Milo Sindell - Job Spa: 12 Weeks to Refresh, Refocus, and Recommit to Your Career

JOB
SPA

12 weeks to refresh, refocus,
and recommit to your career

Milo Sindell and Thuy Sindell, Ph.D.
authors of Sink or Swim

Copyright 2008 by Milo Sindell and Thuy Sindell
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by Adams Business
Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street
Avon, MA 02322
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-473-4
ISBN-10: 1-59869-473-1
eISBN: 978-1-44051-488-3

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our parents for their continued love and support. In particular, to Gerry Sindell for your encouragement and guidance. To Michael Snell, we are grateful for your enthusiasm and guidance as our agent.

To the Adams Media team, your support in helping to create a great first book and seeing the potential in our second book is unsurpassed.

Thank you to our professional influences, including Beverly Kaye, Marshall Goldsmith, and Sue Bethanis.

Finally, to our Olde English Bulldogges, Curtis and Charlotte, you are the cutest and smelliest office mates on the planet, but you were always there to cheer us on. Thank you all for your support and accompaniment on another journey to impact the world of work.

a must-read user instruction
WELCOME TO YOUR JOB SPA

Me, me I want more!

Mike Muir, lead vocals, Suicidal Tendencies

Why spend way too much of your life doing something you dont enjoy? What if the assorted activities you performed between the hours of 8 A.M. and 5 P.M. Monday through Friday became something you actually enjoyed and found fulfillment in doing? Fantasy? We think not. Your job has the potential to be a conduit for your contribution to the world, a venue of discovery, and a pathway to your broader career objectives.

In your hands is your on-the-job refresh and tune-up kit: a twelve-week guide to help you commit to your success. We are not asking you to commit to your job. Instead we are asking you to commit to your success. There is a difference between the two. Balance what you give to your job with what you take in return. Whether you have been in your job for one, five, or ten years, today is the day you begin to get more from what you do.

The next twelve weeks will be a time of reflection and declaration. You will identify what is important to you, what you want from your job beyond a paycheck, what you want to contribute, and a direction for your future. This is your chance to get professionally refreshed and invigorated. Job Spa provides you with a plan and the five professional skills required to reinvigorate yourself and to achieve your vision of success.

Take a Cold Plunge

Before we get started, its important to provide context for why you need to own your career. Over the past forty years, the implied social agreement between employers and employees has changed. Under the old contract employers acted as parental figures and provided employees with a lifetime of structure and support in exchange for hard work and loyalty. Remember those good old days?

Today, employment is at will. This means you and your services can be terminated at any time. Between the early 1970s and 2000, more than 30 million people were laid off (Louis Uchitelle, The Disposable American, New York: Knopf, 2006).

The good news about these changes is that you probably would not want to work for the same company or have the same job over your entire career. The bad news is that the level of employee trust and commitment has eroded. Companies have sent a message, and not surprisingly, employees have responded. According to 2004 Gallup research, more than 70 percent of employees are not engaged with their jobs. Not engaged can range from going through the motions at work to completely checking out and looking for a new job.

When employees arent engaged with their job, companies suffer as a result of high turnover and lost productivity. But before you laugh, declare that it serves them right, and go back to the midmorning Web search for odd news of the day, consider the following: Being unhappy or unsatisfied with your job impacts you, too. Unhappy employees are more stressed, find less satisfaction in their job, have fewer friendships at work, and earn less money over the course of their careers. It is in your interest to get engaged and find satisfaction in what you do.

Pause for a moment and think about the last time that you enjoyed what you did at your job. Time went by quickly. You were focused. Maybe you were challenged, and you pushed to think through a solution? You might have even had fun in the process.

Explode the Workplace Myths

Despite the reality of layoffs, employment at will, and corporate survival of the fittest, employees want to cling to old expectations and ideals, which have become workplace myths. Here are the big three myths.

MYTH 1 My boss/manager is my mommy or daddy and will take care of me.
Nope! Your boss/manager is not there to take care of you. Ifyou are lucky, you will have a boss/manager who will provideguidance, support, and maybe has a sense of humor. Its up toyou to seek out opportunities, develop your skills, and build yourresume.

MYTH 2 My hard work will always be recognized and rewarded.
Sorry! Think again. Do you actually think the CEO will suddenlyrecognize your years of silent toiling and finally give you the recognitionyou deserve? In fact, its up to you to identify and communicateyour achievements.

MYTH 3 Company loyalty equals job security.
Denial! You know the stats. You read the headlines. Despite thereality, you want to believe that your loyalty will override the companysneed to make the bottom line look good. The truth is thatyou need to own your career even if it means changing teams.

Its time to pop the bubble and live in reality. You own your career. You are responsible for setting your own professional goals, developing the right skills, and building your resume. Over the course of your career and in any job, you have two responsibilities: