Making Career Decisions

By Shawn Bakker

Most of us will make a number of career decisions in our lives. Whether we are choosing a university major, switching jobs, or planning to retire, the decisions can often be very stressful. However, knowledge about the different type preferences, and making use of Sensing, Intuition, Thinking and Feeling can lead to better decisions. By focusing on each of these perceptions in a step-wise manner, we can clarify our options.

Step One: Using Sensing to focus on the facts
Making use of your sensing perception is a good place to start. Identifying the realities of the career issue that you face and the resources at your disposal is very important for making good decisions. Questions you need to ask yourself include:

1. What have I liked/disliked in the past?
2. What is my current financial, social, educational status?
3. What jobs and corresponding salaries are available?

Step Two: Using Intuition to identify possibilities
Your intuition helps you identify the different possibilities in your situation and generate opportunities for change. Using your intuition perception will allow you to think of ways to make the most of your skills. Questions that can help you use your intuition include:

1. Besides the one perfect career, what other jobs/occupationsrequire people with my skills and preferences?
2. What are the future possibilities for each of my career options?
3. What do the careers I find attractive/unattractive have in common?

Step Three: Using Thinking to identify consequences
You need to use your thinking perception to make a critical and objective analysis of your situation. Having already identified both the facts and possibilities of your situation, you need to look at the positive and negative consequences of the different options. Some questions that will help you use your thinking perception include: 

1. What are the pros and cons of each of my possible career choices?
2. What would I objectively recommend to someone who had the same choices?
3. How well do my skills and preferences fit with each of the careers I am considering?

Step Four: Using Feeling to identify what is most important
Your feeling perception will help you identify what you care about most in both your life and career. Using your feeling perception to weigh the outcomes of your choices ensures that you will meet your personal values. Questions to ask that will engage your feeling perception include:

1. What do I care about most in my life and work?
2. Which of my career options immediately give me a good or bad feeling?
3. How would those important to me react to my different career choices?

Making the most informed decisions comes from using all four steps. While these steps will not guarantee perfect career decisions, they will help you be more informed and provide a clearer understanding of your options. The trick is to focus on each of them equally, even though our individual preferences incline us to skim over some and concentrate too much on others.

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Career Change Decision Making - Remember This Vital Piece

In getting ready for your career change decision making has probably played a big part in your ticking off some or all of the boxes.

You've probably even checked out the things not to do, and you're not doing those!

• - You know the direction you want to be moving in
• - You've discussed your career change decision making with lots of people
• - You're ready to get some Professional Resume advice and guidelines
• - You even feel motivated

You're ready!
And yet, somehow, you're not quite there.
How do I know? Because you're reading this!
There is something causing you to hesitate. There is something that's not quite right. You may not be quite sure what it is. You can't quite put your finger on it.

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."

James M. Barrie

There is always that question, "Is this the right thing for me?"
There are two things to be addressed in this question, 'the right thing' and 'me'.
What if it is a myth that there is a right thing for you to be doing? It's well-recognised that men and women who change careers may be no better off in the new job, because they bring their problems with them.
Think about it this way. People who are successful in their lives are operating in the direction of Be - Do - Have.
They set themselves up to be who they most want to be. Then they do the things that they need to do (including career change decision making!), so that they can have the things they want.
Most people are trying in vain to do it the other way around. They think that if they can find the right thing to do, then they will be... content... happy... satisfied... (you fill in the word).

Reason For A Career Change

Decision making for these folks is organised in the direction of Have - Do - Be scenarios. When they have the things they want, (and these are typically time and money), then they will do the things they really like to be doing. Then they can be fulfilled and have the life of their dreams. This leads them to change career trying to find that thing to do, so that they can be ok.
Which brings us to the second point. Do you know who the 'me' is that you are trying to find the right thing for? And I don't just mean your name, or your job description. (There are some people who confuse who they are with what they do, 'I am a doctor', 'I am a postman'). This is where the idea that "a career change will be good because I can change who I am" comes from. It's the basis for much of the career change decision
making done at the time of a mid life crisis.

The Vital Element

In any situation that you find yourself in, one thing is always true. You are there. You are the one thing that is common in all areas of your life. If you're not leveraging yourself, you're not getting the best out of the situation.
If you do not learn how to use who you are, you're not using the most powerful resource that you have.
This idea was central to my own career change decision making when it came to my changing career from Plastic Surgery to studying human functioning and communication.

Are You Using Yours?

Is your sense of yourself tied up with things around you, material things, events, people you hang out with? Or do you have a deep felt inner sense of knowing absolutely who you are, and that you are okay? And that you are moving in the right direction for you, regardless of what's happening around you?
Many people are doing things so that they can feel good about themselves. And they think that if they can find the right thing for them to be doing, THEN their life will be okay.
And there are people who are 30, 40, 50 or older, who are spending their whole lives doing just this. And because the current career is not giving them what they want, they consider that if they make a different choice and change careers, then things will be different for them. Even people who work as doctors, medical students and lawyers, which are considered highly desirable positions, are caught in this loop.
I'm not suggesting that you should not continue with your career change decision making. There are lots of things to consider. And an important one of these is that a different starting point will give you that edge that will make all the difference for you.

Adding it in...

Most people are doing things to generate that inner sense of being satisfied, fulfilled and successful. What if you start with success in place? Then you would organize your career change decision making and ideas so that you can keep it!
This, of course, is the opposite way to which most people who want to change their careers are going about it.
This is definitely not a quick fix. I'm talking about establsihing who you are first. Choosing to organize your career change in this way means that you get to have a life. A life that works... a life that's worth having...

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Career Decisions: Self Assessment

The most common question I'm asked is this one: "I don't know what I want to do. Is there a test or something that can tell me what career is right for me?" The answer is no. You can't take a test that will, as if by magic, tell you what to do with the rest of your life. You can however use a combination of self assessment tools that will aid you in your decision. This article will demystify the self assessment phase of the career planning process. First I will tell you what self assessment is and then I will give you an overview of the various tools used to help you learn about yourself.
Self assessment is the first step of the career planning process. During a self assessment you gather information about yourself in order to make an informed career decision. A self assessment should include a look at the following: values, interests, personality, and skills.

• Values: the things that are important to you, like achievement, status, and autonomy
• Interests: what you enjoy doing, i.e. playing golf, taking long walks, hanging out with friends
• Personality: a person's individual traits, motivational drives, needs, and attitudes
• Skills: the activities you are good at, such as writing, computer programming, teaching

Many people choose to hire a career counselor who will administer a variety of self assessment inventories. What follows is a discussion of the different types of tools you may encounter, as well as some other things to consider when pursuing a career change.

Value Inventories

Your values are possibly the most important thing to consider when you're choosing an occupation. If you don't take your values into account when planning your career, there's a good chance you'll dislike your work and therefore not succeed in it. For example, someone who needs to have autonomy in his work would not be happy in a job where every action is decided by someone else. There are two types of values: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic values are related to the work itself and what it contributes to society. Extrinsic values include external features, such as physical setting and earning potential. Value inventories will ask you to answer questions like the following:

• Is a high salary important to you?
• Is it important for your work to involve interacting with people?
• Is it important for your work to make a contribution to society?
• Is having a prestigious job important for you?

During a self assessment, a career counselor may administer one of the following value inventories: Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ), Survey of Interpersonal Values (SIV), or Temperament and Values Inventory (TVI). If you want to get a feel for what you'll be asked, take a look at the Work-Related Values Assessment, which is a printable list of work related values, with a definition of each one.

Source: http://careerplanning.about.com

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Career Decision Making Guide

Career decision making is a dynamic and ongoing process where your knowledge of self, your values, interests, temperament, financial needs, physical work requirements or limitations, etc., the effects of past experiences, new information, and changes in your life situation and environment all intertwine.
It requires constant review of decisions already made and consideration of decisions yet to be made.
Good career decision making requires you to engage in a process that requires you to:

1. examine and recognize personal values
2. identify, gather, and use relevant information.
3. understand and use an effective strategy for converting information into action.

Each career decision is limited by what you are capable of now or in the future, by your ability to identify alternatives, and by what you are willing to do.
Skillful career decision making requires you to be focused, flexible and open to new learning.
The following guidelines and questions to keep in mind to help you with decision making.
1. Define the problem. State the real problem, not the surface problem. State the problem in specific terms, as a question.
2. State the goal clearly. What outcome do you want from this decision?
3. List the initial alternative solutions. Which are the safe ones? Which require risk? What are the outcomes of each solution?
4. Collect information and expand the list of alternatives. What kind of information do need? Where can you obtain it? Is it relevant to the problem? list additional solutions or options.
5. Compare several alternatives with what you know about yourself, your values, your commitments to others, your resources, and your constraints.
6. Take action on your choice. How can you implement your choice? What action can you take now? What action can you take later?
7. Review your choice periodically.
8. Take a new decision based on new situations. 

SUMMARY OF CAREER DECISION MAKING STEPS

• Define the problem
• State the goal clearly
• List the initial alternative solutions
• Collect information and expand the list of alternatives
• Compare several alternatives
• Choose one alternative
• Take action on your choice
• Review
• Make a new decision

Probably the most beneficial outcome of learning effective career decision making skills is that it gives you a feeling of control over what you can do.
Careful planning decision making will help you make informed, responsible, and wise choices that will lead to greater career satisfaction.

SUMMARY OF A GOOD CAREER DECISION MAKER

1. EXAMINES PERSONAL VALUES
2. GATHERS AND USES INFORMATION
3. CONVERTS INFORMATION INTO ACTION

Once you have made a career decision and a choice of an occupation, then develop an Action Plan. 

An action plan begins with the identification of short-term and long-term goals. Before you set short-term and long-term career goals, you should have taken informal or formal assessments. 

Using the results from these assessments, as well as labor market information, identify careers that will match your abilities, interests, values, personality, development stage, financial needs, transportation and family needs.

An effective career decision plan broadens your horizons and make the achievement of your dreams far more likely. An effective career plan requires you to set both long-term and short-term goals and they are equally important.

Long-term goals give you a more clear idea of the things to accomplish in the long run as they are usually big and central to your life. The steps taken to reach long-term goals are short-term goals. 

Short term goals are achievable within a relatively short period of time (six months to a year). Short-term goals may also be accomplished daily or attained within a month. 

For example, your short term goal may be taking a minimum wage job while simultaneously pursuing post secondary education in preparation for a career, or your short-term goal might be taking several part-time jobs until you find a stable full-time job. 

A long term goal takes much more time to reach. For example, if your long-term goal is to become a doctor, then you need to set aside eight years out of your life to pursue a medical career.

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Making The Best Possible Career Move

By Caroline McAuliffe, ExeConnect and Virtual Angels

According to research conducted in the U.S., the average baby boomer will switch jobs 10 times throughout their careers. Regardless of economic conditions, we all need to take greater control of our own careers. The concept of a traditional move up the corporate ladder is no longer guaranteed as it once was nor an obvious final destination to plan towards. Your career plan needs to be continuously evolving.

Job moves are almost always inevitable, they are seldom easy and nearly always emotionally fraught—and too often they lead to a noticeable decline in performance, in both the short and the long term.
There are five common job-change themes that are worth thinking about before making our move. These are often cited by search consultants as well as HR Managers as being re-occurring issues for people. Prior to making the move ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I done enough research?
2. Am I leaving for the money?
3. Am I going “to” rather than “from?”;
4. Am I overestimating myself?;
5. 5. Am I thinking too short term?

They can follow predictable patterns and persist throughout the course of a career. These issues are not necessarily independent of one another and they can play out as a system of behaviors, dissatisfaction, unrealistic hopes, ill-considered moves, and more dissatisfaction.

 

Have you done enough research?

Job hunters need to do their research in four important areas: The reality of opportunities in your industry or function. Do you have unrealistic expectations of what’s out there? Secondly, have you done your homework on your potential employer’s financial stability and market position? Don’t just assume that your new employer is on solid ground, check their balance sheet, it’s up to you to assess whether you will have a job in six months. Ensure there is a cultural fit with your potential employer – everyone will suffer if there is a poor fit. Make sure that the title and description of the role you are being offered is a true reflection of the actual role responsibilities. You may find yourself in a job, after you have started, that bears little relationship to the title, which can lead to loss of credibility if the job is beyond you or massive disappointment if your skills and experience are beyond the job.

Are you leaving just for money?

It’s easy to be lured away for an attractive financial offer. It’s interesting how, when asked, we rank money as about fourth on our list of reasons to change job, but when it comes down to it, it becomes number one when making a final decision.
Consider what relationships, networks and connections you may be leaving behind for the sake of a few more dollars, right now.
Have you done all the necessary research as cited above before just making the decision to move for more money; is it really the right move?

Are you moving “to” the right Job or moving away “from” the wrong job?

If you have got to the point where you are really unhappy in your current job and just want to get out, you may make hasty decisions which may lead to another career mistake. This is the time to pause and plan your next career move. Don’t rush through the job hunt – follow the career planning steps and wait for the right offer. Don’t skimp on research. Be strategic in your thinking, not emotional. Have you, for example, discounted your current employer or are there perhaps other opportunities to explore with them?

Are you overestimating yourself?

Be reflective about what you actually have contributed to your organisation. Do you have unrealistic views of your skills and experience? Can you identify the sources of your successes and failures in your existing job? We need to be self-critical and identify what part of our current unhappiness is due to external factors and the environment we find our self in and what has to do with our own personal frustrations and issues? If we don’t think this issue through, we run the risk of finding ourselves unhappy and dissatisfied again, for the same reasons, in a new role. Be honest with yourself – is your unhappiness and disappointment everything to do with the current employer or job, or is there underlying personal issues that need to be addressed before planning your next move? Do you need to think about skills training or experience gaps? Do you need to be think about working in a different industry or in a different function? Is it time to go back and explore what it is you are passionate about and then plan ways to fulfil that potentially along a new career path?

Are you thinking too short term?

Having a short-term perspective can feed into each of the other four issues. For instance, if you overestimate yourself, you may believe you deserve rewards right now, not in five years. Leaving a firm because of money and going “from” rather than “to” are both overly influenced by immediate information and considerations. “How much money can I make right now?”, “How can I escape an unpleasant work environment?”. Try and plan for the longer term. Ask yourself if this next job move is leading you along the longer term path you envisage. It’s important to try and plan longer term whilst remaining curious to all possibilities along the way. Having a plan but at the same time remaining open minded about other possibilities.

In summary, it’s important to try and plan ahead, but keep your plan alive and evolving. Try not to be pressured into making hasty decisions. As you go through the job change process ask yourself: “What if I’m wrong? What is the evidence that this new company would be a good fit?” Develop alternative options. Have you considered all the opportunities that might be available for you with your current employer? Speak to a mentor, or trusted advisor within your network who can provide you with a reality check.

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