How Identifying Your Values Can Help You Choose a Career Path

Know yourself.

If there is one thing that we all discover after graduating, it’s that choosing a career path is not simple.

In fact, only seven per cent of people say they have their dream job… Just let that sink in.

Why? Values.

Misunderstanding—or not even knowing—what your values are, contributes to many people missing out on their true career calling.

Eventually, this leads to unhappiness and dissatisfaction in their job which has a massive flow-on effect in their personal life.

We defs don’t wanna see this in young people. In fact, we want to help young people discover their values and use them to direct their career path.

So, here’s everything you need to know about discovering your values.

What are values?

Values are a set of beliefs that guide or influence how you live your life and characterise you as a person.

Values play a role in how we interact with the world around us, directing our actions, sculping the kind of person we want to be, impacting how we treat ourselves, and determining how we set goals.

Each person has their own unique set of values that have been shaped by their life experiences.

So, yeah, they’re kind of a big deal.

Can I have some examples of values?

Definitely. It’s all well and good to talk about values, but it’s hard to visualise them without a few examples.

Here are some (but defs not all) values to get your mind thinking about what yours are.

• Family
• Honesty
• Adventure
• Freedom
• Loyalty
• Fitness
• Intelligence
• Relationships
• Learning
• Creativity
• People
• Patience
• Diversity
• Humour
• Gratitude
• Wealth
• Love
• Religion
• Power
• Justice
• Spirituality
• Peace
• Beauty
• Wisdom
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership

How do I identify my values?

To work out what your values are, it’s gonna take some reflection time. To help you out, get a pen and paper and answer these simple questions.

1. Who do you admire?

Make a list of some of the people in life you admire. These can be people you know personally, famous celebs, athletes, businesspeople, or even characters in movies, TV shows and books.

Now that you’ve got your list, consider for each of them what admirable qualities do they possess, what is it about them that inspires you, and what behaviours of theirs do you want to emulate.

2. What inspires you to move?

Values are often revealed through our actions and no doubt there have been times in your life that you have acted because you felt strongly about something. Write down those moments.

Now, expand on them by considering what feeling motivated you in those moments, what did you risk in the moment, and what was the result of your actions in that moment.

3. When do you feel most like yourself?

You know those moments when you aren’t pretending and are just being your authentic self? That’s a hint that you are in sync with your values.

Likewise, there will be times where you are hiding the real you to fit in or succeed at a job, and it leaves you feeling empty and fake.

For those times where it just doesn’t feel genuine, write down who you were with, how it made you feel, and if this experience had an impact on you emotionally or physically.

Over to the situations where you are being genuine, write down who you were with, what activities were you doing, and what positive emotions or outcomes came from this experience.

By writing all this down, you will start to see patterns that point towards what you truly value in life.

How can my values shape my career path?

It’s actually very simple.

Say one of your values is justice. Within you, there is a fire that burns when injustice happens in the world, and you want to correct it. Because you value justice, this can point to careers in law, humanitarian work, the police force, human rights or social and environmental justice just to name a few.

Similarly, if you value creativity, you can pursue a career as a writer, artist, musician, comedian, actor, or filmmaker. If you value adventure then that can point towards things like a tour guide, travel blogger, outdoor ed teacher or wildlife photographer and so much more

If you are now realising that your values are not lining up with your job or career, maybe it’s time to start a new plan.

To help you on your journey of discovering your values and how you can align them with your future, check out the Deciding Your Dream Career course with Student Edge Plus.

Header Image: Alexis Brown via Unsplash