How to define a “great” job for you
It use to be that “great” jobs were defined by their prestige, title, and compensation. No longer! In this age of constant corporate churn and instability, defining great jobs takes on a new dimension.
Don’t get me wrong - title and compensation are valid components, but just two of many that define a great job. Today a great job is defined by the overall “fit”and the degree to which a job is truly compatible with “you”. Compatible with your capabilities and experiences, developmental needs, personality, style, and values.
Many executives are fixated on short-term benefits to the detriment of their long-term interests. It seems the standard job cycle has turned into landing “whatever” job you can and then coming up with all the reasons it didn’t work out 18 to 24 months later. This approach makes no sense.
Jobs are crucial, career building-blocks and as a result, broader career management issues are essential to defining great jobs. This is especially true in an era when companies no longer assume the responsibility for developing and managing the careers of its executives. That responsibility rests solely on the shoulders of each executive and it necessitates a different approach to your job search.
During the tech-boom in the late 90s I witnessed many high potential executives leapfrogging into high paying, big title jobs without any thought to their development. In a rush to ascend as quickly as possible, they failed to consider crucial developmental needs as they moved into positions they weren’t ready for. When the bubble burst there were many people holding lofty titles who really didn’t have the requisite skills.
“Great” job defined:
A great job leverages your strengths; offers opportunity for good growth and development in terms of learning new skills and improving on weaknesses, especially those skills essential to getting you closer to achieving your long-term goals; provides you with new and rich experiences; provides a degree of prestige in terms of the quality of the organization; and, is a job where the personalities, culture, values, interests and motivations are compatible with your own.
Finally, a great job is defined by the compatibility with organizational dynamics, in other words, the way an organization operates, in terms of making and executing decisions. It’s often overlooked, but a crucial component, that can determine success or failure based on how compatible or incompatible they are. Ultimately, it’s about the ability to succeed long-term, while growing and developing in an effort to achieve long-term goals.
Important questions
Here are some questions you must ask yourself:
1. Is this job compatible with my strengths and weaknesses?
2. Is this job compatible with my personality, my preferred way of operating, and my values?
3. Are any of my weaknesses in areas critical to performing this particular job?
4. Are any of of my key strengths critical to succeeding in this role?
5. What are the growth opportunities in terms of new experiences, skills, and capabilities? How do these align with my long-term aspirations?
6. What is the probability for success in this role?
7. Ask “Does this job stretch me? Will it help me grow?”
Of course a job should provide good compensation and benefits. But notice how these factors sound less important when stacked against some of these other points. Too often these important factors are ignored or touched on only briefly.
In order for any potential job to undergo proper scrutiny, these factors must be well established. And indeed, if a job is truly “great” it should stand up to thorough scrutiny.
In some ways, great jobs are like great cars…to make that determination you have to know what’s important and then look beyond the exterior and thoroughly under the hood. But you have to be willing to pull up the hood.
