This page provides information that is helpful for career planning.
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Dr. G. Kevin Spellman, CFA
September 3, 2017
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What makes a great job? Many people will answer that what you do (the position) is most important. It very well may be, but it may not be all that makes you happy. The key to happiness in a job may be more complex than you expect. You could have the absolute best position, but be very unhappy with the pay. You may live in a part of the country that is far from your family, but enjoy performing your work and seeing friends each day. Many strengths in a position compensate for other factors that are less than ideal.
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The grass is not always greener on the other side. Many people leave one firm for another only to find out that they miss what they had before. There may not be a perfect job, but what is good may more than make up for the bad. People who focus on one aspect of a job (a tree), but miss the big picture (the forest), may end up in the wrong job.
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Through my own experiences and through mentoring students, I have determined that there are 6 Ps of Placement (please properly source me if you use this phrase and/or concept as the website is copyrighted). The building blocks of an excellent job have the best combination of position, people, place, philosophy, pay, and performance. Some Ps may be more important to you than others and the relative importance of the Ps may change over your career, but I expect all are a consideration at each career stage. The foundation for you may be position, whereas the most important Ps for me may be people and philosophy, but I expect these are also relevant to you.