Many young people from the category millenials and generation Z work at ENTER. Young people who started at ENTER directly from their Bachelor or Master studies. What characterizes this group is that they are busy discovering themselves. ‘Who am I, what can I do and what do I want?’ These are the questions they seek answers to in this phase of life. They want to maximize their talents, but stress about the many options they have and perfectionism often hinder their sense of happiness. They experience that they are being lived, sometimes suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), while they do not want to live a reactive life, but rather want to proactively contribute to the world around them. It sometimes feels to them as if they are not at the helm of their own lives, while this is what they long for.
As a coach within ENTER, I have the privilege of working with these young people and guiding them in their search for themselves. Rather than looking for a job that suits them, I look at the person much more from a helicopter perspective; I hover above them and zoom out. By zooming out, I get much more to the core: what are someone's personal values? By the way, I do this not only with millennials, but also with colleagues who are already further in their careers. Every person can have a different value at different areas of life or at different times. For example, someone may find caring important when it comes to relationships and result-oriented when it comes to a working environment. A person's unique combination of values forms an inner compass for that person, a compass that can help us navigate through life.
Deeply held desires
Sounds nice, but what exactly are values? Values, by definition, are guiding principles that give us guidance and inspire us. They are deeply held desires about who we want to be in relation to ourselves and others and how we want to relate to the world.
In my coaching programs, I work a lot with the values compass from ACT theory. A beautiful visual compass that you can put on the wall at home and which reminds you of what really matters. If someone wants to zoom in specifically on their work, we look at career values or career anchors. Career anchors can drive choices you make throughout your career. Often you are not aware of your career anchors. However, when you make choices that are at odds with your anchors, they surface because it starts to rub off.
If you know what your personal core values are and you choose a job that matches those values, you are much more likely to be happy in that job. Living from who you are and what you stand for gives more peace of mind and lowers the chances of burnout. And that inner peace, in particular, is what this new generation needs. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said it all: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
And we ourselves at ENTER say, with good reason: "A great career prospect is about more than work. It's also about personal development and enjoying what you do.” Together with you, we look at what suits you and what you need. That for us is Tech with a heartbeat!"
Want to meet me and see what ENTER can do for you? Call or email me!