Career Decision-Making The Decision-Making Process & Decision-Making Styles

The Decision-Making Process Decision-making involves choosing between 2 or more alternatives or options Sometimes its easy; sometimes its difficult Choosing not to decide is also a choice It’s a 5-step process Use the same steps whether you are making a decision about A career Choosing a college Buying a used or new car

Step 1 – Define the Problem The term problem refers to a question in need of a solution Become aware of the ‘problem’ and see the need to make a decision Examples: “What are my goals in life?” “For what occupation do I want to prepare?” “How can I earn money for Saturday night?”

Step 2 – Gather Information You cannot make a good decision without getting all the information How much information is enough?? You don’t know The amount of information and the amount of time you spend fining it is directly related to the importance of the decision you need to make This is the gather stage – get as much information as you can

Step 3 – Evaluate the Information Organize all of your information into categories Identify the PROS and CONS of each possible choice Eliminate any unacceptable choices This is where you would narrow your choices down What would be the pros and cons of not doing your homework for the next days class? PROS – CONS -

Step 4 – Make a Choice Choose 1 of your alternatives Making this choice can be difficult Look for the alternative that leads to the most desirable result and has the highest possibility of success The option with maybe more “PROS” than “CONS” There are always ‘trade-offs’ with any choice

Step 5 – Take Action At this point, you begin to carry out the alternative you chose in Step 4 Taking action also involves committing yourself to make a successful decision Sometimes your choice does not always work out Back to Step 1!! And begin the process again

Occupational Decision-Making Step 1: “Which occupation should I chose?” Step 2: Identify interests, aptitudes, self-information, collect occupational information Step 3: Organize information, compare and evaluate, evaluate own feelings and attitudes, eliminate the unacceptable occupational alternatives Step 4: Based on your work values and career goals, choose the occupation that seems best to you now Step 5: Enroll in an appropriate education program that will prepare you for the occupation

Decision-Making Styles People tend to have different decision-making styles or typical ways of making decisions These styles are gained over a long period of time There are 7 styles that are most common The agonizer The mystic The fatalist The evader The plunger The submissive The planner

Decision-Making Styles 1 & 2 The Agonizer collect information and spend a lot of time evaluating it Spend so much time doing this that they end up not knowing what to do! Get overwhelmed with data The Mystic Makes decisions because it “felt right” Decision based on intuition (feeling or a hunch) Some people make most of their choices this way

Decision-Making Styles 3 & 4 The Fatalist Do not believe that they have much control over their choices Do not spend much time gathering information The Evader Hopes that if you delay long enough the problem will go away Considered the “Ostrich Style” Sticking your head in the sand Letting someone else make the decision for you

Decision-Making Styles 5,6,7 The Plunger Eagerly makes decisions Frequently chooses the 1st alternative that comes to mind The Submissive “What do you want me to do?” Want to let someone else make the decision for them Decision is made based on what they think someone else would want them to do The Planner Most likely to use a good decision-making strategy Thorough and weigh all information Maintain balance between facts and emotions What is YOUR decision- making style???

Other Influences on Decision-Making Information, decision-making styles, and willingness to accept responsibility ALL influence decision making Previous decisions Environment and Experiences Your surroundings – family, neighborhood, friends, school Real-World Restrictions Events or situations you have little control over Economic Conditions Jobs/economy