What does your career give you, and is that enough?

What does your career give you? For most people, this question is harder than you might think. 

We can start with the easy bit: money. Your career gives you money. You may be able to broaden this out too, perhaps to include other benefits: a pension, private health care, a company car, staff discount, chocolates at Easter, doughnuts on Fridays, etc. etc. 

Pay (and benefits) is a perfectly valid way to start answering this question, but if it's all you can come up with you have a problem. You really shouldn't be spending 40-50% of your waking hours doing something that gives you nothing more than money and a few perks. You're giving up too much in this deal. 

So, let's think about what you might want your career to give you (on top of the financial and calorific rewards we've already covered).

Career benefits 

Here are the four benefits my clients tell me they most want from their careers. 

1. A sense of purpose

This one is at the top of the list but is usually the hardest to get to - you need to dig deep. Your purpose is your reason for being, the meaning behind what you do, your ‘why?’. When you’ve aligned your career to your purpose you stop seeing work as something you try to balance with life. Instead, your career enriches and is an integral part of your life.

2. A sense of worth

We all want our contribution to be valued by our organisation, by our boss, by our peers, by our customers. For us to feel truly fulfilled we need to believe that we’re adding real value through our work. If you couldn’t go to work for 3 months how would your business cope? Is there a little part of you that would like to think it might grind to a halt? 

3. A sense of achievement

At the end of your working day, or at the end of the working week, how do you feel? OK, you’re hungry, thirsty and tired. But what do you typically feel about what you’ve achieved, how you’ve spent your time? Do you have words like Proud, Successful, and Fulfilled on your list? If not, why not? You’ve invested so much time and energy, so what was it for?  

4. A sense of identity 

If you're at a social or professional networking event you will probably be asked what you do? This comes after 'name?' but probably before anything else. Like it or not, your career defines you to some extent. How happy are you with what your career says about you? What would you like it to say about you?

You may not have thought about your career giving you these things before now. In fact, many people only discover what their career gave them when it's taken away from them, perhaps due to redundancy, retirement of poor health. 

Are you feeling stuck, lost or frustrated, or maybe you've lost your mojo? Maybe you're at that point where you're starting to wonder whether it's time for a change? You're not alone. Most professionals in the UK don't love their career. 

A coach can help you to take stock of your current position, work out where you want to go next and take meaningful steps towards a more fulfilling life incorporating a career that you love. Some of your biggest life decisions involve your career, so it makes good sense to use a coach to support you along the way.