Ricardo Barriga

When considering new career goals or navigating a job transition, it’s natural to focus on external factors like salary, job title, or industry trends. However, one of the most impactful aspects of your career—the alignment between your work and your core values—is often overlooked. Knowing and embracing these values can shift your professional life from simply making a living to building a purposeful, fulfilling career.

What Are Core Values?

Core values are the beliefs and principles that form the foundation of who you are. They guide your decisions, influence your priorities, and shape your relationships with others. Values like creativity, integrity, collaboration, growth, and work-life balance may drive you on an intrinsic level. By understanding these deeply held beliefs, you can navigate your career in a way that honors who you truly are.

As Brené Brown, renowned researcher and author, emphasizes, “Living into our values means we don’t just profess what we value; we practice it. We’re clear on what we believe and why it’s important.” By uncovering these inner values, you create a compass that points you toward meaningful career goals and allow to bring out your best in any role.

Why Are Core Values Essential for Your Career Path?

1. Aligning Your Choices with What Matters Most
   When your career choices align with your core values, you feel more engaged, fulfilled, and motivated to tackle challenges. Leadership expert Simon Sinek points out that “when we’re clear on our values, we make better decisions because we’re staying true to who we are.” With this clarity, every career decision—from company culture to team dynamics—becomes an opportunity to move closer to a life and career you love.
2. Boosting Job Satisfaction and Meaning
   Studies show that aligning work with personal values leads to greater job satisfaction and meaning. Career strategist Ashley Stahl notes, “Values act as your North Star in decision-making. They ground you and help you make choices that feel true to you.” When you can connect daily tasks with your core beliefs, your work feels purposeful, and job satisfaction grows.
3. Building Resilience in Challenging Times
   Challenges are inevitable in any career. But, if your work reflects your values, you’re more likely to feel resilient and engaged, even during tough times. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, says, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” Finding a workplace that shares your values can help you build resilience, fostering both personal and professional growth.
4. Enhancing Confidence and Clarity in Career Decisions
   Your core values act as a filter for decision-making, helping you quickly figure out if a role or project aligns with what’s important to you. This clarity boosts confidence and prevents decision fatigue, leading to more effective career moves. As renowned management consultant Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” In other words, when you live by your values, you’re better positioned to shape your future on your terms.

Techniques for Uncovering Your Core Values with NLP Approaches

Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques, you can uncover your core values and make them actionable in your career planning. NLP helps reveal subconscious patterns and beliefs, providing a structured way to discover values that otherwise stay hidden. Here are a few powerful NLP-inspired exercises to help you find your core values.

1. Meta-Questioning for Deeper Insights

Meta-questioning lets you dive deeper into your motivations by repeatedly asking “why” to explore layers of meaning. For example, if you find “helping others” as a value, ask yourself why it’s important. Then, ask “why” again for each next answer. This process often leads to revelations about underlying values like compassion, connection, or impact.

2. Anchoring Values with Visualisation

This NLP technique involves creating a vivid mental image of a time when you felt truly alive, engaged, and aligned. Close your eyes, recall the experience, and notice the emotions that arise. Anchoring values through visualisation helps reinforce what’s most important to you and allow to recreate that feeling in future career choices. This powerful association strengthens your ability to spot opportunities that resonate with your values.

3. Pattern Identification with a Timeline Exercise

Using NLP’s timeline technique, reflect on your life’s most significant moments and plot them on a timeline. Identify patterns by asking yourself what values were present when you felt fulfilled, challenged, or motivated. This timeline can help reveal themes that represent your core values, as well as the types of work environments where you’ll thrive.

4. Value Elicitation Statements

Using value elicitation statements can help you pinpoint what matters most. For example, complete the sentence: “The times I feel most connected to my work are when I’m ____. It’s important to me that ____.” Repeat this with different situations. This technique will help you articulate values that guide your career path.

Putting Your Values into Practice in Your Career

Once you’re clear on your values, you can use them as a framework to make strategic career decisions. Here’s how:

• Craft a Values-Based Job Description: Describe the ideal role that aligns with your values, from the type of work to the culture and team dynamics. This “blueprint” serves as a guide when evaluating new roles or considering career pivots.
• Evaluate Company Culture: Before applying, research a company’s culture, mission, and values to determine alignment. Look at Glassdoor reviews, company websites, and social media to gain insights into its real values. Career expert Linda Gale advises, “When you know your values, you’ll attract the people and companies that genuinely value you.”
• Ask Insightful Questions in Interviews: Use interviews as a chance to explore a company’s alignment with your values. For example, if work-life balance is important, ask about flexible schedules or company policies around time off. If collaboration matters, ask about team dynamics and support.
• Stay Flexible: Remember that values evolve as you gain life and work experience. Regularly assess your values and be open to adjusting your career path to reflect who you are becoming.

Final Thoughts

Identifying your core values is not about simply finding the right job—it’s about creating a fulfilling life. Your values form the foundation of everything you do and can help you shape a career that feels authentic and rewarding. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, “Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.” By leading with your values, you’re better positioned to navigate your career journey with purpose and intention.

Take the time to explore your values using NLP techniques and guided reflection. With these tools, you’ll find greater clarity in your career goals and open the door to a more meaningful professional journey.