Skills, talents, and abilities…everyone has them, but who can actually name their best qualities? Furthermore, how many people are in positions where they consistently use the skills they enjoy?

Individuals with years of work experience may have developed a résumé of skills and abilities that they take for granted and which have not been evaluated since their last job search.

In assessing what you bring to the job market, think about those tasks you do well and for which you have received some type of recognition. But, don't stop there. Go a step further and hone in on those skills that give you satisfaction and pleasure.

This may be a new concept for some people who view skills assessment simply as a way to determine what they do well, regardless of whether or not they enjoy using the skill set. This is short sighted in a marketplace where boredom and lack of job satisfaction extend to more than 45% of the population. Knowing what you enjoy doing well and having work that calls on those skills are key to being productive and satisfied.

Here are a few steps to help you recognize the value you bring to your work and the skills that might keep you motivated and feeling good about your job:

1. Create a timeline of your work history from your very first job. Identify positions you've held and the key tasks you performed. Beside each entry, list a skill, talent, or ability that you exhibited. (If you have difficulty naming your skills, go to: the riley guide.
2. Put a check next to each skill that you enjoyed using.
3. Review the timeline and note patterns of skills as well as those that you have checked. Create a separate list that includes only the checked skills.
4. Consider your current job. In any given week, how often do you use the skills you most enjoy? Does your response fit with how satisfied you feel about your job?
5. If there is a major discrepancy between the skills you use in your job and the ones you truly enjoy, it could be an indicator that it's time to move on to another position.
6. If you decide to change jobs or you are already in the job market, be sure to look beyond your ability to do the key job tasks and take into account whether or not you'll be happy doing them.

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One space remaining! Women's retreat in southern France, led by Barbara for the eighth year. For info, application form and photos go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com.

In case you are in denial about how much you like your job, you can go to this quiz to determine the level of your overall job satisfaction.

If your score was low, you are not alone. It is estimated that less than 45% of Americans feel satisfied with their jobs. Why is over half the population dissatisfied and what do YOU need to tip the scale in favor of work that you enjoy and find fulfilling?

First of all, it's important to consider the factors that influence a person's job satisfaction and figure out what is true for you. The following are seven categories that contribute to job satisfaction. Consider what you need in each:

1. Overall responsibility: Do you want to lead and take charge of situations, or would you rather provide assistance and support?
2. Work environment: What conditions allow you to do your best work? This list can be as specific as "natural light" and "orderly surroundings" or as nebulous as "a safe environment". It is important for you to know they type of setting that elicits a positive, "can do" attitude in you.
3. People contact: Describe the types of colleagues with whom you want to interact. What is the extent and type of interpersonal contact you want to have in your work?
4. Salary and Benefits: What do you need? What do you want? Be prepared to justify any salary requirements by the value you will bring to any position.
5. Skills: What are the talents, qualities and abilities you have AND enjoy using? Be able to articulate them along with brief examples of each.
6. Interests: Are there specific topics that intrigue you and which you'd like to be a focus of your job?
7. Reasons for working/Values: What do you want to get out of work? List the values that inspire and motivate you.

Sometimes it is when a factor is missing in a job that you realize how very important it is to you. Take stock of past jobs for clues about what factors may have influenced your decision to move on.

Create a list of questions to ask prospective employers based on your own job satisfaction categories to determine how close a position comes to meeting what you need and want. Doing that may save you a premature resignation.

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Just one space remaining in Barbara's annual Women's Retreat in Provence 9/23-29/07. For more info, go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com

My last blog about defining midlife drew more readers than any of the 100+ blogs I've posted to date. That shouldn't surprise anyone who knows the stats on boomers—a formidable group of more than 78 million, comprising 30% of the population in the U.S. The fact that boomers tend to be more introspective than any other generation accounts for the array of information on the market to help them better understand themselves and maneuver through this often disorienting time of life.

Take for example, one of the latest books for and about boomers called Thinking About Tomorrow: Reinventing Yourself in Midlife by Susan Crandell. Crandell, the former editor-in-chief of More Magazine, re-engineered her own life and became a freelance writer and book author. Her inspiring book recounts the stories of a group of diverse individuals who seized the challenge of their age and made significant changes at midlife. Among the chapters that feature people whom Crandell refers to as "life entrepreneurs" is the story behind my annual Women's Retreat in Provence. The profiles in Crandell's book illustrate what can unfold when someone honestly and attentively asks: What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

To begin to explore that question yourself, consider:
- What am I longing to do or experience?
- Is there a part of an old dream that could be salvaged and integrated into my life now?
- What energizes and engages me? What would need to happen to bring more of that into my life?
- What helps me listen to what is true for me? How can I increase that activity?
- What is most important to me at this time? Am I living my life in alignment with this priority? If not, what needs to shift so that I am true to what I value?

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." – George Eliot

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Barbara is now accepting applications for her annual Women's Retreat in Provence 9/23-29/07. For more info, go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com

Perhaps it hits you just when you think you have life figured out. You wake up in midlife to only to discover that the map of life that has guided you this far no longer leads you anyplace—or at least no place that you'd care to go.

In an effort to get things back to a normal footing, you might go about your business, pretending nothing has changed. But, you cannot fool yourself. While not much else may be clear, one thing is certain: your former way of approaching life no longer satisfies you and with that knowing, you feel adrift and disoriented about the alternatives.

Of course you wonder if you've lost your mind, and whether you'll get back on the old path as quickly as you left it. But, actually, it's not really that you've lost anything, rather that you are now preoccupied with discovering your true self.

Midlife is a perplexing time to say the least. It presents everyone, no matter their profession, income, gender or other preferences, with the most simple, yet complex question of their lives: Who are you meant to be?

In the work arena, the midlife quest can wreak havoc on what was formerly an acceptable and rewarding career path. It is said that the challenge in our early adult years is to establish an identity that is based on skills, competencies and ego-boosting accomplishments. That all tends to change as we enter into the second half of our lives and begin to come to grips with our mortality.

Recognizing that you no longer have all the time in the world to do whatever you might like might, is sobering to say the least. For many of us, this realization, coupled with jarring world events like terrorist attacks and tsunamis, makes a compelling case for aligning our lives with what matters most.

On my website, I've outlined eight steps to guide you through midlife and its compelling call to change, make a greater contribution to the world, or explore interests and talents that have been forgotten or neglected.

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Barbara is now accepting applications for her Annual Women's Retreat in Provence scheduled for September 23-29. For more info go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com

If you're in the job market or contemplating it, you must know how to answer the question asking about your salary requirements. It used to be that job applicants could hedge the inquiry, with an "I'm flexible" response. But, many employers are now insisting on a bottom line figure in order to seriously consider an applicant. So, how do you address the question without over or under-pricing yourself?

First, it is important to know a salary range in your geographic area for the position for which you are applying. If you don't know this, you should find out.

Departments of Labor at the state level keep statistics on salaries and labor market trends. Begin by contacting that office in the state in which the job is posted and ask where you would find the salary information you need. You might also go to the comprehensive career resources website, The Riley Guide, for several links to salary statistics.

Once you are aware of a salary range for the position, then you need to determine where you fall within it. Your placement is based on your experience, skills and training that relate to the position. Some people erroneously think that they can base their salary requirements on their past compensation or even on the amount of money they need to pay their bills!

Until you know enough about the position to assess how you would add value, try to address the question of salary requirements with a realistic range that reflects both the marketplace and your background.

Once the interviews are complete and an offer is made, then the table is turned and you can determine whether or not the offer meets your expectations and requirements.

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Barbara is now accepting applications for her Annual Women's Retreat in Provence scheduled for September 23-29. For more info go to: www.yourprovenceretreat.com