Better Career Choices for Beginners and Job Seekers: using Option Solving

This blog is about Option Solving and Option Solving is a much better way for career beginners and job seekers to make their career choices, than so many other traditional modes. In a moment you will see why.

College graduates and those already in careers have picked up a tremendous amount of intuitive wisdom in their lives to date –from friends, family, schooling, college, early work experiences, and so on. Intuitive wisdom provides an incredible bank of information to draw upon when the time comes for choosing careers. The trick is to access that bank of information in the most effective way: how do I access that mind boggling level of intuitive wisdom I’ve gained over the years, especially when it’s locked away? That’s where Option Solving comes in.

For many job seekers in the current economic scenario, this is a great time to look at your deep-seated job desires rather than go back to what you’ve been doing. There are new positions and roles emerging as the economy changes that might gel better with your own intuitive desires.

The first step is to come up with an appropriate question.  Perhaps one like: “What’s the best career choice for me now?” You can learn more how to pose the right questions from the option solving book.

Your next step with Option Solving is to set your mind toward an additional framing technique known as “bookends” (find out more about these from the book). But two likely bookends could be: 1) Do nothing and just hope the right job comes along. 2) Follow the career path decided by my family and friends. The idea behind bookends is to choose extremes you’re least likely to follow: hence the ones stated above.

With these extremes your incredible intuitive wisdom will kick in, as it will naturally tend to reject these bookends. Then you should map out 5-8 alternative choices of career that appeal to you in some way – see example under Latest Example tab.

Once you have laid these out go to bed and sleep on them – as a career beginner that will probably mean from 2.00AM to 2.00PM the following afternoon! For more mainstream careerists, it will mean first thing in the morning. However, before you close your eyes, you ask yourself exactly the same question as you posed earlier: “What is the best career choice for me now?”

The first choice (of all the alternatives) that pops into your head when you wake up is the career choice you should pursue. This sleep break is known as “emotional distancing” (more in the book) and allows your intuitive intelligence to work at its best (it does all the editing and removes all the fluff).

Once decided, don’t be put off by your family and friends. No matter the challenges or obstacles, this is the career of your dreams and should be pursued at all costs. Remember, “He/She who lets go is the one who loses out.”  Best of luck with your chosen career!

Thanks Option Solving. (NOTE: Next posting in 2 weeks: Dealing with an office rental dilemma.  Make your COMMENTS or go to peter @ileadershipsolutions.com to connect with the author.)

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