Choose your career according to your values

Value- it is a single word that has been heard in most corporate or professional scenarios. People had been asking to add value to the work, or even work according to values.

But what is the value? It is the importance or worth. When you talk about value in a project, it is about how it impacts the target group. And when it is about values in a person- it says what are the ideals the most important for that one. A best career counsellor can help to find out your true values.

We’ll explore work values in this post.

It is the personal beliefs or motives that help you to identify what is the most important for us when it comes to working. These values determine how much you are willing to do your work or be happy to contribute through their work- their work satisfaction and success. These are unique for everyone but equally crucial for everybody.

Psychologist Sabina Read told Seek.com, “Values are not about what we want to achieve, but rather about how we want to behave or act on an ongoing basis.”

You can divide the values into 3 main categories-

Intrinsic values-

These are the innate values that you enjoy for yourself. These are-

• The challenges they face in work are enough to keep them interested in what they do, 
• Variety and opportunities you get in work, 
• Integrity– the honesty you expect from the work, 
• Help or assistance that you need from your co-workers or seniors, 
• The creativity you need to utilize in the projects, and 
• Support you should get from the whole community.

Extrinsic values-

These are the values you need others to fulfil. Some examples will be- 

• Relationship with your co-workers, 
• A healthy work environment with minimal politics, 
• Prestige for your contribution, 
• Recognition for the work you have done, 
• Salary or compensation you are getting for your work and also the 
• Security you get regarding your job. 

Lifestyle values-

These are the values that relate to how you want to live your life around work. These values include- 

• Work-life balance– how much time you can spend at home, 
• Travel– how many opportunities do you get to stay at home or see the world, and 
• Location- the independence or working from home or having an office close to your home, etc.

Why do you need to choose a career aligned with your values?

• You can get more energy and fulfilment while working
• You will feel validated at work
• You will not face Monday blues
• You will feel seen and heard in your work
• You will not wait for the vacation and will not wait for the month-end.

As a student, you might feel that just bagging a job is more than enough. But with time you will realise that long-term fulfilment is just as important, if not more.

How to have a career according to your values?

•      Self-assessment-

Ask yourself what your values are. You can think of your past experiences, ask your peers, or even take some online quizzes if you feel like it.

But, only you can understand what values are important to you and how much. But again, do not fret about it too much. Your values might change as you grow up and take different experiences in life so do not overthink too much.

•     Make a list-

Now, keep a list of your values. You can note it down in a diary or on your phone’s notepad. But make the list easily available to you, and rank them as important to you. You can place more than one value in the same rank. And it need not be perfect in one go.

•     Categorize-

Have three separate lists to categorize your values- Must-haves, nice-to-haves and ok-to-haves.

Now look at your ranked list of values and put them in these 3 categories.

•     Choose your career options-

Now it’s time to research. Brainstorm, ask your teachers and search on the internet. Find the jobs that follow your top-priority values and also tend to follow some of your nice-to-haves. Also, check if you like the subjects these values are based on.

You can also reach out to various professionals through LinkedIn or other platforms to ask them about their personal experiences and how much the values they follow in their work.

•     Make an action plan-

Now, set your career goal from those values and live according to them.

After you’ve determined your goals, you’ll need to create action plans to achieve them.

Then break it down to what you need to do this year, this month and then on a weekly and daily basis. Then keep executing and thriving towards your dream career.

•       Review when needed-

Lastly, some of your might change as you age and have more experience.

You can change the plan or the actions as needed.

Choosing your career according to your values will give you much more satisfaction in your job or career in the future than you can imagine. You may not have the highest-paying job but you love the work for sure.