This week classes have started at Alpena Community College and as always during my first American Government & Politics class everyone must introduce themselves…including me!  Well as I described my workforce/job training career time…a very wise young lady asked a great, thoughtful question.  It went like this:

“Sir, I currently work at a regular fast-food job and if I wanted to make it feel like More Than Just-A-Job…what would you tell me?”

Well first I gave her a very strong “that’s a wonderful question young lady” statement…and then offered a brief list which I shortened into a very basic TOP 10 of More Than Just-A-Job priorities:

1. Do you do the minimum in the job you have?
2. Do you arrive for work early and stay a little later…or watch the clock?
3. Do you communicate well with everyone?
4. Do you try to be a good promoting person for your company/group?
5. Do you do your own research to know the maximum about the company you work for?
6. Do you ask for direction regarding any new training that would make you a better employee?
7. Do you expand your area of work to learn more…or wait to be told?
8. Do you help new employees because “it’s the right thing to do”?
9. Do you appear on a leader-list as someone to ask for help and new ideas?
10. Do you represent someone who would naturally be growing toward a promotion or a raise in pay?

As you can assume…my responses started a fun series of additional questions and discussion.  However, I needed to steer back to introduction time in the classroom!

Bottomline:  This More Than Just-A-Job TOP 10 in many ways is a timeless list of important employment priorities.  The class will get more “words-of-wisdom” about jobs during the semester.  Can you add to the list??