Interview ideas for
Love Your Job!

Loving the Job You Have, Finding a Job You Love.
(O'Reilly Media, 1994)

 

Author: Dr. Paul Powers (tel: 781-237-0550)

(email: drpaul@drpaulpowers.com and Deborah Russell)

 

1. How does Love Your Job! stand out from the ton of career books that are out there?

A. Content LYJ is a unique combination of information and inspiration, motivation and contemplation. It asks the big questions about working for a living that we sometimes neglect to ask in today's hectic world. Do you love your job? What does it mean to love your job? Can you keep loving your job? What if you have a job you don't love? Is there a life outside your job? All of these questions are, by the way, titles of major sections of the book.

 

B. Writing Style: I worked hard to come up with a style that combines my sense of humor with the fact that the ideas I bring forth are among my most deeply held beliefs. My co-author Deborah Russell, who is also a senior editor at O'Reilly Media, contributed not only many ideas but also a flow and texture to the material that only years of professional writing and editing expertise could make possible.

 

C. Format: We formatted LYJ into bite-sized pieces to give readers time to absorb and reflect on the content. That is: we'll have a page or two on a topic like "Recapture Your Dream" and then on the following page or two there will be an exercise or quiz that will help you put those ideas to work. One of our original subtitles for Love Your Job!, which we included somewhere, was "Reflections, Stories, and Practical Exercises for Good Times and Bad". I think that fits it pretty well.

 

2. Possible story hooks.

  • Graduation season. Now it's time to find job.
  • Labor Day. Focus on worker satisfaction.
  • New Years. Making a resolution to get a better job
  • Any new unemployment data. e.g. Good news - time to get a better job. Bad news- time to get more out of you current job.
  • Any new report of workplace violence. Why does work bring out so many negative emotions?
  • Any report of a big lottery winner either staying at or quitting their job. Is either a good idea? or What would you do if you won a million bucks? (Dr. Paul has done research on lottery winners as well as workplace issues.)
  • Any story of a key executive getting fired or the President leaving his job. What would you advise them to do now?
  • A feature on Dr. Paul Powers. My career focus and my life's goal has been to make the workplace both a more productive and more humane place as well a helping people to truly enjoy where they'll spend the majority of their waking life.

 

3. Possible Interview questions:

  • Is it realistic to expect to love work? Or is this just a baby-boomer, yuppie or Gen X thing?
  • Why did you write this book?
  • If you're feeling lucky to just have a job isn't it a lot to expect to also love your job?
  • What do you really mean by "love your job"? You don't expect people to sing all day do you?
  • What percentage of people hate their jobs?
  • What do you do if you don't love your job? Quit?
  • Is it possible to fall "back in love" with a job that's become routine or boring?
  • How can you tell if you're going to love a job you're interviewing for?
  • What if you love your job but those around you don't love theirs?
  • What are some things the ordinary person can do to help him or her love their job?
  • How long should a person stay at one job?
  • What's the worst job you ever had?
  • How many jobs have you had? Do you love your job?

 

Phone: (781) 237-0550 • Email: drpaul@drpaulpowers.com