HOW TO ENJOY YOUR JOB

Penn presents strategies and tips for making the most of your job or finding appropriate, satisfying work.

Everyone needs money, but a job has to have more substance than a paycheck if you want meaning in your life, writes Penn. We spend the majority of our lives at work; if it is not fulfilling, it is a fast track to the psychiatrist’s couch, the casket or, perhaps the worst outcome–long, sad days spent in quiet desperation. Penn tenders a common-sense handful of tools to make the most of your job, and if that is not possible, she details paths to find a job to meet your needs. The author’s tone is chatty and upbeat, her delivery crisp, but she is also direct and demanding. There is no way to avoid the difficult work of identifying desires and then engaging face-to-face with the people who can help you achieve them. To start, Penn charts ways to make your current job as good as it can be–finding new challenges, assuming responsibility–and how to handle the inevitable downsides, like troublesome coworkers and harassment. Occasionally Penn will float some airy notions, such as “Always remember that you have choices,” which may or may not ring true for some, and there is a rather unoriginal chapter on taking care of your non-work life. But for the most part Penn provides a template for identifying and pursuing employment goals, including sharp chapters on writing a solid resume and techniques to prepare for interviews. She spices the text with entertaining apercus from characters like Henry Miller, Bruce Chatwin, Ingrid Bergman and Ray Bradbury (“First you jump off the cliff and then you build wings on the way down.”), and pleasingly beats the drum of persistence–don’t get down on yourself because that’s all you have.

Solid advice and encouragement for those seeking a gratifying work life.