PILLARS OF THE CAREER SATISFACTION ASSESSMENT: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
My clients come to me for different reasons. Sometimes they are trying to move to that next level in their career or they are feeling like it’s time to make a change and need help identifying their next steps. I created the Career Satisfaction Assessment to help you break down how you’re feeling about your career and your satisfaction within eight different categories, or pillars.
One of those pillars is “Making A Difference”. It’s an important pillar for your career satisfaction but it means different things to different people.
For some people making a difference means that their job helps them make a difference at home: putting a roof over your family's head, paying for extracurricular activities, saving for college, etc.
For others, it means that the intended use of the product their company makes solves a problem in peoples’ lives, or even makes a difference in a big way likecombating climate change or curing disease.
In order to be satisfied at work, mission-driven individuals need to know that the company they work for is making a difference in the world on a larger scale.
How do you want to make a difference?
A client of mine was feeling dissatisfied at her job. She would show up to a meeting, fully prepared and excited to contribute only to find that others would voice similar ideas that gained traction over hers. She felt her presence made no difference.
For her to feel satisfied within the “making a difference” pillar, she needs to feel heard. I talked with her about how she can show up differently at the next meeting.
There are always many factors you can’t control but you can control how you present yourself. With these changes in place, she was able to feel heard and confident she is making a difference within her company.
What it really comes down to is what “making a difference” means to you and how it’s affecting your career satisfaction.
Take my Career Satisfaction Assessment to help you evaluate your satisfaction on a scale of 1-10. If you find yourself with low scores, ask yourself these questions:
What does making a difference mean to me?
What can I change to be more satisfied in that area?
Figure out what puts the wind in your sails in regards to making a difference and then brainstorm how to implement the changes you need for greater satisfaction. This could lead you to any number of actions…
Mentor someone at work
Engage in an initiative that helps out your community
Or even change jobs entirely
Let me know what making a difference means to you. I’d love to see where you fall on the Career Satisfaction Assessment.