Putting It All Together
Putting It All Together: Creating Your Key Criteria
Review your writing on strengths, callings, values and lifestyle and pull out the major themes or ideas
in each. What really resonates with you? What feels most important from each section? From those
highlights, develop a summary statement about your right work. You can do this in a short paragraph,
a bullet point list or words and phrases, a mindmap, or even visually, through a collage or drawing.
You can also use the “key criteria” format below.
Try to distinguish what feels to you like high priority “must-haves” for your satisfaction and fulfillment,
from other “nice to haves.” You may even wish to make two lists. Try to keep your key “must-have”
criteria to 4-6 critical components.
Key Criteria for My Right Work:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
But I’ll Never Get All of This!
As you explore what you want in each of these areas, a little voice may be popping up saying, “What’s
the point of writing all this down? I’ll never get all of this. This is unrealistic. There’s no perfect job,
and this in economy, people have to take what they can get.” We’ll be addressing more of this in the
next session, but here are some things to keep in mind for now:
On the one hand, it’s true: no job is perfect, and most of the time the work we do meets some of our
needs better than others.
On the other hand, my experience is that the more my coaching clients articulate exactly
what they want and are looking for, the more likely they are to find opportunities that
meet that criteria.
We dramatically increase our chances of getting what we want when we articulate it, write it down,
and carry that vision with us as we explore opportunities. A clear vision of what we want is a like a
lens that focuses our search on opportunities that will best meet our needs.
We write all of this down, we answer the questions, we clarify it, because intentions and vision are
extremely powerful voices that shape what we bring into and experience in our lives. We do this
because if we don’t know what we want, it’s hard to create it, or to spot it in the world.
I can remember one job search of my own when I learned this lesson. I was in a difficult transition
period and I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do next. I was exasperated and tired of the search. I
worked with a coach for a few sessions to get back on track.
In one of our sessions she asked me, “What are your must-haves for this job? What are your key
criteria?” I had no idea, I realized. I had been so focused on responding to various job listings that I
had never spelled out my requirements for the job.
I thought about it and wrote down what came up:
 Making x dollars per year
 Being in an environment with people I really like and enjoy being with day to day
 Feeling challenged and like I’m growing a lot in my knowledge and skills
 Knowing I am making a positive contribution to the world
If I could have those four things, I knew, I’d be satisfied.
Once I wrote those things down, jobs starting showing up that met that criteria beautifully. It was
almost eerie.
Looking At Your Beliefs
One more thing, if you are convinced it isn’t possible to find a job that meets your needs, you may
miss opportunities to negotiate and generate creative ideas that would help you do so. For now, see if
you can suspend your beliefs about what is and isn’t possible. Instead of asking, “is this possible?” keep
asking yourself, “how can I make this possible?” See what ideas and answers arise.