When I was younger, I always thought I could move anywhere and take on any job–let me go wherever the wind blows. On the surface it seemed like I was open to every opportunity and letting adventure guide me, but it simply left me paralyzed with too many options and no focus. Maybe recent college graduates will relate most to this feeling, but I think two years of pandemic life has also led many of us to ask critical questions about where we’re headed, what we’re looking for in our jobs, and what we want our daily lives to look like. 

I have four questions that often resonated with me as I was making decisions about my career, and I want to share them with you to help you reflect on your motivations.

1. Who am I around?
   I love being close to my people. My family and friends are priorities to me when I’m making decisions about my career. Will I be far from them? Will I have to sacrifice being a part of their lives? I don’t have a huge circle of close friends and family–just a handful of people that bring me joy and motivate me to thrive. I’m terrible at phone calls and messaging, so long distance relationships of any kind are especially tough for me. I appreciate the opportunity to meet up, have one-on-ones, and drive up and down the east coast to share meals and make memories with the people I care about.
   
   When you’re making career decisions, it matters to think about who you will be around, and where your close friends and family will be. You need your support network even as you build your career, and it’s worth reflecting on how closely you want to be near them. Ask yourself: Who do you want to be around?  Are you looking to find new friends and build your network? What does your social and professional community look like, for you?
   
   
2. What am I doing?
   I love being paid to learn.  There will never be a perfect job. It’s a tough statement to internalize, because we live in a culture that pushes us to strive for the perfect job that fits all of our interests and passions. Your job will never satisfy  all  your goals or ambitions, but it’s important to evaluate what about your job  is  satisfying. For me, it’s important for my job to teach me new skills or sharpen the skills I’ve already developed. I want to be intellectually engaged, and learn new things. This particular position may not last forever, but these special skills I learn in this position will help me wherever I go.
   
   Your job can enable you to experience new places, meet interesting new people, and get lost in your research for years. The way you spend most of your waking hours is important–either taking on the conventional 40 hours per week at a corporate office or working irregular hours building a business as an entrepreneur or both or none of these.
   
   Ask yourself: When are you most content? What does a fulfilling job look like, for you?
   
   
3. Where am I located?
   I love working from home. This third question is closely tied to the first. Since the pandemic, many jobs have transitioned online and they’re staying remote. Out of necessity, people had the ability to live anywhere and still be able to complete their work remotely. Doing your job no longer meant being tied to a specific city or even country, and let’s not forget the freedom of forgoing a grueling daily commute. Slowly, however, companies are transitioning back to in-person work and requiring workers to come back to the office. And for me, working from home supports my introverted preferences of no more colleagues popping up on me, anxiety of who I’ll bump into the hallways and the intentional and unintentional microaggressions that I associate with being in the office.
   
   Physically where you’re working matters just as much as  what  you’re doing at work. Where your job is located affects your daily routines, your commute, even your meals. Don’t discount that as being an important factor when you’re deciding on a job! Ask yourself: Do you like living in a big city? A small city? Perhaps somewhere more rural? Do you like the corporate office environment or do you dread the office chatter? Do you like the hybrid option to be able to meet up with colleagues once or twice a week? Do you like co-working spaces and prefer your company to offer that option? 
   
   
4. How much am I making?
   I love being paid well. When we all embark on accepting a job, we are trading our time for money and that is extremely valuable. And as a result, money is a big factor in your decision making regarding a job. For many people, how much they’re making is more important than all the other considerations. This also includes what benefits they’re offering you, and what health insurance looks like at the company–all of which are reasonable factors to weigh into the total compensation for your time. Yet, the question of compensation might be more complex than just simply how much the job pays.
   
   I worked for a company for over 10 years and I can confirm that it does not yield the highest earning potential. I graduated college during a recession and so I made $13.25 per hour at my first job out of college and stayed at that company for a long time cause I enjoyed the perks and between not knowing and just trying to grow within the company, I wasn’t thinking about how much I could make beyond the company. As much as I love being paid well, that sometimes wasn’t an option, and I accepted the other benefits of the job. I clearly didn’t prioritize this over the other 3 questions above.
   
   However, as I’ve advanced in my career, my thinking around those 3 questions has shifted. Money is still not my highest priority out of all the other considerations, but I’ve examined and pressure-tested this question regarding how much I’m making a lot more since the pandemic. Like most professionals, I have short term and long term financial goals that I have to consider when weighing career opportunities. If you have a target base salary in mind for investments, savings, or just living expenses, a position at a prestige company with above market pay rates might be the most appealing. However, if you want more flexibility in your hours and more relaxed company culture, you might have to trade a more competitive salary for less pay. It’s all about what your goals are, and how money fits into the picture.
   
   Ask yourself: What is your target base salary? What personal lifestyle and career financial goals do you want - over time? What are the conventional and unconventional paths that I am willing to take to make the income I want?

Before your next big career move or as you’re doing your professional self-evaluations, reflect on these four questions and think about what resonates with you the most. If you’re unclear about what to do, look back on the decisions you’ve made in the past. What’s brought you the most joy? What gave you the most motivation? Is it who you are around? What are you doing? Where are you doing it? Or how much money you’re making? 

There are so many crossroads when you’re looking for a job, and answering these questions for yourself will help you stay focused and reflect on your values and priorities. There is no right answer and there’s no forever answer! What I do has not been meticulously planned. My imagination of the possible jobs, cultures, industries, etc. was pretty limited because I just did not have that early exposure or guidance. However, I always listened to my gut when I knew it was time to move on and I’m thankful for my professional development journey. I probably raged on my daily commute way longer than I wanted. I probably endured being underpaid, micro and macro aggressions in an office environment for way too long. These are experiences that make me who I am and hopefully motivation I can pass on so no one else has to experience it.