Do you really know what is important to you in your job or career?

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By Donald Macnab

Do you suffer from the vague feeling that things are not quite right in your career, but you can’t quite put your finger on it? Is this just a phase you are going through or is it a permanent thing? Do you really know what is important to you in your job or career?

"What is important to you?" is the fundamental question in the career planning process and in getting the job you will really feel happy in. Career values are aspects of the work world that are important to you. People who are satisfied at work find that most of their career values are being met. People who feel stressed or dissatisfied often find that their values conflict with those in their workplace. You should be able to enjoy yourself at work or at least have the good parts outweigh the bad. Examining your values will help you determine what your priorities are in your current situation and help you plan for the future.

Identifying your career values

Knowing what your career values are will help you decide what kind of job or career you might like to explore or what kind of work environment you might enjoy. To start look at what you think is important in your work right now. Are you looking for personal relationships? Do you like to help others? Do you want to be the one that makes the decisions? Do you want to be recognized as someone important? Do you need to have the opportunity to be creative? Do you need to work where you have independence? Do you really care about having a stable job? Do you want to have a high salary? Do you want to work where you can take a lot of risks? The answers to questions like these will get you started thinking about your career values. Many books on career development and planning contain exercises that will allow you to explore your values.

For a more structured approach you can take a test such as the Career Values Scale. The Career Values Scale is a well-researched tool designed by psychologists with many years of experience in career development. It will help you examine key aspects of your personal values system. The questions and reports have been designed to help you understand yourself, your values, your satisfactions and dissatisfaction in a clear and understandable way. This offers a quick, reliable and valid method of realizing what values are most important to you and how to use this information as you plan your career.

Of course, you can't expect to have all of your values met in your career. One of the secrets of effective career management is finding other ways to fulfill your values not being met in your career. Many values can be satisfied in other areas, such as volunteer work, recreational pursuits and participation in groups or clubs.

Donald Macnab is a psychologist with Psychometrics Canada.