{"id":694,"date":"2010-04-21T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/higheredcareercoach.com\/?p=694"},"modified":"2014-08-13T15:34:33","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T15:34:33","slug":"what-do-you-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/higheredcareercoach.com\/staging\/2913\/what-do-you-value\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do YOU Value?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em><\/p>\n

\"piggybank<\/a><\/em><\/em>

If money is all you love, then that is what you shall receive*<\/p><\/div>\n

In this article, contributor Mickey Fitch takes readers on a values Q & A that they can apply in their own job searches, as well as personal lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

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When I was in college, at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point<\/a>, I was both a hall government representative as well as a community advisor. <\/strong> As part of the training and development for these roles, we attended a retreat at a local camp.\u00a0 Our supervising hall director would hold a “values auction,” where we would bid against our fellow staff for different values such as honesty, clear communication, competition, and difference.\u00a0 These auctions were interesting to me then, but what is fascinating to me now, as a student affairs professional, is this:\u00a0 The items I won at these auctions are now traits that I consider to be my strengths!<\/em><\/p>\n

During a job search, it’s tempting to let your values take a back seat to getting the \u201cright\u201d job.<\/strong> It’s easy to spend more time looking at the duties listed in the job posting than looking at what isn\u2019t found there: benefits, values, and institutional culture.\u00a0 Day in and day out, the overall picture of the position is what keeps us happy, motivated, and contributing to the success of our university, and to ourselves as people. Our job descriptions are not our life descriptions, people! <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So, let me offer a few thoughts about values:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0 Your values define you as a person.<\/strong> Like character traits, they don\u2019t change from job to job, or university to university.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0 While professionals talk a lot about values, it’s usually in the context of training, evaluation, or discussing problems we are having at work\/with the job.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0 On the other hand, we often try to teach values to our students, or to get them to examine their own.
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Does anyone else see the irony here?<\/strong> We are teaching and preaching, but don\u2019t necessarily walk our own walk!<\/em><\/p>\n

Since many of our readers are currently in job searches, I thought it would be appropriate to share the following\u00a0 series of questions to ask yourself, during your career exploration.<\/strong> (Although these topics aren\u2019t as two-sided as I will present them, take the continuum into account as you think about them<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Do you value…<\/strong><\/p>\n