Quo vadis: Search for meaning and career directions
When you are looking for a job for the first time, an initial self-concept is a good guide to finding meaning in work.
At this time of the year when graduations are in vogue, I am especially reminded that I was also asking myself, during the time I was graduating, the question: what’s next? It seems like a question merely related to progression; that is, to be easily associated with the choice of a career. It may allude to the kind of work one envisions oneself doing through time, and more often than not, considerations would revolve around interests, abilities, and occasionally, values. Yet, could it also be more aptly referred to as something that resonates Christ’s question to Peter: Quo vadis? Where are you going?
People have been found to pass through different career stages consisting of exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline. These stages are traditionally distinguished by age and by the level of performance that we are able to attain at every stage. Exploration occurs until the age of 25, when performance is just beginning to pick up as people try out possibilities for themselves. Establishment occurs from 26 to 45 years of age and is characterized by advancement and a significant improvement in career performance. At 46, maintenance begins. This stage can also be an occasion to further grow or to stagnate. At 65, careers usually decline.
Now that sounds like a defined pathway. Is it just a function of age? Not quite. These are the times we find ourselves at the crossroads while fully aware that the choices we make will have a lasting impact on our lives.
At the start of our careers, we are inclined to engage in unfamiliar situations as we learn and seek change in our jobs. As we progress, our choices become
more deliberate and informed. “Quo vadis?” is a question of meaning-making. It is an opportunity to ask ourselves about the meaning of life — what we live for and what we live by. In the process, we develop self-concept.
Our career choices reflect our self-concept. They reflect where we find meaning and purpose. We find meaning and purpose in many ways — in interesting work, in opportunities where our potential is realized, and in being part of mission-driven organizations. We can also find meaning and purpose in making money, in serving others, and in gaining friends. Our career choices reflect our notions of who we are and the contributions we can make.
When you are looking for a job for the first time, an initial selfconcept is a good guide to finding meaning in work. It is having at least a general sense of what you value. When you land your first job, you discover more of yourself also in terms of your talents and your passion. Then you begin to realize that you can do things for your satisfaction and for the benefit of others. The quest for meaning in work is relevant both for new graduates and those who are already working or have their own business. For the latter two, it is a matter of cultivating meaning from their work.
We can find meaning in professional, bureaucratic, and entrepreneurial careers. A professional career involves the development of expertise and socially valued knowledge within a profession, such as education and law. A bureaucratic career is associated with seeking advancement within the context of an organization. An entrepreneurial career is intertwined with one’s ability to create value through one’s initiatives or creative pursuits. We find meaning when we find reason to carry out our work and to accomplish something significant for ourselves and for others. It involves orientation toward self and others. We can experience satisfying careers by constantly finding work that is a good fit to our developing self-concept.
Meaning can also be found in the context of setbacks. It is not so much the outcome as the process that we go through. Walt Disney led both a professional and entrepreneurial career marked by rejection and bankruptcy. Yet he persisted. He was guided by a compelling vision, which he shared with his employees. For him, “The greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievements but rather with the things we do for the people we love and esteem.”
Knowing what we want, what we value, and what we have in terms of skills and abilities, coupled with an orientation toward others, is indispensable to charting directions for a meaningful career. Direction is according to a self- concept. It is pursued in hopeful anticipation of the future while keeping our eye on the compass.