To be perfectly honest I have no idea what my “passion” is.  What I did learn today is the internet is a really horrible place to try to find it.

I have things that I am passionate about but I wouldn’t call them my “passion”. I will passionately argue politics with anyone that is willing to engage me but I am not going to quit my day job to be the next great political commentator. I am passionate about making sure that my son washes his hands before he eats and after he uses the bathroom. I really don’t know what I would do with that.

But as I thought about discovering my “passion” and turning into a career a quote came to mind “Wherever you go, there you are.”

Any career is only as fulfilling as you are willing to make it. We all have bad days at work. That is just part of being human. But overall, do you bring your “A” game when you come into the office? People who can honestly say “yes” to that question are probably very happy with what they do for a living.

The key to that answer is “honestly.” There are people that I work with that would say they bring their “A” game every day but for the most part stare at the clock. Or every time they are asked to do something that is a little bit more than their job description or out of their comfort zone, do it but begrudgingly.

The bottom line, it is easy to be unhappy with your career, hop on the internet and do searches for “how to find your passion.” But what are you bringing to your day? Put in some real effort and see what happens.

There are many disadvantages of starting your own business completely on your own that many people don’t even realize. Here are some disadvantages of starting your legitimate home based business from scratch.

Waitress Resume Example. This is a standard chronologically ordered resume.

Functional Waitress Resume Example. This is a resume format where you focus much more on you actual skills than your work history.

But anyway. I am going to put together a series of pros and cons to different types of businesses. The topic I am going to start with is the advantages of starting your own business from scratch. If you ask most people, this is what they really have in mind when they think of “starting a business”. Here are the advantages

To me what makes someone a scammer is the intent of the person committing the scam. If they are intentionally being false, they are scamming you. If they are giving “best case” scenarios to get other people to join, they are selling. Most of these people who are selling these programs that guarantee easy wealth believe it themselves. They have to. Otherwise they would have to accept the fact they just wasted money on a start up fee that they are now trying to get other people to pay.

I also know many legitimate opportunities I have made money from that other people who have also tried it call scams. In these cases I usually can attribute the difference of opinions to the amount of effort put into the opportunity. Just because something isn’t easy, doesn’t make it a scam. Just because you don’t have success right away doesn’t make something a scam either.  If you don’t do the work, you are not going to make the money.

There is nothing worse than during the interview talking about one of your greatest strengths being attention to detail and on your resume it has “Stated University of New York at Binghamton” when it should be “State University of New York at Binghamton.”

Don’t fall victim to spell check!

If you have interviewed for the position and they are going to check your references, they want to hire you. The only thing that matters now is your references.

Employers do not care about your family or friends as references. If you can not find a family member that will say a nice thing about you, you have much deeper issues other than finding a job.

Always make sure to contact your references beforehand to make sure it is OK with them and to also prepare them for the possible call.

In past positions I have been in a management role which has led me to be a professional reference for a lot of people. I am very happy to do this if some one was a good worker and a positive contributor.

The problem occurs when I get a call out of the blue. It is not that I mind talking to a potential employer for someone. I just want to be prepared myself so I give the most glowing review possible. Me picking up my cell phone while grocery shopping with the kids is not going to result in the best conversation with a hiring manager about someone’s credentials.

It is also important to make sure it is OK with a former employer to use them as a reference. You may think you did a great job while you were there but your former employer may not agree. I have received calls to check references of people that I have fired. The only reason I could possibly think off why they would use me as a reference is because they though that no one would actually call me. Well they did and they probably didn’t get the job.

1) Employers will check your references

2) Have at least three references that are not friends or related to you.

3) Call your references to make sure it is OK with them to be used as a reference and prepare them for the possibility of getting the call.

This is probably the best free beginner’s guide to online marketing that I have every seen. It is put out by Oli Gardner of Unbounce.com and is titled “The Noob Guide to Online Marketing”. For anyone looking to understand what it takes to have a successful site online this is a must read. It is great for beginners. It doesn’t only cover the tactics involved to successfully market a website online but it does a great job of setting expectations. It is also great for experienced marketers as a refresher on some of the finer points. You can read the whole guide in blog form here http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-noob-guide-to-online-marketing-with-giant-infographic-11928 or download the entire PDF here http://try.unbounce.com/noob-guide-pdf/

Once again, this beginner’s guide to online marketing does cost you a single solitary dime. If you want to download the PDF, all they ask is that you give them a tweet. The Blog post you don’t have to do anything.

The person that is interviewing you knows it is probably because your not happy at your current job or maybe your current job is not happy with you. The only other reason is the relocation of yourself or the company. The reason the potential employer is asking that question is to hear how you answer it.

What you don’t want to say.

“The job sucks.”

“My boss is a a@#hole.”

“It doesn’t pay enough.”

All of these reasons can be absolutely true. But remember the potential employer does not know you our your situation first hand. Here is what they hear.

” I’m not a team player. The second I have to work hard or do something that I am not excited about I am going to quit.”

“I don’t get along with my superiors.”

“I’m just in it for the paycheck and have no loyalty. The second there is another job that pays a $1 more, I’m out the door.”

You don’t have to lie. You just want to be positive and professional in your responses.

“The job sucks.” can now be “After being in the position for a number of years and exceeding performance expectations of management, I have come to the conclusion the position will not help me achieve my career goals.”

“My boss is an a@#hole.” can very easily become “I have come to the point in my career where I understand the importance of a good fit. Not only for me but for the company as well.”

“It doesn’t pay enough.” becomes “I’m looking for new opportunities to advance my career.”