Do you have a job or a career?

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines Career as “the job or series of jobs that you do during your working life, especially if you continue to get better jobs and earn more money...”. A Job is defined as “...the regular work which a person does to earn money”.[1]

Some questions you can ask yourself are:

Do you decide on a job because of availability, money or a wise career choice?
Hopefully the money and wise career choice will go together.

Do you go to work just for the paycheque or for the satisfaction of a job well done? Or a bit of both?
Let’s face it, we all need money, but is our whole purpose just to get a paycheque and go home or is our goal to earn the best salary we can make while advancing in our career?

Is your job challenging?
Are you looking for ways you can improve your performance? Are you looking for innovative ideas on how you can fulfill your role? Are you open to making changes?

Are you investing in your career?
Do you upgrade your skills? Do you read books on topics of interest to your career, do you subscribe to useful feeds and e-bulletins.

Do you consider yourself a professional?
Most, if not all, of the people I have worked for have been a professional in their field. One of the givens is they join their professional association for their particular area.
Are you a member of your professional organization? Do you invest time to further your career? Do you network?

Administrative Assistants have professional associations they can join. Do you know about them? Can they benefit you, can you benefit them?

Many professional organizations are looking for professionals to submit articles for publishing in their newsletters and magazines. They recognize we are experts in our field and they want to hear from us. How do we see ourselves?

Do you believe that what you do is important and is making a difference to your organization?
You are an important part of the team and your skills are needed to effectively complete a project or job. Many organizations recognize this and show their appreciation by including you in their successes by thanking you and acknowledging your contribution. But whether your organization does or not, it is how you view your role that is important to your career.

[1] Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionaries Online, (accessed November 19, 2007)