Often when people think about choosing a career, they think about the things in which they are interested (e.g., woodworking) or the things at which they excel (e.g., math). What sometimes goes overlooked in this thought process is values. Work values generally pertain to specific goals that an individual believes are important to attain through work. Common examples of these are, “earn an income that can support my family,” “help others,” “have a flexible schedule,” and “have good health benefits.” These are not interests or skills, but personal preferences about features of a job that are important in the decision making process. This exercise starts with 29 work values, along with their definitions, that are used at the highly reputable career services center at Arizona State University. These are not overall life values, but rather, features of work environments that people find important to have in order to experience satisfaction on the job. Read over this list carefully. When you are finished, write down your top 5 most important values—those values you might call your “non-negotiables.”
- Help Society: Do something to improve the world in which we live
- Help Others: Be directly involved in helping other people, either individually or in small groups
- Public Contact: Have a lot of day-to-day contact with the public
- Work with Others: Work as a team member toward common goals
- Work Alone: Do projects by myself, with limited contact with others
- Competition: Engage in activities that pit my skills and abilities against others
- Make Decisions: Have the power to decide courses of action and policies
- Work Under Pressure: Work in situations in which time pressure is prevalent
- Influence People: Be in a position to influence the attitudes or opinions of other people
- Knowledge: Engage in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding
- Work Mastery: Become an expert in whatever work I do
- Artistic Creativity: Engage in creative artistic expression
- General Creativity: Have the opportunity to create new programs, materials, or organizational structures
- Aesthetics: Participate in studying or appreciating the beauty of things, ideas, etc.
- Supervision: Have a job in which I am directly responsible for the work of others
- Change and Variety: Have work activities that frequently change
- Precision Work: Work in situations in which attention to detail and accuracy are very important
- Stability: Have a work routine and job duties that are largely predictable
- Security: Be assured of keeping my job and receiving satisfactory compensation
- Recognition: Be publicly recognized for the high quality of my work
- Fast Pace: Work in circumstances in which work must be done rapidly
- Excitement: Experience a high degree of (or frequent) excitement in the course of my work
- Adventure: Have work duties that require frequent risk-taking
- Financial Gain: Have a high likelihood of achieving very great monetary rewards for my work
- Physical Challenge: Do activities that use my physical capabilities
- Independence: Be able to determine the nature of my work without significant direction from others
- Moral Fulfillment: Feel that my work contributes to a set of moral standards which I feel are very important
- Community: Live where I can participate in community affairs
- Time Freedom: Be able to work according to my own schedule
My top 5 most important values:
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
Once you’ve identified your five “non-negotiables,” think about how well your current job, or the job to which you aspire, satisfies these values. In general, a goal for career counselors is to help clients identify career paths that align closely with their values. If your values are consistent with approaching work as a calling, a work environment that satisfies those values provides an ideal scenario for living out your calling. If the fit you experience right now is poor, in what ways do you need to craft your current work environment, or change your current career path?
Make Your Job a Calling 
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