Job Searching Foundations

Job searching is hard work. It's a full-time commitment on top of all the others you may have. To do it successfully requires focus and effort. One component of that work centers around honest self-assessment. This is the phase of the job search that comes after acceptance. That phase focused on you coming to terms with being on an active job search. It's at the assessment level where you'll begin to do the work.

The pieces of personal self-assessment are:

• Purpose
• Knowledge
• Skills and Experience
• Job Preferences

In this article, we are going to think about your purpose. Purpose is an expression of your fundamental values. Your knowledge and experience are easy to inventory. Your job preferences will emerge from a clear understanding of your purpose.

When it comes to finding a job, what does having a purpose mean? A purpose can be singular ("I love to design furniture") or a mosaic of things that can change throughout your life. Time and circumstances can impact your purpose.

Understanding your purpose is a form of power. For example, it gives you the ability to say "no" to companies or roles that you don't believe are right for you. It can help you focus. Specifically, by defining where to put your time, energy, and resources. It also shows others--companies, hiring managers, etc.--what's important to you. In other words, how do you fit into the world you want to work in?

You should re-examine your purpose over the course of your career.

Let's break down how to refine your purpose into action steps.

First, look over the seventy-seven values listed below. Read and understand their meaning. Also, think about the connections that some of them may have with each other. Next, choose about 10-15 values that are important to you. Write them down. Take as much time as you need to write a sentence or two about each of them. Afterwards, rank them in order of importance.

Acceptance

Accountability

Adventure

Ambiguity

Ambition

Appreciation

Authenticity

Authority

Beauty

Belonging

Certainty

Challenge

Comfort

Commitment

Community

Compassion

Competence

Conflict

Contribution

Control

Courage

Creativity

Curiosity

Design

Determination

Discipline

Equality

Equanimity

Ethics

Excellence

Excitement

Fame

Family

Fashion

Financial Stability

Forgiveness

Freedom

Friendship

Gratitude

Growth

Health

Helpfulness

Honesty

Independence

Influence

Inner Harmony

Intelligence

Job Security

Justice

Love

Loyalty

Mastery

Meaningful Work

Moral Clarity

Passion

Peace

Pleasure

Popularity

Privacy

Religion

Reputation

Respect

Security

Solitude

Spirituality

Strength

Success

Taste

Teamwork

Tolerance

Tradition

Trust

Uniqueness

Variety

Vitality

Wealth

Wisdom

Your rank ordered list of values gives you a sketch of your purpose. Write a very short statement of purpose. Think about your values. Think about the difference you want to make.

This sounds simple but it's rarely easy. Here are a few examples:

Making a Community Contribution

Prioritizing Home and Family

Finding Career Success

Living Authentically

Enjoying Creative Expression

Inspiring Others

Fostering Connections

Living Mindfully

Achieving Life Balance

Protecting the Environment

Raising Successful Children

Living with Joy

Leaving a Legacy

Making Others Happy

Teaching Children

The point of this exercise is to take some serious time to think about what's important to you and how you want to spend your time.

You'll want to revisit this on a regular basis. Keep a journal to record and review this self-assessment work. It's an important component of a structured job-searching strategy.

Everyone has different purposes when it comes to work. Even the words used to describe them can be the same, yet people may interpret them differently. Performing regular self-assessment checks helps you to be clear with your purpose. It gives you a measure of power in your job search, reduces distractions, and signals your professional standards to those around you. Make self-assessment of your purpose a part of your overall job search schedule.

Read on for more ways to make your job search a success: Before You Look to Indeed, Look at Your Values