle Lagunas, HR Analyst at Software Advice, has done the research, provided links and explanations of three TED Talks that will provide managers with insight and ideas of how to develop their skills.

Kyle???s blog:

For years, TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) has given the world access to thought-conversations from some of the greatest minds of our day. Interesting though the videos may be, rarely does a manager have 25 minutes to spare for something that doesn’t directly tie into their day-to-day.

Inspired by TED’s recently published list of the 20 most-watched TED Talks to date, I’ve curated three videos that I feel offer valuable insights on how to lead, motivate and inspire employees.

What can an orchestra conductor teach you about micromanagement?
Quite a bit, actually. Using the unique styles of six 20th-century conductors, conductor Itay Talgam illustrates a compelling lesson in leadership. ???Authority is not enough to make them your partners,??? says Talgam. Partnership – which makes the best music – requires a conductor to adopt a more balanced leadership style.

As Talgam sees it, it’s the ability to establish partnerships is what makes good conductors (and leaders) great. While a conductor must give players direction (which requires a certain degree of control) a great conductor treats his players as partners. Focusing on making music together, rather than on controlling each note – they will achieve greater success.

Check out the full version of Talgam’s seminar: Lead Like the Great Conductors

What does Al Gore’s speechwriter want you to know about motivation?
In his popular TED Talk, The Surprising Science of Motivation, Dan Pink argues, ???There is a mismatch between what science knows and what businesses do.??? While research shows traditional incentive-based motivators aren???t effective at getting employees to do what you want, businesses use them anyway.

???If we really want high performance on those definitional tasks of the 21st century,??? says Pink, ???the solution is not to entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick. We need a whole new approach.???

Pink gives examples of how companies are providing employees with a high degree of autonomy to explore their own ideas. And from Google???s 20 Percent Time to Atlassian???s 24-hour ShipIt hackathon, these programs are proven to boost productivity, engagement and satisfaction–and reduce turnover.

How did Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs triple revenue for a boutique hotelier?

Chip Conley, Founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels, was struggling to make it through the largest percentage revenue drop in American history. After being re-acquainted with Maslow???s Hierarchy of Needs, he had an epiphany.

He insists business leaders should rethink the way they???ve defined success. ???We’re not asking meaningful metrics,??? he says. ???We’re not asking important questions. We’re not asking anything that’s intangible.??? Inspired by this epiphany, he revamped his company???s business model to focus on some less-than-tangible indicators of success: the higher needs of his company’s customers and investors.

After he started asking questions that matter to measure success, his customer loyalty skyrocketed, employee turnover dropped to one-third of the industry average, and the company tripled in size. His story is a case-in-point example of why you should be Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile.

What TED Talks have inspired you? Any words of management wisdom from a school teacher or an astronomer or some other surprising source? Leave a comment, and join the conversation.

About the Author: Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice – an online resource for reviewing and comparing talent management software. Keeping his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry, and offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, his work has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, Information Weekly, and SHRM.