DECISION MAKING

After completing steps 1 and 2, you should be able to make some decisions on your long-term and short-term goals.
But first a few words about the decision-making process itself.
There is a saying that a person spends much more time choosing a car than a career.
Because of the importance of making the right choice in a job, do the following steps.

  • Define the decision to be made, e.g.,where to work after graduation.
  • Consider the choices and predict the consequences of each, e.g., sales—may be difficult to get into research later.
  • Compare and prioritize alternatives as defined in a specific, not vague, way, e.g., #1—grad school after 2 years work experience in X environment.
  • Select and outline a realistic yet demanding plan, e.g., set up an appointment to speak with Mr. A next week about becoming a mentor.
  • Put the plan into action.
  • Evaluate the results, e.g., received excellent information on importance of picking the right people as references.


CAREER OBJECTIVES

Now that you have thought about yourself (Step 1: Self Assessment) and about the different types of work
(Step 2: Occupational Research), the time has come for you to set some career objectives.
If you knew you could not fail, what’s the first job that comes to your mind?

Name 2-3 other options below:

 

 

 

Are you surprised at what you put on the page?
Or does this type of work confirm what you have been thinking?
This is the time to make a commitment.
In order to begin the next phase, you need to have a sense of direction, some goals to work toward.

Organize your ideas into the following 3 groups.
By having longer-term goals, you will be able to set your course to becoming successful in your career.
Then by working backwards to the present, you will be able to take a step at a time toward your ultimate goal.

1.Work I Would Like To Be Doing In Five Years  
2. Work I would like to be doing in 2-5 years  
3. Work I would like to be doing now  

How much of your total being (body, mind, spirit) do you want to commit to the work you have listed in the "now" column?
Will you be able to see this work as part of the big picture, the dreams you have, your special way of contributing to the world?
Receiving pay from an employer means completing the tasks required by the position. Will the joy you experience be greater than the burdens?

Your personality and attitudes are the most important predictors of your success in your career and in your life generally.
You can’t accomplish more than you believe you can. Your thoughts, positive or negative, come into existence (self-fulfilling prophecy).
The only limits you have will be those you accept on your own abilities.
The secret of an athlete’s success can be yours too. Create a mental model, e.g., a high jumper will visualize running and sailing over the bar in the competition.
Use your imagination to create what you want in life.
Close your eyes and visualize yourself doing the work you have written in the "now" section above.
Are you inside or outside?
Is there anyone with you?
What tools or equipment are you using?
What are you saying, writing, or thinking?
What deadline are you working towards?

To be successful in visualizing your work, you need to have a strong desire for the goal to be achieved, a belief that it is possible to attain, and a willingness to live with the outcome.

Complete your visualization with an affirmation (in the present tense of the verb as though it already exists).
"I am ...." You can phrase it as a role, e.g., a customer support representative, or as an activity, e.g., supervising volunteers.
Say the affirmation so often that the thought becomes very comfortable and exciting for you.
Finding this type of work is so much easier when you can describe it to others.


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