Career Exploration: Your Career Values

Career exploration for moms re-entering the workforce or preparing for their second act.

When thinking about pivoting in your career or re-entering the workforce, there’s quite a bit to consider on your journey to figuring out what you want to do.

In today’s world, there are so many industries that you can get into, as well as specific subsets of careers.

For instance, let’s say you want to get into the healthcare industry. There are so many options! You could be a medical assistant, a nurse, a patient registration associate, a transcriptionist, or you could get into medical billing and coding. You could work for a diabetes education center or an inner-city health clinic. You could be in healthcare administration as an operations manager. You could be a physical therapist or an athletic trainer.

if you think you want to go into nursing, do you want to be an LPN, an RN, or CNP? Do you want to work in a pediatrician’s office or the ER? Do you want to work as a traveling nurse or a telehealth nurse?

Do you see where I’m going with this? Just determining that you want to work in the healthcare industry as a nurse doesn’t narrow it down enough. But, that’s actually a good thing, right? Because it means that nursing, like many other career options, is a good fit regardless of your personality or lifestyle. There are so many options to choose from, you just have to figure out which options are right for you.

And that’s where conducting a Career Values Assessment comes in. So, what are career values?

Career Values

Career values are similar to our regular values, just applied to our professional life. Values are the main principles we personally live by because of the meaning they bring to us. Our values are highly personal – what brings meaning to one person looks different for another person.

So what do our values have to do with our careers? They are interconnected when it comes to our personal happiness and satisfaction. If we work for an employer, in an industry, in a position, and with people that are in alignment with our values, then our contentment and satisfaction are more likely to be higher than they would be if they were not aligned.

This is a good indicator for people who are miserable in their jobs or with their employers. It’s not just that the daily grind is taking its toll – it could very well be that their career values aren’t being met by the current circumstances of their job.

Taking an assessment of their career values and how they line up with their employer will allow them to see if that’s where the issue lies. Knowledge is power, so if the assessment reveals that this is an issue, then they can take steps to get their work situation in alignment with their values.

Identifying Your Values

Our Career Values are made up of four categories – Work Environment Values (WE), Intrinsic Values (WI), Work Content Values (WC), and Work Relationship Values (WR). Each category is made up of several values, which I’ll go over below.

Career Values Ratings

In order to figure out which values are most important to you and, therefore, what you should be looking for when considering what profession you want to pursue, you’ll want to rate each value under each category 1 – 4.

1 = not important to me for my work (doesn’t matter)

2 = sometimes important to me for my work (situational but not a main consideration)

3 = frequently important to me for my work (ideal)

4 = absolutely important to me for my work (non-negotiable)

Work Environment Values (WE)

Work Environment Values refer to your working conditions. What needs to be there in order for you to thrive in your productivity, creativity, motivation, and fulfillment? Do you like to work in a buzzing, exciting environment, or do you work best in a quiet space? Is the tone that the design and décor of the office space set key to you feeling motivated each day?

Values: Aesthetic, Autonomy, Benefits, Comfortable Income, Excitement, Fast-Paced, Flexible, High Earnings, Learning, Location, Personal Safety, Predictable, Quiet, Relaxed, Community, Structure, Time Freedom, Security.

Intrinsic Values (WI)

Intrinsic Values refer to what motivates you internally. What keeps you going and causes you to enjoy your job outside of your paycheck? Is working for a company that is committed to environmentally friendly practices and sustainability something that interests you? Do you want to work for a company that gives back to the local community? Or, is feeling like you belong and fit in easily essential?

Values: Achievement, Balance, Belonging, Commitment, Contributing, Environmental Awareness, Equality, Community Contributions, Honesty, Independence, Influence, Integrity, Power, Respect, Responsibility, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Status.

Work Content Values (WC)

Work Content Values refer to what you find most satisfying and engaging about the job itself. Do you like helping people? Are challenges and problem-solving opportunities something you need to stay engaged, or do those things give you anxiety?

Values: Adventurous, Advocacy, Analytical, Challenging, Conceptualizing, Creative, Decision-Making, Detailed, Helping, Initiating, Cutting-Edge, Organizing, Physical, Problem-Solving, Public Interaction, Research, Risk-Taking, Variety.

Work Relationship Values (WR)

Work Relationship Values refer to the characteristics that you want for your interactions with co-workers. Do you want to work in an office where everyone is friends and they spend time together outside of work, or do you prefer to keep more defined boundaries between work and personal life? Is receiving recognition for a job well-done something you need, or do you steer clear of recognition and attention?

Values: Caring, Competition, Cooperation, Diversity, Friendships, Fun, Harmony, Individuality, Leadership, Loyalty, Management, Open Communication, Recognition, Support, Teamwork, Trust.

Narrowing Down Your Values

Once you’ve rated all of the above values 1 – 4, circle all of the values that you marked as 3 and 4. Now, write down the top 10. If you do not have 10 values as marked 3 or 4, then include the most important values that you marked 2.

Next to each value, write down what specifically about that value is important to you (e.g. what it would look like for you in the workplace).

Now, narrow it down even further to your top 4 values. What are they? Are you surprised by the results, or are they the ones that first came to your mind before you started doing the activity?

Keep these values in mind when you are researching career fields, specific positions, and employers. If you currently have a job and are unhappy in that job, look at your top values and reflect on if those values are being met.