Work for the sake of work certainly keeps the bills paid, but eventually the feeling of wanting to do what you love gnaws at you until you make a change.
Why do you admire some people, but are turned off by others? This helps filter out what career may or may not be right for you.
When you do what you love, a “job” doesn’t feel like a job. Your career becomes an extension of yourself, where your best skills are highlighted, and where the company shares your values.
Daniel Goleman, author of Starting a New Career? Consider Good Work, considers this blend—work you enjoy, using your best skills, and aligned with your best values—to be “good work.” It’s a concept that was first outlined by Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist and co-director of the Good Project.
If you’re a new graduate and just starting your career, or are transitioning into a new career, here are three steps towards doing “good work”:
1. Determine What You Would Like to Spend Your Life Doing
This is different than asking what job you would like to hold, as the employment landscape changes quite often. Determining what you would like to spend your life doing pinpoints what you really get a bang out of, and where you excel at, while leaving the other aspects open-ended.
Goleman uses the example of someone getting into journalism in the hopes of working for a newspaper. The news publishing industry is changing, so working for a newspaper may be a bit uncertain, but journalism and the aspects that come with it— writing, investigating, and interviewing—can still be carried out in different venues and mediums. You know what you love to do—where it gets done is secondary.
2. Think About People You Admire
The next step is to think about people whom you admire and respect—and people you don’t want to be like.
Why do you admire some people, but are turned off by others? This helps filter out what career may or may not be right for you. Do you find yourself admiring people that are all from a similar line of work, or with similar hobbies and interests?
Not being able to think of people you admire is a warning sign, according to Goleman.
“It’s not necessarily a warning sign about you; it’s a warning sign about the culture around you,” says Goleman.
“Perhaps you’re in a situation where you can’t admire anybody at all, or the people you admire don’t do anything related to what you do.”
3. Decide Where You Would Like to Work
The third step is to decide where you would like to work—and then ask yourself if the company reflects your values. Is it worth taking the job at that large corporation, even if the company offers a service you feel is lackluster, and has an iffy reputation? The small startup may be offering you a lower salary, but is the better fit if the company is a more accurate reflection of who you are and where your gut it telling you to go.