New Grads Turn to Counseling and Assessment to Find Best-Fit Jobs

It's unusual that the springboard for our latest blog comes from the Washington Post health section, but the article is apropos for discussion here because it touches on the needs of job seekers to consider not only the monetary aspects of their next job, but the emotional payback as well.

Particularly mindful of the personal fulfillment aspects of working are new college grads, who in record numbers are turning to life coaches or other counselors to map out their early careers. Those who take this route might take personality tests and engage in other forms of soul searching to define their core strengths and values. The results help them chart the course for best-fit jobs.

Many young adults have watched parents lose jobs to downsizing, mergers, or outsourcing. As a result, they aren't fixated on long-term employment because they know the reality of an ever-changing work world. They want the best jobs for now because, as their thinking goes, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

While most job seekers, new grads and seasoned workers alike, know that companies don't create positions for the sake of fulfilling people's lives, they can take some comfort in learning that many progressive employers are aware of the fulfillment phenomenon, and taking steps to make and market their workplaces as strength-based organizations.

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