We all get caught up in questioning the reasons why we choose to work.  Some of us think it’s the only way to build a career and follow your life’s dream.  Others see it as a means to pay the bills, one paycheck at a time.  And others still, have the attitude, “Well, what else would I do with my time if I didn’t work!”  Do you ever stop and wonder why we “work?”  The concept of “work” is a bi-product of the Industrial Revolution where you needed to produce in order to survive.  But today, work has taken on a whole new meaning or has it?  Have we just bought into the notion that we are living in a material world and it’s the only thing we need to focus on in order to move through this lifetime?

You may think you’ve done this enough times to know what you know and how best to interview for your dream job.  Sure, practice is everything.  But sometimes you get so comfortable in our habits of how you dress or show up for a meeting, or how you prepare by maybe even carrying a lucky talisman around, that you might appear a bit “auto-tron” in your delivery.  It’s not that you are getting set in your ways, but changing it up is never a bad thing especially when you are out to impress.

When you think about the past year what are you most grateful for?  Are you grateful for the job you have or the one you expect will come?  Are you still wishing for something big and wonderful to come into your life?  Opportunities abound and the future lay bright and sunny but do you ever stop and give thanks to what you have today?

The next time you feel like throwing a pity party because you are stuck in a dead-end job or still haven’t found one that you are afraid will wind up in a dead-end, stop and take a moment.  Suffering from the fear of failure or maybe even success, or worrying about what is coming next is not going to help you move forward no matter how much you tell yourself it will.  Doubt is a feeling we all struggle with especially when we are burdened with an unstable economy and a sagging job market.  Finding your way out from the middle of your own fears, no matter how scary truly is the only way to look ahead.

Like zombies looking for their next meal, your career can start to resemble the survival of the last few humans looking to escape the clutches of a hungry mob.  Someone once said, “Just because your dead is no reason to let yourself go,” which begs the question, Does your career deserve a proper burial or perhaps a resurrection?  It’s no time to give up even when you’ve lost all hope?  You’ve got to decide if you are the type who gives in or gets going when all the world is surrounded with rotting job offers and decaying careers.  When your career resembles a scene from The Walking Dead you’ve got to make a decision-Do you stand and fight or do you succumb and become one of the walking dead?

We all have played it safe one time or another.  Whether you are safely tucked away in a nice job or have settled for a mate who at least takes you off the dating scene, we all have our own unique “risk level” which dictates the choices we make or are willing to take in our attempt to keep what we have and follow the status quo.  Every now and again it’s good to shake it up even if you are not sure the outcome.  Playing it safe doesn’t always get you want from your career or in other areas of your life. When do you know it’s the right time to move out of your comfort zone and risk what you have now for the potential of something much better in the future?

It’s a job battle field out there and it calls for a warrior spirit.  Whether you live in the illusion that you possess “job security” or you are swinging from the vine hoping the limb won’t break before you hit the ground, this is no time for the faint of heart. Knowing that your job is a battlefield makes you appreciate the times when you can kick back and enjoy the ride even when you are not always sure where that ride will take you.  These tough times can make or break you but it will take a brave-heart-like warrior who can navigate the treacherous terrain at all odds.  Do you have what it takes to sit back and wait for change or make change happen for you?  Do you have the true job warrior spirit in you?

As a colleague recently described, “Your job search is like the airlines.  You have candidates in arrivals, those waiting in the departure lounge and then there are those who are lost in baggage claim.”  When your job search resembles a plane stuck on the tarmac, it’s time to take matters into your own hands as opposed to waiting for a queue from air traffic control!   Managing your career these days can feel like a trip to nowhere when all you want to do is get home.  It’s okay you are not alone.  When the gates seemed closed, move forward and find the next flight out.

You may not be one of the millions who are knocking on doors, scouring the job boards and filling out their bi-weekly UED forms, but you may just be as lost and confused as your unemployed counterparts.  You may have a job to go to every morning, a paycheck you collect twice a week and health insurance-but, are you happy?  Just because you have a job does not mean you are any more or less fulfilled than the guy who is struggling to make ends meet.  You may think, “What have I got to complain about, I should count myself as one of the lucky ones.”  True, but are you happy?  If you are still pondering this question, welcome to the world of the “under-employed.”

I know you know what you are talking about but does anyone else?  We often say things to sound prolific, savvy, or with it, but do you know how it sounds to the person sitting on the other side of the desk?  It would be nice to walk around with a tape recorder all the time and hit “playback” to listen to the pearls of wisdom that trickle from your lips especially when you are in an interview.  Trying to impress is one thing, but sounding like a moron is another. Here are five unexpected side effects when you open your mouth in an interview.