This article is an introduction to the Badge: Career Decisions on Suitable. To learn more about badges, visit Suitable’s website.
A career decision is any type of decision that has to do with careers, like choosing a major, finding a job, or deciding whether to stay at a job or find a new one. So, just by choosing to attend St. Kate’s, you’ve already made a career decision! So, why do we want to talk about it?
We recognize that making career decisions can be difficult, and complicated. It can feel like you’re standing at a crossroads, unsure of which path is right for you. So, this module exists to help you understand the decision-making process, and how you can use that information to make a decision that works well for you.
When walking on a path, sometimes the place you need to go isn’t paved–that’s okay! This badge will help you understand how you can forge your own–one that takes you just where you need to be. You’ve already gotten started with Step One, which is to understand the purpose of this badge.
Step Two and Step Three are the foundations. This will be focusing on knowing yourself and knowing your options.
In Step Two (Knowing yourself), you will learn all about yourself as a professional, including your values, skills, workplace preferences, and interests. In this module, you will complete some quick assessments to gather information and gain insight into yourself.
In Step Three (Knowing your options), you will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the word of work, and learn more information about the fields/industries that interest you. In this module, you will have the opportunity to select from a large array of different information-gathering tools that will help you learn more about the topic that is important to you.
Step Four will build on these foundations, expanding into the decision-making process. This module (Knowing how you make decisions & thinking about your decision-making) you will have the opportunity to reflect on how you make decisions, and evaluate thoughts that can be strengths, or thoughts that may be holding you back. Think of this as your wilderness guide– you can choose how to: learn how to turn barriers into building blocks, repurpose your negative self-talk into strengths, and assess the surroundings of your career decisions.
In the Final Step (Taking Action), you will be tasked with setting a goal for yourself based on the information you have gathered. You will have the option to either set one major goal for you to achieve (SMART goal), or put together a plan for achieving a few goals at once (Individual Action Plan). This is like mapping out your path–that way, when you’re at the crossroads or need to go off the beaten path, you’ll still know you’re on track.
So, let’s get started–click here to return to the Career Decision Badge.
Questions? Feel free to send an email to askcareer@stkate.edu or schedule an appointment with a member of the Career Development team on Handshake.
