Workers of the world, meet Kerry Hannon, from now on known as your new best friend. Her latest book, Love Your Job: The New Rules for Career Happiness, (Wiley/AARP, 183 pages, $19.95) takes a solid and realistic approach to getting the most out of your current job, rather than complaining, quitting (though she acknowledges that sometimes this is an appropriate option) or quietly dying a thousand deaths. Your dream job could be, with the right thought and effort, the one you already have.
Each of the eight chapters deals with a particular aspect of learning to love your job, which she emphasizes is a systemic, holistic and ongoing process. They cover such areas as work goals, upgrading your skills, asking for raises, discussing in-company transfers with your boss, flextime options, retirement planning and much more. There are user-friendly to-do lists, breakout boxes and lots of print and online resources. She writes in a friendly, helpful and direct style. At the same time, she’s upfront about the responsibility ultimately being yours for having a career of meaning and success; however you come to define it.
Kerry discusses many examples from her own work life, which has evolved from being a journalist working for one organization at a time, to her current thriving freelance career, appearing regularly in The New York Times, Forbes, PBS Next Avenue and elsewhere. She’s written several books and is working on another. (Disclosure: Kerry and I were onetime colleagues at USA TODAY. She quotes me in Love Your Job, and as a contractor for Wiley, publishers of the book, I am managing editor of the journal Leader to Leader.)
She also provides lots of examples and quotes from people who have successfully navigated the workplace jungle; and taps into the wisdom of career coaches for clear-eyed counsel on how to develop careers of meaning, purpose and fair compensation. She wants to help you find the work you love, ideally at your current workplace, even if that means changing positions or responsibilities within the organization. She is a big advocate of lifelong learning, inside and outside the workplace, as well as volunteering, mentoring and sponsorship.
A big takeaway is that what you perceive as a less-than-ideal job can be transformed by how you approach that job, how you deal with your boss and colleagues and how much outside help you’re willing to get. And the pressures and inevitable disappointments at work can often be offset and transcended by having a fulfilling life outside of work. She gives lots of tips on how this can be accomplished, and here as elsewhere supplies many idea-starters and suggestions of things to try, and how to get more information so you can make informed decisions.
