What is important to me? – My values

Your basic values play a central role in your choice of career and job. They motivate and guide your decisions in life. They give meaning to your activities and represent your very personal "mission".

Values in the past

The following questionnaire is about identifying your values based on your experiences. Take enough time to do this calmly. 1. Name the qualities of a person you particularly admire.

2. Describe activities that you used to like to do. What did you particularly like about it?

3. When you think of a special moment in your life: what happened? And which values were particularly important to you in this situation?

4. What does success mean to you personally?

5. In which moments do you experience particular fulfilment and satisfaction?

6. Which values would you pass on to your children? And why?

Values in a professional environment

In the following list, identify values that are important to you in your professional environment (1 = not important, 4 = very important).

Values 1 2 3 4

Promotion: fast advancement through good performance. Opportunity for rapid growth.

Adventure, risk: professional tasks that involve risk (physical, financial, social). Aesthetics: involved in exploring and appreciating the beauty of things, ideas, etc. Altruism: contributing to the betterment of the world and the public good. Balance: job leaves plenty of space and time for other passions, leisure activities, family, etc. Challenge: dealing with complex issues and challenging tasks. . Change and variety: wide range of tasks and responsibilities. Competition: tasks in which you compete with other people. Creativity, innovation: opportunity to contribute and implement your own ideas.

Expertise: high-level know-how in a subject area, high-level technical knowledge and job-relevant skills. Fast work pace, time pressure: environment in which work has to be done at a fast pace.

Flexibility: designing tasks and processes around your own schedule.

Friendships: work climate and environment in which personal relationships play an important role. Fun: ability to be playful and humorous in the workplace and to make room for it.

Harmony, calm: functioning and working without time pressure and stress, harmonious relationships with others. Helping others: support and help for others, individually or in groups.

Values 1 2 3 4

Income, financial recognition: earning a higher income than average. Independence, autonomy: few directives and orders from others, few regulations, much freedom. Influence: ability to influence attitudes and opinions of others. Decision-making, power: making decisions about courses of action and strategies. Moral, spiritual fulfilment: feeling that the work is in line with your own ideals and moral concepts Personal growth: work lets you grow as a person. Recognition: achievement leads to positive feedback and public recognition Security: a stable work environment and adequate remuneration create security. Stability: work routine and predictable tasks that do not change over time.

Status, prestige: respect from those around you due to your work and responsibility.

Teamwork: close working relationship with colleagues and working as a team towards common goals.

Working alone: working on projects independently, mostly alone, little contact with other employees.

(Source: University of Denver)

Mark the five values that are most important to you and put them in order. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.