Who's Happiest at Work?

Good afternoon. Today we're exploring the state of happiness at work, why it's so hard to get hired right now, and the career advice NOT to follow.

This is a short version of The Wall Street Journal’s Careers & Leadership newsletter. Sign up here to get the full edition in your inbox every week.

Happiness at Work: What Lies Beneath

Americans say they are happy at work. Are they really? When asked how they feel overall about their jobs, most U.S. workers are positive, according to new survey data from the Conference Board, a research group. That's the highest job-satisfaction rating since the survey began in 1987.

A closer look, though, suggests that figure may have plateaued and the satisfaction gap between men and women has widened.?

• How Much More Money Would You Need To Be Happier at Work? (Listen)

Why It's So Hard to Get Hired Right Now

Despite robust U.S. jobs data month after month,?plenty of workers have rarely, if ever, felt more stuck.?Recruiters say that they're not imagining things—the white-collar job market is deceptively hard right now. They even say that some job ads are fake, designed to give the impression of company growth or to build a reservoir of résumés to tap at a later date.

• Slower Hiring Boosts Hopes of a Late-Summer Rate Cut (Read)

‘Follow Your Dreams’ Is Nightmare Career Advice

The larger truth is that professional dreams can be incredibly limiting, particularly at the start of our work lives, writes Bonnie Hammer, vice chair at NBCUniversal. Rather than follow your dreams, follow the opportunities. That often means embracing the lowliest tasks and being open to new options.

• The New Rules of Success in a Post-Career World (Read)

Best of the Rest

Check out some of the Journal's best-read stories on work life over the past week:

• New Job Scams Are Flourishing. Young Workers Are Especially Susceptible (Read)
• ‘Finance Bro’ Outfits Desperately Need an Update. We Have Fixes (Read)
• These Models Gave Up Photoshoots to Sell Their AI Likenesses (Read)
• Companies Are Colluding to Cheat H-1B Visa Lottery, U.S. Says (Read)

This is a condensed version of WSJ’s Careers & Leadership newsletter. Sign up here to get the WSJ’s comprehensive work coverage in your inbox each week.

This newsletter was curated by Vanessa Fuhrmans, WSJ's Careers and Leadership Deputy Bureau Chief. Reach her on LinkedIn.