Make your big decision with confidence.
Similar to the job search itself, we believe you should have a systematic and objective approach to deciding between different career options. Here are some tips on how to do this.
First list out your top criteria for deciding. This could be location, compensation, opportunity to learn, industry, work-life balance.
Next rank order these criteria in order of importance to you. Be honest with yourself and don't overthink this step since priorities can and will change.
Then evaluate the options across these criteria. We suggest using a great, good, okay, not good scale. You can also add short comments here to supplement the ratings.
Finally, evaluate from top to bottom. Since you sorted the criteria, it might be easier to see the tradeoffs and pros and cons starting from the most important to the least important.
It can be useful to talk through this assessment with family, friends, mentors and other people you trust to come to a good decision. For example, one of our CICS Board Members offered this advice: "Especially for jobs early in your career, it's good to look for environments where there are people you can learn from, and learn things that matter to you. This also means that the environment needs to support the kinds of activities that promote learning - mentoring, small teams, assignments that change periodically so as to encounter new people to learn from."
Here are some of the considerations that our CICS Careers team values:
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Do you admire the leaders of the organization? Remember that they typically drive the culture.
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Relationships matter. Evaluate your relationships with those you have met throughout the process.
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Working with really smart, motivated people is often overlooked but hugely important.
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You should feel a little uncomfortable, which means you will learn and grow.
Come talk to us if you want help thinking through your options!