Job Hunt vs. Purpose Search
Don’t hunt for a job. Search for your purpose.
Many people hunt for jobs with the best package and most promises. They search for the best offer, title, and tastiest kool aid. It’s the basis for their decisions. Promises are made. Expectations are set. Maybe fast promotions are used as the golden carrot. The job doesn’t look risky. The company is “growing fast”. Sales is “KILLING it”. The pitch sounds perfect and you’re lured in. This is going to be your big break! But, you didn’t realize you joined for all the wrong reasons.
It all starts the same, and I’ve certainly experienced it.
You join. Excited.
You tell your friends. Then try to recruit them. You’re convinced its the best opportunity in the world.
The money is pretty good. It’s more than you were making at your last company. This. is. awesome.
A couple months, or maybe a couple of quarters, and you’re still excited. But, something starts to change. The story you told yourself in the beginning starts to unfold. That’s ok. You rationalize it. There’s plenty of reasons to still be here. This must still be the best opportunity in the world.
Something is off, though. You aren’t happy. Something is missing…
At first its 1 day… then it’s an entire week… then its hard to get out of bed. But, It’s ok. The promotion is so close.
Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve found yourself in one of those positions. I have and know lots of people today who are feeling it. Maybe you made a lot of great friends at the company and that’s one of the main reasons you don’t want to leave. Maybe you enjoy the salary and that’s a justification to stay. Maybe you have a promotion that’s been promised. Maybe you justify this is OK because everyone else is also struggling. Justifications go on and on, but they end up being for all the wrong reasons. You’re simply not happy… you end up feeling a lack of purpose. You find yourself staring at the computer screen. Hours. Days. Then weeks pass by and you start to wonder what you have accomplished.
The lack of purpose. It. Is. Killing. You. Inside.
Have you seen people fall into this scenario and then do nothing about it. I almost did. I was terrified as I saw it happening… I was losing my purpose, or perhaps realizing that I never started with a strong enough purpose in the first place.
I had joined for the wrong reasons. I hadn’t found my purpose from the start. There was nothing wrong with the job — only with the way I went about hunting for the job in the first place. I wasn’t hunting for my purpose.
Reid Hoffman, wrote an excellent post about the importance of purpose at work. 2,000 of LinkedIn’s employees were surveyed and found that 41% of them fit a purpose driven profile compared to the industry average in tech of 21%. This means that those 41% of employees prioritize meaning and fulfillment over money and status. That’s a huge competitive advantage, similar to the customer experience competitive advantage.
LinkedIn benefits from this orientation in a number of ways. According to Imperative’s research, purpose-oriented employees are:
* 54 percent more likely to stay at a company for 5-plus years
* 30 percent more likely to be high performers
* 69 percent more likely to be Promoters on Bain & Company’s eNPS scale, which measures employee engagement and loyalty
Companies should be striving to help their employees find a strong sense of purpose. But, it’s ultimately your responsibility — you need to own it. This is your life.
The responsibility starts from the start — when you’re about to make a critical decision. Ask yourself, what are you really working towards? What’s your end game? What are you really aiming to accomplish?
Don’t hunt for a job. Hunt for your purpose.
You’ll likely end up working harder, being more successful, and more importantly, be happier.
Have patience. This is not always easier to find. You need to fight for it. If you find it and get shut down, then prove your way in.
You should be willing to fight for you purpose.
Earn it. Find a mission you believe in. Find people who inspire you. That you look up to. People who you want to learn from.
If you’re in a job right now where you’re feeling unfulfilled, you can either; A. Hunt for a stronger purpose within your current environment/role or B. Start looking for one elsewhere. Don’t compromise. Having a purpose helps you live a meaningful life. A Stanford Research article, “The meaningful life is a road worth traveling” has a beautiful quote:
The quest for meaning is a key part of what makes us human.
Finding your purpose is not always easy. So, here is some simple advice from a Tiny Buddha article, Discovering Happiness Through Purpose in 3 Easy Steps. Steps to finding your purpose:
- Know your values
- Know your super power
- Know your passion moments
- Notice opportunity and do something about it
The intersection of your true values and super powers, backed with relentless passion, is where the magic happens. It’s where adventure ultimately begins.
Follow me on Medium or Instagram, where I share some of my photos from my trip around the world after hustling for 5 years at Acquia. I am also starting a publication: Startup Sales & Growth Hacking.
