Published: April 24, 2014
How to Tell If Someone Truly Loves His or Her Job
It’s a given, as most business school students in the midst of MBA recruiting know, that the alumni and employer representatives who visit campus for company presentations, coffee chats, and various other career-oriented events tend to be the ones who enjoy their work the most (and are the most successful at it). The end result, in terms of what these alumni and recruiters share with students who are evaluating their career options, is that almost every aspect of internships and post-MBA careers at "organization X" is described in superlative terms.
The amount of responsibility granted to MBAs who join the organization is outstanding; access to senior firm leaders and decision-makers is great; the work content is stimulating; the chance to achieve impact is awesome; your colleagues are talented and fun to be with; compensation and performance bonuses are off the charts, etc. It can seem as though, despite some concessions (long work hours, travel demands), careers across a wide range of employers are all rated “A++”.
Thus, a question I’ve often been asked by students is: how can you truly tell when an organization lives up to its projected image, when a job truly is fun? Are there tell-tale signs to zero in on and ways to tell when an employer experience truly does stand out from the rest? … How can you tell if an alumnus or alumna you speak with truly loves his or her job?
Although it may seem a purely subjective realm, I’ve found that there are three categories to focus on that can demarcate job/work experiences which are merely positive from those that are transcendent.
Read more
