A back door way to make career decisions

30 August 2021

Career decisions are hard.

As I write in my book In the Loop, career decisions are hard because they involve making complex, rather than complicated decisions.  Complex decisions don't have linear outcomes, there is no predictable right or wrong - doing x does not automatically lead to y.

Often, with career decisions, facts are not enough.  Lots of aspects about you, and about your environment, play out in the decisions.  Aspects such as your values, your aspirations, your potential, environmental constraints and environmental enablers.  

Because career decisions are hard a lot of the time people put them off in the hope they will resolve themselves, but this rarely works out for the best.

A useful trick if you have a career decision to make, (for example, leave a job, apply for another job, pursue training, approach a mentor, pursue an opportunity...) is to sneak up on your own wisdom.  To do this look for someone who has a similar decision to make.  Ask them to explain their dilemma to you, then give them your best advice.

The advice you give probably won't be right for them, but it is likely to be spot on for you!

As always, wishing you a flourishing career.

Katherine