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How to Find Value in Your Career, and Find a Career that You Value

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finding value in your career

Guest Post by Chris Delaney

Most people accidentally fall into their career, only to find several years later they feel depressed and bored with their job, which in turn affects their life and relationships. The truth is that people spend more time deciding what to watch on TV then they do planning their future. Most professionals spend more time choosing what to eat on a restaurant’s menu then they do planning their career.

This bad strategy can only end in disaster. You spend a third of your life at work, that’s around 35 years in a life time and 40 hours in a week. Your career affects your finances, your lifestyle, your relationship, the place you live, the car you drive and the holidays you take.

A job isn’t just a job. A job is the route for many people to happiness and a fulfilled life. If you realised that a career had such an impact on your life, would spend more time planning what you wanted to do for a living? Is it worth taking a couple of hours out to ensure you are happy in your line of work for the next 35 years?

People who enjoy their career tend to enjoy their life. If you do a job you love, you tend to wake up on a Monday morning excited about going to work. This combination results in quicker promotions, job satisfaction and, in many cases, a higher salary.

There are several ways to find a career that you will love. The key is to match a career to what motivates you. And a key motivation tool for people is their values, if you match your values to the values of your sector you will be more likely to find a career you will love.

CAREER VALUE TECHNIQUE

1. Write a list of all the things you find important in a career (approachable manager, opportunities for promotion, salary, variety – anything that excites you about work)

2. Write a list of all the things you don’t want in a career. (routine, working alone/in a team, variety – anything that you dislike in a job)

3. Put your likes in order of importance what is most important to you? Number between 1-10

4. Take a dislike and ask yourself if you had a job with the top 5 likes and this one dislike, would you take it? Do this for all your dislikes.

5. You now have a list of likes, dislikes including the dislikes you are happy in certain situations to put up with. Match your list to job criteria’s, this way you find a career that you will motivated to work in.

Certain careers suit certain people. Not too long ago many of us didn’t have the chance to choose a career, you had to work in the sector affiliated to their town. Some towns were built around industries such as coal mining and ship yards.

These days it’s different you can work in a profession that meets your needs, your values. We value certain aspects of a job due to our personality traits. Extrovert people get their energy from being around others, while introverts perform best when left alone. The key is to match what you value, which is often determined by your temperament. This is the key to career success.

Chris Delaney is the founder of www.employmentking.co.uk , a leading UK Careers Advisor and the author of The 73 Rules for Influencing the Interview using Psychology, NLP and Hypnotic Persuasion Techniques.

Chris has over 10 years experience supporting people into employment and specialises in career coaching and advance interview techniques.

How to Find Value in Your Career, and Find a Career that You Value by
Authored by: Andrew Ostler

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