Some opportunities show up wearing the costume of extra homework. Most people don’t look twice.

Good openings rarely arrive looking attractive. They look like extra work, an awkward task nobody volunteered for, a responsibility with no obvious reward. Most people read the surface and pass, which is exactly why the thing underneath stays available to whoever does look twice.

When something tedious lands in front of you, ask what you would learn and who you would meet by doing it. Take one of those this month, chosen deliberately rather than out of duty. The competition for unglamorous work is thin, and that thinness is most of the opportunity.