Guide to Career Decision Making

Exploring information about what is possible and deciding what to do are both part of the same process. Don't worry if you don't feel committed to one direction yet, career decisions take time and research to evolve. The important thing is to start finding out about what is out there to help the process along.

Guide to Career Decision Making

When trying to choose a career or make a decision about further study, you should:

• know yourself
• know your options
• know how you usually make decisions
• know what influences, and perhaps blocks, your decision making

The relationship between these objectives is outlined in the diagram below.

	Thinking about my decision making
	| \/
	Knowing how I make decisions
	| \/
Knowing about myself	<--      -->	Knowing about my options

To see this model of decision making in more detail click here.

You already know you need to make a decision so: 

Step 1 is to clarify what you know about yourself. You might consider your skills, interests, values, and, if your decision involves more learning, your preferred learning style. Interests are what you enjoy doing; skills are what you do well; and values are what motivate you to work. Your learning style is how you prefer to learn.
In terms of your career journey, interests tell you what direction to pursue; skills tell you how long it will take to get there; and values tell you whether or not the journey is worth taking.

Step 2 is to explore the options and see how what you know about yourself fits them, eliminating the options that don't. This helps you draw up a short list of ideas that you want to decide about. It may involve both expanding and contracting the list of ideas over a period of time as you get more information and experience to fill the gaps in your knowledge.

Step 3 is to decide what you really want to go for from the short list. To make a good decision at this point and later on, you need to step back a bit and examine your own decision making style - how you typically make decisions - and the advantages and disadvantages of that. We can suggest different methods and tools, but only you can know if they will work for you. If you have a lot of difficulty at this stage you may need to go up a level to...

Step 4 - thinking about what influences your decision making, and sort it out - perhaps with the help of a careers adviser or student counsellor.

Source: http://www.careers.stir.ac.uk

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How to Make Career Decisions

I've been teaching a career management course for 30 years, first at HBS and then here at the Darden School, UVA. I'm surprised at how important career decisions are to people and at how little rigor they bring to those decisions. The result is a modified trial-and-error methodology that unfortunately leads to current statistics of something like 5-8 career changes for most graduating MBAs. People use a variety of techniques for making career decisions: serendipity, opportunistic, creation, and peer pressure. Given the high proportion of habitual behavior among most people, a matching approach seems to be the obvious best approach. By matching approach, I mean making decisions based on goodness of fit between personal habits or enduring life themes and the demands of any particular job, career or organizational culture.

The problem is that most people don't know themselves well enough and in enough detail to make a good decision based on goodness of fit between themselves and the demands of a job. Well, you might say, I know myself well. Really? What are your habitual ways of thinking? How do you prefer to process information? What's your preferred social structure and style? Have you analyzed your preferred lifestyle? What about your analytic skills? Energy level? Biochemical brain balances leading to or away from ADD, OCD, BPD, etc.? The danger with any degree of self awareness is what we might call "benign self deception." If you make career decisions based on your momentary reflections of who you are and what you want, be careful! You may overlook some key factors (habits or themes) in your life that will surface after you've taken the job--and then you'll be looking again.

Those who make career decisions on a rigorous self assessment are likely to make better decisions than those who don't. So then the question is, "how can I get a good self assessment to use in my career search and decision making?" There are thousands of self assessment tools out there, some of them trash and some of them quite helpful. But consider this premise: no single instrument is accurate enough or comprehensive enough to give you confidence in making career decisions.

There are just too many variables to consider in one instrument and too many variables in the answering of the questionnaire items to trust your career future or even a part of it to one instrument. The answer is to take several self assessment tools and look for the repeating patterns or themes or the tips of iceberg habits that appear across instruments. This requires some time and effort and some skill at inductive logic (looking at the data and generating the principles). Too much time and effort your say? Compare that with the cost of time and effort in working in a job that doesn't fit you and then doing it all over again in 1-3 years. Why not invest up front and narrow your career search to the band of jobs that would likely fit you better?

My colleagues and I have ported the text I used (and was the lead author on--Self Assessment and Career Development) to the web to offer this kind of service. You can preview it at http://careerbuildertools.blogspot.com There are more than a dozen instruments there for you to use in your search for a rigorous listing of your career defining personal characteristics. But whether you use Career Next Step or not, whenever you approach your next major personal or professional decision, please, consider carefully (preferably data-based) your dominant Life Themes (cognitive, interpersonal, social, professional, etc.) before you decide. If you choose ignoring them, the odds are you'll be unhappy and be making the same decision again shortly. Save yourself a boat load of time and effort by investing in a good self assessment up front.

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Decision Making

Decision making in simple terms is an individual human activity focused on particular matters (e.g., buying a car) which largely independent of others kinds of choice (e.g., buying a house, selecting a meal from a menu). In more formal terms, decision making can be regarded as an outcome of mental processes (cognitive process) leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion.

Human performance in decision making terms has been subject of active research from several perspectives. From a psychological perspective, it is necessary to examine individual decisions in the context of a set of needs and desired results an individual has . From a cognitive perspective, the decision making process must be regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction with the environment.

Yet, at another level, it might be regarded as a problem solving activity which is terminated when a solution is found. Therefore, decision making is a reasoning process which can be rational or irrational, can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions.

Decision making is said to be a psychological construct. This means that although we can never "see" a decision, we can infer from observable behavior that a decision has been made. Therefore, we conclude that a psychological event that we call "decision making" has occurred. It is a construction that imputes commitment to action. That is, based on observable actions, we assume that people have made a commitment to affect the action.

There are many decision making levels having a participation element. A common example is that of institutions making decisions that affect those for whom they provide. In such cases an understanding of what participation level is involved becomes crucial to understand the process and power structures dynamics.

Control-Ethics. When organizations/institutions make decisions it is important to find the balance between the parameters of control mechanisms and the ethical principles which ensure 'best' outcome for individuals and communities impacted on by the decision. Controls may be set by elements such as Legislation, historical precedents, available resources, Standards, policies, procedures and practices. Ethical elements may include equity, fairness, transparency, social justice, choice, least restrictive alternative, empowerment.

Decision making in one's personal life
Some of the decision making techniques that we use in everyday life include:
• listing the advantages and disadvantages of each option
• flipping a coin, cutting a deck of playing cards, and other random or coincidence methods
• accepting the first option that seems like it might achieve the desired result
• prayer, tarot cards, astrology, augurs, revelation, or other forms of divination
• acquiesce to a person in authority or an "expert"
• Calculating the expected value or utility for each option. For example, a person is considering two jobs. At the first job option the person has a 60% chance of getting a 30% percent raise in the first year. And at the second job option the person has an 80% chance of getting a 10% raise in the first year. The decision maker would calculate the expected value of each option, calculating the probability multiplied by the increase of value. (0.60*0.30=0.18 [option a] 0.80*0.10=0.08 [option b]) The person deciding on the job would chose the option with the highest expected value, in this example option number one.

An alternative may be to apply one of the processes described below, in particular in the Business and Management section.

Decision making in healthcare
In the health care field, the steps of making a decision may be remembered with the mnemonic BRAND, which includes
• Benefits of the action
• Risks in the action
• Alternatives to the prospective action
• Nothing: that is, doing nothing at all
• Decision

Decision making in business and management
In general, business and management systems should be set up to allow decision making at the lowest possible level.
Several decision making models or practices for business include:
• SWOT Analysis - Evaluation by the decision making individual or organization of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats with respect to desired end state or objective.
• Analytic Hierarchy Process - procedure for multi-level goal hierarchy
• Buyer decision processes - transaction before, during, and after a purchase
• Complex systems - common behavioral and structural features that can be modeled
• Corporate finance:
o The investment decision
o The financing decision
o The dividend decision
o working capital management decisions
• Cost-benefit analysis - process of weighing the total expected costs vs. the total expected benefits
• Control-Ethics, a decision making framework that balances the tensions of accountability and 'best' outcome.
• Decision trees
o Decision analysis - the discipline devoted to prescriptive modeling for decision making under conditions of uncertainty.
o Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
o critical path analysis
o critical chain analysis
• Force field analysis - analyzing forces that either drive or hinder movement toward a goal
• Game theory - the branch of mathematics that models decision strategies for rational agents under conditions of competition, conflict and cooperation.
• Grid Analysis - analysis done by comparing the weighted averages of ranked criteria to options. A way of comparing both objective and subjective data.
• Hope and fear (or colloquially greed and fear) as emotions that motivate business and financial players, and often bear a higher weight that the rational analysis of fundamentals, as discovered by neuroeconomics research
• Linear programming - optimization problems in which the objective function and the constraints are all linear
• Min-max criterion
• Model (economics)- theoretical construct of economic processes of variables and their relationships
• Monte Carlo method - class of computational algorithms for simulating systems
• Morphological analysis - all possible solutions to a multi-dimensional problem complex
• optimization
o constrained optimization
• Paired Comparison Analysis - paired choice analysis
• Pareto Analysis - selection of a limited of number of tasks that produce significant overall effect
• Robust decision - making the best possible choice when information is incomplete, uncertain, evolving and inconsistent
• Satisfying - In decision-making, satisfying explains the tendency to select the first option that meets a given need or select the option that seems to address most needs rather than seeking the “optimal” solution.
• Scenario analysis - process of analyzing possible future events
• Six Thinking Hats - symbolic process for parallel thinking
• Strategic planning process - applying the objectives, SWOTs, strategies, programs process
• Trend following and other imitations of what other business deciders do, or of the current fashions among consultants.

Decision-makers and influencers
In the context of industrial goods marketing, there is much theory, and even more opinion, expressed about how the various 'decision-makers' and 'influencers' (those who can only influence, not decide, the final decision) interact. Decisions are frequently taken by groups, rather than individuals, and the official buyer often does not have authority to make the decision.

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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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