The importance a person places on certain needs determines the importance of a work value. Needs make up your work values. This means that your needs are also very important for your career exploration.

There are 6 different work values below.

ACHIEVEMENT

Ability Utilization: Need to use your individual abilities
Achievement: Need to obtain a feeling of accomplishment

If Achievement is one of your highest work values, explore jobs that:

• Let you see the results of your efforts
• Give you a feeling of accomplishment
• Let you use your best abilities

INDEPENDENCE

Creativity: Need to try out your own ideas
Responsibility: Need to give directions and instructions to others
Autonomy: Need to make your own decisions

If Independence is one of your highest work values, explore jobs:

• Where you can do things on your own initiative
• Where you can make decisions on your own

RECOGNITION

Advancement: Need to have opportunities for advancement
Authority: Need to give directions and instructions to others
Recognition: Need to receive recognition for the work you do
Social Status: Need to be looked up to by others in the company and community

If Recognition is on of your highest values, explore jobs:

• With good possibilities for advancement with prestige
• With the potential for leadership

RELATIONSHIP

Co-workers: Need to have co-workers who are easy to get along with
Ethics: Need to do things that agree with your sense of right and wrong
Social Service: Need to do things for people

If Relationships is one of your highest work values, explore jobs:

• Where your co-workers are friendly
• That let you be of service to others
• That do not make you do anything that goes against your sense of right and wrong

SUPPORT

Company Policies and Practices: Need to be treated fairly by the company
Supervision, Human Relations: Need supervisors who back up their workers with management
Supervision, Technical: Need supervisors who train their workers well

If Support is one of your highest work values, explore jobs:

• Where the company stands behind its workers
• Where the workers are comfortable with management's style of supervision
• With a reputation for competent, considerate, and fair management

WORKING CONDITIONS

Activity: Need to be busy all the time
Compensation: Need to be well paid in comparison to other workers
Independence: Need to work alone
Security: Need to have something difference to do every day
Working Conditions: Need to have good working conditions

If Working Conditions is one of your highest work values, explore jobs:

• Suit your work style
• Require you to be busy all the time
• Involve working alone
• Have many different things to do

Resources:
Adapted from O*NET's Work Importance Profiler: Work Values Definitions