Get a Life, Not a Job
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LET YOUR
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TALENTS WORK FOR YOU
PAULA CALIGIURI, PH.D.

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ISBN-10: 0-13-705849-7
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Caligiuri, Paula.
Get a life, not a job : do what you love and let your talents work for you / Paula
Caligiuri.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-705849-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-13-705849-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Vocational guidance. 2. Career
development. I. Title.
HF5381.C25316 2010
650.1—dc22
2009051715

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To Judy, Harvey, and Rick for sage guidance
and unconditional love over many years
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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1 Create a Personally, Professionally, and
Financially Rewarding Career Doing
What You Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2 Discover What Really Motivates You . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 3 Propel Your Career Forward through
Self-Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter 4 Enjoy Financial and Professional Security . . . . 83
Chapter 5 Increase Your Mental, Physical, and
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Emotional Well-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 6 Protect and Leverage Your Time, Money,
and Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter 7 Get a Life: Integrate Your Career with
Your Life Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

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Acknowledgments
Every book, including Get a Life, Not a Job, has its own life story. This
book was conceived from conversations with those willing to talk to
me about their jobs, from those I love the most in the world, my sib-
lings and best friends, to those stuck in airline clubs during long lay-
overs, whose names I might have forgotten but whose stories have
remained with me. I thank them for their honesty and openness.
Get a Life, Not a Job ultimately took shape last year when the down-
sizing bully started messing with people I love. It broke my heart to
see the emotional toll that unfulfilling jobs and corporate layoffs were
taking on highly talented and hardworking individuals. Believing they
deserved more—a lot more—in return for their efforts, I started to
write.
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Get a Life, Not a Job has a soul thanks to those profiled in this book.
Their willingness to share their career stories has made the advice in
this book real and has demonstrated that career fulfillment is abun-
dantly attainable. Without your stories, this book would not be possi-
ble. You are each worthy of deep admiration; you each have remained
true to your personal values, defining and achieving career success on
your terms. You have my sincerest appreciation.
Although not as theoretically rich as this profession deserves, Get a
Life, Not a Job’s backbone is rooted in my academic discipline, indus-
trial and organizational psychology (SIOP, Division 14 of the
American Psychological Association), and the many talented practi-
tioners and researchers who continually advance our knowledge of
how people interact with the work they do. I realize I only skimmed
the surface of what our profession has to offer the world of work. I
wish there was space on the pages to cite the many amazing

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GET A LIFE, NOT A JOB
researchers who have built this profession and the knowledge base
creating the field. This book offers a very small piece of a theoretically
rich academic field. I thank my academic colleagues who knew I was
writing this book and encouraged me to do so, even though the style
led me away from my academic comfort zone.
I thank the many people who have read versions of Get a Life, Not a
Job offering their critical feedback and keen insights, Beth Atwood,
Daniel Fennell, Dan Frontera, Sue Frontera, Gabrielle D’Annunzio,
Leah Lewandowski, Ted Munger, and Elsa Peterson. The book is a
better product as a result of their contributions. I thank my siblings,
John and Linda Caligiuri, Terry and Joe Gentile, and Tom and Jenny
Caligiuri, and my parents, Angie and John Caligiuri, for offering sup-
port (and more than a little comic relief) throughout the writing
process.
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My gratitude is extended to my agent Joe Veltre for taking a chance
on an unknown and for saying the most satisfying words to an author’s
ears: “I’d like to send a copy of your book to my friend.” In thanking
Joe, I also need to thank those who brought me to him: Bob Sutton,
Don Lamm, and Christy Fletcher. They were generous with their
time and contacts, realizing I was an academic very lost in a different
type of publishing world.
My heartfelt appreciation is also extended to my senior editor from
FT Press, Jennifer Simon. Jennifer knew, as an academic, I was a fish
out of water. I am very grateful for her advice, honesty, and sensitivity
in helping me make this transition. Writing this book has given me the
opportunity to cross paths with wonderful people, including Nadia
Bilchik, Grayson Leverenz, Mary Pomerantz, and Tom Severini. I
deeply appreciate their gifts of time, creativity, support, and friendship—
they have been generous with all of them.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have been blessed in life to have a muse, my husband George
D’Annunzio. He has cleared the decks for me on many days so I could
be alone with my computer and my thoughts. He has patiently read
countless drafts of this book. George instinctively knew when to give
me space and when I needed breaks, accommodating both so well, as
only a loving muse can. I love and appreciate George for many rea-
sons, not the least of which is his willingness to join me in crafting my
own life story, as I create my own career acts.
This book is dedicated to Judy Larkin, Harvey Pines, and Rick Jacobs,
my outstanding mentors and dear friends. For over 20 years, they
have been helping me discover my strengths, explore my interests,
and find the career acts best suited to me. Their love for me is evi-
denced by their unwavering support, encouragement, and steadfast
belief in what I could become, regardless of how much time it took for
them to find my talents, shape my skills, and polish my abilities. Their
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love is also evidenced by the countless times they would not let me off
the hook, asking me those tough questions, leading me to uncover the
truth about myself. You know you are deeply loved when someone
takes the time to walk with you in your road to self-discovery. I would
not be who I am or what I am today without the love of Judy, Harvey,
and Rick—and my love for them runs deeper than I will ever have the
words to fully express.
xi

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Document Outline

• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Create a Personally, Professionally, and Financially Rewarding Career Doing What You Love
• Chapter 2 Discover What Really Motivates You
• Chapter 3 Propel Your Career Forward through Self-Development
• Chapter 4 Enjoy Financial and Professional Security
• Chapter 5 Increase Your Mental, Physical, and Emotional Well-Being
• Chapter 6 Protect and Leverage Your Time, Money, and Human Resources
• Chapter 7 Get a Life: Integrate Your Career with Your Life Priorities
• Conclusions
• Endnotes
• Index
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G…H
  • I
  • J…K
  • L
  • M
  • N…O
  • P
  • Q…R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W…Z

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