The perfect job is like the perfect chocolate chip cookie – it doesn’t exist.

During the height of Covid my youngest son and I had the bright idea to find ‘the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the whole world’.?We had time on our hands.?We researched for days.?We googled, pintrested, and scoured the internet for the correct way to bake chocolate chip cookies.?I was sure we could find it and declare to the world that we had uncovered the magic secret, the magic ingredient.?We envisioned the first bite would be…magical!?But something happened along the way, that made the task impossible.?I would read out a recipe that promised a gooey inside with shiny crackling on top.?

“OOOOHHHH this one looks GOOD” positive this would take no time at all.

“EW, mom” my son replied, as he conjured up all kinds of negative associations with ‘gooey’ textures (I won’t gross you out here).

“Hey, I found one that promises a cakey texture”, called out my husband.?We were all in the game now.

“If I wanted cake, I would eat cake!” replied my oldest.

It seemed no one in my family, or the internet for that matter, could agree on what the ‘perfect chocolate chip cookie’ really was.

Recently I had a huge ‘ah-ha moment’ in conversation with Ashley Merveille-Lovinsky via a mentorship program, through which we were paired together. In discussing what to look for in a job, we talked about both role and culture.?We agreed each are critical.?On role, some marketers love content.?Some love events.?Some love long-term strategy, and many wonderful colleagues I know love the high of a fast and furious win.?Culture stands the same.?Some people love a work culture that is more thoughtful, more deliberate.?Slower. Some feel hindered by process and guardrails.?They love to roam free.?Some need to go home and decompress after work, some prefer to decompress together.?In this way, finding the perfect job is very much like finding the perfect cookie recipe.?It’s so personal and unique, there really is no such thing. ?To add even more to the plate, palettes change.?You may think you like chewy cookies, but realize after a bite of something new, you're ready for new ingredients.?It’s important to pay attention to signals that a time for a change may be on the horizon and consider how you or the job you once had has changed over time.

When you are at a reflection point in your career, whether just starting out or feeling signs it’s time for a pivot, consider what YOUR personal values are and be very deliberate in understanding and articulating to yourself the type of experience you need to thrive.? Write down everything you would want and more. Then ask the right questions to make sure you will find the right place for YOU.

What’s your perfect chocolate chip cookie?