Service can provide spiritual fulfillment

Q: I'm having real difficulty finding a job that provides spiritual enrichment and financial reward. I also feel like millions of others are experiencing this!

A: If you take responsibility for spiritual rewards in your job, finding one with financial rewards will be much easier. Make certain you know how much money you must have to be satisfied.

Look for jobs that put you around people in environments that pay well. Doing something that allows you to improve the lives of others should engage your spirit. You might be in HR, coaching people on benefits or doing better on the job. You might be in sales, sincerely benefiting companies and the people in them, one at a time.

What about a multinational company with employees whose lives you could enrich just by doing your job? Do you want to be industry-specific? What about hospitals? What about companies in the service industry?

Consider marketing agencies with the kinds of clients you'd like to serve and law firms serving people coping with divorce or on-the-job injuries.

Hunt for an environment where customers, clients or co-workers need to be helped. There you'll find spiritual enrichment.

BACK-TRACKING

Q: I am 46, have an MBA and am trying go corporate, which I left in 1999 to write. I had two books published, was active in major media and sold real estate, because it was lucrative and easy.

I recently earned an MS in sustainable design to gain credentials in green, but I'm seen as underexperienced for sustainability positions and overexperienced for entry-level jobs. My resume is scattered, but I'm committed to greening the world before it's too late. Any suggestions for how I can break back in? I look at least 10 years younger than I am and am willing to step backwards, but no further than as if I were a new graduate with a top MBA.

A: Use your sales skills to propel you into the green neighborhood. Place temporaries in the industry or recruit for green company clients. Build contacts. Recast and unscatter your resume after the first month so it helps propel you into green.

If this strategy doesn't appeal to you, volunteer in a green company for a specific period of time to demonstrate your readiness for the sustainability job you want. Consider it job hunting.

(Dr. Mildred Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. © 2011 Passage Media. The opinions are solely those of the writer.)