How To Choose a Meaningful Career With Purpose

If asked, a lot of people will confess that they are at their jobs for the profit it brings, rather than the passion or its purpose.

Reading this, you might also agree that your career does not bring you inner peace. However, you are content that it pays your bills and gives you more to save and/or invest.

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Being at a job that does not align with your purpose and passion is not an easy task. Sometimes, our jobs become so overwhelming and frustrating that we feel like quitting.

Your passion for the job is what motivates you in times like this. You derive satisfaction in knowing that you are fulfilling a larger purpose. And this can keep you going in situations like this where you care less about how much you make.

For a lot of people, finding a career that makes them truly happy is more of a priority rather than an option. These people seek jobs that will help them be of benefit to other people around the world. They do not want to serve their employers alone; they also want to touch lives positively all over the world.

Job seekers of this type want to have a career with purpose. They are not after the personal benefits or other rewards/ gifts that a company has to offer to its staff. Instead, they are more drawn to how they can be a part of a larger cause.

If you are finding it hard to find a career with purpose, this article is for you. You will learn what it means to have a purposeful career, what you can do to achieve it,  and also how to take a career purpose test.

What Is a Career With Purpose?

A career with purpose refers to professional job positions that allow you to work for yourself and other people. While you are reaping the benefits of your effort and time, you are also making life better for some people.

When your career comes with purpose, you know you have an impact, directly or indirectly, on society, one in which you are of great influence to a specific community or the general public.

Establishing a reason for why you work motivates you towards the goal; your purpose is the bigger tree canopy while your career is a fruit in it. People who’re purposeful are passionate about making other people happy while reaping the benefits themselves.

Making money (a huge sum of it) is enough reason for anyone to be happy. However, the joy that comes from putting a smile on people’s faces is uncanny. Choosing a career that helps to live a life like this is what it means to have a career with purpose.

How To Start a Career with Purpose

It takes a lot of effort for job seekers to find a career with purpose. Some job seekers already know the career that gives them a sense of purpose. However, others have not figured out what this career is.

If you are a career purpose seeker, here are some tips that will help you discover ways to land the one you love.

Know Your Passion

The first step to finding the right career for you is to think of what you’re passionate about. What are the things that interest you?

Most of the people who have a career with purpose are doing the things they love. Try streamlining your job search according to your goals. You will find yourself being happier when you are working in a job you enjoy and appreciate.

Some people do not know what they are passionate about. They struggle to figure out what exactly keeps them up at night, or their purpose is, for that matter. If you are one of them, there’s a solution to it, even though a lot of introspection helps.

You can go online to search for career assessment surveys. These surveys will help you discover topics you are passionate about and suggest career options for you.

Another way to discover your passion is to write your strengths and weaknesses in a paper. Ask a friend, a mentor, or a career counselor to advise you on which career to choose.

Let Your Passion Choose Your Career

When you have successfully come up with passion, the next thing to do is to choose a career that suits your passion. An ideal career with purpose should possess each of these features.

First, it should be enjoyable. Since it is your area of passion, you should have no trouble doing the job. Hence, when you are choosing a career, think of its long term prospects. Will you be able to work every day for years at this job?

If your answer is yes, you are one step away from choosing a purposeful career.

The next thing to consider is if the job fits your skillset. There are many careers you can get into with your passion but not all of them fit your skillset.

You need to evaluate your skills and see how they can be used to harness your passion.

If your skill aligns with your passion, the next factor to consider before choosing a career is remuneration. How much do you stand to earn annually by working in this career path? Make sure you are comfortable with the compensation before settling for any career.

Remember, no number is a magic number. The more you accept the job, the more you accept the pay and the higher you get paid with time.  

At this point, you have satisfied your gain; now you have to consider your purpose. What needs will you be filling in society by taking up this career? Will you be making any difference by being in that field?

Lastly, consider how you will give to the world through your career. This goes beyond doing your job to earn your salary. It has to deal with doing the right thing at the right time to positively affect the right person.

Choose Your Circle

It is often said that if you want to go fast, you should go alone. But if you want to go far, find people who are headed in the same direction as yours. This adage applies well in choosing a career with purpose.

After choosing your career, the next thing to do is to find people that will help you fulfill your purpose.

Look at your career and decide how you can improve the quality of living through your job. You don’t necessarily need to work for an NGO to help people.

As a technical analyst, you can create manuals or content that will help people understand everyday technology better. There are ways you can help people even if it is a specific audience. Find how your career can make lives better and be in the midst of the right company.

Join a Company With an Effective Work Culture

As a job seeker, the best way you can fulfill your purpose is to join a company. Not just any company but the one that shares a similar purpose as you do. Besides, your desire to fulfill purpose through their job, which aligns with the company’s, gives you an edge over other applicants during the recruitment process.

Many organizations embrace opportunities to impact the community. Community service and generous donations are some of the methods they adopt to achieve this. As you are choosing a career, also find a company that suits your purpose.

One way to know these companies is to check their website for social proof. Or better—their physical location. You can also check the job description for the company’s mission statement.

Fulfill Your Purpose

If you have a purpose, you should pursue it whether or not your company wants it. If the company where you work does not actively support your purpose, there is still hope for you. You can pursue this purpose in your after-work hours.

Invest your time and experience into fulfilling your purpose and helping as many people as you can.

To do this, you might need to write career purpose statements that will act as a guide to fulfilling your purpose. These statements enlist your long-term goals and the plans you have to achieve success.

There are several career purpose statement examples online that you can use as a template. When you write your statement, you can move on to taking action.

You can offer tech help to novices or simplify advanced concepts for children. You can also offer to help people in a community by serving food amongst other career purpose examples. You might even find companies willing to pay you to help them render community service.

Career Purpose Quiz

If you want to find a career with purpose, here are 3 questions that will help you do this quickly. Ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly, and you will find yourself fulfilling your purpose.

What Are My Strengths?

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your strengths and finding how to harness them is the first step to fulfilling your career purpose.

What Are My Interests?

Your interests will allow you to narrow down the list of careers you can get into with your strengths. With your interests, choosing a career will become easier. So easier that every second you spend on it will turn into an investment.

How Can I Offer Help To Others?

You don’t have to follow the trend. Look deep inside yourself, what can you do to meet a need in society? What change do you think you can affect?

We Help You Find a Career With Purpose

Other questions that you can ask yourself should center around who can help you and how to make it possible.

If you have challenges finding a job in your career choice, you can take help from CareerPurpose by TIAA. This website allows you to see jobs specially designed for your career.

LoopCV puts you a couple of steps ahead of every other applicant on this site. You need a resume to apply for the jobs on the site. You also need to be available to apply for every job tailored for you.

With LoopCV, you can prepare a captivating CV and automatically apply for jobs without having to be on the website. All you have to do is supply your details and leave the hard work for LoopCV.

Originally published Dec 14 2021

Frequently asked questions

How do you find a job that gives you purpose?

To find a job that gives you purpose, you first need to know and understand your passion. Choose a career that matches your skills and passion. Lastly, find companies whose goals are aligned with your passion and apply for jobs there.

How do you work with purpose?

To work with purpose means that you have a goal and a passion that drives you to stay in course no matter the challenges that face.

What is the difference between purpose and career?

Purpose and career have similar meanings. They both benefit you and everyone around you. The only difference is that purpose goes the extra mile to impact people in different parts of the world.