Career coach emphasizes the importance of establishing an executive’s unique value to an organization and finding personal fulfillment along the way.

There’s no quick fix to finding fulfilling work—the kind of work that gets you out of bed in the morning before the alarm clock rings. Some people give up on the pursuit of job satisfaction altogether, buying into the belief that work is a means to end, a necessary evil, something to pay the bills.

Others believe that job satisfaction is linked to finding a new job. They believe lack of fulfillment is rooted in the job itself, or in the organization they are working for. They stay at one job until the honeymoon is over and then move on to another.

But moving on is becoming increasingly difficult. Our economy is in a major slump and new jobs are hard to come by. Not to mention that moving from job to job is an exhausting endeavor in itself, especially when you never really find what you’re looking for.

In today’s highly competitive workplace, it’s not good enough to merely survive; you must be able to thrive.

You need to know what your personal brand is, what separates you from your competition and what is your unique promise of value. And once you have identified your strengths, attributes and accomplishments, let your employer know. Show that you are the best person to help solve problems and illustrate the value that you bring to the organization.
Forget the economy, forget everything you’ve been told about job satisfaction and focus on these two facts:

• You don’t have to accept the slump you are in.
• It’s possible for you to find satisfaction...in the job you have right now.

There are no quick fixes. You’ll have to take responsibility for your own situation and you’ll have to make a serious commitment to your job and career growth. But your efforts will be rewarded.

Try these 10 strategies to improve your current situation:

1. Get in touch with your passions. Your passions never really go away. While they may be a little rusty, what feeds your soul and stirs your heart is still within you.

2. Engage. The cure for exhaustion is not rest. It’s involvement.When you are truly absorbed, you feel energized. The connections you feel from participation create the drive you need to perform your absolute best.

3. Manage your manager. Be one step ahead. Always have a good strategy in place to address resistance from above. Build a mutually beneficial relationship.

4. Challenge yourself. Don’t wait for your employer to engage your interests, skills and education.What skills and experience do you need for your dream job and how could you improve them? Take a class, ask someone to act as your mentor or educate yourself through books, CDs, podcasts and seminars.

5. Tweak your job to your natural preferences. Understand how your natural preferences match the structure of your job. Identifying what’s working for you, as well as what isn’t working, will allow you to move toward making changes in your job’s structure that better suit you.

6. Clarify job requirements. One of the keys to feeling good about your job is knowing what is expected. Request clear expectations, advocate for needed education and training and ask for frequent reviews.

7. Connect with people. When you think about it, much of the reason why we do our jobs is to serve other people. Understanding how you impact the lives of people around you—both inside and outside the workplace—can increase your satisfaction.

8. Invest in improvement. By allocating a specific amount of time toward education and self-improvement, you can significantly increase your specific job skills, as well as knowledge about the industry in which you work. As you gain the education and knowledge necessary to excel in your job, your fulfillment and enjoyment will increase.

9. Make time for life beyond work. Paying attention to both your work life and your home life is integral to increasing job satisfaction. If you are working more and playing less, chances are you’ll also notice your enthusiasm and motivation—and eventually your performance—decrease.

10. Choose your mood. Reframing a “bad” situation—finding the silver lining in something negative—can completely change your outlook and increase your satisfaction at work.