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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
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Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review March 14, 2006 / 14 Adar, 5766

Career passion requires foreplay

By Marty Nemko

Nemko
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Few people expect to have an orgasm just by looking at someone. They know that foreplay is required. Yet career seekers somehow expect that, immediately upon considering an appropriate career, they'll feel "Eureka, I have found it": "Oh, dentist. That's it.! Perfect! I know I'll love it."


For most people who end up passionate about their career, that's not how it works. As with sex, foreplay is usually required before passion erupts.


Here are the four steps in career foreplay:


Step 1: Choose a career. After a reasonable amount of career exploration, choose something, even if you're not passionate about it.


Step 2: Become expert at the career. Get solid training. That doesn't necessarily require a prestigious university. In fact, many less prestigious institutions provide more practical career training.


More important to your training is that you make the most of the program: choosing courses and professors most likely to teach practical skills, asking career-related questions in class and during professors' office hours, selecting term paper topics most likely to make you proficient, and choosing fieldwork and internship assignments with master practitioners.


Becoming expert usually also requires on-the job training: asking a good supervisor or coworkers to observe or review your work and answer your questions, attending workshops from your professional association, reading professional magazines, Web articles, and books written by master practitioners.


Step 3: Customize the career to fit you. A career is like an off-the-shelf suit: it won't fit well unless you tailor it. So, for example, let's say you're a manager in a dashboard manufacturing plant. If you're naturally good with your hands, try to spend as much time as possible fixing problems on the factory floor. If you're more of a people person, maximize the time you spend on helping your employees to be productive. If you love investigation, spend time researching new ideas. If you're more of a word person, focus on writing and verbally presenting plans and reports. If you're more entrepreneurial, work on creating collaborations across divisions or with other firms. If you're more of a detail person, focus on creating and evaluating budgets, surveys, and other quantitative data.


Step 4: Find people who value what you do. After you've become expert at your career and tailored it to maximize your strengths and preferences, your current employer and customers will probably praise you and pay you well. If not, find another employer who will, or become self-employed.


After the four steps of career foreplay, many people can expect to experience career passion, even in a field as unsexy as dashboard manufacture.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

400+ of Dr. Nemko's published writings are on www.martynemko.com. Comment by clicking here.

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