The following is an excerpt from the new book, Career Contentment by Jeff Garton:

	It surprises people when they learn that sixteen years of my career were spent in a department people referred to as the "snake pit." Our industry was flat; beer and tobacco were constantly under attack by the government, and there were no opportunities for promotion. Resignations were welcomed and you learned to "watch your back" and to create value for yourself in order to avoid being laid-off. These were the best of times and worst of times because they taught me how to connect with my callings and to recognize my career contentment even in situations where there did not exist job satisfaction. "Growing up in a rural community in West Virginia didn't expose me to many career models. There were utility workers, schoolteachers, coalminers or the State Road, and of course doctors, nurses or public office. These were jobs I didn't want or couldn't imagine having. I went to college with the goal of eventually getting any job that would allow me to wear a tie. After graduating in 1975 I learned that it didn't help to have a college degree unless you knew precisely what you wanted. There were no jobs and the economy was in horrible shape. Personal computers hadn't been invented so my portal to the world was a rural mailbox through which I sent out hundreds of resumes and got back only rejections. "Do what you love" was the advice I was given, but I had no idea what that was. Lacking direction and being unemployed for months caused me to feel desperate and afraid that I would never find a good job, and would have to spend my life doing work I hated and nobody else wanted. To this day I get sick to my stomach if I see a Soap Opera on TV during the midday. Considering all the rejections I received, it occurred to me I should get one of those jobs reading people's resumes. So in a fit of angry desperation I made a pact with God that if he helped me to become a "rejector" rather than a "rejectee," I would devote myself to discovering a solution that would help other people find their best career and enjoy it. I sold everything I owned and went back to school to get an advanced education. I chose the University of New Mexico with the intention of pursuing a double major: Organizational Communication and Public Personnel Administration. Also, I worked part time as a headhunter on a commission basis to get experience. The experience qualified me for my first real job as a recruiter. I was on my way to figuring out how this process works, but also, I was looking for a solution that would help others. That was 1978, and ever since then I have remained faithful to my promise by specializing in employment, and I was given the opportunity to develop my craft in different cultures around the world. My office was like a human laboratory that enabled me to observe how people got jobs, and also how and why they were rejected. I was never bored but always amazed at how people selected their careers, and more importantly, why some people were naturally more advantaged than others. I learned how to spot these advantaged people pretty quickly because when dealing with them, it felt like we needed them more than they needed us. It was like we were a part of their agenda, and the funny thing was, these people seemed to get jobs without looking, without resumes, and even when most companies were laying off. This was happening around the world while other people with the best resumes and experience were struggling to find just an interview. It made no sense, and became the focus of my attention. I believed this was the solution I was looking for. After years of investigating and testing my theories, I finally confirmed what it was that set the most advantaged people apart from all others. Armed with my newfound information, I decided it was time to leave the corporate world and put my ideas to use across different industries and occupations. So in 2000 I left to start my own headhunter firm. I was unlike any headhunter people had met. Job seekers were accustomed to headhunters whose focus was on impressing their clients and making money, and who had no time for people with backgrounds that didn't match their openings. My objective was to try and help people through their job search by teaching them all the things I had learned, and this applied whether I had a suitable opening or not. The fact is, I probably shouldn't have been a headhunter but as it turned out, my clients loved my personal approach because it seemed the candidates I presented were somehow more advantaged. I was more of a coach than recruiter, but I was also making more money than I ever thought was possible, until 9/11. Because very few if any employers were recruiting after 9/11, I used this downtime to get certified in a reputable career-coaching program. Thanks to the Career Coach Institute, I realized soon enough this was exactly the platform I needed to apply all my ideas. As I did, more and more clients began suggesting that I take the materials I was using and write a book. The thought had occurred to me, but I lacked the time. Instead, I began offering training sessions on my topic and volunteering my time as a speaker. The feedback seemed encouraging and I ended up with enough material to begin writing my first book starting in 2004. By the Summer of 2006, I not only had a book but a whole system of resources that I believed fulfilled my original promise to help other people avoid prolonged unemployment and to have and enjoy their most desirable career. My first publisher actually proposed to use my materials exclusively to help people find contentment in their existing job, and do away with the portions that help people to connect with their callings. From my perspective, a person needs the ability to do both, and all my work had been devoted to enabling this. This was the deal breaker that led me to my new publisher, The American Society for Training and Development. They immediately got what I was doing, and not only that, I worked with members of the Chicago chapter to help refine and further develop the resources and exercises that would bring alive what I had originally developed. Mission accomplished, and within the next few weeks, I will fulfill my promise to deliver a solution that will enable you to have and enjoy the career you desire, with or without job satisfaction. I am so excited to share this with you, and looking back on my career I can see a purpose for everything that happened and how it helped to shape my ideas around the topic of career contentment."