Printer Friendly Version Step 4 Checklist: Select a career goal... Career Selection and Planning Guide Internet Career Connection

Which career direction will you choose?   This step will help you answer that question!  If you've arrived at this step it is more-than-likely due to the fact that you identified two or more occupations in Step 3 that seem to be appropriate as career goals, but you haven't yet determined which one is best to pursue as your career goal.  It is these occupations - the ones that you have determined to be the most desirable - that we will focus on in this step.   Using our decision-making guide, your task in this step will be to compare each of your personality factors to each of your most desirable occupations to determine which occupation best matches your personality style. The occupations with the most matches are the ones that we recommend you carefully consider when selecting your final career goal.

Time required to complete... Variable, depending upon the number of occupations that you wish to evaluate.  Each occupation should take you approximately 10 minutes to evaluate.	Required forms... To complete this step, you will use your completed copy of Form 2 and several photocopies of your completed copy of Form 1.

Directions... Print a copy of this checklist to record your progress as you complete this step. On your printed copy, check off each step as it is completed.
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[ ]	Make a photocopy of your completed copy of Form 1.
[ ]	Evaluate your first "Yes" occupation. Using the photocopy of Form 1, please do the following: Enter the job title of the first occupation on your completed copy of Form 2 that you circled as "Yes."   On the photocopy of Form 1, compare your interests to the occupation: Start with your first interest. Determine how well the occupation matches your first interest.  Select one of the following options that best reflects your opinion and record the value of your selection under the "Matching Scores" column on the same line as your first interest. Answer options Answer values Strong match 10 Moderate match 5 Weak match 1 No match 0 Repeat the above procedure for all remaining interests. Compare your skills to the occupation: Start with your first skill. Determine whether your first skill is one of the required (must have) skills needed to succeed in the occupation.  Select one of the following options that best reflects your opinion and record the value of your selection under the "Matching Scores" column on the same line as your first skill. Answer options Answer values Required (must have) skill 10 Not required, but helpful skill 5 Not required, not helpful skill 0 Repeat the above procedure for all remaining skills. Compare your values to the occupation: Start with your first value. Determine how well the occupation will satisfy or match your value.  Select one of the following options that best reflects your opinion and record the value of your selection under the "Matching Scores" column on the same line as your first value. Answer options Answer values Will definitely satisfy my value 10 May satisfy my value 5 Will not satisfy my value 0 Will conflict with my value -10 Repeat the above procedure for all remaining values. Compare your behavioral traits to the occupation: Start with your first trait. Determine how important your trait is for achieving success in the occupation.  Select one of the following options that best reflects your opinion and record the value of your selection under the "Matching Scores" column on the same line as your first trait. Answer options Answer values Very important (critical) 10 Important 5 Not important 0 Will actually prohibit my success -10 Repeat the above procedure for all remaining traits. Add together the scores listed in the Matching Scores column and place the total score in the "Total matching score" box at the bottom of the form.  Make sure you calculate all minus (-10) scores properly.
[ ]	Repeat the above procedure for all remaining "Yes" occupations. Using additional photocopies of your completed copy of Form 1, repeat the above process (steps 1-6) for all remaining occupations (circled as "Yes") listed on your completed copy of Form 2.
[ ]	Identify your top scoring occupations. Examine all the evaluations that you completed above and identify the highest scoring occupation.  If possible, identify the second and third highest scoring occupations.  These are the occupations that you believe best match your overall personality style.
[ ]	Make a decision! Now that you have compared your personality style to each of your most desirable occupations, and have identified the top scoring occupations, are you ready to make a decision regarding which career to follow?  From the options below, select the option that best describes what you want to do now and follow the related directions. Options Directions Option 1: I can't make a decision at this time. If you are unable to make a final career decision, we suggest you seek assistance from a professional career counselor.  Share with him or her the results of this program and ask for advice regarding which occupation you should select as your career goal.  Getting a second option from an experienced career counselor can help you put things into perspective and is often all that is necessary to enable you to make a final career selection. See our Support page for suggestions regarding how to find professional career counseling advice. Option 2: I need more information about one or more of my current occupational considerations before I can make a final decision. What you should do next depends upon what information you need!  Try returning to the Occupational Outlook Handbook or O*NET Online websites and review the profiles related to the occupations in question to determine if they can provide the information that you need. Perhaps you need to speak to someone working in a particular occupation, or someone in Human Resources (Personnel Management), or an academic advisor? If so, check our Support page for suggestions regarding how to find such individuals. Once you have gathered the needed information, return to this step and review your occupational selections again and decide which of the other three options you want to follow. Option 3: I don't like any of these occupations and prefer to evaluate a new set of occupations. Return to Step 2 and create a new list of occupations to evaluate and then proceed from that point forward in the program. Option 4: I'm ready to select a career goal. Congratulations!  Please move on to Step 5 to develop your career plan.