How to find your professional purpose

So you want a job with more meaning. This is a common theme we are hearing right now, especially post-pandemic. The great resignation - you want a job with more meaning. But how do you get one?

The truth is, school never taught us how to do this - find a job with meaning - and most people don't have techniques for figuring it out.

We are now going to teach you a signature technique to experience one of the biggest aha moments of your life.

The best strategy for finding a professional goal starts with what is called the interview bucket list. To create an interview list, you need to find 10 companies that you are attracted to by what they do, the products and services they offer, the customers, their value, their mission statement - whatever it is and with whom you feel a positive emotional connection. And you have to be able to articulate that connection. You need to be able to say, "I'm putting this company on my list because that's how it makes me feel. When I think about this company, I feel this positive energy."

Why do you need to create an interview bucket list to find a career goal? The answer lies in intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation is key

When you are born you have no intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation develops over the years as you go through life experiences where you literally learn what you like and dislike, what you are attracted to and what you want to be repelled by.

And we are all different. Our intrinsic motivation is completely unique because no two people have had the same experiences. Experience sentences or interpreted them in the same way. So this intrinsic motivation is the key to a career path that you feel connected to, that has meaning, and that looks different for every person.

Now if you take these 10 companies and look at why you are drawn to them, I guarantee you will see patterns, maybe even several. I have never found anyone who doesn't have patterns, and those patterns will revolve around your values, your beliefs, your hobbies, and your interests. You may find that the businesses you chose for your bucket list are all related to working with children, cooking, or one of your hobbies like fishing. Or perhaps these companies are luxury brands, environmentally conscious, politically savvy, or zero-waste.

There are a million directions this can go and there is no right or wrong answer. You are who you are. If you want to feel joy and connection with your work, if you want to finally find your career purpose, you have to tap into your intrinsic motivation - and these patterns will show you that.

What you should do today

Once you've made your interview list and found patterns that reveal your intrinsic motivation, you can (and should!) expand your career-finding strategy by taking the Career Decoder Quiz, a 20-question quiz that Reveals your professional strengths. You'll figure out how you like to create value, what companies pay you for. You create value whether you are aware of it or not. You do something that saves or advances companies.

So after you've figured out what type of companies you should target based on your intrinsic motivation and the patterns you've identified in your job search, research companies in your area, see what types of positions they offer, and see if any of them match your professional strengths. For the first time in your life you will see meaning in your work. This is an amazing technique and I promise you it works.