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So far you have made decisions related to various facets of life. You have decided which university to attend, what classes to take, and where to live. Similarly, making career decisions such as selecting a major, choosing which internship, first job, post-graduate service, or graduate/professional school to pursue involves obtaining appropriate information and being aware of the numerous factors that may influence your decision. The information below is designed to help you examine how you currently make decisions and offers several approaches to making future decisions.

Setting career goals helps shape and direct your college experience.

1. Goals can give you a target to aim for
2. Goals can help you concentrate your time and effort
3. Goals can provide motivation, persistence and desire
4. Goals can help you establish priorities
5. Goals can provide a roadmap to take you from where you are to where you want to be

Factors Influencing Decisions
Decision Making Models
Choosing Between Job Offers or Graduate Programs

Factors Influencing Decisions

Information Factors

To make sound decisions it is important to gather enough information to evaluate your options. You can Research Your Options with objective sources, conduct and informational interview and also Network, Volunteer, Become a Leader, and get a Part-time Job or internship to collect more direct information.

Decision-Making Experience

Confidence in decision-making abilities comes from having made successful decisions in the past. Think about the positive decisions you have made already. How did you make those decisions? What resources helped guide you through your decision-making process?

Personal Factors

Support and influence from family and friends can have a big effect on your decisions, especially for significant decisions that may impact the important people in your life.

Consider how your options are compatible with your values, interests and abilities. An example could be: "My previous experience as a student teacher has confirmed my interests in becoming a teacher. Plus, having the summers off will allow me to spend more time with my family." You may need to clarify your interests, skills, and values.

The number of desirable options is often a factor. People with many interests and abilities find decision-making difficult because they believe they will have to sacrifice appealing options. Those with undefined interests find decision-making difficult as well because none of the options appear attractive.

dECISION mAKING mODELS

Reality Check Remember that you are not alone in the decision-making process. If you want help working through one or more of these decision-making models, or if the outcome of using one of the models is confounding or surprising, make an appointment with a Career counselor.

Pros & Cons Model

On a piece of paper, write down the decision you are considering making. Write it as if you had already made the decision (for example, "Accept the XYZ Company job offer in Chicago.")

Divide the piece of paper into two columns, with "Pros" at the top of one column. Write down the outcomes of the decision that you believe are positive.

In the "Cons" column, write down the outcomes of the decision that are negative or less desirable.

In the course of writing down your pros and cons, you will probably notice that there are some outcomes that are uncertain or are too hard to predict. Write these outcomes down on a separate piece of paper.

Conduct Research about the outcomes that you are unsure about, then add those to the Pro or Con column.

For the outcomes that are simply too hard to predict, you might want to talk with other people to get their input or opinions. If possible, evaluate if the outcome is a pro or con and add that to your table.

As you begin to complete the table, it may become clearer if the decision you are considering is advisable.

Note: Some outcomes carry more weight than others, so the number of pros and cons in each column is not necessarily indicative of whether or not you should move forward with the decision.

Analytical Decision-Making Worksheet

Use the career services' handout on Decision-Making Process (PDF) (Word) to help you evaluate which of your options may be the best for you based on your values. The worksheet takes you through an analytical approach to comparing up to three options.

Imaginative, Visualization Exercise

If you are more of an intuitive decision-maker, you may prefer this imaginative exercise. You may want to have a friend or a career counselor lead you through the visualization, or you may just want to read through the exercise and imagine on your own.

Find a quiet, calming place to close your eyes and relax as you imagine...

You are walking along a path...it could be in the woods, on a beach, in a valley...whichever is your favorite place in nature. As you walk along feel the air around you...notice the smells...be conscious of the sounds...take note of any plants or vegetation around and what the path feels like under your feet...

Ahead you notice the path divides in two different directions. You take the first pathway that represents the first option you are considering. As you go down that path, experience that option. Try it on fully. How does it make you feel in your body...your heart...your mind? Notice everything inside you and outside you and what is happening...

Walk back to the fork in the path and try the other pathway that leads to your second option. Experience that option fully. How does it feel to experience this option?

Walk back again to the fork in the path. You suddenly see a third path that you had not been able to see before. You take the path and experience a solution you had not thought of before. What is it? What does it feel like?

Return back to the fork and then back down to where you originally started. You feel clear about something from these experiences. You take a deep breath, open your eyes, and come back to the present to write about your observations.

Write down your responses to the following questions:

1. What is your reaction to this exercise?
2. What feelings, thoughts or experiences did you have?
3. What did you realize about yourself and your plan that you did not realize before?
4. How have you or your goals changed as a result of this experience?
5. What goals would you like to set for yourself now?
6. If you are not ready to set a goal for yourself, what additional information do you need?
7. What are any barriers that are preventing you from setting a goal?
8. What can you do about these barriers?

Choosing Between Job Offers or Graduate Programs

1. Typically when searching post-graduate opportunities students are applying and interviewing for multiple positions but as a result the timing of job offers may not be congruent.
2. It is impossible to have everything happen in an orderly fashion.
3. Evaluate offers based on your key criteria rather than exclusively pitting them against each other.
4. Receive position offer #1, celebrate an offer!, you don't have to take the first thing that comes along
5. Consider offer by evaluating it according to your Key Criteria, do not necessarily compare it with a position you have not been offered or not even interviewed for
6. If you are awaiting position offer #2: Let offer #1 know you are interviewing with other organizations and ask for more time, call position offer #2 and get timeline, being "in-demand" is helpful, don't lie about another interview or offer
7. If offer #1 will not give you more time, decide whether or not you want that offer; again, do not compare it with another position}
8. Accept offer, celebrate!, stop applying for positions
9. Commit! When you make a decision, you can do one of two things. You can spend a lot of time, effort and energy considering what it would have been like if you had made a different decision and searching the internet for more tips on decision making processes. Or you can spend that time, effort and energy on making your decision work.