If you take a sick leave day when you’re not really sick, does this mean you’re:
(a) sharp, just working “the system,”
(b) a deadbeat loser, destined for the fiery place, or
(c) in the wrong job or career?

(c) is the right answer. (I’m sure I’ll get someone saying All of the Above). But really, no one who is satisfied with his or her job needs to fake a sick day. Yesterday I came to this conclusion as I lay in bed instead of working, worn out and nauseous from food poisoning the previous night. No one needs to call in sick if they enjoy their job, as I do.

Once I had to take a polygraph test to be hired for a law enforcement job. I was asked whether I had ever called in sick when I wasn’t. To the interviewer’s obvious surprise, I answered “no.” That’s anecdotal proof that he didn’t get that answer very often. This doesn’t mean I am a saintly person or that this was the first job I ever had. The only job I’ve disliked that much I left. I highly recommend the sick leave litmus test for job satisfaction.

To end on a light note, sick leave allowed me to watch a few episodes of Bravo TV’s “Make Me A Supermodel.” Ah, the old debate over who is narcissistic and who is self-confident. Highly successful people seem to know the difference – do you?

I’ve written before about boosting your self-confidence as part of career planning and learning new skills. I don’t have runway tips but I think these will be more useful.

If you want better control of your career destiny as a “free agent” in the world of work, do a good job wherever you work. This principle (#4 of 6) of The Free Agent Outlook on Work seems so obvious, and yet you would be surprised.

We’ve all met people who have given up on their jobs – their careers – their clothes. Or people who continue to work for a bad boss. In addition to the fashion makeover show, TLC’s What Not to Wear, we should have a career makeover show for people whose career choice is the equivalent of a velour pantsuit. (can you believe Blogger’s spellcheck doesn’t recognize the word “velour”?) The Free Agent is not “comfy.”

The real standard is not to be perfect, but to overall meet and exceed your job’s performance objectives – whether that’s finishing a beautiful piece of art for an upcoming exhibition or checking in code for a programming project.

As I alluded to in last week’s post about faking sick leave, if you find you’re not performing well in your current job – regardless of who’s to blame, it’s time to either get help with improving your current situation or move on.

Take a few minutes to answer these questions:

1. Are you a glass “half full” or “half empty” person? Studies show that if you have a negative outlook on life, you are more likely to be dissatisfied with your work, no matter what you choose to do. See my future post on Free Agent Principle #6 “Think Right Thoughts.”

2. Are your problems temporary or long-term? Maybe the issue is a divorce, money problems, illness or death of a loved one. If challenges from your personal life are spilling over at work, make a plan for how to move forward. Paralysis and denial will not work for long, especially if your supervisor is one of the few who actually does written performance reviews.

3. Are you in the right career and job? Figure out whether it’s the job you’re in now or the whole career path. In your work world or industry, if you’re around people you don’t like on a consistent basis, then maybe you are in the wrong Holland [personality] work environment.

4. What is your next career step? Make plans for your next career decision: your next job and how to reach your personal career goals. You know the drill – you need to set goals to achieve them.

Next Free Agent Principle: Be Loyal to Your Friends and Family… Stay tuned.

For the previous posts for this 6 part series see:
The 6 Principles of the Free Agent Worker
Principle #1: Know and Strengthen Your Marketable Skills
Principle #2: Stay Mobile
Principle #3: Watch Your Company and Industry

By choosing a career you enjoy, you’re more likely to pay attention to it. You’ll give your career path the care and upkeep it needs. Part of keeping your skills current and in demand is knowing your industry and having a strong personal network – people who serve as a sounding board, give you information what’s going on with other employers, teach you new skills, and set an example you want to follow.

A career network safety net includes people who support and strengthen you in your career, with whom you stay in touch and connect.

Here are 3 tips for keeping your network strong:

1. Don’t wait until you need something to make contact. Try to set up regular contacts – whether through a coffee date, an email newsletter, attending a group networking meeting, or a phone call.
2. Offer to help when someone needs it, even if you think you don’t have time for it or you think they don’t need your help. If someone loses their job or has a personal crisis, try to find a way you can help – even if it’s just a phone call to lend support. You know how karma works…
3. Set a monthly goal for maintaining your network. Whether it is attending a networking function or making one phone call, doing something will keep you from killing the goose that lays the golden egg – your network.

I thought of this topic because over the last few months I’ve heard from friends and colleagues I haven’t heard from in awhile (and with whom I have not stayed in regular contact). It reminded me that in times of crisis and uncertainty, it’s your relationships to people that matter the most. People who listen (who you trust not to share your information with the world) and people who are sources for job search advice and connections. People with whom you’ve built rapport.

I need to improve my attention to my personal and professional relationships – maybe you do too. Let’s remember to regularly reach out to our friends and colleagues in our weekly/monthly/yearly goal setting.

P.S. Having trouble tracking and categorizing your networking contacts? Read this blog post by social media expert Chris Brogan.

If you’re considering a career as a college professor, choosing a college major in the humanities, or going to graduate school in the humanities, you need to read Patricia Cohen’s article in yesterday’s New York Times: “In Tough Times, The Humanities Must Justify Their Worth.” By humanities, Ms. Cohen includes “languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion.”

Some of the 300+ comments are worth reading too – readers talking about their own career choices in the humanities.

It’s true that career paths go through ups and downs in popularity and outlook. But the question of whether a humanities degree, undergraduate or graduate, is worth the investment (monetary and time) has been around for awhile.

My take is that if you have a clearly defined career goal in mind, you will be more likely to achieve it – whether you want to teach philosophy at an elite college or write critically acclaimed novels.

The problem with getting a humanities degree is that if you just choose one because you have no career goals, you’re more likely to suffer in finding a job later – rendering your investment less useful. At least if you “fall into” most science or technology degrees (nuclear physics maybe not so much), you have more career options to fall back on. Science and math skills are the foundation for many jobs.

Bottom line: choose your career path before choosing a training program, college major or graduate school. Do your research and investigation early – don’t wait until after you’ve taken out all the loans, gotten the diploma, and are sitting in Career Services wondering what job to apply for. Get started with the 3 steps at our website:

1. Know yourself,
2. Know your options, and
3. Make a good decision.

Keeping your priorities straight, even in a recession, is an important part of being a Career Free Agent. Your long term happiness and job satisfaction are at stake. Tips for being loyal to yourself and your family are part 5 of my 6 part series on The Free Agent Outlook on Work.

Loyalty is such an unused and forgotten words these days. It seems counter intuitive and impractical to think about putting yourself and your family before your job in a recession. But if you truly consider your daily routine and your long-term sanity, you’ll see how this makes sense. Whether your “family” is just you and close friends or two kids, a spouse and a dog – the loyalty principle holds true.

• Know what is important to you and what you value – and protect and nurture them. If you need to write your own eulogy to figure this out – do it. Hint: relationships are probably first. Not sure if your current career conflicts with your values or your personality? Learn more about yourself and how that impacts career choice.
• Don’t wait until there is a crisis – a job loss, a divorce, a health problem; maintain your relationships (professional, personal) in good times.
• Follow the ACIP model of decision-making when you need to make a tough call that you won’t regret. Do you need to find another job to avoid an unethical boss – but you’re worried about the financial consequences? Do you need to quit your job ASAP because it’s so stressful that you have physical symptoms – yet your job options elsewhere are slim?
• Have a life outside of work. Develop personal relationships and satisfy your interests in activities unrelated to your job. Heard of “diversification”? It’s not just for investments. That way, if one part of your life suffers a blow you have another part to rely on.

Still to come, the 6th and final Free Agent Principle: Think “Right” Thoughts. And no, it will not involve stimulants (except a fancy caffeinated beverage, maybe).

For the previous posts for this 6 part series see:
The 6 Principles of the Free Agent Worker
Principle #1: Know and Strengthen Your Marketable Skills
Principle #2: Stay Mobile
Principle #3: Watch Your Company and Industry
Principle #4: Do Your Job Well