2.3: Your Values

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Your values are your core beliefs and serve as motivators to guide your decisions. You need to consider your values as you select a career because you will enjoy the work more if your work tasks align with your core values. If the work you choose conflicts with your values, most likely you will struggle with your work which may create tension and discomfort in your life. You need to consider personal values as well as work-related values (Martinez & Shaker, 2021).

For example, if you value good health and are assigned to market a product that may cause serious health concerns, you will have difficulty marketing this item. If you are asked to do this work on a continual basis, you will struggle internally with the role you play as your job forces you to go against your core values.

Let's Take a Look at Work Values

According to the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), a primary source of occupational information in the United States, work values are defined as the “global aspects of work that are important to a person’s satisfaction.” Below is a screenshot of the six work values to consider while researching career options. O*NET allows you to do a Work Values Search by entering your top three Work Values to see which occupations match your choices. O*NET Work Values Search [www.onetonline.org]

Screenshot of O*NET Work Values Search

Browse by O*Net Data (Screenshot from O*NET Work Values Search [www.onetonline.org])

Your Values Assessment

Your values will play an important role in each phase of your career and life planning process so take time to assess what is most important to you. When your values align with the work you do, you will feel more satisfied and invested in your career.

Activity 2.2

Assessing Your Values

Step 1: To get started, you need to first complete a values assessment. Please use the Value Card Sort at Value Card Sort [www.icscareers.com.au]. As you sort the values based on what's most important, somewhat important and not important to you, shut out the "should's" in your mind. People will tell you all the time that one or another thing should be important to you. You need to identify what is important TO YOU!! After you complete the sort, rank the values in each column to ensure that the most important value is first, the second most important is second, etc.

Step 2:

List the FIVE most important values you identified:

Value 1 …………..

Value 2 …………..

Value 3 …………..

Value 4 …………..

Value 5 …………..

Write your own definition for EACH of your top five values and include:
- examples of how you will know when that value is satisfactorily being met; specifically, what behavioral or observable indicators will there be?
- for each of your top five values, rate how well each one is currently being met in your personal and/or professional life. Use a five-point rating scale (1 = Not at all being met, 2 = Somewhat being met, 3 = Average or adequately being met, 4 = Mostly being met, and 5 = Met very well).

If you would like another view of your values, take the VIA Character Strengths assessment linked on HACC’s Career Services website. Here is the navigation path from hacc.edu:

HACC > Students > Career Services > Career Resources

or use this link and look for “Self Exploration” then “Exploring YOUR Strengths”

Career Resources (hacc.edu)

You will be asked to reflect upon your career priorities related to needs and values in the Rest Stop at the end of this section.