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This is a follow up to the article recently published in this column surprising entitled “Time to change job?” but it can certainly be read in isolation. The original article along with all other articles printed in this column are available in the Articles section of my website www.synergycoachingservices.net If you do not take the time to identify your values when job hunting, it is akin to trying to find your way to the door in a room with all the lights out. If your lucky you will eventually find the door after you have kicked the table, knocked over ornaments and fallen over but wouldn’t it have been better to just turn the light on?
What specific benefits are there to identifying what is truly most important to you (otherwise known as your values) about your career or job? When a job is presented to you that looks like a very good match to your values, you can be pretty confident that you will enjoy doing that job and get tremendous satisfaction from it. If on the other hand a job does not seem to offer opportunities for you to work according to your values, then chances are, that job is not going to get you very excited and you will hardly be jumping out of bed every Monday morning looking forward to your day. For example, lets say security is very important to you and is more important to you than earning lots of money, you might want to think twice about taking a commission only based sales job even if the earning potential is huge. - Clarifying your values, allows you to focus on what you want and not on what you don’t want. There is a saying “we are what we focus on”. If we focus on what we don’t want, guess what, we generally get more of it.
- We get the opportunity to ask ourselves, empowering, motivating simple questions that can change our lives dramatically such as – “what can I do right now in my job so I am behaving more consistently with my values”? Sometimes, there are other options to moving jobs. Perhaps with a slight change of attitude, focus and a commitment to accept personal responsibility for ourselves, we can be very happy in our current roles.
- Decisions become easier. When we are faced with tough decisions, the reason they are tough is because of potential conflicts with our values. Think about it, if you are offered two jobs, the first is offering great money but it requires that you spend the next 12 months in South-East Asia, the second is just as well paid and you will be based from an office in Limerick. What is more important to you, an opportunity to travel to new and wonderful places or a stable and secure environment for your growing family? Being clear where adventure, challenge, security, family, stability are ranked in your values will allow you make a decision that is right for you.
- My favourite. Clarifying your values, give you the opportunity to take control of your future, whether in your career or in any other aspect of your life. Values allow you to make decisions that are consistent with what is truly most in important to YOU and are therefore right for you at this present time in your life. You no longer have to feel pressurised by well meaning friends and family telling you that “You would be mad to pass up on this opportunity” or “can’t you be grateful that you have a job at all”. Instead of drifting along from one job to the next based on the “normal” career path and being very unhappy in the process, you can instead map out your own unique career path for yourself and be happy and fulfilled in what you are doing.
Much of my work with clients is in the field of careers development, so if you are interested in learning more about the services that I offer, please feel free to browse my website www.synergycoachingservices.net or give me a call and I will be happy to discuss your personal circumstances in more detail. Good luck. Remember: There are two things to aim for in life; first, to get what you want and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946). Fergal O’Connor is a Business and Personal Life Coach working in partnership with his Business and Private clients providing a supportive, confidential, challenging and non-judgemental environment to make their ambitions and dreams a reality. Fergal can be contacted at Synergy Coaching Services, Tel: (061) 467287,
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web: www.synergycoachingservices.net Copyright © 2005 Synergy Coaching Services.
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