Career Advice
Be a Valuable Employee
Don't be frustrated if your hard work is making your boss rich. This is actually a very good position to be in. A weak position is one when you don't make your boss or your company any money. Strive to be a valuable asset and use your value to help advance your career.
Develop Your Skills
Seek out job responsibilities that help you become more skilled and more valuable to your employer. For example, if somebody needs to be trained on a new system that your company is moving towards, then consider making an effort to be that somebody even if the job is more difficult and involves more responsibility.
Tune into Your Job
Although work is called work and it isn't called play, you should still strive for a job you can tune in to. For example, a server at a restaurant who is tuned into their job might take the menu home and study it, might seek advice from successful coworkers and might go online in search of additional resources to help them excel at what they do. A server who is tuned into their work is more likely to have happier customers, bigger tips, a more fulfilling day and a dramatically more successful career in the service industry.
Establish Good Patterns
Be on time for work every day. Be well dressed. Be well groomed. Be well rested. Unless your boss is clueless they will notice your patterns.
Bring Good Characteristics
Do you have an exceptional work ethic, a positive attitude, a dependable character, a respectful nature and the capacity for teamwork? A smart boss will notice these characteristics and find meaningful ways to show you how much they value these characteristics. Give your boss an opportunity to be smart by bringing these characteristics to work with you every day for your boss to notice. If you boss is incapable of being smart then start formulating a long term plan to find a new job.
Make Career Goals
Your ideal job will probably not fall out of the sky and into your lap. Therefore to find a career you enjoy you will likely need to plan and make sacrifices. Your plan may involve working hard at a job you don't enjoy because the income can be used to pay for courses you are taking at a technical school. Maybe your plan is to learn everything you can at your current job so you will eventually be knowledgeable enough to start your own business. Maybe your plan is to get promoted at the company where you currently work. Setting career goals and working towards them has the potential to make your current and future employment situation more fulfilling.
Weave Your Passion into Your Career
It is highly desirable to work in a field related to something you are passionate about. For example if you are incredibly passionate about race cars then working at a restaurant might not be the best career move. Instead, consider using your race car passion to your advantage by working as an auto mechanic or as a car salesperson. I think it is beneficial to try to weave your passions into your long term career choices.