Keeping Your Values While Looking for Employment

Your humanitarian ethos is key to your identity. Don't lose it in the job search

I’ve had the fortune of a fulfilling and successful value-based job. Now that my entire sector has effectively been brought to its knees, I’m seeing and learning more about the need to pivot my career.

But how do you do this and try to maintain the values you cherish?

I am Tal Ben-Jaaqov and here are the four components that help me assess a good “value fit,” in order of importance:

• Mission Alignment: Does the organization's purpose and mission mirror my own? Do the staff reflect my values?

• Functional Fit: Do the role's responsibilities match my skills and interests?

• Competitiveness: How likely am I to get the interview and land the position?

• Pay and Benefits: Aside from determining if the position matches your financial needs, also consider additional benefits that are important to you. Is the job remote? Does it pay for healthcare or parental leave?

With a career pivot, you may need to make a thoughtful and strategic compromise. Creating scenarios can help.

Our Preferred Scenarios

The first-choice scenario represents your ideal. This would be a scenario where you enter a new job in the same sector you are currently in (or were in) at the same, or higher, level. This is my dream.

Your second- and third-choice scenarios help you identify which components you are comfortable compromising on in the short, medium, and long term. This is a personal choice and is different for everyone based on needs, wants, and circumstances.

Strategic or Realistic Scenarios

Sometimes, you may need to take a "strategic stepping stone" position. This is a role that might not check all the boxes but serves a few purposes in the interim: meeting your financial commitments and possibly helping you gain or refine skills that will be valuable in future positions more aligned with your ideal scenario.

You may also find that the more you need to compromise, the more important compensation becomes. This isn't about being mercenary - rather, it's about maintaining professional motivation when other satisfying elements of work are reduced.

You Be You

Please remember that these are my scenarios, and I am thinking through them every day. I have the same quandaries as you when trying to choose between these four attributes. There is no right answer.

Every career move doesn't need to be perfect, but it should move you closer to your ideal professional situation, whether through direct advancement or strategic skill development.