By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
Listen to this article:
Abstract: This article outlines a strategic framework for making high-quality career decisions based on self-reflection and research. It recommends starting with thorough self-assessment to understand one's core motivations, values, skills, personality preferences, and ideal work environments. With self-awareness, individuals can identify what really drives and fulfills them as well as prioritize what is most important in a future role. The next step is exploring potential career options and using a weighted decision matrix to prioritize factors like compensation, work-life balance, industry fit, and company culture. Top options are then evaluated against personal priorities to determine the overall best fit. The article provides an example of weighing two consulting firm offers. It emphasizes periodic reviews to adapt to changing priorities over time and handling transitions smoothly. With a systematic, research-backed approach balancing self-knowledge and option evaluation, individuals can make career decisions aligned with long-term motivation and fulfillment.
Making important career decisions can be daunting. There are so many options and variables to consider that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. However, using strategic self-reflection and assessment processes based on solid research can help simplify the decision-making process and lead to choices that are the best fit.
Today I will outline a framework for making high-quality career decisions grounded in both theory and practical experience.
Self-Assessment: Understanding Your Motivations, Skills and Environment
The starting point for any career decision process is thorough self-assessment. Researchers have found that truly understanding one's own motivations, skills, and optimal work environments leads to greater job satisfaction and commitment (Hall & Chandler, 2005). To begin, reflect deeply on the following through journaling, consultations with mentors, or assessment tools:
Core motivations and drivers: What energizes and inspires you on a daily basis? How do you like to spend your time and energy?
Values: What really matters most to you on a personal and professional level? How do you want your work to align with or contribute to causes you care about?
Skills and strengths: What are you naturally good at? What tasks or responsibilities do you excel in and find fulfilling?
Personality type: Do you prefer working independently or collaboratively? Do you thrive in unstable, fast-paced environments or more structured, predictable settings?
Work preferences: What work conditions and cultures optimize your performance and job satisfaction? Do you need flexibility or specific hours? Remote or in-person roles? Entrepreneurial freedom or management structure?
It's also important to conduct an honest assessment of your current work environment. For example, as a Director of Marketing at a tech startup, reflect on factors like company culture and values fit, leadership strengths and weaknesses, growth opportunities, and workplace stressors. Understanding your skills in the context of your current role and organizational fit can clarify next steps.
With self-awareness, individuals gain clarity on what really drives and fulfills them as well as "must haves" and "deal breakers" for future roles. This research-backed foundation lays the groundwork for priority-setting in career decision making.
Exploring Options and Weighing Priorities
Once a strong self-understanding is established, the next step is exploring potential career paths or opportunities and deciding what's most important. Break this process into clear headings and subheadings for focus:
Generate Options
Do targeted research to surface viable alternatives aligned with your assessment. Look at job listings, reach out to recruiters and mentors in fields of interest, and consider further education options. For example, a marketing manager interested in healthcare could explore roles like medical device marketing, hospital advertising, or pharma account management.
Weigh Important Factors
Prioritize what really matters most based on your unique situation using a weighted decision matrix approach. Important factors may include compensation and benefits, work-life balance, professional development opportunities, industry/sector, company culture fit, remote vs in-office roles, and more. Assign each a weighting from 1-5 on importance to your decision.
For example, a new parent may weight work-life balance and flexibility as a 5 while professional development as a 3 given life stage priorities. A results-driven individual just starting their career may reverse those weights to focus on skills and career growth first. The weightings will vary uniquely for each person.
Evaluate Options Against Priorities
Score each option from 1-5 on how well it aligns with each priority factor. Total the scores to determine best overall fit. For instance, options that scored highest on important priorities like work-life balance, sector fit and growth potential would rank above others for the new parent's decision. Options may be "musts," "deal-breakers," or in between to narrow choices.
Industry Example: Choosing Between Consulting Firms
Sarah, an operations analyst weighing offers from two top management consulting firms, prioritized compensation (4), work challenges (5), work-life balance (3), and company culture (4). Firm A offered a slightly higher salary but grueling travel while Firm B paid less but had flexible remote options. Scoring each option, Firm B was the better overall fit based on her priorities and situation.
Validating Top Options: Research top options further by interviewing current employees, setting informational interviews, and assessing company culture/values fit. For instance, job shadowing a day at Firm B validated work would be engaging yet balanced as hoped. This step increases confidence the choice aligns with reality versus assumption.
Making a Choice: Weigh all information to make a final choice, having weighed options against self-assessed priorities. Being honest about "musts" prevents settling, while understanding non-priorities prevents overfocus on minor factors. Flexibility is also key - priorities may shift, allowing room to adapt the choice over time.
With a structured, research-based process, high-quality decisions can be made from a variety of viable options. This framework helps individuals clearly understand their unique motivations and priorities to select careers optimally suited to their situations and professional fulfillment.
Adapting Decisions and Handling Transitions: Of course, no career decision is permanent, and priorities may evolve over time. It's important to build flexibility and review mechanisms into any choice. Moreover, managing professional transitions requires strategy.
Periodic Check-Ins: Schedule periodic check-ins, like annual reviews, to re-evaluate priorities and options fit. Environments, motivations and life stages change, so flexibility to adapt choices is key. For example, an individual may realize after a few years their priority shifted from work challenges to better work-life balance due to starting a family.
Handling Transitions Smoothly: If priorities clearly shift and a new opportunity presents itself, smoothly exiting the current role sets up future success. Provide advance notice, thoroughly transition responsibilities, and leave on good terms. For example, a marketing manager who accepted a new VP role should plan ahead to outline strategic initiatives and knowledge transfer.
Likewise, it's important to thoughtfully manage career transition stressors. Maintain perspective that changes ultimately create opportunities for growth. Leverage support systems and focus on excitement for new challenges rather than loss of familiar routines. With planning and perspective, transitions can be growth periods.
Conclusion
Making high-impact career decisions requires strategy beyond following instincts or job interests alone. A systematic, research-based process of self-assessment, option evaluation, validation and flexibility optimizes choice quality. Prioritizing what's most important based on individual situations aligns choices with motivation and fulfillment over time. With the right framework, individuals can thoughtfully navigate options to land in roles and paths uniquely suited to their evolving needs, skills and priorities at each life stage. Overall, understanding one's authentic career drivers and carefully weighing alternatives leads to career decisions that stick.
Reference
Hall, D. T., & Chandler, D. E. (2005). Psychological success: When the career is a calling. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(2), 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.301
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Better Decisions Through Self-Reflection and Assessment. Human Capital Leadership Review, 12(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.12.3.11
Comments