How to Find a Company That Fits You

You’re unhappy with your job and your company. You’re not alone. The last figure I read cited 80% of employees are unhappy at work.

Much of that unhappiness is rooted in cultural mismatch.

People accept jobs because they pay enough, are in a good location with a short commute, or fit their idea of status. However, they leave jobs because they are a bad fit, and usually it has to do with values. The company’s values and the employee’s values don’t match.

So, how do you find a company and position that matches your values?

First, you stop applying for jobs online. In fact, you stop applying for jobs altogether. (Not what you thought you’d be reading from a career expert, huh?) Then, you clarify your own values.

What do you value?

Answer these questions:

What makes you excited to get up in the morning?
What are you most interested in?
What do you want to spend the most time doing?
What do you love most about what you do?
What do you talk about with the most enthusiasm?
What do you want others to remember you for?
When are you so interested and involved in something that you lose track of time?

Do your research

Next, spend your time researching companies. Find out what makes them tick. Answer these questions:

How does the company act in the world?
What do they value?
How do they treat their friends?
How do they treat their competitors?
How do they treat their employees?
How do the employees treat each other?
How does the company act under pressure?
What do they consider their mission and purpose?

Find out what the companies say about themselves on their web site and in their annual report. Does it match with what their competitors say about them? And with what their employees say about them? How about their vendors?

Make a match

Find out:

Which companies are interested in the same things you are?
Which companies look at the world in the same way you do?
Which companies would you be proud to work for?
Which companies would allow you to do every day the thing that makes you excited to get up in the morning?
Which companies need you to do the thing in which you are so involved that you lose track of time?

Narrow your list to the companies that fit with your values and interests.

Now, go talk to people in those companies. You’re likely to find you have a lot in common with them. Keep talking until one company stands out above all of the others. Find out and let them know what you can do for them.

Image courtesy Master isolated images via freedigitalphotos.net.