A person with a standard full-time job spends approximately 25 percent of his week at work, not counting the time he spends commuting back and forth to his place of business. In many cases, particularly in salaried positions, people work beyond the typical 40-hour week. Realistically, we devote at least third of our lives to our jobs or tasks related to our jobs. With so much being invested in our professional lives, our personal happiness and well-being is intimately tied to our choice of work.

I know of many employers who have taken the tack that in a struggling economy, workers should be content to have a job at all, let alone one that provides satisfaction. These are the companies that will be most hurt in the recovery, as their best talent floods out of their ranks to more compassionate enterprises. If you aren't contented in your current self-storage position, perhaps 2012 is the time to explore new facility options or possibilities for promotion. There are industry resources that can help.

This month the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) announced its new online Career Center. The center will allow members and non-members alike to search for positions in the industry. Members will be able to subscribe and receive notifications when new positions come available. They can also post their job openings, creating, editing and removing listings by logging into their online membership account and clicking the Career Center link on the top navigation bar.

Visitors to the CSSA Career Center can search by keywords, location or organization. Position filters include facility manager, district manager, operations manager, regional/area manager, training coordinator and others. Additional filters include those for full or part time, and education and experience requirements.

If you do not live in California, or are not interested in a California-based self-storage appointment, check with your local self-storage association to see if it, too, has a career resource available. If it doesn't, you could make this great suggestion for the board of directors. I'm sure your fellow managers, district managers and area managers would appreciate it.

Another place to seek, post and network regarding self-storage jobs is Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community, which includes a free "Job Fair" board for members. You won't be able to see this section of the forum unless you are logged into the website as a member, so if you don't already have a free SST account, create one today. Once you've done so, you'll see the Job Fair under the Self-Storage Marketplace section.

These days, many of the larger self-storage companies, including the real estate investment trusts, include human resources or job links on their websites. If you're interested in working for a larger firm, you can start with the Inside Self-Storage Top-Operators List, which will provide you with a list of options and links to each company's website. You can also try contacting some of the industry's top third-party management companies, as these outfits regularly seek and place quality self-storage managers. Of course, you can also do a Google search and investigate standalone websites such as SelfStoragejobs.com.

Finally, perhaps the best way to network for self-storage positions is to attend an industry conference where you can mingle with representatives from all of the above mentioned resources: state associations, Self-Storage Talk, large operators, REITS, third-party management companies and more. You can also rub elbows with owners of smaller storage companies; maybe you'll spark a personal connection that changes your professional life! The industry's next big event is the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, March 14-16. It could be the career opportunity for which you've been waiting.

If you know of other industry-specific career resources that might be of interest to our readers, please post them as a comment to this blog. In 2012, take steps to perfect the quality of your work situation; the benefits will spill over into the rest of your world. Happy New Year, and best wishes for finding your next "happy job."