Components of Career Decision Making

Career decisions are some of the hardest decisions that we have to make in our lives. Even when we know what we want to do and where we want to work, then there are those daily decisions dealing with our bosses, managers, colleagues and team members. 

For each one of these decisions, many pieces have to fit together nicely in our subconscious mind before we can make up our mind and career related decisions are not any different.

Knowing the underlying components of decisions making helps us to better prepare ourselves for those critical moments in life that we have to choose and the right choice may not be so obvious.

Although what affects our decision-making process can vary slightly depending on the type of decision and personality of the person making that decision, but if we narrow it down to the most fundamental components, we will have three major ingredients:

Motivation is the desire that makes you work your way toward a target. It’s the drive that pushes you to keep going toward your goal.

Decisions we have to make related to our job and career are many and ever-evolving, and if you lose your desire to make a step forward toward the finish line, you will stand still, while life passes by in a mind-boggling speed. Now, more than ever, many of us are faced with decisions to make on changing jobs, dropping out to school, taking extra courses, moving to a new city, moving in with other family members, standing up for ourselves or bending over backwards!

Not only being motivated is necessary, but this motivation has to be big enough to move you and of course move you toward the right direction. If you are just barely motivated, with a first sign of struggle, you will quit the race. If the goal is not highly desired, or perceived probable, then, why even bother?

What motivates you also depends on your personality and your mindset. Some might be fully motivated with getting one step ahead, while others are only motivated with the idea of the best of the best. This motivation has to have some weight and must be based on some facts to make you ready for the hiccups along the way, because most things in life doesn’t happen without some level of struggle, and false hopes are short-lived.

The situation and environment you are in have a massive impact on your decisions. Your relationships with yourself and others are critical in any decision-making. Your beliefs about yourself, the world and life in general is going to be the stepping stone upon which you make your career decisions. The people you surround yourself with can and will have great and direct impact in your decisions and ultimately your career.

Your friends and family, their expectations, their supports or lack of, their assumptions about you, what you share with them about your ideas and ideals can sway you from one direction to another; it may elevate or drop your motivation levels. Their understanding and compassion – or lack of – will most likely change your mood and your desires. Financial, intellectual and emotional support available to you can also open or close many doors in your career and life. Your identity, anxiety, mental and emotional wellbeing are other internal factors that could be categorized under the umbrella of the situation you are in.

Now let’s say, you really want to do something, and everyone is cheering for you and you are all pumped up and ready to go. But now what? How are you supposed to do that? Now you what you need is Information, and yes, you can Google it!

With our technology today, it is so easy to read over pages and pages of blogs posts, websites, books, articles etc. You will see many videos and “experts” who look legit and they seem to know what they are talking about. But the truth is that nowadays just having information is not enough.

We need the skills to interpret and sift through the information. We need to know: which one of these sources have the right information? Have the right information for your situation? Which one is actually relevant? Which information and the sources are reliable? Is the information going to suite your personality? Will it improve your situation or it will ultimately destroy whatever you have already built? Will it even make any difference? Is there a better way to do it? Will it give you the same results as they promise?

All of these elements have to be present and at the right amount and the right time for a wise career decision to be made. The fact is that your decisions will not always be 100% perfect and the results will not be fully predictable, however your accuracy rate matters. You can chase and attempt endlessly with the hopes that something good will come out of it or you can take a moment to ponder, ask questions, ask the right questions, take a leap of faith and get help to make a better decision.