Written by Ryan Giordano | Learning & Development Leader, Career Resilience Coach
📰 | Read my Writing
🌐 | Visit my Site
To do it right, we must consider an array of subjects including: career aspirations, financial goals, societal & global impact, and our own work-life balance ideals.
By identifying what works (and what doesn’t) in our prior roles, and by reflecting on personal skills & experiences, we can create our own career compass to guide ourselves toward meaningful work.
We can also learn to build an intentional mindset, or framing, of how we approach our work—which is also subject to change as we navigate different phases of life.
So, how do we approach the job search? We start with our own definition of meaning.
I spend a great deal of time thinking about this, stemming not only from personal curiosity, but also because my day job revolves around career coaching and professional development. I help people discover what type of work they find meaningful and rewarding. I also help people build resilience to cope with the stress, anxiety, and burnout associated with work.
The first decade of my career, I’ve been working in the tech sector where I’ve focused on how to make work rewarding, valuable, and meaningful for employees, while simultaneously helping companies achieve their strategic goals.
One conversation that I find timelessly relevant is when people ask me “how do I find my passion?” Often, what people are really asking is, “how do I find meaningful work?”
In this context, 'meaningful' is subjective. It's not important that everyone perceive your work as meaningful, it's important that you find your work to be meaningful. Each of us must personally define what “meaningful work” means to us.
A great place to begin is by identifying goals. This could refer to your career goals and what you aspire to achieve. It could also involve financial goals concerning what you hope to afford or invest in the future, and how you plan to amass the wealth to attain that. You might also be seeking work that has a global or societal impact, in that it’s aimed at specific areas you're invested in:
Some examples of specific areas