Many workers are grateful for their job, but fewer than 15% of working Americans (according to Salary.com) are "extremely satisfied" with their permanent employment situation.

If you're currently unemployed, search for job tips on this website for how to focus on your career. If you're lucky for work on the side or your heart really isn't in the job where you are, now is a great time to assess your unique personal skills and find a good "fit" between your talents and the right industry for you.

Chuck Martin, author of "Work Your Strengths: A Scientific Process to Identify Your Skills and Match Them to the Best Career for You" (link to Amazon) has created an executive skills map with the industries where high performers are most found. Understand which of these skills is your natural fit, then consider looking for a job in that particular industry.

Choose a career that you were born to be successful in --- match your natural strengths to your perfect job.

Response Inhibition: Informed decision-making and thinking before you speak.
Industries: Hospitality, Business Services, and Education
Jobs: Human Resources

Working Memory: Can remember multiple things at once - reliable with multiple tasks.
Industries: Hospitality, Nonprofits, Government
Jobs: Sales, Finance, Accounting

Emotional Control: Cool under pressure and persists even in the face of setbacks.
Industries: Education, Manufacturing, Marketing
Jobs: Research and Development, Human Resources, Finance

Sustained Attention: Finds it easy to keep focused on a task at hand and not be too impacted by distractions.
Industries: Hospitality, Transportation
Jobs: Clinical, Customer Service, Administrative

Task Initiation: Good at completing the task today instead of putting it off.
Industries: Retail, Healthcare, Transportation
Jobs: Clinical, Administrative, Customer Service

Planning/Prioritization: Understands and can create a "road map" to reach long-term goals.
Industries: Systems/Information Technology
Jobs: Accounting, Operations, General Management

Organization: Finds a place for everything and puts everything in its place.
Industries: Business Services, Transportation, Hospitality
Jobs: Accounting

Time Management: Great at understanding timelines and meeting deadlines.
Industries: Food Services, Retail, Healthcare
Jobs: Customer Service, Human Resources, Clinical

Goal-Directed Persistence: Accomplishes goals and works steadily towards them. Obstacles do not get in your way.
Industries: Associations, Financial Services, Nonprofits
Jobs: Sales, General Management, Marketing

Flexibility: Able to deal with revisions to plans, can adapt well to change.
Industries: Marketing, Government, Technology
Jobs: Customer Service, Administration

Metacognition: Can take a birds-eye view of yourself in a situation and understand how you're doing.
Industries: Associations, Manufacturing, Business Services
Jobs: Research and Development

Stress Tolerance: Demonstrates high tolerance for uncertainty and upheaval.
Industries: Government (including Military and Public Administration), Food, Business Services
Jobs: Operations, Systems/Information Technology, Sales

Understand that most people have two or three of the above as their core skills --- and those skills are hard-encoded and fixed (according to Martin, these skills become apparent from adolescence onwards).

If you don't know what your best skills are, consider consulting with a career coach or life coach in your area. The investment is worth it and you'll gain better clarity on your desires, goals, and the purpose you were born to fulfill.