Indecisiveness and Decision-making: Choosing a Career

Introduction

The career issue that I wish to talk about is career decision-making. Choosing a career is not an easy task, and can be a great source of pressure. Not only this issue is important to me personally, (as it is an issue that I am struggling with at the moment), it is also one of the most common career issues that people have to deal with. Indeed, many people will feel at some point in their life, a certain amount of uncertainty and indecisiveness in regards to what career to pursue. Questions such as “How do I choose a career that would be best suited for me?” or “What if I don’t choose the right career?” would probably be the type of questions that many have asked themselves at least once in their lives, especially when it is time to move from student life to young professional. This transition corresponds to a phase of life filled with promise and excitement, but which also has its dose of uncertainty related to the many choices to make. Actually, there was a time when career choices were very simple and limited. Our era, however, as many negatives as there are positive aspects about this, offers a multiplicity of choices which does not always make the 'good' choice obvious.

The Significance of Career Indecisiveness

Career indecision has been a topic of research and interest for many theorists. Multiple authors such as Holland, Krumboltz, Super, Bright, and many others have tried to answer and provide solutions for this issue by looking at several cases, datas and from different perspectives.

In this essay, I will thus be discussing this career issue in relation to three main theories. As Brown and Lent mentioned, “Holland’s theory is generally regarded as among the most influential theories guiding career counseling and practice” (Brown and Lent, 2013), hence, I will be focusing on his theory of Vocational choice as well as Krumboltz’s Happenstance theory and Gelatt’s theory of Positive Uncertainty. I will also be discussing other career issues such as satisfaction and fulfilment at work since they are closely related to decision-making. Further, on top of comparing and contrasting common sayings about these issues, I will also use personal, as well as relatives’ examples and experiences to support my arguments. Finally, I would also like to provide, if not solutions to this issue, some suggestions and tips that can allow us all to see more clearly when the ocean of doubts opens before us.

Factors Impacting Career Indecisiveness

In today’s society, you are expected at a very early stage of life to know what kind of career you would like to pursue and have an answer to the question “What would you like to do when you grow up”. However, according to Berger, there are more and more undecided students (in the USA) than before. Indeed, 8.5 percent of students in 2001 compared to 1.7 percent students in 1966 were unsure of their career path (Berger, 2003). This is concerning to me as, I also am very uncertain in regards to my future career. When I share my concerns about this problem with my friends and family, the advice that is often given to me is that I should consider doing something that I am good at and that I enjoy. In fact, there is a common saying: “do what you love, and you will never have to work another day of your life” which is very often given as career advice. As a matter of fact, Chris Brewster (stuntman) stated in an interview: 'my advice to everyone in the world is to find what you love and do it. If you truly love what you do, it doesn't feel like work.' (Anon, 2016), inspiring others to go after their passions. In contrast, a friend whom I interviewed for the purpose of this essay, disagrees completely with this career advice. Despite being passionate about trains, and having succeeded in pursuing a career related his passion, he added that, “as much (he) enjoys working in a field related to (his) passion, it does not diminish the fact that it still is ‘work’ and that no job is perfect”. Indeed, he still has constraints, his job will not always be the way that he wants it to be and he will have, like in any other positions, bothersome tasks and responsibilities that he will not enjoy doing. However, according to Krishnaswam, it is only a question of perspective. Since work is something that we do with the aim of getting payed, she argues that instead of viewing it as “an outcome of money, work should be done for the joy of doing it” (Krishnaswam, 2018). So in order to be happy at work it would depend on how you define, and the way that you perceive your ‘work’. Also, it seems that the expression “do what you love and you will never have to work another day in your life” is the only career advice there is for people who are undecided upon choosing a career. Yet, some scholars argue that it is not enough to be passionate, or to simply have skills in a certain discipline to find the jobs or careers that would best suit us.

In the 1960s, the American psychologist John Holland realized that our personalities also plays an important role in our attraction for certain types of jobs. He studied how hundreds of former US soldiers choose their professions after the army, and developed a test that takes into account both skills (what I can do), personality (what I am) and interests (what I like to do) (Walsh, 2004). In his theory he also indicated that “vocational satisfaction, stability and achievement depend on the congruence between one’s personality and the environment in which one works” (Holland, 1973). I would also like to provide a personal example in relation to Holland’s suggestion of congruence between one’s personality and their environment. Indeed, a couple of weeks ago, the employees of the company where I am currently doing an internship had to undertake a personality test named Insights Discovery. The Insights Discovery uses a four colour model to help people differentiate several types of personalities, a methodology which resembles that of Holland’s Occupational Themes (RIASEC). What was interesting about the results was that, members from the same work field generally had a similar pattern; For example ‘green’, meaning that these people are more ‘people oriented’, is the colour that is the most prominent in the Customer Service team. Whereas in the Finance department for example, there are more ‘blue’ dominants, meaning that these people are more ‘tasked oriented’ and analytical. These patterns confirm Holland’s theory, in a way that they are logical and congruent: working in Customer Service requires you to be caring and patient with customers. This high congruence was also related to greater job satisfaction and suitability. Nonetheless, Holland acknowledged the limits of his theory and says that it is necessary to place it in context (Brown and Lent, 2013).

There are many other tests similar to Insights Discovery or to Holland Code Career Test. Although, all of them share the same purpose, which is to provide clues that should help us understand ourselves better. Having a better awareness of yourself would be the beginning of our success, in terms of knowing what would best fit our personalities and along with it, job satisfaction (Walsh, 2004).

Actions Taken to Choose a Career

In order to further understand and deal with such common career issue, there are many simple actions that one can take. First, as mentioned above, we should try and learn more about ourselves. Undertaking personality tests, or having discussions with a career advisor can be of certain help seeing that they address career issues such as decision making, and guide our transition from student life to professional life (Roberts Standish, 2004). Also, according to an evaluation conducted by The US office of career education, it was found that career education programs are very effective, and students who participated in career education projects had a much better understanding of their career planning, as well as improved skills for career success (Enderlein, 1977).

In more recent studies, however, counselors indicated that “they did not have enough time to spend in career planning with students” (Roberts Standish, 2004). Moreover, according to a recent article, there seem to have been an increase in the number of graduates who are being ‘mismatched’ to their jobs (Steed, 2018). This may suggest that there is a need for more relevant and useful career advice. Likewise, we may also want to consider that times are changing, and the methods that we used in the past may simply not be applicable in today’s world.

Indeed, two articles have marked recent thinking in this area: that of Gelatt (1989), which recommends to view uncertainty in a positive way, and that of Krumboltz (1992) which discusses the ‘wisdom of indecision’. Gelatt states that “Once upon a time the past was known, the future was predictable, and the present was changing slowly. Today, the past isn't what we thought it to be, the future is no longer predictable, and the present is changing rapidly. [...] Today, decision making, growing up, and change aren't what they used to be.” (Gelatt, 1989). He makes it clear that the old strategies and methods for decision making are not enough for our complex world, and alternatively, he suggests that we should change our attitude in order to “feel positive about the uncertainty” (Gelatt, 1989). In his opinion, attitude is an important factor for making decisions, and by looking outside of our field and considering other options, eventually, it can lead to people being more open-minded.

Another theory, which is Krumboltz's Happenstance Learning Theory, argues that the main criterion for success is not the actual choice of profession, but the willingness to seize and exploit different opportunities, which arise from planned events as well as from unforeseen situations. In his opinion, every situation can be a new chance for success if it is identified and exploited. Actually, a personal example of success due to happenstance is my Uncle. My Uncle was the first in his family to go to University (In England in the late 70s). He was always very interested in literature in general, and especially in foreign languages. Unfortunately, because languages were not offered at the time at University, and because his academic results were not high enough to give him many options, he was constrained on choosing psychology. He was not enthusiastic about it, but at the time he did not have any other choices and decided to ‘go with the flow’. However, with time he realized that he was not only good at it, he also enjoyed it and considered doing a career related to psychology. As a result, for the following 40 years he became a very successful counselor.

Thus, as Krumboltz mentioned, keeping an open mind in regards to career decision can sometimes be preferable than to have a confirmed goal, and indecision can be regarded as something beneficial rather than disadvantageous (Krumboltz, 2009). This theory is interesting in the way that it questions the idea of linear choice, which is fixed in advance. The majority of high school graduates do not have a clear idea of what career they want to do, and according to Krumboltz, “What you should be when you grow up need not and should not be planned in advance” (Krumboltz, 2009). Krumboltz argues that having goals can actually obstruct other opportunities that one can have. For this reason, Krumboltz suggests that we should be more engaged and embrace a certain openness in regards to our future. Specifically, he recommends being more involved in a variety of activities, and recommends to remain aware of the opportunities that come our way. Thus, the idea is not to make the ‘right career choice’, but rather to undertake actions that can lead you to a satisfying career choice.

To conclude, career indecision is much more complex than one may think, and although many scholars have tried to provide solutions, there is no correct or specific answer to this issue. Holland's Theory of Vocational Choice remains one of the most popular career theories and personality tests. His test is interesting in how it determines one's professional interests and increases the congruence of certain occupations with one's profile. However, it also implies that the choice of the career is a thoughtful selection of the 'right' or 'correct' career, therefore indecision in this case, is considered as something negative that must be overcome through a systematic process. Nonetheless, such views have been criticized for some time and other theories have emerged as an alternative. Although systematically processed career plans are popular and reassuring, the fact remains that life is unexpected and unforeseeable and that happenstance is inevitable. Curiously, according to Krumboltz’s and Gelatt’s theories, the latter contributes to career development much more than one might think, and as such, indecision becomes something that is beneficial and essential for career decisions.

Conclusion

Finally, despite the fact that there is no specific solution to this issue, being aware and having a good understanding of yourself can certainly help overcome career indecision. There are many steps that one can take in order to be more prepared. Undertaking personality tests, or having discussions with a career advisor can be of certain guidance, however, it remains theoretical. You understand what you enjoy, or despise in a job by actually doing it. Hence, it is important to seize as many opportunities and keep our options open. After all, as Louis Pasteur said, “chance favours only the prepared mind”. 

Works Cited

1. Berger, J. (2003). Career indecision and environmental stress. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 62(2), 185-203.
2. Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (2013). Career Development and Counseling: Putting Theory and Research to Work (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
3. Enderlein, L. (1977). Career education evaluation: Career decision-making and attitudes toward self-development. Career Development Quarterly, 25(3), 261-266.
4. Gelatt, H. B. (1989). Positive uncertainty: A new decision-making framework for counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36(2), 252-256.
5. Holland, J. L. (1973). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments (2nd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
6. Krishnaswam, R. (2018). 'Work' as play. Economic and Political Weekly, 53(22), 11-13.
7. Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 17(2), 135-154.
8. Roberts Standish, P. (2004). Comprehensive guidance and counseling programs: The evolution of accountability. Professional School Counseling, 8(4), 316-323.
9. Steed, J. (2018). Graduates 'mismatched' to jobs. Education & Training, 60(3), 271-276.
10. Walsh, W. B. (2004). Holland's theory of vocational choice: A quarter-century review. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82(3), 293-304.