If you’ve ever been in one of those just right jobs, you know how it makes you feel: time flies when you’re at work, you enjoy your co-workers, you’re proud to talk about your work and the company you work for with friends or family. You actually start looking forward to Mondays.
If you’re currently looking for a job, we hope you’re able to take the time it takes to find a job that is that “just right fit” for you. That means a job that you’ll not only love what you do, but you’ll be very good at it, with increases in pay and job responsibilities along the way. You’ll become one of those “long termers” – avoiding the hassle of looking for “something better” every one or two years because that “something better” is within your current job and company!
At PACE we look at finding the “right job” as involving 4 components of “the right fit”. In this blog, we’ve defined each component of fit & provided helpful questions to ask yourself to determine your needs and wants that will help you find the right fitting job. Say goodbye to job searching and taking jobs based on feelings and hopes – facts and fit will give you confidence in your employment decision!
Job Content
The job content “fit” is between what you love to do, what you are really good at doing, and what the actual work content allows or requires you to do on a daily basis! We believe this is the most important component of “fit”. Finding “job content fit” is all about understanding what skills, knowledge or experience it takes to do the job well, and matching those key requirements up with what you love doing and do well!
Beliefs, Values, & Mission
The “fit” between what is most important to you (i.e how they want to contribute to the world) and what you get to do on a daily basis that includes the products or services your company makes or delivers – is not a small factor when it comes to “fit.” When what you see as important or valuable lines up with what your company does or what you get to do on a daily basis – there is a “fit.” Most employees want to be proud of their jobs and their employers.
Culture & Teamwork
This component of “fit” is what occurs between how you (as an employee) prefer to get work done and how your team gets work done together. This is a significant component of fit finding because there is not a lot that can make up for poor teamwork and culture – it can make for long and difficult work days. Culture “fit” boils down to how yourself and the team define and perform “teamwork”.
- How should a team measure its success? How often? In what way?
- Do you want to work on a team that meets goals or is always striving to exceed them?
- What kind of rewards do you enjoy? Looking for opportunities for individual or team recognition?
- How should my team solve problems? Do people work together to solve all issues together, or does the team expect individuals to solve their own problems?
- How should my team communicate with one another – formally or informally?
- How often and in what ways should a team meet together?
- How do I prefer decisions to be made? Should everyone get a chance to weigh in, or does management just make decisions on the team’s behalf?
- How should myself and my team members get and give feedback to one another?
- How formal/informal of a dress code makes me comfortable?
Motivation
This is the “fit” between what you hope to gain from going to work each day, and what the job, the company, and team has to offer. When what a job delivers to you (more pay, better benefits, recognition, challenge, etc.) aligns with what you want and need from your job, you’ve found a motivational fit!
- Do I need a chance to be recognized and promoted based on a highly visible form of personal contribution?
- What are my aspirations for myself and my team?
- What do I need to be paid in order to feel success?
- How important are benefits to me? Healthcare care coverage? PTO? HTO?
- How important is it for me to know their job is secure and not subject to lay off?
Head swirling yet?
Don’t stress. The PACE team has spent over 50 years matching employees up with jobs that are the “right fit” for them. We’ll get to know you up close and personal to help you find the job we know you’ll love!
