Defining your career objectives

- It's very important that you're satisfied with your job, and that you find fulfillment in your career. And you're not alone if you're at a point where you may want more for your career. The reality is no matter your experience level or your tenure, you should be engaged and fulfilled by your job, and we all go through these times where we are more or less so. So in order to determine where you're at, I'm going to ask that you stop and reflect, on what it is that makes you happy, where is it that you find fulfillment, and what suits your strengths? Our parent company Robert Half conducted research on overall employment, employee engagement, and what employees look for from their job, and we call it work happy research. The reality is being happy doesn't mean that every day is perfect. They do call it work, after all, right? But it does mean that you have a deep sense of connection to your work. Or that you can understand how your efforts are making a difference. And whether you have an impact on a company's bottom line, or you contribute to the mission of the work that you're doing. Being happy in the work that you do every day has benefits to both you and your company. Our research shows that happy employees do better work, are more innovative and creative, so it contributes to the company in a significant way. But additionally, happy employees are healthier, and happy employees tend to be loyal to their employers, which helps with long term objectives. The really good news is from our research done by Robert Half, is that we've found that design and marketing professionals reported the highest level of on the job happiness and interest in their work, and this was compared to those that are in the professions of legal, technology, administrative, and financial services. So generally speaking, as a creative professional, we tend to be more engaged and happy in our work. This research, as I mentioned, was done by our parent company Robert Half, and an organization called Happiness Works, which is a London-based consultancy firm that helps its clients measure and manage employee happiness, and for this research, we interviewed more than 12,000 working professionals across the US and Canada. What were the goals of the research? The goals were to find out what it is that makes employees happy and engaged, but also to provide insights on how to build a more satisfying career. The research shows that there are six factors that influence employee happiness. Is it the right fit for the job and the company? Does the employee have a sense of empowerment, to do their work and make their contributions? Do employees feel appreciated for the work that they do? And do they have the opportunity to work on interesting and meaningful projects? Additionally, is there a sense of fairness in decisions that are made on a day to day basis? And finally, are there positive workplace relationships? So those are the six factors that contribute to overall employee happiness and engagements. What about for creative and marketing professionals? There were three top drivers of satisfaction and happiness. Number one, doing worthwhile work. Second of all, feeling appreciated for the work that they do. And finally, interest in their work. So happiness is a very individual thing. So I'd like to ask that you reflect on what makes you happy. Reflect on the work that you do, your projects and your responsibilities, which of them do you find most fulfilling? How important are the relationships and the people that you work with, and what types of people do you work most effectively with, and enjoy working with? Ask yourself about the importance of your company's purpose, or the purpose of the work that you do, the vision, and how important is that to you? There may be other factors, but really think about and jot down what are the things that make you happy and engaged in the work that you do? If you can't come up with a list, you can always think of things that least excite you. A lot of people can come up with that list, but I would make sure that you do both, but sometimes the things that don't excite you, or make you unhappy in your job can be just as telling. A happy and fulfilling career looks different for everyone. I'd like to introduce you to Lyle. Lyle is a graphic designer who's been working in the creative industry for the past five years. He started out working at a design agency as a freelancer after graduating from school, and it later converted to full-time. After three years at the agency, he moved to an in-house position with a national retail company. As a designer he learned new skills, he developed his portfolio, and he contributed to many important projects. But he's now reached a point where he's less excited to come to work every day. He's finding it difficult to stay motivated and to complete certain work tasks. But on top of that, he's working very long hours. Lyle wants more from his career. He wants to feel challenged, and he wants to feel engaged in his work, and he's decided that maybe it's time to explore different career options that could be available to him. Like Lyle, you might realize that you want more from your career. You might be looking for more challenging work, or you're looking to expand your skill set. You might be considering pursuing a different industry. Take comfort in the fact that career lulls are common. If you're not happy in your current role, you're going to want to assess your current situation, what is it that's not making you happy? But you'll also want to reflect on to date, what have been your accomplishments and your contributions? And what is it that makes you happy so that you can identify new professional goals. It's up to you to figure out what you want in your career, and how you're going to get there. In this course, I'm going to walk through several options, and provide tips that will hopefully help you advance in your design career.