Funding Your Job Hunt

Published: October 16, 2013
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There's a parallel running through the baby-boom and millennial generations. It's driven by a shrinking tolerance for work that lacks meaning and purpose. Patience is wearing thin on workplaces shaped by toxic politics. Unless impact is measurable with some regularity, jobs fail to engage or become sources of burnout. Whether you are thirty or fifty years old, it's good to get clear about the most basic, non-negotiable criteria for a thriving professional path.

The negotiable items are easy: fair compensation, reasonable benefits, work-life flexibility, collegial civility, and some job stability. Everyone wants these elements. The next level of criteria is unique to each of us. Some require a seat at the table of decision authority. Others demand a healthy, creative, and collaborative environment. Many insist on continuous stimulation and challenge so each day is fresh.

Once you move beyond the celebration of a short commute or the convenience of an onsite fitness center, it’s time to give some consideration to the non-negotiables. You’ll either rediscover the magical fit of your current engagement or your current gig will fund your next job hunt.

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Photo of Steve Ritter, the co-founder of The Center for Team Excellence

Steve Ritter

Steve Ritter is an internationally recognized expert on team dynamics whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and many educational organizations. He is on the faculty of the Center for Professional Excellence at Elmhurst University where he earned the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Steve is the former Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources at Leaders Bank, named the #1 Best Place to Work in Illinois in 2006 and winner of the American Psychological Association's Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award in 2010. Steve provides ongoing workplace culture consultation to many thriving companies including Kraft Foods, Advocate Health Care, Kellogg's, the Chicago White Sox, AthletiCo, and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.