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Career passion is a serious issue in the modern-day workforce. Job satisfaction levels are lower than ever, according to a Conference Board survey published last year in Management Issues magazine. Of the demographics polled, workers age 25 and younger were least satisfied with their jobs. The second lowest figure was in the 45 to 54 age bracket, with less than half expressing satisfaction with their current jobs. With job satisfaction levels on the steady decline, it comes as no surprise that two out of every 10 employees pictures themselves starting a different job within a year. Fortunately for them, “job-hopper” is no longer a dirty word. In fact, job-hopping is more common than ever, particularly among workers in their 20’s who keep a job 18 months on average. Job-hopping is viewed as a form of career exploration, it’s practically expected, and it’s one of the best ways to discover career passion. Alan L. Sklover likens career exploration to the ocean, islands, trees and fruit. The senior partner at Manhattan’s Sklover and Donath law firm has written extensively about career issues and has helped everyone from interns to executives find careers they are passionate about. The vast pool of career opportunities is like an ocean, he says. Different career paths are like islands, and the specializations within those career paths are like trees. After exploring the ocean, finding a suitable island and climbing the tree of their choice, workers should “reach up and grab the highest fruit,” Sklover said. “I think if everybody finds a job they’re passionate about, it would be a better world, really,” said Sklover, author of Fired, Downsized or Laid Off: What Your Employer Doesn’t Want You To Know About How To Fight Back. “It is a driving force and it helps people be glad to get up every single morning. You will always succeed more in something you enjoy, something you’re good at and something you want to do other than purely for a paycheck.”So how does a person go about identifying and pursuing a career they feel passionate about? It’s a matter of exposure, experience and excitement, according to Sklover. Combine your interests, talents and dreams to establish your potential career paths. Most people can easily identify the things at which they naturally excel. It may be concepts as simple as interpersonal skills and convincing others to follow your lead, which could translate into any number of careers. Get exposure to careers you think might be interesting by trying to find a mentor within that industry. “If you’re in college, try to find someone in your town who does the kind of work you want to do,” Sklover said. When a person has experience, they gain career confidence and expertise, which in turn earns respect from colleagues. When employees have all these things, they are typically more likely to get raises, promotions and – if it didn’t already exist – passion about their career. College internships can certainly help students gain experience and identify careers they feel passionate about, so the earlier the process is started, the better. That’s why the Emma L. Bowen Foundation has established a five-year program for students, with a rotation model so they can experience different specialties within different media industry career paths. “They may go in thinking they want to be an anchor, but when they rotate, they have the experience to sample HR, marketing, sales, and all the different aspects,” said Phyllis Eagle-Oldson, President and CEO of the Emma Bowen Foundation. “They may see a professional doing a job they thought they wanted and decide that it’s not what they expected after all.” Sklover had such an experience during one of his college internships. He went in with an eye on criminal law, but ended the internship with a determination to explore other forms of law instead. It is one reason Sklover so strongly encourages internships today. “You’ll find that you can’t wait to go there tomorrow morning or you’ll find that you don’t really like it,” he said. Career passion can ebb and flow, and will certainly not be at a constant full-throttle. But the traditional school of thought on the matter is that career passion can be tested quite simply. If they didn’t pay you to do it, would you want to do it anyway? It’s an intriguing question in a world of dollar-chasers. Indeed, the bills have to be paid, but nothing says a person can’t make great money off their natural talents and interests. It’s a matter of striking balance between the lucrative and the enjoyable – then reaching for the highest fruit on the tree.

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