How to Make Wise Career Choices

Life is full of choices. Some require little thought or reflection—like the choice of what to eat for dinner— while others demand rigorous deliberation. When it comes to your career, you’ve likely already made several difficult choices in the past and will undoubtedly face many more.
There is a natural give and take in every decision. Usually, whenever something is gained, something else is lost. In order to make wise choices, you must weigh the risks against the potential rewards. You must make predictions and assumptions and, at times, great leaps of faith. Choices are rarely ever black and white, all good or all bad, clearly right or clearly wrong. They are complicated and multi-dimensional; prisms through which no two people will see the same world.
As with most things in life, putting in the effort on the front end is the best way to reduce the potential for disappointing results on the back end. There is no guarantee, of course. Even the most thoughtful decisions have been known to backfire. A choice is, most often, nothing more than a best guess—a hopeful step in a new direction.
So, when facing a career choice, whether big or small, how can you make sure you’re approaching the situation with the appropriate level of consideration? How can you ensure your “guess” is truly the best you can do? Below, I’ve outlined a few points to remember in your decision-making process.

Choices reflect values.
Your life is the result of your choices. Every choice shapes your reality and is a reflection of who you are, what you value and what you want. Making choices that conflict with your underlying values will inevitably lead to restlessness and dissatisfaction. If you aren’t happy with the choices you’ve made in the past, evaluate your values and what motivated your decision. More than likely, there was a disconnect.

Emotions influence choices.
Recognize the role that emotions play in your decision-making process. Though it’s unrealistic—and unhealthy—to suppress emotions completely, it’s helpful to understand how they influence your behaviors. Look for the messages beneath the emotions; let your heart and your head work together to find the best solutions.
Don’t rush yourself.
Anxiety and urgency almost always have a negative impact on decision-making. Don’t let a ticking clock push you into a choice you haven’t properly evaluated. Sure, you likely don’t have an infinite amount of time with which to work, but avoid placing unnecessary deadlines on yourself. Be thorough and balance your desire for a quick resolution with your need for a well thought-out decision-making process.

NOT making a choice is still a choice.
You can’t simply ignore a decision that has to be made and expect it to go away. Choosing not to choose is an abdication of power but it’s still a choice in its own special way. It’s the choice to observe rather than participate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are times when you’re better off simply letting a situation run its course without attempting to steer it in any direction. Sit back, allow events to unfold, and let the path form naturally.

Refuse “either/or” dilemmas.
There are always more options. When you trap yourself in limited thinking, you fail to see the real opportunities. Don’t place artificial restrictions on yourself or the possibilities the world has to offer.  When you face an “either/or” dilemma, look for the grey space in between. This isn’t an empty void; it’s a deep and endless well of potential.

Build trust.
Trust in yourself, trust in others, trust in the Universe. Have a little faith that everything will work out well, whether or not the future looks exactly the way you had imagined it. Remember that change is constant and you have the resources to manage whatever comes along. Your choices have consequences that shape your reality; you always have the opportunity to make different choices in the future and create a new reality for yourself.
Remember that a well thought-out choice is never wrong, no matter what happens. It might be tempting to blame yourself when things don’t turn out the way you had anticipated, but this accomplishes nothing. Don’t dwell in regret. Simply accept the lesson and move on. Take what you’ve learned with you and use it the next time you face a difficult choice in your career or elsewhere in life.

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How To Make A Tough Career Decision, When You're An Anxiety-Riddled Lunatic?

The story: I’m an artist currently making my living with design work and small teaching gigs. I’ve been offered a relatively decent academic job in a place my partner and I don’t want to live. We love where we’re living now, I’m fairly happy with my job(s), and have a decent amount of time to pursue my artwork.

The complications: My partner is quitting her job—the one that has given us a steady and reliable source of income while I’ve been freelancing. No matter what we decide to do, she will be quitting to try and make a go of her own creative career, which has been steadily gaining momentum in her spare time. The ideal for her would be for us to do this together, to combine our creative/art/design pursuits into a joint business venture, and go for it. And when I think about how I ideally want to spend my days, making things with her is a no-brainer.

However, facing the prospect of making a go of our art careers has me almost paralyzed with fear. In the typical situation, I would be telling you that my big fear is moving across country for this job, and you would be telling me to face my fears and do it. And while the idea of a move to a disappointing place coupled with a potentially time-and-creativity-sucking job in academia is indeed cripplingly fearsome, the idea of staying here, giving up our safety nets, attempting to live as artists--and failing--is HORRIFYING. Basically, my worst fear: confirmation that we don’t have what it takes.

My ultimate goal in life is to make art, every second of every day. But I have, of course, been taught to believe that that’s basically impossible, and that an academic job is fraught with complications but ultimately necessary. And I do love teaching, but all of the teachers I know are barely able to pursue their artwork anymore.

We’re still young, we have energy, love, boundless creativity and few responsibilities (no house, no kids), a healthy cushion saved up, and my partner will continue to receive her salary for three months after quitting. If we stay and it doesn’t work out, we won’t starve. There are many temp jobs we’re qualified for, people willing to take us in, and there’s always next year’s (equally tempestuous and uncertain) academic job market. It would be our dream to stay in the city we adore, with our friends and professional connections, and be able to live off of our creative work together. That’s the daily life I get most excited about. And yet the prospect of really going for it has me paralyzed with fear, instinctively looking for the first salaried position I can find. Do we take the flat road, the reasonably safe and secure choice, or do we jump off the freaking cliff? I realize this is a decision that only we can make, and that I’ve left things too vague to solicit good advice…

My actual question, friends, is what strategies are there for making this decision in an intelligent way, without becoming blinded by anxiety? How do we weigh all the different variables? What aspects of the decision are forgetting to even consider? And once a decision has been made, how do I move forward without second-guessing, or succumbing to fear or regret?

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Career Decision Making Process

Many students are challenged from the moment they enter NU to answer the question: "What career are you going to choose?" In order to make a career decision that is right for you, you must engage in the career decision making process.

The career decision process is:

...A process that takes time. You cannot make a good decision until you have adequate information about yourself and the world of work of self knowledge and information gathering, as well as having experiences that point you in a direction that is right for you.

...A proactive process. No one can tell you what you should do, and a career decisions will not appear through thin air. You must take the time and the effort to engage in actions that will help you to make decisions. You must also be self-reflective about these activities. You cannot just take in information, you must reflect on how this information fits with your own interests, values and skills. There are things that you can do during all 4 years at Northwestern to increase your chances of making a decision that is right for you.

...Not a linear process. While there are specific steps that can be taken, there is no specific order in which these steps should be taken, and you may repeat steps throughout the process. Some tips for beginning the process:

...Examine your motivation for engaging in the process Many students will begin the process because they feel pressured by others (parents, peers, advisors), or because they in some way feel that they are “behind”. Your journey must come from a genuine desire to engage in self discovery.

...Challenge any myths you have about the career decision making process

...Be open to new experiences and ideas. We only see or hear about a few careers fields on a day to day basis. New careers are being created every day. In addition don't be afraid to experiment with new roles in student groups, the classroom, or at work to discover new information about your skills and interests.

...Be aware of external influences on your decision making. Are you following in the footsteps of peers, parents, and advisors, or are the decisions you are making truly your own? How does your culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status influence your decision?

It is not uncommon to work with both a career counselor and an internship advisor/job search advisor at the same time. What is most important is that you are engaging in the process and taking steps towards a future that is fulfilling and meaningful.

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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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