Can you believe we’ve covered four parts of this series already? All that’s left is the last one, but it’s definitely not the least!
After we’re done with this series, be on the lookout for our future commentaries on all things professional!
So, what else do career-seekers look for in a job? Here’s one more thing that might help us understand that.
- CAREER-SEEKERS WANT AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE TO THEIR CRAFT.
Previously, we’ve discussed how opportunities for new learning attract potential employees, and convince existing employees to stay. There is another dimension of expertise, however, that also helps keep passionate candidates coming and devoted employees going the extra mile.
It’s the opportunity to explore the boundaries of our chosen craft.
Where further professional learning is all about mastery of an existing craft and its developments over time, exploring the boundaries is all about the creativity to make our own developments. It’s about us doing more than just following trends; it’s about us making the trends. When we are truly invested in and passionate about what we do, this is the natural tendency.
Why does this make us excited to pursue a career opportunity, or to stay with our company for the long-term? For one thing, it’s the chance to reinvent or innovate. In a job where we can foster our creativity and critical thinking, we’d be in a perfect position to push the limits of our chosen field and turn it into something better than before. We can try outside-the-box solutions that could address previously-unsolvable problems. We could establish alternative protocols for outstanding situations that defy the conventional way of doing things. The possibilities for filling in the blind spots of our routines are endless, and companies would be in a good place if they help us accomplish that: a lack of blind spots means total delivery of quality results.
For another thing, there’s the potential for recognition. Innovations are attributed to the knowledge, insight and skill of their respective innovators. When we use it properly, this recognition can be a ticket to greater opportunities. Our professional value could skyrocket at fellow professionals recognize that we have skills and knowhow that our contemporaries in the same field do not. Our expertise will be in greater demand, allowing us to build up our careers even more.
Environments that nurture ingenuity, inventiveness and the willingness to experiment enable us to reshape our respective chosen disciplines, and even change the landscapes of the industries we operate in. Companies that have such environments can rest assured that their employees and potential hires will want to stay, in the hopes of leaving their marks on the global economy.