Passion for Pay

When I was in university, one of my professors spoke about the importance of vocation. He quoted writer Frederick Buechner who described vocation as “the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” This quote has become my gold standard when assessing the work I do and the jobs I’ve had.

I ask myself regularly (usually every six months or so): “Do I experience deep joy doing this work? Does the work I am doing serve a greater purpose? Am I helping others and meeting the deep needs of my community and/or the world?”

When the answer is no longer yes, I know it’s time to start looking for the next opportunity.

Some people are lucky to never have to change career paths because their yeses stay consistent throughout their careers. Most people, however, have to try several times to get consistent yeses. The average person in Canada changes jobs/careers 15 times in their lifetime.

I feel fortunate to have found several jobs in my lifetime so far that have met the gold standard, so I can already hear you asking: “Audrey, if you had a gold standard job, why would you change?”

I’m glad you asked. Life changes. Companies change direction, people change direction, our personal circumstances change, we grow and develop and our ethics change, the needs of our communities change, and what once brought joy may no longer do so.

Over the years, I have developed a system to help me evaluate what to look for in a career that will meet the gold standard. My hope is that the following will help you when you come to a crossroads, or even if you already know you are not engaged in your own career and want to become more passionate about the work you get paid to do.

1. When I Grow Up
Most of us had a list over the years of the various things we wanted to be when we grew up. Mine went something like this: princess, lawyer, UNICEF worker, Peace Corps, bookstore/bakery owner, librarian, and author.

What we wanted to be as kids often reflects aspects of our personality that are core to who we are. As you can see from my list, serving others was important to me—okay, so the princess one was really more about others serving me, but I will just say that five-year-olds can be a little self-absorbed and I had planned to be a benevolent ruler! Service to others is still a vital part of my passion. I would not thrive in a job or career that did not allow me to be of service. Also, my list shows that I like to be people-facing (I actually like to speak and interact with other humans)!

Think back to when you were a kid and what you wanted to be. Write it all down and see what patterns emerge for you. I have a friend who wanted to be an actuary, math professor, accountant, or funeral embalmer. Clearly working with people face-to-face was not their strong suit then and still isn’t today—but they became an amazing computer programmer!

2. Revisit the Past
It may sound odd, but I keep a list of every job I’ve ever had from when I started working at the age of eleven. On it, I’ve listed all the things I loved about the job and the things I hated.

Every time I get ready to make a change, I add my current job to the list and go back through the likes and dislikes to see what patterns emerge. Some things I have learned about myself are that not only do I need to serve others, but I love to teach, I need to work in a space that allows me to be creative, and I thrive when I am given responsibility, autonomy, and the ability to deeply participate in making my workplace the best it can be.

Make a list of likes and dislikes of all your past jobs. See what pops out at you. You will be amazed at how clear things become. Then look for work that feeds your spirit and has more of the things you like than dislike.

3. If I Could…
After I look at the past, I try to think about the future. Without any limitations, I ask myself what the perfect job would look like today. I don’t allow myself to rule anything out or put restrictions on why the dream job will or won’t work. I just picture it and make a list of the following:

• What would my day-to-day activities be?
• What would be physical environment be? Some people would hate to be outside all day, and others would hate to be at a desk all day.
• What would be schedule be? Some love the night shift, others want absolute flexibility to make their own schedule.
• What need would I meet?
• What would my colleagues be like?

While many people will not get their 100 percent perfect job, knowing the answers to the questions above will help guide you to your gold standard job.