It’s the second week of my #MeritAmerica cohort and this week was about how to introduce ourselves professionally - on LinkedIn and in answering that brain-freezing interview question, “Tell me about yourself”. I heard someone say that it’s so hard to answer because we’re on the inside looking out, flooded with possibly great (and maybe boring) answers. For me, part of figuring out what to say is pinpointing why I’m changing careers at all - and why in the world I picked data analytics. I tend to really want to see meaning and purpose in what I do, to the point of considering it a calling. It turns out that this isn’t that unusual, especially among women. In fact, a 2017 study entitled, “What Women Want”, by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) and Watermark found that the most common reasons women gave for staying with their current employer was that their job fits well with other areas of their life, followed by enjoying the work that they do, and believing that their job gives them the opportunity to make a difference. Further in the study, many women talked about wanting personally meaningful work that connects to their values, purpose, and work-life balance. That’s what I mean by a “calling”. Callings are jobs that people feel drawn to pursue; find intrinsically meaningful; and see as a central part of their identity. The research also found that experiencing work as a calling is closely related to increased job satisfaction. That hits the nail on the head for me. Looking into all this has helped me articulate what motivates me and how I can tell my story. It also showed me, once again, that I’m an information hog who loves to do research when no one asked and find out the answers to questions I’m curious about. And one new thing, I love seeing data clearly and simply visualized, like this one from the study. It turns out that this study found having more women employees might actually make your organization a better place to work! Go #womenintech!
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