{"id":15771,"date":"2024-02-21T09:04:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iccu.com\/?p=15771"},"modified":"2025-03-24T10:19:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T16:19:19","slug":"how-to-find-a-job-you-love-that-loves-you-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iccu.com\/blog\/careers\/how-to-find-a-job-you-love-that-loves-you-back\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find a Job You Love (That Loves You Back)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by an ICCU team member<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ll let you in on a lil\u2019 Green Team secret. <\/mark>Employees at ICCU love their jobs because of the great benefits. But we love our work <\/em>because we get to be part of movements that directly make others\u2019 lives better. Big or small, ICCU team members get a chance to do it all \u2014 from volunteering at local nonprofits to lobbying for better personal finance education and legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve spent much time in Idaho or eastern Washington, you\u2019ve probably witnessed it yourself. You\u2019ve seen the iconic Green Machine Jeeps pull up at community events and the phrase \u201cSponsored by ICCU\u201d scattered throughout your town. Maybe you\u2019ve even stumbled across a flock of green-clad, smiling people at your nearby food bank. (ICCU employees clocked in over 36,000 volunteer hours and attended 1,600 community events<\/a> in 2023 alone!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s easy to brush all that off as some impressive marketing efforts. Honestly, as a marketer myself, I wish I could tell you that was true. I remember when I was hired, a family member joked, \u201cICCU must put something in their water. Why else have I never seen their employees frown?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2019m not here to sell you on the sunshine and butterflies of ICCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m here because I care, and as a natural skeptic of all corporate cultures, I was a pretty hard sell. But if I can find a job with a culture of caring, you can too.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #1 Sign of a Fulfilling Workplace: Sincerity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time, John Doe found a job at XYZ Company. On his first day, a sudden change came over him, and *poof*, he wholeheartedly believed in his company\u2019s mission. Just like that, he knew his purpose in life. He woke up every day fulfilled by his career and lived happily ever after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait, that\u2019s not how it happened for you? You mean you didn\u2019t wake up in a fairytale on your first day of work? Yeah, me neither.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I, like most of the Green Team, quickly began to believe in ICCU\u2019s mission of helping members achieve financial success \u2014 and I attribute it to the ripple effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let me explain. I care because my manager cares. She works hard to take care of the team and our members, so I do too. My manager cares because her manager cares, who cares because his manager cares. Continue that pattern all the way to the CEO, and you\u2019ve got yourself a ripple effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerity starts at the center and ripples out until it reaches so many employees that it naturally becomes part of the culture.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why sincerity works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, a lot of intentional effort goes into our culture here at ICCU. A fulfilling workplace doesn\u2019t just magically appear \u2014 it must be crafted and maintained. But if the effort isn\u2019t anchored in sincerity<\/a>, that carefully curated culture falls flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the flip side, because I know that my boss and my boss\u2019s boss look at their work as an opportunity to do good, I\u2019m constantly aware that I\u2019m not just here for a paycheck. And that right there is why sincerity is the lynch pin in corporate cultures. It\u2019ll make or break you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Ways to Find a Job with a Sincere Work Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good work cultures aren\u2019t built on watercooler talk and staff birthday parties alone. Now that practically every company touts the \u201cWe\u2019re like a family here\u201d clich\u00e9, you have to do a little digging to find a job with a sincere company culture. Whether you\u2019re neck deep in applications, got your eye on a specific position, or just curious about how your current job stacks up<\/a>, look for evidence of sincerity in three main areas: the customers, the team, and yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence #1:<\/mark> Customers love the atmosphere<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People like spending time around happy, productive people. It\u2019s as simple as that. You can walk into a room and instinctively know if the atmosphere is energetic or draining, and you can bet customers can too. If customers feel naturally buoyed when they walk in, there\u2019s a good chance the employees are genuinely happy, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, this looks different depending on what you do for a living. If you have, or are looking for, a customer-facing job, spend time with or around the customers to gauge how they feel walking into that business. Compare their moods to customers at other businesses. But there\u2019s a caveat: Only compare businesses in the same industry or you won\u2019t get an accurate view. (It\u2019s a bit easier to hop and skip into an amusement park with a smile than at a tax preparer\u2019s office, for example.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you work remotely or don\u2019t see customers on a regular basis, no worries. Back office and back-of-house positions still serve customers, except the customers are the other employees your position supports. As a marketer, for instance, my job exists in part to make sure other ICCU departments get the marketing items they need when they need it. Sounds like a customer, no?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evidence #2:<\/mark> Team member opinions are heard and expressed healthily<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Does your job regularly ask for feedback from employees? If so, how often and in how much depth? People who care what you think will ask<\/em> what you think.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep your eyes peeled for surveys \u2014 both internal and external \u2014 and one-on-one meetings (1:1s). Studies show<\/a> that managers who don\u2019t regularly hold 1:1s (or who see them as a burden) are more likely to have employees who feel disconnected from their work and team. As the Harvard Business Review puts it, \u201cThe best managers recognize that 1:1s are not an add-on to their role \u2014 they\u2019re foundational to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Keep in mind that when I say <\/em>feedback, I don\u2019t mean <\/em>complaint. Stay away from potential jobs and coworkers who air their frustrations without any intention of fixing the issue. At that point, it\u2019s not venting; it\u2019s just negativity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re about to interview for a job, hit them with one of these questions to get a better feel for their feedback process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n