Identify your mission alignment

- Often, the folks that I coach don't have a full understanding of why a job or a career isn't a fit for them. They've gotten advice on following a passion or following the money, but don't have a true understanding of what it takes to have a full career profile. To create your personal career profile, you'll need to discern your mission alignment, the skills you want to use, the work culture that best supports you, and what your life needs are that may drive your job choice.

Understanding and completing a full career profile will provide you with the foundation to create an effective career management plan. Let's start with mission alignment. Mission alignment, or passion as many people commonly refer to it, is an intense interest in a topic. It's something that you may think about and read about or it may be activities that you participate in. It's often a driving force behind career decisions and engagement in the workforce.

It's a way to focus your skills and abilities to an industry or organization. In Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, only 15% of employees worldwide are engaged in their jobs. Gallup has shown that employees are more likely to stay with an organization where they feel their contributions add value to the organization's overall mission than if they only identify with the job at hand. Although you may take a job based on life needs, being able to contribute to a mission that aligns with your values will give the job much more meaning.

This is all great information if you're clear on your mission alignment, but what if you're not? You want to think about scenarios beyond making money. Instead, think about scenarios that speak to your enduring core values. In other words, if you didn't have to think about money, where would you focus your time? There are a few areas that you can examine to establish important interests and values that can help you with your career decision. First, you want to look at your interests or hobbies.

For me, that's fitness and fashion. For others, it may be reading, volunteering at youth organizations, or online gaming. These all have industries associated with them and have many roles within them to contribute to the mission. A second strategy is to examine those things that you find yourself reading and posting about in your professional and social media feeds. For me, I'm always thinking about how and why people landed in certain careers and how they get promoted. The topics that get you talking are the ones that you might consider as you look at the mission of organizations that interest you.

For example, if you're interested in sustainability, you might consider Starbucks, where they have a comprehensive plan for reducing their environmental impact. Finally, take a look at what your family and friends value. This is often an overlooked area, but can contribute greatly to your happiness in your career. These are the people that you admire and often aspire to be more like. By understanding their values, you're able to frame how you might see success and how they might interact with you based on that success.

Take a moment to download the career profile worksheet in the exercise files. This worksheet will get you started on completing your career narrative. For now, you can start with the questions we've included to help you determine your mission alignment.