Take steps to rekindle passion for your job

Q: I’m sort of losing the passion for my job and feel a bit jaded. What do you suggest?

A: Valentine’s Day, people, of course, were thinking about love. But forget personal relationships for a second — how hot is the flame between you and your job? If the start of a new work week leaves you filled with dread, perhaps you need to rekindle the romance with your career. Staffing firm Ajilon Office, part of global staffing firm Adecco Group, offers a few tips:

• Enquire about new projects or other assignments. Your job could be stale and no longer challenging or rewarding simply because you’ve been doing the same thing for too long.
• Look at the job descriptions and tasks of the position right above yours. Mastering a few new skills could be the easy key to moving forward.
• Take training sessions or professional development classes at your company. If they don’t have any, look into courses at local colleges or through industry associations.
• Increase your interactions with co-workers, even if it’s just a quick trip for a cup of joe.
• Become active in other areas of your company, such as through a volunteer or mentoring programme.

Q: What do I need to do to avoid pitfalls in reviewing  employees?

A: It’s still fairly early in the first quarter and many businesses are firming up plans for the year. Employee reviews can be an important part of that process, helping to guide staffing and job goals for 2005’s initiatives. More than three of every four workers found reviews either very or somewhat valuable, according to a survey of 612 employees by OfficeTeam, a staffing firm based in Menlo Park, California. But there are some common pitfalls in this process that employers would be wise to avoid, according to the company:

• Saving feedback: A performance review is not the time to spring all your complaints and compliments on an employee. Regular communication to workers about how they’re doing is far more useful.
• Being secretive: Nothing in the review should be a surprise for an employee. And discuss ahead of time how each of you should prepare for this meeting, how long it will last and what topics will and should be covered.
• Failing to consult others: If an employee interacts with others in the department or company, ask around. This data can provide insight for a more comprehensive review.
• Not following through: The goals and ideas developed through the review need to be revisited, not consigned to a personnel file and forgotten.