It doesn’t matter what interests you; as long as you are passionate and work with dedication, you will succeed. Also, sometimes, it’s not just about finding a perfect job. It’s more about building a meaningful career. So, before you go ahead and start searching for vacancies, it is suggested to take some time, sit down and think of how you will define “meaningful.”
Amy Gallo, the author of the Harvard Business Review article titled How to Build A Meaningful Career stated that there are four distinctions that define meaningful work. These distinctions are Legacy, Mastery, Freedom, and Alignment. These distinctions have also been approved by the former CEO of Rework, Nathaniel Koloc, who encourages exploring them.
4 Distinctions to Help You Build A Meaningful Career
Table of Contents
It doesn’t matter if you have been recruited through decentralized or centralized hiring; once you get the job, you must do your best. At the same time, you should try to establish a meaningful career. This will be for your own satisfaction. Let’s now have a look at those four dimensions.
#1. Legacy
When you are searching for work, it’s important to think about your legacy. Although it may sound funny that you are thinking about what you will leave behind when your journey hasn’t even started yet, however, this is important. So, do envision your legacy as this will help you search for a job that will have significance for you. Also, the work that you will do would feel gratifying. Focusing on building your legacy is necessary as this is something that you will leave behind even after you leave a particular company. Therefore, sit back and find some time to think about what you want to be remembered for. You can ask yourself the following questions
- How will your legacy honor your interests and talents?
- Will your impact be short or long-term?
- Do you want your legacy to live within a company that you worked for, or should it be publicly recognized?
The answer to these questions will help you figure out what kind of impact you want to make.
#2. Mastery
This is the dimension where you would think about all the competencies and skills that you want to improve. Of course, it can be a bit difficult at times to know exactly what needs improving. Therefore, ask yourself the following questions, and you will figure them out.
- Which skills do your colleagues or friends have that you admire?
- What strengths do you think are the most rewarding and why?
- How do the skills that you want to get better at or acquire relate to the legacy that you want to build?
- What will you be able to achieve with your mastery?
#3. Freedom
Freedom, as best put by Merriam-Webster means the absence of coercion, necessity, or constraint in action or choice. So, what is your career going to look like if you want to feel free? For example, you shouldn’t consider benefits or the salary that the company you are working for is offering. Instead, think about how much freedom they are giving you. However, don’t completely discard the factor of salary. After all, it is more than just a numerical amount. You have to see if the offer made to you is enough to meet your needs in life. If you truly are seeking freedom, ask yourself the following questions:
- What do you need in life to get freedom?
- Who do you know who have achieved freedom in their lives, and how are they nurturing it?
- What paths can lead you to achieve freedom?
- Do you allow yourself to achieve freedom in life? If not, then what’s holding you back?
#4. Alignment
Alignment refers to the extent to which the values of the company match with your own. Whenever you are looking for a job, do keep in mind that an organization’s mission and values are not the same things. If you want to determine how strongly a company’s value aligns with yours, ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the values present at the previous organization where you have worked resonated with you the most?
- When you think about the values of a company, how do you feel?
- If you want to work with a company, how will your relationship be with it?
- Do you care about the people that are served by the organization you are interested in?
Conclusion
Most people just do their job, get the paycheck, and are happy with that. But there are some who want to build a meaningful career. If you are one of them, do consider the aforementioned dimensions. These factors will apply wherever you work, whether it be a sales staffing agency or some other place. If you truly want to feel content with what you are doing, these distinctions will help.
