Popular 5 Ways To Get More Challenging Tasks At Work 2UJenna ArcandMay 24, 2024 Bigstock

Everyone wants a job that is stimulating and exciting. Unfortunately, many employees experience days or even long stretches where they become bored with their job or even fall into a rut that seems impossible to overcome.

If you have found your job isn't as satisfying as it once was, you can make changes to improve your satisfaction. If you give yourself more challenging tasks at work, your job will be more than just a paycheck.

Here are five tips for getting more challenging tasks at work.

1. Show Initiative

Bigstock

One of the first steps is to talk to your boss about your current responsibilities. Ask him or her about other projects you can assist with or take on. If you see areas that require help you can provide, present your manager with a plan that allows you to fulfill these roles.

Bosses appreciate employees who are willing to show initiative, find ways to improve the work environment, and challenge the status quo to provide a fresh perspective on things. Heading into this meeting with a plan outlining your own ideas for improvement is a sure way to get some new responsibilities as well as impress your boss.

2. Keep A Positive Attitude

Bigstock

Many employees fall into a rut where they feel depressed or unhappy with where they are in their job. These feelings can have a negative impact on the quality of your work, as well as your overall attitude. One of the most difficult things to overcome is a poor attitude toward your work.

Perhaps thinking of the importance your work holds in relation to the larger picture can help change your attitude into a positive one. Sometimes a simple attitude change is all it takes to find that satisfaction you crave.

3. Evaluate Your Skills

Bigstock

Individuals are typically hired because they have the right skill set or potential for the job. If your job has become boring and unsatisfying, you need to re-evaluate those skills and determine how you can make them work to your advantage. In some cases, the skills you possess may serve your company well in areas you are not currently involved in.

Look at the range of work your department or company performs, and determine if you can help in these areas. You should also look for areas where you need to build your skills, challenging you to improve to serve your company more effectively.

4. Work For Yourself

Bigstock

This does not mean you should quit your job and go into business for yourself. Growing your own business may be a challenge, but it isn't right for everyone. Instead, make sure you are focusing on yourself and your needs within the company for which you already work.

Many people work to impress their employer and, as a result, they become bored with their work and lazy about completing it. Instead, complete your work with an attitude that keeps in mind that your work reflects on you and benefits you, and work less for the need to receive recognition and applause from your employer.

When you make your work about yourself, about your own career growth, you are more likely to challenge yourself and work harder. Your goal in all you do should be to make yourself more valuable to your current employer, as well as to future employers.

5. Forge New Relationships

Bigstock

Your attitude can affect everyone around you. If you are working with a group of people who don't care about their work and are constantly negative, this will eventually affect your attitude as well.

Evaluating your relationships at work and the attitudes of those with whom you interact with regularly can help you see if a change of scenery within the company can offer the boost you seek. Interacting with new people can have a dramatic impact on your level of satisfaction in your job.

If you find your job uninteresting and lacking in challenges, you may think you need to either deal with it or move on and find a new job. Fortunately, you have other options. When you follow these five tips, you can improve the level of challenge you experience at work and boost your overall satisfaction with your job, allowing you to enjoy going to work again.

Need more help with your career?

Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was written by Inbound Marketing Coordinator Tiana Tucker on behalf of CAREEREALISM-Approved Partner, 2U, an education-technology company that partners with higher education institutions such as Simmons College School of Nursing and Health Sciences to deliver their Master of Science in Nursing degree for aspiring Family Nurse Practitioners.

From Your Site Articles

• How To Answer Interview Questions About How You Handle A Heavy Workload ›
• 5 Ways To Get A Raise (Without Asking For One) - Work It Daily ›
• What Executives Need To Know About Workplace Culture - Work It ... ›
• 6 Simple Ways To Position Yourself For A Promotion - Work It Daily ›
• 4 Ways To Upskill At Work To Get A Promotion - Work It Daily ›
• 6 Ways To Make Your Boss Love You - Work It Daily ›
• How Leaders Should Measure Remote Employee Productivity - Work It Daily ›

Related Articles Around the Web

• How to politely ask my manager to give me more challenging work ... ›
• You Should Embrace New Challenges at Work ›
• 10 Shockingly Common Workplace Challenges Impacting Your ... ›
• How to Make Work More Challenging ›

work Cover Letter Spring Cleaning: 4 Ways To Fix Your Job Search Aaron SanbornJenna ArcandMarch 19, 2024 Bigstock

Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.

In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.

For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.

Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach Bigstock

Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:

• How did I learn about this job?
• How did I apply for the job?
• Did I earn an interview?
• What was the ultimate result?

A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:

Negative Trends

You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.

The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.

One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.

The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.

This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.

Positive Trends

You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.

The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.

The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.

Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.

The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.

Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention Bigstock

Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.

Let's start with resumes!

Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.

The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.

Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.

While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.

As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.

If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.

Build Your Personal Brand

Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.

Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"

Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.

By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.

You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.

Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search Bigstock

Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.

There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:

• Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
• Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
• Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!

Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!

Need more help with your job search?

Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

Read moreShow lesshow to improve job search Featured 5 Ways To Get More Challenging Tasks At Work Now Hiring: Remote SysOps Engineer 3 Important Career Lessons Learned On And Off The Field How Ex-NFL Player, Chris Gronkowski, Is Using Social Media To Change Careers