Tips on how to do a values-based job search.

Whether you're planning your personal career strategy or serving on a search committee, a "placement vision" will guide you toward the best mutual fit.

Well-matched values matter even more than details of the resume or job description, said Nancy Archer-Martin, co-author of Career Aspirations and Expeditions (Stipes 2003) and co-founder of the Nantucket Coaching Network.

Her two-day interactive program for Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) in October focused on the use of appreciative inquiry in identifying vision and values. Participants received a professional and personal mapping document to fill out in advance. They met at Alverno College in Milwaukee to learn more.

"If you're not looking for a new job, take the tools back to your campus to bring vision and reality to the human resources process," Archer-Martin told them. The same approach serves employers and potential employees alike.

Getting centered

"I've learned that I won't let life pull me along," she heard from someone living with MS. Getting pulled along is an easy trap for women to fall into as they juggle the expectations of employers, family and friends. She encouraged women to become intentional: centered but not self-centered in control but not controlling.

Confusing urgency with importance makes us all the more vulnerable to getting dragged along. How often does a phone all, email or other interruption pull you away from something less urgent but ultimately more important?