Your Results

Strategic Insights

With purpose high in your results, you should look for opportunities to connect your efforts with the employer's mission, or even to a deeper purpose. You will likely find the greatest satisfaction in your work if you are part of a cause or have a clear sense of who you are serving and are not just collecting a paycheck or working up the corporate ladder. Focus on what matters most to you and look to connect with organizations that share your passions. Realize that you can find purpose in many different areas, including in your contribution to clients, your co-workers/team, or the overarching goal/mission of the organization.

The trend over the last decades has been for people to come into the workforce hoping to receive more purpose from their jobs than previous generations did. This is tricky because satisfaction is based on expectations, and high, but unmet, expectations can lead to disillusionment, which is devastating to intrinsic motivation. Your labor and your life are intrinsically valuable, so you want your hours of effort each day to contribute towards making a difference in something you care about. Of course, you can make a difference in your relationships and hobbies outside of work. But if you scored high in purpose, you want to feel that the work you are doing is making a difference in the world.

Making a difference comes down to our humanity. We are social creatures which is one of our greatest strengths. This means that making a difference comes from usefully serving other people, or even things (such as the environment, trees, or stray animals). The more you can draw a connection to how the work you do serves others the happier you will be. There’s not just one way to do this either. Find what works for you. Surprisingly, many accountants feel high levels of meaning in their work. An in-depth study discovered more than 10 different ways that they found that meaning. Some felt meaning in their role as the referee for the financial marketplace, others found great meaning in helping their companies organize their resources, while others loved contributing to their team and coworkers.

It is worth knowing that not everyone is like you. Many people won't feel deeply connected to the mission or will simply consider it just a nice side benefit to the job. Their approach is just fine. Try to avoid being frustrated by those whose passion for their work is not equal to yours.

In the end, there are more ways to find meaning in your work than most realize. However, almost no jobs will feel that way all the time. Doctors spend a lot of time doing paperwork, and firefighters spend a lot of time on false alarms and waiting in the station, so temper your expectations a little bit. In the end, purpose comes from relationships and service. Even in the best jobs you won’t feel it all the time but try to find a position that resonates with the contributions that you want to make.

Finding purpose in your job is more like feeling healthy. It takes work that is sometimes disruptive and unpleasant, and that doesn’t mean you’re spending every second basking in ecstasy and pleasure because of your health. Instead, it will infuse your entire life and upgrade everything a little bit. It will make the hard/sick/unhealthy times a little better. It will also give you moments from time to time that are rich and powerful, where all of the meaning of what you are doing comes rushing in on you. Savor these. But remember, even if you have a very fulfilling job, don’t forsake your life and relationships outside of work; research shows that longer-term purposes and life-satisfaction almost always relies more heavily on how we prioritize the “life” part of the work-life balance.

Interview Questions

• Can you tell me more about the people your organization serves?
• Why did you (the founders) start the company?
• How do you (the interviewer) feel about the mission of the company?

Job Search Tips

• Look at the company mission statement. It will tell you what the company values. Try to find a company that is aligned with your values.
• See if you can find customer testimonials that speak to the impact the company has made.

Strategic Insights

With clarity high in your results, you should prioritize positions that have clearly defined processes, outcomes, and expectations. Many of the most satisfied employees are so happy because they see that they have become very good, even expert, at something. The feeling of mastery, and making progress towards mastery, is one of the greatest gifts work can offer.

This doesn’t mean that you need your hand held to succeed—far from it. It simply means that success is clearly defined. Through hard work, ingenuity, and brilliance you can become more successful in your role every day. Look for jobs where there is little mystery to how success is measured or achieved, then you can spend your time becoming great instead of guessing what you’re supposed to do.

One great way to add some clarity to your role is to seek careers that are marked with formal credentials and certifications. This helps you and others keep track of what you are capable of doing. It is easier to measure your skills in a credentialled field. (This is why credentialing is very difficult for painters and waiters, but much easier for doctors and accountants). Clarity in what you need to know lends itself to clarity in what you need to do, which is something you appreciate, and for good reason.

Remember that, as with predictability, you can help your manager provide you more clarity. Just do it in a humble and non-accusatory way. Say something like, “I have a few questions for you so that I can make sure I give you exactly what you're looking for,” are almost always going to lead to more clarity.

Interview Questions

• What would a typical workday look like?
• What would your dream employee for this position become excellent at?
• How clearly is success is measured in this role?

Job Search Tip

• The interview is a great place to gain insight. Some clarity comes with the type of position you are applying for, but far more often comes from how clearly management lays out their expectations. Ask lots of questions about what is expected and pay attention to how precise or “squishy” the answers are. “Squishy” expectations often lead to high levels of uncertainty, making it harder to know what things to spend time on and undercutting mastery.

Strategic Insights

Valuing predictability means that you are likely a planner. You get more done when you know what is expected and probably often exceed those expectations. You are likely frustrated by a lack of structure or when there isn't clear guidance. Recognizing these qualities about yourself will help you make better career decisions.

Knowing in advance how you will be evaluated is crucial to your success at work. Unfortunately, most employers are rarely clear on what they need from their employees. This lack of clarity can lead otherwise talented employees to underperform. As someone who wants to go above and beyond, you may need to help your employer set expectations. Because you value predictability, you will likely see tasks that need to be done before others do. This ability to anticipate needs will make you very valuable to your company as an employee and a leader.

Regardless of the work you are doing, clear communication is the key to predictability and you recognize and value that. Some jobs lend themselves to this type of clarity more than others, which you can usually tell from the outset. Just ask yourself, “How easy would it be to know if I have done the job well, even if I never get any feedback?” If the answer is, “very easy,” that’s built-in clarity, which you value, and which allows you to plan for success instead of wading through chaos.

Predictability can also be a management decision, and you can help with this. If your manager has not given you a clear sense of what successful outcomes will look like and how to achieve them, you can and should ask clarifying questions. Just make sure you do it in a way that doesn’t come across as annoyed or accusatory. Say something like, “I have a few questions to help me make sure I give you exactly what you're looking for.”

A great way to ensure predictability is to take a job in the public sector. More than 15% of the entire workforce is working for the government in one way or another. Virtually every job in the private sector is also available in the public sector. Public sector jobs are known for their predictability. The workday ends at the same time each day, overtime is rarely allowed let alone demanded, there are great benefits, and you will know your schedule in advance. Many lawyers from even the best law schools take jobs in the government because the reliability of work hours, vacation days, and promotions makes having an excellent work/life balance and retirement plans essentially built in.

Interview Questions

• Can you tell me what a typical day working here might look like?
• How will I know if I am doing a good job?
• I want to be a great employee. Can you tell me what makes an employee great in your organization?

Job Search Tips

• Seek out job listings in your industry that are detailed, specifically those that describe job tasks, not just required qualifications.
• Look online for employee feedback, particularly of the company's management team. Often, you can glean from past employees' comments if the leadership is good at providing structure.