Declutter Your Career and Make Way for Success

© Marshall Loeb, 2007, Career Journal, www.careerjournal.com

"Luckily, most jobs send out signals about how right they are for you - or not," says Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric and author of "Winning."

"These signals apply to jobs at every level of an organization," Welch writes. "You can be right out of school, a middle manager trying to move up, or a senior executive looking for a top pick."

In "Winning," Welch has created a list of the most important signals to be aware of and how to read them:

People

Take it as a good sign if: You like the people a lot - you can relate to them, and you genuinely enjoy their company. In fact, they even think and act like you do.

Be concerned if: You feel like you'll need to put on a persona at work. After a visit to the company, you find yourself saying things like, "I don't need to be friends with the people I work with."

Opportunity

Take it as a good sign if: The job gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and a professional, and you get the feeling you will learn things there that you didn't even know you needed to learn.

Be concerned if: You're being hired as an expert, and upon arrival, you will most likely be the smartest person in the room.

Options

Take it as a good sign if: The job gives you a credential you can take with you, and is in a business and industry with a future.

Be concerned if: The industry has peaked or has awful economics, and the company itself, for any number of reasons, will do little to expand your career options.

Ownership

Take it as a good sign if: You are taking the job for yourself, or you know whom you are taking it for, and feel at peace with the bargain.

Be concerned if: You are taking the job for any number of other constituents, such as a spouse who wants you to travel less or the sixth-grade teacher who said you would never amount to anything.

Work content

Take it as a good sign if: The "stuff" of the job turns your crank - you love the work, it feels fun and meaningful to you, and even touches something primal in your soul.

Be concerned if: The job feels like a job. In taking it, you say things like, "This is just until something better comes along," or "You can't beat the money."