Your Progress
Week 4: What You Believe in is Where You Should Work
Why You Need to Get Out of Your Head
Video Time: 6:17 Minutes Action Time: 20 Minutes
Welcome to Your Existential Crisis
Do you dread waking up every morning and going to work? Do you need more and more cups of caffeine to fuel your commute because you d rather be anywhere besides the office? What if the thought of work excited you instead? What if you felt proud of what you did instead of feeling drained? When you feel your work is meaningful and contributes to the progress of something you genuinely believe in, you’ll stop dreading Monday mornings.
Key Terms
Existential Crisis = A time of self-reflection when a person questions
the meaning of their life and the purpose of their existence.”
The Big Question: Who Do You Want To Be?
Why Your Company’s Values Need to Align with Your Personal Values
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked an existential crisis for many American workers. Many parents discovered they were missing out on quality time with their loved ones while working jobs that gave them no sense of purpose or fulfillment. In Week 1, we talked about how the sci-fi show “Severance” is a sad metaphor for this disconnect between our personal and professional lives. This disconnect happens when your employer’s values are not aligned with your own.
When Your Values Are Not Aligned It Leads to Stress and Dissatisfaction
Working for companies you don t align with leads to resentment, stress, and dissatisfaction. These negative thoughts and emotions have a way of spilling over into our non work lives. Stress and depression can lead to unhealthy addictions such as drinking, drugging, gambling, and smoking. Sure, posting and scrolling through social media can be a way to escape the unhappiness, but it’s only a temporary fix. More importantly, bringing stress home adds tension to family relationships. When you’re out of balance, everyone around you suffers.
Remember, your work life and home life are not separate, isolated worlds. You are a whole person – not a jigsaw puzzle! Every aspect of your life should be aligned with who you are and what you value most. We will help you build a work/home life blend where your professional and personal lives support each other rather than compete
for your time and energy.
Does Your Current Employer Share Your Values?
If you want to know how a company values you, ask yourself some simple questions. Did they lay off people when the company was making record profits? Did they tell you to hurry up on medical or parental leave and return to work? Do they ever show gratitude for the hard work you do? Do you get real opportunities for promotions or advancements? How did they protect their employees health and livelihood during the COVID-19 pandemic? Ask yourself, “Is that how I want to be treated the next time this company faces a crisis?” Think about the answers to these questions. Then, take some time to consider what values matter most to you in an employer. Jot down those values in your career changer journal!
Internships Are a Game Changer!
Career changers sometimes stall because they get trapped in the endless loop of the lack of experience vortex.”
You can t get the job because you don t have experience, and you can t get experience because you don t have the job!
There are three ways to change careers:
1. Internships
2. Education
3. Both
A Career Changer Parable
Have you ever heard the story about a survivor who was stranded on a deserted island and needed surgery fast? Three people flew in to perform the surgery, but the patient could only hire one of them. Whom would you hire? Someone with no experience but who had read every book on the surgery and watched lots of tutorials? Or would you hire someone with zero education but who had performed the surgery successfully on 100 people previously? Most people answer, “the person with experience.” Oh yeah, and the third candidate? The third candidate has both experience AND education. An internship can provide you with both, just like that third person. But remember, employers care about experience – first education second.
Internships Provide Experience and Expand Your Network
The experience of an internship will help build up and enhance your LinkedIn Profile. That will attract hiring managers and recruiters! As a career changer, you may not have any experience yet in the new field you’ve chosen. Internships can help fill in this critical gap quickly. More importantly, internships allow you to network. They help you develop relationships for future job opportunities. Even an internship you hate will help you. You will avoid decades of toiling in a career that isn’t compatible with your happiness. Just keep one thing in mind. When changing careers, ensure you have a heart-head alignment. Make sure the job you are moving towards fills you with meaning and purpose.
It’s Your Adventure, and You’re in the Driver’s Seat!
Aligning your beliefs with your target company is as crucial as aligning the tires on your car. Your dream job is the ultimate destination! You don’t want to end up swerving off this road to success because you neglected to do some essential maintenance. In the next few episodes, we’ll show you step by step how to navigate your existential crisis and how to identify target companies that will align with your values. Finally, we’ll walk you through how to pivot from an uninspiring 9 to 5 to a new purpose-filled career!
Lifesaving Links
- Mel Robbin’s Ted Talk
- What is an Existential Crisis?
- Super Purposes Career Docuseries Episode 4: Aligning Yourself With Your Company