Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Marketers Use Career Values to Find the Right Role
Transcript
- Lucas: Today I want to talk about something that a lot of marketers overlook when they're planning their next move — career values. Not just skills or salary, but the deeper fit with a company's culture. I came across a LinkedIn data point from last year that really stuck with me: marketers who explicitly prioritized cultural fit in their job search landed roles they stayed in for over two years at a rate 40% higher than those who didn't. That's a big difference. Luna: That's interesting. But isn't 'cultural fit' one of those vague buzzwords that means different things to different people? How do you actually assess it before you join a company? Lucas: Right. That's the tricky part. But you can actually reverse-engineer it. Instead of just trusting the job description or the interview vibe, you prepare a set of questions that probe for each of your top values. For example, if creativity is a top value, you don't just ask 'Is this a creative environment?' You ask something like 'Can you tell me about the last time a team member brought a bold new idea to the table and how it was received?' That gets you a real answer. Luna: I love that. And it works both ways — you're signaling that you're thoughtful about where you work. You know, if you're getting value from these conversations, there's a simple way to keep them coming — you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Even a few dollars a month helps us stay independent and focused on tools like this values exercise. Lucas: Absolutely. And we really appreciate that because it lets us keep the show ad-free and dig into the nitty-gritty. Lucas: So, the first step is to get a list of common career values. There's a framework called the Career Values Sort — adapted from work by Richard Bolles and more recently by career coach Jenny Garrett. You rank a list of values like autonomy, creativity, stability, collaboration, and you identify your top five. Then you use those as a filter when you evaluate potential employers. Luna: I've done that exercise before. It's surprisingly hard to narrow it down to just five. Everything seems important until you have to pick. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the real clarity comes from. You have to make trade-offs. For a mid-career marketer, maybe autonomy outweighs job security, or vice versa. Once you have your top five, you can then research companies to see how they align. Look at their mission statements, their Glassdoor reviews, and especially how they talk about their own culture in interviews. Luna: What about when the company says one thing but the day-to-day is different? How do you spot that in advance? Lucas: Great question. That's why you need to ask behavioral questions, not just opinion questions. If stability is a top value for you, ask something like 'How has your team handled budget cuts in the past?' If collaboration matters, ask 'Can you describe a recent project where cross-functional teamwork was critical?' The answers will reveal what they actually value, not what they put on their careers page. Luna: So it's almost like you're conducting a mini values audit of the employer, mirroring what we talked about last year in the career audit episode. Lucas: Exactly. And it's especially powerful when you're in a career transition or after a layoff. When you're feeling desperate, it's easy to take the first offer. But running this exercise beforehand can prevent you from jumping into a culture that'll burn you out in six months. Luna: Do you have an example of a marketer who used this approach successfully? Lucas: Sure. I recently spoke with a brand manager named Chris who was torn between two offers. One was at a big CPG company with a clear hierarchy, the other at a growing startup with flat structure. He did a values sort and realized autonomy was his top value — he didn't want layers of approval. So he chose the startup, and a year later he's leading a campaign with full ownership. He told me it's the best career decision he's made. Luna: That's a great story. But I can imagine some people worry that being too picky about values might limit their options, especially in a tough market. Lucas: It's a fair concern. But the data suggests the opposite — by focusing on fit, you actually reduce the risk of a bad hire, which saves you time and money in the long run. And in a tough market, you might have fewer offers, but each one you consider will be more intentional. Besides, you can also use this exercise to evaluate your current role. If your top values aren't being met, that's a signal to either negotiate changes or plan an exit. Luna: I want to try this myself. Where can listeners get a list of values to sort? Lucas: There are free worksheets online. I'd recommend starting with the one from the University of Warwick or the Work Values Inventory by Super. But honestly, you can just write down twenty values that resonate with you and rank them on a scale of one to five. The key is to be honest about what really drives you, not what you think should drive you. Luna: And once you have that list, how do you actually use it in an interview without seeming like you're reading from a script? Lucas: Don't bring the list to the interview. Internalize it. Know your top three values cold, and weave questions naturally into the conversation. For instance, if 'learning and growth' is a value, you can ask near the end: 'What does professional development look like for someone in this role?' That's a natural question, and it gives you insight. Luna: And you can also observe behavior. If they answer your growth question with a generic 'we have a training budget', that's different from saying 'Every quarter, we do a rotation project to expose you to different teams.' Lucas: Exactly. The specificity of the answer tells you everything. So to wrap up, next time you're considering a job offer, before you look at the compensation, look at the values. It might save you a year of frustration. Luna: Worth considering. And if you want to dive deeper, we'll put some resources in the show notes. Thanks for listening. Lucas: Yeah, and as always, we'd love to hear your experiences. Send us a note on how you've used values in your career moves.