Losing my job in the last recession of the last century, I discovered firsthand the power of creating your own luck. A week later, I decided to place an interim position while looking for a “real” one. Accepting a temporary minimum wage position in an industry I knew little about, I decided that the way to enjoy the position was to learn as much as I could and contribute as much as I could. I read manuals in my spare time, developed processes to streamline work, trained new employees, volunteered for additional tasks, and did whatever else was needed. After four weeks on a ten week job, I was unexpectedly offered my first managerial position.

If I had listened to my friends warning me that accepting a minimum wage position was career suicide, worried about accepting a job “below” my education or experience level, or just done what was expected, I would have lost. an opportunity that led to five promotions in the next seven years.

It has been my experience over the years, while climbing the corporate ladder to vice president of a multi-million dollar company, that opportunity is everywhere and everywhere. It’s often in unexpected places for those who make a difference in the workplace. People who do what is expected of them, do it very well, “and then some” are presented with opportunities that others never do. And people who put their egos aside, contributing whatever they can to the task at hand, often make their own luck. This is because initiative is a powerful asset in the workplace.

People who offer to do extra work only if they get paid for it, or take on extra responsibility only if their salary goes up first, I have it backwards in my book. My advice: do the job, do it well, and then do it even better. Higher salary, greater responsibilities and greater opportunities follow people who are taxpayers. Whenever he was looking to hire people, offer permanent positions to temporary employees or interns, start new departments or businesses, or promote people, he was looking for people who did their job well… “and then some.”

(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.