Job, Career or Calling?

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” – Abraham Lincoln.

Americans on an average have 4-5 careers during their adult working life. And the trend is spreading across the rest of the world as well. Gone are the days when people looked to jobs for mere financial security and success or social status in fact was equated with monetary strength. Today, people want careers that are fun, rewarding, fulfilling, challenging as well as a means to financial security. Work-life balance is a misnomer today, because we now want it all!

Reality is much different though. We want it all, however, like a woodpecker pecking on a metal pole, we keep at our jobs in vain day after day wondering why are we not getting what we want! So what is it that you want and what is it that you have – a job, a career or a calling?

Without getting into technical career theories, Google gives us simple definitions of these 3 terms,

Job: a task or piece of work, especially one that is paid.

Career: an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress.

Calling: a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career.

In his book “The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom”, Jonathan Haidt touches upon the aspect of all these. He writes that majority of us might think that blue-collar workers have jobs, managers have careers and the more respected professionals (doctors, scientists, clergy) have callings. But Amy Wrzesniewski, a psychologist at New York University, found that all the three orientations represented themselves in almost every occupation that she examined. She provides a prominent example of janitors in hospitals who cleaned bedpans and mopped up vomit, who, based on surveys, saw themselves as a part of a team whose goal was to heal people. Many went beyond their daily job requirements by trying to brighten up the rooms of very sick patients or anticipating the needs of the nurses and doctors without waiting for orders. They saw their work as a calling in contrast to popular belief.

Positive Psychology emphasizes a fit between intrinsic job factors such as the nature of work and job skills with one’s motivated skills and value system. Understanding one’s inherent motivators & values and applying them to choosing the right job can go a long way from the way you perceive your work – as a job, a career or a calling.

A corollary to the above is that you actually might find elements of a ‘calling’ or higher purpose in your current role or organization and the gap could well be a lack of understanding or fully embracing one’s value system and motivated skills.

So how does one go about getting or even finding a job or a career in tune with one’s value system? The first step starts with structured assessments. While Career Development is not a subject of study across universities worldwide (it should be!), all career theories invariably encourage systematic career assessments to begin with.

While we do a comprehensive suite of career assessments with our clients, I am listing down a few that could give you clues to uncovering your motivated skills and values.

Also, be sure to write the results down; it makes a significant difference than just thinking about these.

1. Make a list of “Satisfiers” and “Dissatisfiers” from each of the jobs you have held in the past including the current one.

2. Where do you see yourself 5-10-15-25 years from now? Now, wait. We all prepare for this question when we go for a job interview, but how many ask this to ourselves and answer with utter honesty. Be as detailed as possible in your answer – what kind of work are you doing, how big is your team, are you managing people or working alone, how far is the commute, where are you living, how does your personal life look like, what do you do for leisure, who are your friends and what do they do. Answers to these questions point to the direction that you want to go into the future and hence become your guiding torchlight in the present.

3. If you had a million dollars, what kind of work would you do?

4. What are the things you like to do outside of work? While many of us would prefer to not turn hobbies into full-time jobs and kill the hobby, they can give us some clues. For example, some people love to host parties and digging in deeper as to what exactly about hosting parties do they like the most can provide clues to what they enjoy and are good at such as organization skills or event management skills.

5. Conduct an informal interview with friends and family. Ask them to tell you what are you good at and what you seem to be naturally adept at. Sometimes feedback from people who watch us closely can provide clues to what our value systems really are.

Believe it or not, there are hundreds and thousands of jobs and careers that pay well and can bring a lot of fulfillment; many of which are seemingly unknown hidden jewels.

I must also emphasize that many a times, seeking job or career changes needs life changes first. Assessments put you off the autopilot track and help you take a closer objective look that is necessary to work towards a longer-term goal. There will be temporary setbacks (this is life!) but you will know what you want and where you are headed.