What are your career values?

Have you ever sat down and really thought about your career values?  I was very lucky recently to have been invited to an event at work where we had a truly inspiring speaker.  One of the things he spoke about was 'non-negotiables', in other words what values would you not compromise on when it comes to your work life.  

It set me thinking about all the jobs I've had throughout my working life and the values that were important to me.  I set about doing an exercise that would provide me with some valuable insight.  Amazingly, I've only had 10 jobs over the course of the last 33 years which doesn't seem many compared to some people I've spoken to - I don't know, is it?

I started off by making a list of all the companies where I'd worked, then took my time to think about each one.  To protect the innocent (and a few guilty!), I won't be naming names but here's the industries and a few insights into how I felt about each one:

Sewing factory - hated it, boring, not challenging, purely money driven to put myself through night classes.

Manufacturing company - first proper office job, loads of variety, opportunities to work in reception, sales and finance, felt valued and recognised for my hard work.

Catering company - loved it, fun, great environment, gained loads of experience, got to meet James Martin!

Bank - temping position after being made redundant, frustrating as was always given the boring jobs.

Solicitors - another temping position, boring, boring, boring!

Manufacturing company - whoa made it to the dizzy heights of PA!  Loved the responsibility, variety, had room to grow in the role, lots of opportunities to learn and go on training courses.

Medical software company - loved it, non-stop frenetic pace, the whole team worked hard (and partied even harder!), great team, lots of opportunities to learn new things, felt very challenging and I really grew in confidence in this job.

Training provider - hated it ... not sure what else to say about this one.  Couldn't believe I'd got this so very very wrong when I went for my interview.  The one and only time in my life when I really didn't want to get up and go to work each day.

University Medical School - very happy time, lots of opportunities, met so many different people from a wide range of countries and cultures, many of which became lifelong friends, lots of variety, loved organising all the different events such as education days, graduation parties and conferences.

Current role - so far, so good!  Challenging, fast-paced and fun.  Pushed me out of my comfort zone just when I needed it the most, every day is different, I work with a great team and I love it!

So, what did I learn from my little exercise?

Career must HAVE values:

  • Enjoyment - simple, I have to enjoy what I do to be happy.
  • Variety - opportunities to learn, grow and challenge myself.
  • Trust - being given the responsibility to work on my own initiative.
  • Purpose - I like to know I'm making a difference in some way.  In my role, it's very difficult as I'm not directly 'bringing the money in' so to speak, but I am supporting the people who do.

Career must NOTS:

  • Boredom - being bored makes me unproductive.
  • Toxic culture - working in an environment which is negative and unfair is a definite no-no for me.
  • Disrespect - whether it's lateness, rudeness, not listening to others, there's no room for disrespect at work (or life in general).
  • No work/life balance - as much as I love work, it's important that I have time to fit in my exercise too as the happiness I get from exercise spreads across all areas of my life.

Why not have a go at this exercise yourself and find out what's important to you and if your needs are being fulfilled.

I've been very lucky in that apart from a few blips, the roles I've had have all met my core values.  If your role doesn't then you'll never be truly happy and able to be your authentic self, it's time to move on I'm afraid, you owe it to yourself.

#2021

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