Perception of calling: case studies and implications for counseling.

Ponton, Richard F. ; Sauerheber, Jill Duba

In May of 2013, a devastating tornado leveled Moore, Oklahoma, injuring hundreds and killing 24 people, including nine children. One of the locals was Val Castor, a storm chaser and tornado tracker for a local television station. Mr. Castor had spent more than two decades as a storm chaser and was interviewed by Scott Simon of National Public Radio (NPR) three days after the tornado struck. Toward the end of the interview, Simon asked Castor, "Did you ever think of moving your family to Maine and opening a quilting shop?" To which Castor responded, "Well, I don't know how to quilt, and second it's boring. And third thing, I storm chase because I feel God has called me to do that. I feel it is a calling that I have to be a benefit to the public and help keep people safe" (Simon, 2013).

Castor's response laid out succinctly three foci of vocational psychologists as they have attempted to explain the complex issues that are related to how people choose their occupations. Historically, vocational psychologists and counselors since Parsons (1909) have approached career development by focusing on Castor's first and second points. That is, what is the relationship of the occupation to the skills and abilities of the worker and do the interests of the worker and the work match? It has not been until recently that career scholars have turned their attention to the third point made by Castor, calling. The questions of calling and the role of work in the individual's understanding of the purpose and meaning of life have been left to the philosopher and the theologian. Over the past decade, there has been increasing attention to the relationship of a sense of vocation or calling to career development and workplace variables (Cardador & Caza, 2012; Dik & Duffy, 2009). Duffy and Dik (2013) provide a comprehensive review of the explosion of literature in the area of perception of calling since 2007.

Counselors familiar with this calling research can approach their clients with a conceptual framework that allows clients the opportunity to explore their work life from the richly textured perspective of summons, duty, and purpose. This review highlights issues of that literature that are of significance to counselors addressing work-related issues with clients. In addition, we present case studies that are illustrative of counseling approaches informed by the perception of calling.

Classical Perspective of Calling

In the Book of Genesis, the first clear allusions to work occur in the first and second chapter when God creates the universe and creates people in his image. In the first chapter, the "cultural mandate" instructs humans to serve as caretakers or managers of creation (Gen. 1:28). In the second, the word "work" appears for the first time when on the seventh day God rested from the "work of creation" (Gen. 2:2). Shortly thereafter, we again come upon a notion of work, when we read that God punishes Adam for his disobedience by commanding that by the sweat of his face he shall eat (Gen. 3:19). Thus in the first pages of scripture, the complex and conflicted relationship of humankind and work is depicted. On the one hand, work was the burden of sustenance, making a living, not necessarily making a life. On the other hand, work was in the noble nature of humans. Productive work was people's call to co-creating and the living out of that essence of how they were made, in the image of the Creator.

Through the Middle Ages, the perspective of work as drudgery was the norm. In the medieval mind, most work held no intrinsic value and was carried out in obedience to God and to meet physical needs and not to accrue wealth or change social status (Placher, 2005). The concept of calling, vocatio, was reserved to the religious life (e.g. priests, monks, and nuns). There was a deep divide in the world of work between the sacred and secular, with the sacred a blessing and the secular a burden.

Martin Luther was instrumental in changing the way work was viewed by acknowledging that the role played by "the tailors, cobblers, masons, carpenters, pot-boys, tapsters, farmers, and all the secular tradesmen ... " (Luther, 1520/1915) was of no less value and no less a call than that of the Pope, bishops, priests and monks. Tchividjian (2010) recalled the popular anecdote that Martin Luther was once approached by a working man who wanted to know how he could serve the Lord. Luther asked him, "What is your work now?" The man replied, "I'm a shoemaker." Much to the cobbler's surprise, Luther replied, "Then make a good shoe and sell it at a fair price." He continued to hold a static view of the class system and feudalism, reckoning it as a God-willed social order (Lipsett, 1990). Weber (1905/2002) suggested that Calvin's thinking, along with Luther's, created a new attitude toward work. Calvin's belief in the predetermined call of the Elect suggested that the only evidence one had of salvation was the day-to-day life. He taught that people work because it is the will of God. According to Hill (1996), Calvin believed that the obligation of people was to serve as God's instruments by reforming the world to emulate the Kingdom of God, while also engaging in God's continuous creation. Weber (1905/2002) saw this concept as essential to the thinking that he labeled "The Protestant Work Ethic."

Thus, the classical perspective of calling is interwoven with a theistic view of the universe and the individual's place in it. In the classical perspective there is both a call and a Caller. In the divine plan, God calls the individual to a particular role (or perhaps roles) in which that person cooperates with and advances both the human condition and salvation. In that plan, the individual has talents, skills, abilities, and opportunities that emerge over time to allow discernment of the call.

Modern Perspective of Calling

Bunderson and Thompson (2009) suggested that another trend in explaining a sense of calling to a particular occupation could be described as the modern perspective. They found that while the term calling is popular among many researchers, there is not a consensus on a modern, secularized version of the term. One of the earliest and most influential studies of calling was that of Wrzesniewski, McCauley, Rozin, and Schwartz (1997). In that study, the researchers distinguished between people who perceived themselves to be in jobs, careers, and callings. They defined calling as work that people find "inseparable from their lives ... seen as socially valuable--an end in itself--involving activities that may, but need not be, pleasurable" (p. 22).

Dobrow and Tosti-Kharas (2012), in their longitudinal study of musicians, defined calling as "a consuming, meaningful passion people experience toward a domain" (p. 1003). Summarizing their review of the literature of calling, Hall and Chandler (2005) compared classical and modern views, suggesting that in the classical view the person discerns a call from a higher being to serve a community and to enact a larger plan for the individual's life, whereas in the modern perspective, a person develops from within (through reflection or relational activity) a sense of call to serve the self or community by enacting his or her purpose.

Bunderson and Thompson (2009) noted that the modern perspective tends to focus on personal passion and self-actualization while the classical conceptualization is based on ideas of personal duty and destined place. Indeed, the modern perspective is difficult to distinguish from the many career development theories that explore the same notions of importance, meaning, values, and social significance in the world of work. For example, Savickas (2005) clearly describes the relationship of work to life meaning without denoting the construct of "calling." He states that career signifies a subjective creation that enacts personal meaning on past memories, present experiences, as well as future hopes and aspirations. In his view, the subjective career informs and sustains vocational behavior from a personal narrative or meaning-making perspective, rather than from discovering pre-existing facts.

Neo-Classical Perspective of Calling

It seems that the modern perspective of calling moves away from the classical perspective and toward career constructivism on the very point of the "caller." Dik and Duffy (2012) noted that "Calling, when used as a noun, refers to a command, request, or invitation to go somewhere or do something. This implies a 'caller'" (p. 11). Bunderson and Thompson (2009) suggest that the neoclassical perspective of calling maintains the idea of a caller but not necessarily one who is a divine being. Rather, calling implies a belief in the order of the universe, an understanding that events and their sequencing happen for a reason. As defined by Dik and Duffy (2009), calling is a "transcendent summons, experienced as originating beyond the self, to approach a particular life role in a manner oriented toward demonstrating or deriving a sense of purpose or meaningfulness and that holds other-oriented values and goals as primary sources of motivation" (p. 427).

While the neo-classical perspective does not require the transcendent summons to come from God, it does not preclude it. A recent qualitative study explored the process through which individuals perceive and follow a calling from the neo-classical perspective. Hernandez, Foley and Beiten (2011) found patterns in their interviews to suggest that a (a) search for a calling is connected to struggles with faith, (b) discernment is a long and complex process, and (c) a calmness and peace is experienced once one settles into one's called career. For there to be a positive salience of religious belief in the call to a career, there needs to be an intrinsic motivation toward religiousness (Duffy & Blustein, 2005) and the incorporation of religious beliefs into the individual's life (Dik, Sargent, & Steger, 2008). In a study of 32 Evangelical Christian mothers working in a college environment, Oates, Hall and Anderson (2005) found that certitude stemming from both internal and external influences, belief in collaboration with God, and seeing one's career in the context of purpose were dominant themes in the interviews. Although the participants in this study identified God as the caller, in a manner similar to the classical perspective, that is not always the case.

The neo-classical perspective suggests that the "call" may come from some transcendent order that unfolds in a person's life. Bunderson and Thompson (2009), in their study of zookeepers, found that participants in their study were called to their occupation through the unfolding of events with which they cooperated. Research suggests the source of such transcendent calls can vary from one individual to another. Social need and family legacy are two examples of calls from beyond the person that may be identified as transcendent. Essentially, through powers beyond oneself, the unfolding of events has set the stage for the individual to enter a particular occupation and carry out a duty within it. The implications of the transcendent call are significant. As Bunderson and Thompson (2009) stated:

   If the bond between me and my
   work is mine to forge, based on personal
   passion or perceived fulfillment,
   it is also mine to break. But if
   the bond between me and my work
   is forged by destiny and duty, it
   becomes truly binding and, if I
   respond with diligence and sacrifice,
   truly ennobling. (p. 51)

Benefits of the Call

Researchers investigating perception of calling have studied both college students and those in the work force. Dik and Duffy (2012) suggested that between one third and two thirds of those in the work force perceive their work as a call. Perception of calling has been related to well-being (Duffy, Bott, Allan, Torrey, & Dik, 2012; Duffy, Dik, & Steger, 2011; Wrzesniewski, et al., 1997), commitment and lower turnover (Lobene & Meade, 2013), and satisfaction (Duffy, Bott, et al., 2012). Investigations of college students have found that perception of calling is associated with positive personal and academic outcomes including higher levels of career decidedness (Duffy & Sedlacek, 2007) and self-clarity and resilience (French & Domene, 2010).

For counselors, the positive outcomes that have been associated with perception of calling may be motivation to direct the attention of clients to the question of the meaning of work in their lives. Inviting people to explore the purpose of work, the benefit to others of their work, and their perception of the nature of their call to that work invites them to create or enhance a narrative of calling. Not unlike the constructivist approach of Savickas (2005), exploration of perception of calling allows clients to weave the internal and external events of life into an integrated narration of calling in their lives. In so doing, the client recognizes and creates patterns and meanings that are relevant to the particular career problem.

Perceiving vs. Living the Call

An emerging body of research explores the relationship between perceiving a calling and living a calling. While it is apparent from research that not everyone perceives themselves as called to a vocation (Duffy & Dik, 2013), it is also evident that some people are working in occupations other than those to which they feel called (Duffy & Dik, 2009). Beyond a call to an occupation, the ability to find a career path and a job that allows one to live out that call predicts job satisfaction (Duffy, Bott, et al., 2012), work commitment (Cardador, Dane, & Pratt, 2011), life satisfaction (Duffy, Allan, Autin & Bott, 2012), and lower stress (Berg, Grant & Johnson, 2010; Treadgold, 1999). Preliminary research suggests that the distinction between perceiving a calling and living a calling may be related to the construct work volition (Duffy & Autin, 2013), which refers to a broad constellation of variables that impact a person's ability to choose a particular career path and to act within it with enough self-determination as to be engaged and motivated.

The distinctions between perceiving a call and living a call are important, not only for researchers but also for clinicians. Reminiscent of Gottfredson's (2005) theory of circumscription and compromise, these distinctions highlight the contours of individual choice as they are restricted and broadened by social class, gender, and opportunity. For psychologists and counselors, issues of advocacy and social justice arise from the disparity of opportunity that exists between social classes. Blustein (2008) highlights the relationship of work to mental health and well-being and the implications of that relationship to a social policy that does not address the disparity of opportunity. If the perception of calling perspective (or any career theory) does not acknowledge the continuum of volition that is associated with the continuum of economic and social privilege, it fails to address the often harsh social realities that many clients face.

The Cost of the Calling

There may be a cost to pay for the higher levels of work satisfaction and meaning in one's career. Dobrow and Tosti-Kharas (2012), in their study of musicians, found that those who felt strongly that they were called to a profession in music were less likely to attend to negative feedback than others and more likely to foreclose early in career decision-making. This suggests that the perception of a call may trump data such that the call outweighs information about abilities or opportunities.

Bunderson and Thompson (2009) found, in their study of zookeepers, that those who were strong in their sense of calling were also more willing to sacrifice money, time, and their well-being for the work they were doing. Others have suggested that perception of calling may be related to higher levels of burnout (Hartnett & Kline, 2005), lower engagement with employers (Ashforth & Pratt, 2003), and higher levels of expectations of management's moral responsibility and co-workers' performance, leading to negative employment relations (Cardador & Caza, 2012). Beyond the workplace, perception of calling has been related to work-life imbalance (Bunderson & Thompson, 2009), choosing a less financially advantageous occupation (Duffy, Allan, et al., 2012) and inter-role conflict (Oates et al., 2005). This research suggests that those who perceive themselves as living out a call in their profession may face frustration, stress, or interpersonal conflict resulting from that perception.

Implications for Clinicians

In career decision-making or work adjustment issues, a client's perception of calling provides a window into the world of the client and a helpful adjunct to counseling. In a discussion of calling and career, a counselor may be invited into the client's world of spirituality. Dalton (2001) wrote that our deepest questions are spiritual. They are personal questions that invite reflection upon ultimate purpose and enduring truth. "Why am I here? What am I meant for? What is worth living for? How can I be for myself and also for others?" (p. 17) These are the questions that are embedded in the career questions of those who perceive their career as a response to a calling. On the one hand, counselors attuned to the nature of calling and its impact on the perspective of the client will more readily hear the issues of destiny and duty that motivate the client. On the other hand, if the benefits of perceived calling are what research is suggesting, clients will benefit from counseling interventions that provide the opportunity to recognize and grow toward that perception.

The caveats that have been offered by Bunderson and Thompson (2009), Dobrow and Tosti-Kharas (2012), Duffy, Bott, Torrey and Webster, (2013), and others are helpful in working with clients by providing counselors with an understanding of the conflict and dissonance that a strong sense of call might engender. Such an understanding may assist a counselor working with a high school athlete who hears a call to a professional sport but not one from a college recruiter; a counselor working with a college graduate called to medicine without the financial means to answer that call; or a counselor working with a mid-life professional called to excellence in an organization defined by mediocrity.

Counselors can assist their clients in exploring their call to an occupation and its impact on their lives by engaging them in conversations of meaning. Such conversations may be framed by the three dimensions of call suggested by Dik and Duffy (2012): transcendent summons, meaningfulness, and pro-social benefit. As is always the case, a counselor, careful not to impose values and meanings on a client, listens and responds as values and meanings emerge from the client's narrative. The list of focus questions presented in Table 1 was derived by the authors from existing perception of calling research. It is neither exclusive nor exhaustive, but provides a starting point that can guide counselors in conversations about a sense of calling and the deeper meanings of the client's narrative. Some questions may be appropriate and some may not, based on variables in the client, the counselor, and the counseling relationship. Consistent with other career approaches, the exploration of these questions is not limited to in-session conversation. Rather, invivo exploration through service-learning opportunities or shadowing, occupational information from books and on-line sources, and journaling may augment the exploration of a calling. For counselors who incorporate prayer and scripture into their counseling approach, these may be essential elements in exploring and responding to a calling as well.

We present three fictitious case studies that are illustrative of the impact of clients' perceptions of callings on their lives and how counselors may work with those perceptions.

Case Study 1

Fred, a 48-year-old African-American man, had been employed for 20 years as a high school physical education teacher in an urban school in New Jersey. He and his wife of twenty-five years have two adult children. He presented alone for counseling to discuss marital problems. Fred reported that he and his wife disagree on their plan for transitioning to the next phase of their lives. The couple currently lives in the urban community where Fred works. He is well-known and involved in the community and the church in which he was raised from childhood. Fred wants to continue to live and work in that community and his wife wants to move to a more affluent and safer suburban community. In discussing his history Fred said, "When I was a boy coming up, Mr. Tucker lived on the corner, right down the street from where I live now. He gave me my first job in his market, taught me to 'be on time' and 'do right.' When I got older, he suggested I go into the service and make something of myself. When I graduated from college, it was Mr. Tucker, who by then was getting old, who came to my graduation party, took me aside and said, 'You come back here (to this neighborhood) and look out for those boys comin' up.' I am a good teacher and I am a good coach and I would be a good teacher and coach anywhere. But that is why I teach here, coach here, and why I live here. Mr. Tucker is dead now, but he's up there looking out for me and for my boys."

The counselor explored the nature of this call and the conflicts that were associated with it. Clearly Fred's purpose and meaning and the prosocial nature of the call were evident. What was not clear was who Fred perceived the caller to be. Inviting Fred to share the deeper meanings of his calling, the counselor responded, "What do you think inspired Mr. Tucker to invite you back to your neighborhood?" Fred, as if waiting for the question, responded in a manner that indicated that he had thought it through previously, "We all have our part to play in the world, Mr. Tucker's and mine, is to be a role model for the young men of this community ... he did it in the store and I do it in school." It was clear that Fred's call was a transcendent summons, and that Mr. Tucker was seen not as the caller but as a mentor and a shaper of both the calling and Fred's response to it.

The counselor, returning to the challenge that brought Fred to counseling, then asked, "Are you called to any other role in your life?" Fred responded, "Yeah, many; church leader, neighbor, friend, and most of all father and husband. Sometimes, that's the hardest!" With that, counseling turned toward helping Fred work out the conflict between his sense of duty to the community and his responsibility to his wife. Ultimately, Fred chose to move his home but continued to work in the school and attend church in the community. He became very intentional about mentoring young men in the community and inviting them to step up to the role of "looking out for those boys comin' up."

Case Study 2

Mary Pat is a 32-year-old female student in a graduate counseling program in a public institution. She has self-identified as a Catholic Christian in her multi-cultural and family counseling classes. In a meeting with an advisor, she discussed her career plans and her sense of dual calling. In a conversation about her field placement experience Mary Pat shared, "I couldn't get enough. Once I got over the initial jitters, it felt like I had come home. Sure, learning was hard, but every day there was some new thing that I learned and someone else that touched me. I came in early and left late. I can't get enough of this." The advisor smiled as he wondered about Mary Pat's work-life balance, but being the counselor that he was, he resisted the temptation to jump in. Mary Pat continued, "All my life, I knew that God was calling me to serve Him by serving those in need. For a time I even wanted to be one of those Mother Theresa nuns working with the poor in India. I thought maybe that I would like to be a physician, but I am not too good in science and I don't much like blood and all that stuff. When I was in high school, my friend's dog died. I went over to her house and sat with her in her distress. I thought at the time that I wasn't really much help, because I couldn't cheer her up or give her advice. All I could do was to be with her. Only much later, in this program, did I learn that cheering people up and giving advice was not part of the counseling practice." The advisor invited Mary Pat to a deeper level of discourse with the question, "Why do you think helping others in counseling feels so right for you?" Mary Pat thought for a moment and responded, "You know in the Bible, where it says 'When I was hungry and thirsty' and all that ... I hear when I was grieving and depressed, conflicted and addicted.' You see as a Christian, I believe that in these people--my clients--I get to find God and they get to find God in me."

With some understanding of her perception of calling, the advisor turned his attention to Mary Pat's work life balance, "Mary Pat, am I remembering correctly, you're married and have a four and two year old, right?" Mary Pat agreed. The advisor questioned, "How are you balancing your call to be a counselor with your family life?" Mary Pat thought for a moment and responded, "Sometimes that is hard, in the moment to moment scheduling of things. But, in the big picture, I just keep in mind that God has called me to both, graced me with a husband and children and the opportunity to serve as a counselor." The advisor summarized, "So in working with your two callings, to your family and to your profession, you maintain balance by keeping the big picture in mind?" Mary Pat responded, "With God's help."

Case Study 3

John is a thirty-nine-year-old police officer in a mid-sized suburban community. With fifteen years on the job, he has held several positions within the department including patrolman, narcotics detective, and community liaison officer. He presented for counseling through his employee assistance program. He tells the counselor that he can retire after 25 years and he will still be about fifty years old. Nonetheless, as he described it, he is "feeling stuck with too much time in to leave ... and not close enough to retirement to see it." He said he does not want to just wait out the time until retirement, he wants to be of service to the department and the community. He shared some history stating, "I majored in history and education in college, I wanted to be a high school teacher. My mom and dad were both teachers and my grandfather was an education professor .

. . I guess I thought it was in my blood." After graduating from college, John explained that he could not find a teaching job, so he took a series of other jobs to support his new wife and child. At 24 he was hired as a police officer in the community in which he grew up and lived. Although he has never pursued promotion, he indicated that as a training officer for the department, he has mentored about ten new officers in their first months on the job. The counselor approached the conversation from the perspective of perception of calling. She asked John, "So, if you thought teaching was in your blood, do you feel that what you're doing now is what you are meant to do?" John thought for a moment and responded, "Being a cop and being a teacher are both ways to give back to the community, to make the world a better place ... That is what I have tried to do in my career. But, I remember the year I was a student teacher--I loved being in the classroom." He went on, "My current work as the community liaison gives me some opportunity to teach, to share ideas with groups of residents, but the audience is typically older folks and the content is kind of limited to lock your doors and don't fall for phone scams." As the conversation continued, the counselor explored John's perceptions that the economic conditions when he graduated from college and his life situation of marriage and parenthood had blocked his pursuit of the calling for which he had prepared. The counselor then prompted John to acknowledge that call and explore ways by which he could respond. Over time, John, through his community liaison position, assisted the school in the establishment of a School Resource Officer (a policeman assigned to the high school) and John was assigned to that position.

Discussion and Conclusion

These three cases demonstrated not only the salience of a sense of calling in understanding an individual's career decisions and how the narrative of calling varies from one individual to another, but also how counselors can join with clients in their explorations of calling. All three clients shared a sense of being called to serve, pro-social motivations, and the sense of purpose. Mary Pat's metaphor of being "at home" in one's occupation captured the essence of a sense of calling. That perception of calling is reflected in John's comment " ... it was in my blood" and Fred's reflection, "We all have our part to play." The counselors in these vignettes not only heard the language of the clients reflecting a perception of calling, but also responded by matching their language to the clients.

Mary Pat's calling narrative was clearly God-centered, while Fred and John did not name the source of their call. When the counselor heard that Fred perceived the call to have emanated from Mr. Tucker, he invited Fred to reflect on the inspiration of that call without imposing meaning. In John's case, the origin of the call was perceived to be his family legacy. In each case, the counselors were careful to allow the source of the call to emerge (or not) from the client. They then adapted the focus questions from Table 1 to match the narrative expressed by the client. The counselors were neither interpreters nor experts but rather listeners, beckoning the client to continue to explore more deeply the intra-personal meanings of work in their lives.

In each of the cases, there was an element of conflict suggested because of a strong sense of calling. In Mary Pat's case, there was the stress of multiple calls as a working parent. In Fred's case, there were the changing calls and responses to calls that emerged through the lifespan. In John's case, the variance between the perceived call and being able to live it out was evident. In each case, the counselor's ability to hear the conflict as related to the client's perception of calling was supported by a knowledge of what has been labeled the dark side of calling. In the vignettes, the counselors understood the meaning of work in the lives of their clients and could appreciate the sense of destiny and duty that was associated with callings. Therefore, they recognized and honored the clients' perceived callings as they assisted the clients in finding positive, ego-syntonic resolutions to the conflicts associated with their callings

Research on perception of calling provides practicing counselors with a perspective by which to conceptualize some clients' understanding of their work and its relationship to their lives. While not all clients will perceive themselves as called to their work, those who do will often use language that is descriptive of that perception. Counselors who are sensitive to such perceptions and provide the opportunity for conversation by using calling focused language will open the dialog for a rich sharing of the client's sense of purpose, meaning, and responsibility.

Richard F. Ponton Jill

Georgian Court University

Duba Sauerheber

Western Kentucky University

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Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard Ponton, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Georgian Court University, Lakewood, NJ 08701. E-mail: rponton@georgian.edu

Richard F. Ponton, Ph.D. (in Counselor Education, Fordham University) is Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Georgian Court University (NJ) and editor of the Journal of Mental Health Counseling. Dr. Ponton's interests include the intersection of psychology and religion, training and supervision, and ethics.

Jill Duba Sauerheber, Ph.D. (in Counselor Education and Supervision, Kent State University), LPCC, is Professor and Department Head of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University. She is also President of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. Dr. Sauerheber's research is related to marital satisfaction, Christian couples, and couples counseling.

Table 1

Perception of Calling Focus Questions

Transcendent Call

To what extent do you feel you doing what you are meant to do?

How did you come to do that kind of work?

What drives you to do that?

Have you ever thought about doing something else? Explain.

In what ways is this similar to, or different than, other things you
have done?

How were you called to that occupation?

How was the call shaped through your lived experience, by others, by
events or by your own design?

Is your call to this occupation in conflict with any other call?

If the client and your relationship with the client allow for this
language:

How did God call you to this occupation?

What do you think God wants from you in your present occupation?

Is God calling you to any other endeavors?

Meaningfulness

What does your occupation teach you?

How does your occupation change you?

If the client and your relationship with the client allow for this
language:

How does God work through you in this occupation?

How does God reveal himself in your job?

How are you doing God's work? How has that changed over time?

Prosocial Benefit

How does what you are doing benefit others?

Who benefits from your occupation?

What would you like the reults of your efforts to be?

If the client and your relationship with the client allow for this
language:

How is God reaching others through your work?