It’s a Match: Pairing Your Passions and Career Goals

By Amanda Loveday

The perfect job can be described as the combination of your passion with your potential. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with interesting and inspiring people and experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities along the way. Above it all, though, I am most proud of the work that aligned with my values and groups I passionately support.

Since 2011, I’ve partnered with an incredible group of women at Winthrop University through the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy and NEW Leadership.  It has put me in the position to speak to and mentor college-aged women interested in public service. Since 2015, I have planned the ‘Columbia day’ for the 25-30 women looking to embark on their journey into public service and politics.

In June of 2015, only two weeks back from maternity leave, I awoke in the early hours of the morning not to infant cries, but to phone calls and texts bringing horrific news from Charleston. I worked for Congressman Jim Clyburn at the time, and immediately began the drive down to Charleston where we spent the next few days reeling from the Mother Emanuel massacre. 18 months later, I assisted with the development of a non-profit to encourage dialogue and civility rather than divisiveness and negativity. Without question, I jumped at the chance to honor the victims and survivors while providing a platform to make our community a better place through solution-based conversations. That year, the Charleston Forum was born.

These two examples, while different, both provided an amazing outlet to match my professional skillset with my personal passions. Finding your passion in work isn’t just about tolerating the day-to-day grind, it’s about maximizing your impact in the lives of your clients and customers, their passions, and your shared community. I’ve been fortunate to work with a group of communicators at NPS who’ve arrived at their jobs because of a similar desire to make connections and help others succeed.

The hard part, of course, is finding that magic combination of passion and profession. It’s a mixture some will be fortunate enough to nail early on, while others will march through a series of jobs, narrowing their search by learning what they are not passionate about. Consider increasing your community relations time commitment, or – if you’re in a leadership position – an internal engagement campaign to find out where your team’s true passions lie. Serve on boards, join leadership groups or talk to people from different generations.

I have always said you can’t complain about politics if you don’t vote, and I believe the same theory applies here. Don’t just get upset that women aren’t being treated the same as men in the workplace – work with women to help them understand their true potential. Don’t just hope inequities will go away – do something to help find solutions to some of our communities biggest problems. It can be a difficult process, but the adage about loving your job and ‘never working a day in your life’ is true – and worth the investment.

Amanda Loveday, recently named Associate Director of NP Strategy, has a passion for meeting new people and building relationships. It is what has made her a powerhouse in politics and communications. A decade of experience taught her the importance of getting to know the community and how to interact with people, especially those with different personalities and backgrounds. Get in touch with Amanda at (803) 540-2190 or [email protected].