Tool 3 What makes a job satisfying for you? Instructions This tool will help you select factors that make a job satisfying for you. Read each listed factor and select your top 10 items. You can prioritise your selections by assigning a number from 1 to 10 for each. The most important should be rated number 1 and then working down to number 10. Once you have identified the job satisfaction factors, you can also look in the third column to find some questions to ask at an information interview to evaluate if that job is right for you. Factor for Career Satisfaction ABILITY Use your skills, knowledge and experience. /s for Information To what extent will this job allow me to use x ability? ACCESS Be located in an accessible workplace. s - How do you access the workplace? - Could I visit the workplace to take a look around? 1
ACHIEVEMENT Give you a sense of getting somewhere, or accomplishing something /s for Information What sense of achievement do people get from the role? ACTIVITY Be busy all the time in a fast paced environment ADVANCEMENT Provide opportunities for promotion and career growth. ADVENTURE Provide feelings of excitement, opportunities for risk taking and exploration s - How busy is the work area? What is the pace of the work like? - Are there many deadlines to work to and what drives them? s - What type of career development does the position offer? - Where do people typically go after doing this role? - How long do people typically stay in the role before progressing? What do you find exciting about the role? 2
AUTHORITY Give directions and instructions to others. /s for Information To what extent is the role involved in directing others? AUTONOMY Allow freedom to develop your own approach How much autonomy is possible in the role? CHALLENGE Push you to do things that are difficult What do you see as the main challenges in the role? COMFORT Be low pressure, with minimal stress COMPETITION Require you to outperform others and prove yourself s - What is the pace of the work area? - How pressured is the role? How do people doing the role know whether they are doing a good job? 3
CONDITIONS Have good pay and leave conditions /s for Information What do you see as the most attractive part of the pay and conditions package? CONTRIBUTION Have a positive impact on the organisation or its clients. CREATIVITY Involve designing and developing things s - What impact or outcome is the role expected to achieve? - Who ultimately benefits from the work done in the job? What scope is there to design and develop new things or ideas? DETACHMENT Allow you to forget about the job when you go home ENVIRONMENT Be in a clean and attractive workplace To what extent would I be expected to take work home, or deal with issues outside of normal working hours? Where is the work done? Could I have a tour or a look around? 4
EXPERTISE Develop your skills in a particular area to perfection /s for Information What opportunities are there for me to develop my skills in..? HELPING Provide services and support to others What opportunities are there to provide services and support to others? IMPROVE Involve finding better ways to do things INDEPENDENCE Involve working on your own. What priority is placed on finding better ways to do things over following existing methods? How much is the role required to work independently? INTERACTION Involve working with people who are friendly and social. How much interaction is involved within the team? 5
LEADERSHIP Have influence and authority over others. /s for Information How much formal or informal supervision is involved? LEARNING Provide you with new knowledge and skills What learning opportunities are there within the role? MOBILITY Offer travel and relocation options To what extent does the role offer travel or relocation options? QUALITY Focus on providing excellence in the product or service What priority is placed on providing quality or excellence over meeting deadlines? PERSONAL TIME Leave sufficient time for pursuits outside of work and/or family life What options are available for flexible work hours? 6
PROXIMITY Is close to home or family /s for Information Where is the position located? How flexible is this? PURPOSE Provide meaning to your life RECOGNITION Give acknowledgement for the work you do. s - What type of people do you find enjoy this work the most? - What do the people who work there now find satisfying about it? How do people in the role get feedback? RESPONSIBILITY Require independent decisions To what extent will I need to make decisions independently in the role? 7
SECURITY Give stable, long term employment /s for Information Is the position ongoing or non-ongoing? TRAINING Provide opportunities for training and career development. What training opportunities will be available in the role? STABILITY Undertake similar tasks every day How much of the work involves undertaking similar tasks every day? SYSTEMATIC Apply procedures or rules in a structured way To what extent is the role expected to apply a set of rules and procedures? STATUS Be important in the organisation. To what extent is the role recognised by others as being important to the organisation? 8
SUPPORT Offer supportive supervision and management. VARIETY Provide opportunity to do a lot of different things /s for Information - What type of supervision will be available? - How much support and guidance will be available to me? s - How much variety is there in the role? - What types of things vary? 9