Decision Making Steps

1. Know Yourself

What is your personality type? People generally enjoy working around people who are similar to them.

What are your interests? What do you enjoy doing when you have a free afternoon? Often, your hobbies and interests can become a part of your career.

What are you good at? It is important to look at your skills or what skills you might need to acquire to become the most marketable to an employer.

What are your work values? This is often overlooked when a student thinks about careers. However, what you value in a work situation can mean the difference between loving your place of employment and hating it. If your values clash with the organization's mission, you are probably in the wrong work setting.

2. Learn more about the world of work:

• Go on informational interviews and talk to people in careers that you are considering for yourself.
• Work part-time or full-time while you are in school (internship or co-op).
• Volunteer at an organization or agency that interests you.
• Talk to friends, family, and peers about their work experiences.
• Search out information using Career Services or the web.

3. Make a balanced decision:

• Use your head so that the career is practical for you.
• Use your heart so that the career is something that you will like and be satisfied with.

4. Use Career Services often in your university life for:

• Career Counseling: Make an appointment with a career counselor to work on some of the steps listed above.
• Career Assessments: Career Services offers three assessments to help students in the self-exploration process.
• Internship or co-op opportunities. Career Services can assist you in finding experiential learning opportunities.
• Job Search Assistance. Career Services can assist with resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills, and job search strategies to help in the process of finding meaningful work.