Summarize your self-assessment for the decision-making process

This worksheet is intended to help you summarize the information you have gathered so far, in preparation for assessing the appropriateness of your occupational options.

Based on all of the information you have gathered about yourself, draft a summary that captures those aspects/characteristics that are the most salient for you and that will help to define your personal career direction. Use the following prompts to list these aspects/characteristics:

Create a vision statement

Once you have summarized your self-information, it is time to build a vision of what you want your personal and professional life to look like. It involves brainstorming future possibilities that will then give you the clues for translating your vision into career goals that energize and excite you. Although it is important to be realistic in what you envision yourself doing, it is more helpful at this point in the process not to limit yourself to what you consider to be reality; instead, let your vision or dream grow. Your goal for now is to take an honest look at yourself and your desires for the future. This activity may also yield additional self-information that will further aid in gaining clarity of your self-concept.

It may be helpful to begin by asking yourself the following questions:

1. If you were guaranteed to be successful and to earn a good living, what type of work tasks/activities would you like to engage in?
2. What kind of work environment would you want?
3. Where would you live?
4. What would your work and personal relationships be like?
5. What kind of lifestyle would you have?

When you have completed your vision exercise, you can then allow your realistic self to help you assess what you have envisioned. What aspects of this dream might actually be possible? And what information about you has been revealed?

Now write your vision statement. Use powerful language that inspires you. Include as much material as you can from your self-assessment summary: your statement should include what brings you happiness, what you enjoy doing. Take as much space as you need. You may feel your vision statement is too lofty, or idealistic. In a sense, it is. However, it is also realistic in that it incorporates all that is important to you and about you for your desired future. When you develop self-clarity through this process, and use this self-understanding to envision possible future scenarios, you will be well-prepared to identify specific and appropriate goals for your life.

You are now ready for the next step: what careers might satisfy this vision? The goal here is to generate a list of career options that is as expansive as possible. The focus is on quantity, not quality. No idea is a bad one: for you to have thought of it, suggests that there is at least some aspect of it that is important to you. Record all these options.