Identify Your Values

Values are the guiding principles that help us choose our actions. When you are living your values, you are joyful and whole. If your values conflict with the values inherent in a work situation, you may experience conflict, unhappiness, and even illness.

Understanding the top core values in your life helps you stay true to what you believe.

I encourage job seeking clients to do a formal values assessment for two reasons. First, client affirm their core of power and purpose as they choose a career or job. If a job you are considering does not align with your top values, consider the consequences. Even if you seek a job just for income or as a bridge to another job, be aware of potential values conflicts. A client of mine left a job as a bank trust officer to work for a law firm, but soon realized that her new boss was a real “people killer,” and my client left, unable to tolerate her boss’s behavior . She said that if she had considered the difference in her values and those of her boss, she could have avoided this disastrous chapter.

Knowing your values also helps you in a job interview. Many job interviews involve behavioral questions about obstacles you have overcome or achievements in other work, and your answers can articulate values that you would bring to the new job. For example, if you are asked about how you solved a conflict or overcame a difficulty, you can describe the event and add, “Because I put a high value on win-win situations, I made sure that I talked to all the parties involved about what we could do to improve working together.” You might even ask an employer about the organization’s or work team’s values.

Keep your values front and center with each job interview, each disappointment, each new turn. Values are the beacon of light that help you stay true to yourself. Here are some suggestions:

• Find a career planning book or search the Internet for a list of values to help you generate your top five to ten values. Ask yourself, “What guiding principles do I cherish most and act on repeatedly?” “What values are important in my work?”
• Write your top values down and keep them where you can see them every day.
• In the job search, assess the values of a potential employer or boss by what they emphasize, what gets rewarded, and how people are treated.
• In the job interview, emphasize the values you have demonstrated in your work history and how they align with the company or organization you are interested in.
• Strive to find the best values fit you can in any job, even a temporary one.