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Improve your career

planning and management

skills Introducing career decision making

Dr Joan Reid

Career planning and management decision making Copyright © Joan Reid 2014 2

Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Overview of career decision making ................................................................................................... 3

Reviewing your career options ........................................................................................................... 4

Exercise one – narrowing down your choices ................................................................................. 4

Exercise one worksheet .................................................................................................................. 5

Decision making exercises .................................................................................................................. 6

1. Pros and cons .......................................................................................................................... 6

2. SWOT....................................................................................................................................... 6

3. Lifeline – reviewing past decisions .......................................................................................... 6

Exercise two – career decision making ........................................................................................... 7

Preparing for stage 4 – taking action .................................................................................................. 8

Exercise three – five year plan ........................................................................................................ 8

Exercise three - part one: five year plan ......................................................................................... 9

Exercise three - part two: goals and action plan .......................................................................... 11

Exercise four – an action plan for your next job move ................................................................. 12

Final thoughts ................................................................................................................................... 12

Exercise four - action plan grid ..................................................................................................... 13

Appendix – other resources to consider ........................................................................................... 14

Career resources ........................................................................................................................... 14

Career theory – suggested reading ............................................................................................... 14


Introduction

This third workbook in my career planning and management

series covers career decision making. Workbooks one and

two looked at self-assessment and career exploration

respectively and the fourth and final one is about taking

action, including applying for jobs.

Just a brief reminder that the definition of career which underpins this series of workbooks

is by Arnold (1997) “the sequence of employment related positions, roles, activities and

experiences encountered by a person”. With this in mind I assume that you are using these

work books to help you make decisions about your career and that this will involve you in

the job search process where jobs are also often referred to as job roles.

The workbook starts with an overview of career decision making. It then goes on to review

the career options you identified as you worked through workbooks one and two and offers

a range of exercises which you can use to review your career options. The final section acts

as preparation for stage four and asks you to think more widely about your career and

personal goals.

Overview of career decision making

There are many over-arching theories about

career decision making, however, there is one

theory called “planned happenstance” which I

often discuss with my clients. At its heart is the

proposal that chance has an important role to

play in people’s careers. Much of the work I do

with people looks at ways in which this

element of chance and luck can be “managed”

so that they can take advantage of the

opportunities which come along. This is

particularly important when changing career

direction.

So in these workbooks I am encouraging you to be clear about who you are, what personal

qualities, skills and abilities you bring to work and what type of work you are looking for.

Being well informed about your own preferences means that you can take advantage of the

unexpected opportunities that come your way. Developing this self-understanding has been

the primary focus of workbooks one and two which, covered self-assessment and career

exploration, respectively.

It is also important for you to know more about how you make decisions. Later on in this

workbook I include some tools you can use to review a career decision(s) you are currently


facing. There is though one other piece of theory I would like to mention when it come to

making decisions. Are you someone who prefers a rational approach to a decision or are you

more likely to go with your gut instinct? For any decision you are facing my suggestion is

that you consider both aspects. For example, you could start by looking at the pros and cons

of a specific decision, which is primarily a rational approach. Then, once you have done that,

do take notice of what your gut is telling you. Using both these approaches will enable you

to look at the decision from different perspectives. The challenge then is to continue to train

your gut by reflecting on decisions you have made in the past.

Reviewing your career options

In the career exploration workbook you

researched and identified a range of career

options for your next job move. If you are

currently looking at two or more options then the

next step is to narrow down your choices and

identify which one is your plan A, which is your

plan B and so on. Exercise one asks you to go back

and review the self-assessment summary you

completed in workbook one (self-assessment)

and to add in the careers/jobs you identified in

workbook two (career exploration). If you do not

have this information then you can use exercise one to help you put it together.

Exercise one – narrowing down your choices

The grid on the next page is designed to help you compare the careers/jobs you are

considering (from workbook two) against the results of the self-assessment exercises you

have previously completed in workbook one. (You can use Word or Excel to develop your

own table and add more columns for jobs if needed.)

To complete this exercise you will need to follow these steps:

1. Enter the results of your self-assessment exercises in column one. Spend some time

reviewing these before you move onto step 2.

2. Put the names of the job/role you are considering in columns 2, 3 and 4. Add more

columns if you need them.

3. For each job/role you have identified put ticks in all the boxes that apply. Add up the

ticks and include a total for each job role/column.

4. Look at the totals and see what your head agrees with. Can you put the jobs into an

order of preference? What would be your plan A, plan B, plan C etc? Is your gut

instinct telling you something different? Make a note of your thoughts.


Exercise one worksheet

Results from stage 1 Job/role 1 Job/role 2 Job/role 3

Values

Interests

Skills

Talents and strengths

Aspirations

Total


Decision making exercises

Exercise one was designed to help you narrow down the career choices you are considering

for your next career/job move. If you have not yet been able to identify your A, plan B, plan

C etc then here are three career tools for you to try.

1. Pros and cons

This tool asks you to list the pros and cons, or looking at it another way, the advantages and

disadvantages, for each of the careers/jobs you are considering.

For each job take a piece of paper and write the name of the job you are considering at the

top. Then draw up a simple grid so that you can list the pros on the left-hand side of the

paper and cons on the right-hand side. Keep writing until you have written down all the

points you can think of.

If you wish you can then use a rating system to develop your analysis. Use a simple scale of

five points with 5 being extremely significant and 1 of minor significance. Rate each of the

items in each of your lists and add them up. Do the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa?

What is your reaction to your analysis? Does your gut instinct agree with it or is it telling you

something else?

2. SWOT

SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities

and threats. This decision making tool is used for a wide

variety of business and strategic issues. It can also be

used in career decision making. Do consider completing a

SWOT analysis for each job you are considering.

Start by considering your strengths and weaknesses.

These factors are internal to you. Which of your strengths and weaknesses are relevant to

the job you are considering? For example, the job might require some skills which are your

strengths and others which you would need to develop.

Opportunities and threats are external to you. If you were to take the job you are

considering what would be the opportunities and threats it offered? For example, it might

provide you with an opportunity to develop your knowledge of a new industry sector and a

threat could be that it is a short-term contract whereas you are looking for a permanent job.

3. Lifeline – reviewing past decisions

Understanding how have made decisions in the past can help you make current career

decisions. To carry out this exercise you will need to think about the significant decisions

you have made in your life so far. Examples might include: the exams and qualifications you

have taken, previous jobs you have done and personal decisions which were particularly

significant like starting or ending a specific relationship. Once you have gathered your

thoughts the instructions for this tool are on the following page.

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats


1. Take a sheet of paper (as large as you can), orientate it into landscape mode and

draw a horizontal line across the middle of it. Put your current age on the right hand

end of the line and 0 at the left hand end. This is your timeline.

2. Next put a plus (+) mark above the horizontal line to signify the times you look back

on with pleasure and a minus (-) mark below the horizontal line to signify those

times when things didn’t go so well.

3. Mark on the paper your significant events. Include both positive experiences and

those which haven’t gone as well. Take your time and mark all the events which

occur to you.

4. Once you have a series of points, starting on the left of the paper, connect them up

and see what shape your line takes.

5. Identify two decisions which looking back you now see were good experiences. What

made these good decisions? How did you go about making these decisions?

6. Now identify two decisions which did not go so well. What made them poorer

decisions? How did you approach them?

7. Looking back what do you notice about your decision making process? How might

this help you with the career decision you are currently facing?

Exercise two – career decision making

Select one of the above tools and use it to review a career/job choice you are considering. If

you have come across one or more these tools before then choose the one you are least

familiar with. Complete the analysis for each of the jobs you are considering.

Use the space below to reflect on your choice of tool and what you have learnt about your

career decision.

Use this space for exercise two


Once you have done that, does this help you to identify your plan A, plan B, etc?

Use the following box to record your thoughts.

My plan A is:

Plans B, C etc could be:

Preparing for stage 4 – taking action

The final workbook in this series on taking action covers the job recruitment and selection

process. It starts by asking you to identify a job/role you intend to apply for. In order to be

able to do that you need to develop an overall career/life plan and identify your next

career/job move. There are two further career planning exercises in this workbook:

Exercise three – this is a career/life plan exercise which will help you answer the question:

where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Exercise four - provides you with a framework for you to use to plan your next job move.

Exercise three – five year plan

This exercise is divided into two parts:

Part one – is a descriptive writing exercise which asks you to describe your ideal world using

the following timeframes: five years, two years, one year and six months ahead. Note down

all the things which occur to you and then review what you have written to make sure it is:

balanced, precise, challenging and desirable. The exercise sheets are on pages 9 and 10.

Part two – read through what you have written for part one and identify the things that you

want that you don’t currently have. Set yourself some goals for each of the four timeframes;

these are goals to aspire to and should be listed in part two along with actions you can take

to achieve them. Do identify your personal and work related goals separately. Remember

this exercise is for your use only unless you choose to share it with someone else. The

exercise sheet for part two is on page 11.


Exercise three - part one: five year plan

Prepare a detailed description of your ideal world five years from now.

Use as much space as you need.

Ensure that your description is balanced, precise, challenging and desirable.

Date: (five years from today)

Description:

Prepare a detailed description of your ideal world two years from now.



Date: (two years from today)

Description:


Prepare a detailed description of your ideal world one year from now.



Date: (one year from today)

Description:

Prepare a detailed description of your ideal world six months from now.



Date: (six months from today)

Description:


Exercise three - part two: goals and action plan

Timescale Work Personal

Five year

goals

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Two year

goals

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

One year

goals

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Six month

goals

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action

Goal

Action


Exercise four – an action plan for your next job move

In this final exercise you need to bring together the results from all the exercises you have

completed in this workbook in order to develop your own career plan. For this exercise you

will need to identify your next career/job move and use this as the goal for your plan. Do

also include in your plan any obstacles you need to overcome and the actions you have

already identified. Take time to consider what else you could do to achieve your next job

move. The grid on the following page is designed to help you put your career plan together.

Final thoughts

This workbook covered career decision making and the

last two exercises were specifically designed for you to

use to develop your own career plan. There are also

some additional resources in the Appendix.

The final workbook in this four part series on career

planning and management focuses on you taking

action; specifically it includes how to apply for a job

and the recruitment and selection process.

In addition, if you would like further help with your

career management, for example, if you are

considering a career change, then do look at my

website (www.coachassociates.co.uk) where I write

regularly about a range of career topics; you can also

download the other workbooks in this series from the

site.

Ref: ARNOLD, J. (1997). Managing careers into the 21st century. London: Chapman.

http://www.coachassociates.co.uk/


Exercise four - action plan grid

Overall goal Target date Why interested in this job

Potential obstacles and solutions Target date Comments

Action plan Target date Comments


Appendix – other resources to consider

In this appendix I have included some additional career resources and, if you are interested

in career theory, some background reading.

Career resources

My website – www.coachassociates.co.uk.

Type Dynamics Indicator - http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/tests-and-

questionnaires/assessing-personality/type-dynamics-indicator.php.

BOLLES, R. N. (2013) What Color Is Your Parachute?, New York, Ten Speed Press.

HOPSON, B. & SCALLY, M. (2009) Build your own rainbow, Harrogate, Lifeskills

International.

RATH, T. (2007) Strengthfinder 2.0, New York, Gallup Press.

Schein’s career anchors - SCHEIN, E. H. (2006) Career Anchors: self-assessment,

Pfeiffer San Francisco.

WENDLETON, K. (2000) Targeting the job you want, Franklin Lakes, The Career Press,

Inc.

Career theory – suggested reading

ARNOLD, J. (1997). Managing careers into the 21st century. London: Chapman.

BIS (2013) Adult Career Decision-Making: Qualitative Research London, Department

for Business, Innovation and Skills.

GLADWELL, M. (2005) Blink - the power of thinking without thinking, London,

Penguin.

INKSON, K. (2006) Understanding careers - the metaphors of working lives, Thousand

Oaks, SAGE Publications, Inc.

KIDD, J. M. (2006) Understanding career counselling - theory, research and practice,

London, Sage Publications Ltd.

KRUMBOLTZ, J. D., FOLEY, P. F. & COTTER, E. W. (2013) Applying the Happenstance

Learning Theory to Involuntary Career Transitions. Career Development Quarterly,

61, 15-26.

http://www.coachassociates.co.uk/

http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/tests-and-questionnaires/assessing-personality/type-dynamics-indicator.php

http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/tests-and-questionnaires/assessing-personality/type-dynamics-indicator.php

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