Assess What Is Important to You

Think carefully about what each of the words or terms below means to you, and then assess how they relate to what you want from work:

Achievement (accomplishing important things)
Aesthetics (attractive workspace)
Affiliation (membership in organization as a source of pride)
Alignment with boss
Artistic creativity
Autonomy & independence (most work self-determined, with limited direction from others)
Change & variety
Chaos (loosely defined environment; goals and priorities unclear)
Community activity
Commute
Competition
Creativity
Dual careers (place also offers career opportunities for partner)
Employee benefits
Excitement
Fast pace
Friendships
Glass ceiling (work environment offers all groups equal potential to work at highest levels)
Global focus (potential to live/work abroad)
Help others
Impact society
Influence people
Intellectual status
Knowledge
Legacy (be remembered for specific achievement by those who follow after)
Lifestyle integration (ability to balance family, career, and self-fulfillment)
Location
Loyalty (high level of reciprocal loyalty with organization)
Make decisions
Minimize stress
Mobility (opportunity to relocate when appropriate)
Moral affiliation (work with people of similar morals, values, and ethics)
Moral fulfillment (environment that reflects your own moral standards)
Multicultural affiliation (environment with people from broad range of ages, cultures, etc.)
Physical challenge
Power & authority
Precision work
Prestige
Profit & gain
Public contact
Pure challenge (work which requires you to overcome impossible obstacles, difficult problems, etc.)
Recognition
Risk
Security
Self-realization (potential for you to realize your best talents)
Stability
Supervision (you have responsibility for planning and managing work done by others)
Time freedom
Travel
Work alone
Work under pressure
Work with others

Once you have pondered the meaning of each, list the words or phrases under the following headings–bearing in mind that you may change your opinion several times as you go through them.