Job Values:
I was coaching a recent job seeker (whom I will call Angela) and recommended that she come up with a list of relevant job values so she could better target her applications. She scoffed…telling me she thought that was a waste of time.
Angela thought she was being “flexible.” Her words, not mine.
I’m Not Picky
“Look, I just need a job,” she told me, eyes half‑glazed from scrolling job boards at midnight again. “Remote, decent pay, not a dumpster fire. I’m not being picky.”
That sentence right there? That is how job seekers accidentally torch their own confidence.
Because underneath “I’m not being picky” was the quiet confession: “I have no idea what actually matters to me anymore.”
On paper, Angela was doing “all the right things.” Resume polished. LinkedIn sharp. Networking happening in fits and starts. But every time she saw a job posting, her brain did this chaotic little dance:
- “Ooh, good salary.”
- “Meh, weird culture vibe.”
- “But benefits!”
- “Eek… Sunday night dread.”
Ten minutes later: “Screw it, just apply. I can make anything work.”
Spoiler Alert
She could not make anything work. And neither can you (nor should you).
Then one afternoon, after a particularly nasty rejection from a role she didn’t even want, she texted me: “Why do I keep chasing jobs that feel like dating my ex again? Different logo, same misery.”
So we pulled out the Job Search Values tab from her Job Search Strategy Compass and slowed everything way down. No resumes or postings. And no fake optimism. Just one question:
“If you landed a job tomorrow that looked great on LinkedIn, but secretly violated every part of who you are… what would that actually look like?”
The Floodgates Opened
She started naming what she had been ignoring. Here was her must-have list:
- She needed psychological safety, not “a boss who adds you on Slack at 10 PM with ‘quick thoughts.’”
- Ability to use her creativity and strengths daily, not “color‑coding someone else’s bad ideas.”
- She wanted flexibility in schedule and location, because surprise: kids, caregiving, and real‑world logistics exist for all of us.
- And, she was done with a low‑drama, low‑politics culture being treated like a luxury instead of a requirement.
We went through the Job Search Values list, and Angela checked off up to twenty elements that actually mattered to her right now. Not “ideal someday,” but “if this is missing, I will slowly wither inside.” Those values moved to the right‑hand list, her new non‑negotiable filter.
The next time she opened a job posting, she didn’t ask, “Could I technically do this job?” Instead, she asked, “Does this job line up with my job values list, or am I about to negotiate against myself?”
Guess What Happened?
- Fewer applications, but better ones.
- Less “I’ll take anything,” more “This either fits my life and values or it doesn’t.”
- Way less regret about hitting “submit,” because every yes was actually a yes to herself.
Here is the kicker: Angela’s clarity didn’t start with a title or salary band. It started with job values: the stuff under the hood that makes a job feel like home instead of a hostage situation.
Once she honored that, the rest of the Compass finally had something solid to point to.