What’s Most Important to You in a Job?

People’s priorities change over time. For example, what was most important to you five years ago probably isn’t quite as essential as it once was. The same applies for your professional life. What you want from your work evolves as you change and grow as a person. Have you found that what you’re looking for in a career is different than it once was?

Share your feedback in the comments section, or take our poll.

Comments

  1. Alex Butler

    I am trying to find a job I am tired of having to scrimp and scrape to provide for my family. It is starting to get real old. But I hope that I can find a new job so I can provide.

  2. Matt Lee

    I have been laid off three times in four years due to reorganization and when I go back looking for a job I am told I do not have the current certifications or over qualified. …CATCH 22… If you have a family you can’t afford to spend money on yourself so you keep going in a downward spiral. I’ll keep scraping by but this is rediculous…

  3. Monica Martinez

    I haven’t had a raise in some time. Yet I feel like I have learned more in the past year, thus do more. I love my job, but it is at a stand still.

  4. Carla Decleene

    I got my ATA in Business Mgmt and now I work in home health care.Administrative Assistants or anything similiar to this wants more schooling in accounting or experience in this area. How do you move forward when you can’t even begin? Yes this is old and when you have other obligations like familiy ect… time and money are a neccesity in short abundance. Does it ever get better.

  5. Tanya Brunsell

    The most importana thing to me is when I am working I like to consider the people that work around me. I would also like to consider everyth9ing that is asked of me on the job site.

  6. Christina Trujillo

    I just would like to say that, I always like Express Personnel and they always find me work.I just would like them to inform me on any jobs that arise.Because I dont know if they are still looking for me and the perfect job will come up.
    Thanks,
    Christina Trujillo

  7. AKACHUKWU UWAKWE UCHE

    i am a good hard working boy. i am 26 years old.
    so i am in need of job that is why i wrote this latter to ask if there is any job hope to see you reply.

  8. Rosalind Taylor

    What I like, or love, most about Express Personnel is that they are fair, they care about the people who work for them, they are flexible, and very very considerate. When I injured my hand at a factory, Express found me something I could do while I recooperated through physical therapy. Way to go Express!

  9. Grace Fusco

    I feel for us baby boomers. Most of us have been victims of restructuring and layoff and have more expierence and knowledge than most of the poeple we are being interiveiwed with. I sometimes find i have to act less smart and professional so not to appear that i want there job.

  10. Domenique

    I want to say Thanks to Express but espeacially Carin Delgado!! She always comes through for me. She has sent me to the best jobs! I have enjoyed every single one. It’s like she knows what I like. Thanks Carin.. 😉

  11. Paul Hoyle

    I took a position at an assisted living facility because I could not afford insurance for my family at my former employer which was a great job, my son is Autistic and no private insurance would cover me or my son only my wife, My son is in special classes 2 hours a day and hard to find daycare, I am a professional and have never been treated this way they fired me over an employees tattoo, and an employee that would not sign his job description and invoices i mistakenly put in March instead of Feb. They dont know how hard it is to find a job!I believe it was because my son was Autistic and the insurance did not want to pay.

  12. K.S.

    It’s very important for me to find a job that I like. Money can come second because I can learn to manage what I have. People don’t realize how forcing yourself to go to a job that you are miserable at, will cause your well-being and health to suffer at anytime. This is why we are always complaining why something hurts or we are so tired because we are doing something we don’t like most of the time on our jobs that are draining our energy. I want a job that I like and will be able to afford my bills and have overflow to be able to build up my savings account. Otherwise, work is labor and mental and physical suffering.

  13. Sid

    I weigh in a few factors when I’m seeking new employment.
    First, What type of company will I be working for?
    Am I just one of a hundred people hired to fill space, fog a mirror and answer the phone? Am I going to be that dispensable? Or is it a company/position that has potential growth? Do they pay for part of schooling or certifications? Will they train for management positions without a bachelors degree?
    Second, since I live in a remote area, Is the wage high enough to cover my expenses and justify the drive?
    Unfortunately, some of the best jobs with opportunities for advancement are low pay at the beginning, trainee positions, etc. These would be easier for someone living with roommates or parents still, and even if the position could indeed be the dream job that sets my career upwards I cannot accept the position if I will end up losing my own home.

  14. KA Nielsen

    A very valid question indeed;
    There are numerous considerations in evaluating what is most important to me on the job. 1- Accountablility; Holding myself accountable for the directives I’ve been given through my superiors. 2- Respect; not only for myself but for and from my superiors as well. 3- Reciprocation of Loyalty; As a seasoned professional in the Hospitality Food Service Industry often times superiors fall short of reciprocating the loyalty of an employee – it’s a tough field. 4- Value; paritally based on financial needs and partially based on interpersonal needs. It’s important for all employees to feel that they are valuable – essential to operations – an asset to ones company. 5- Enjoyment and Fulfillment; is the job fun? are people smiling? is there self satisfaction? 6- Emphasis on QSQP (quality service and quality product); does employer place a strong emphasis on QSQP as I do? 7- Guest satisfaction; are guests smiling? have they received the best QSQP I can possibly provide? Could I have done anything differently to achieve the greatest satisfaction?
    These are the very things that are most important to me on the job. Each is as equal in importance as the other because all intertwine with one another.

  15. Sharon McLaughlin

    For me, I have to have a job that I enjoy doing. I have earned a good salary and been miserable, and I have earned a smaller salary and loved what I did. That latter is so much better! I pour myself into my position and truly need to feel like I’m doing something that makes a difference; either for my employer or for others.

  16. Bren Langdon

    I am so disgusted with the way the economy is going. I have skills and experience, but I am sick and tired of being told before I am asked what my salary requirements are that “We can’t afford you.” I don’t have children, but I have a family. My rent is $1,300.00 + a month plus utilities. I couldn’t get any assistance while I was getting unemployment because I don’t have children and I was told that my income was too great for a link card – A LINK CARD! Now my unemployment has run out, my husband is working as much overtime as his job will allow, but even they are crying about the pinch. Bills are not getting paid and we are one check away from eviction!
    How am I to find a job when the market keeps changing the rules as you learn the game? Can someone please shed some light on this situation for me? I want to work but I can’t work for $9-$10 an hour. It just won’t pay the bills. Thank God our vehicle is paid in full otherwise that would’ve been repossessed by now!
    Thanks!

  17. CW

    I have been searching for a job for about just about a year now. I have been ill and did not look but have started looking recently. At this point in my life I want something I would enjoy doing. I don’t want to work real hard and be tolaly unhappy with work, as I have been in the past. It is very hard to find a job. Why is it so hard to find work? Are we in a recession? I have been layed off due to job elimination, out sourcing and all that……2 times already. I am alone, without family and very few friends. I have no help..umemployment is running out in a month or so, and I do not know where the money will be coming from…..I am a spiritual person, so I am believing that God will provide. Either a decent job, that will help me pay my bills and live, I am just one check away from eviction!

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