MAKING

CAREER
DECISIONS

This guide can help if you are:

Unsure of which major to choose
Graduating, and exploring career paths
Pretty sure of your path, but want confirmation that it’s right for you

colum.edu/portfoliocenter
 People often think that career paths work like this:

Identify Passion Go to School Get a Job Retire 30 Years Later

If only it were that easy! In reality, it looks more like:

Try a Few Things Focus on One

Change Your Mind

Change Direction

Graduate

Get Another Job

Get a Job
Change Jobs Again...
 See where this is going?
Career paths are messier than a lot of people realize. And if you enjoy nonlinear, surprisingly,
challenging, but incredibly creative and interesting stories, you’re in luck!
To be successful, you need to know yourself- really, really well-. This is not a topic isolated to the
self-help section of the bookstore! You will be faced with roughly 297 major decisions in your life, and
the only way to make a “right” decision is to know what you want/need/do well.
But let’s start small, with your first job. We will deconstruct what makes you successful, and what
makes you happy.

Job
This is the obvious part. This is what you do every day. It includes creating, communicating, leading,
organizing, designing, producing, counting, organizing, writing, reporting, troubleshooting…
If you are HAPPY and SUCCESSFUL in your job, it means that you are both INTERESTED in most of the
tasks you do, and your SKILLS/STRENGTHS align with those tasks.
Work Environment/Company
This is the setting in which you work. It includes factors like the size of the company, how formal or
creative the culture is, your boss, your coworkers, and how structured your day is. To be happy and
successful, there needs to be fit with your PERSONALITY.
Work/Life Interaction
This is your life! This includes everything else you do- including your family, your hobbies, your location,
and in particular, how these factors interact with your JOB. To be happy and successful, there has to
be a VALUES match.

Together Now
The four ingredients necessary to career success are:
Interests: what tasks do you like to do?
Personality: what is your style and how does that fit in different work environments?
Values: what is important to you? What do you need to get out of a job to be happy?
Skills/Strengths: what can you do? What are your natural strengths, and what skills have you built
over time?
 On to Sigi!

Sigi is a tool that helps you make career decisions by assessing who you are and providing information
about careers you are considering.

Log in via www.colum.edu/sigi. Enter your email once you get to the Sigi site, and you will be emailed
an access code.

Start with the Assessments. Skip the Fast Start. This is the quickest, but less effective path.
Assessment questions will be broad, but be patient and don’t look at the occupations list yet. You
need to start by exploring who you are before we jump into what you can do!

Interests
Begin with Interests. Take the assessment, and you will be returned to the main menu. Click on
Interests again and you will see your results.
Sigi uses 8 different interest categories. Mark your top three here.

T Arts & Humanities

T Business
T Education
T Engineering
T Health
T Science, Math & Agriculture
T Social & Behavioral Sciences
T Trades & Technology

(Interests = things you like to do/industries that appeal to you)

Values

Values are so crucial to your happiness on the job, and yet they can change so much over time! Values
come down to what you want to get out of work. Values are relevant when you are evaluating specific
jobs, but also impact your career choices. For example, individuals who want to work as photographers
but place a high value on security often struggle with the disconnect between interests and
work values.
Take the Values Assessment. Sigi focuses on 8 values, but there are many more. Mark your top three
from Sigi, and choose an additional 5 from the second list.

From Sigi Others

TContribution to Society TAdvancement TMoral Fulfillment
THigh Income TFamily Time TCompetition
TIndependence TBenefits TOn-the-Job Training
TLeisure TFlexible Hours TCreativity
TPrestige TPredictable Hours TDiversity
TSecurity TChallenge TEasy Commute
TVariety TLeisure Time TExcitement
TLeadership TTravel
TCompatible Coworkers TPower and Influence

Which 5 values are non-negotiable?

(Values = what you want to get out of a job)

Skills and Strengths:
You are born with certain inherent strengths, and you continue to hone your strengths and build new
skills with each new job or experience you take on.
Take a minute to mark your top ten from the list below.
TCurious TAssertive TQuick
TResponsible TFriendly TCompetent
TAble to manage stress TPersevering TInventive
TDiplomatic TAttention to detail TQuiet
TModest TGood-natured TCompetitive
TRisk-taking TPersuasive TKind
TMotivated TSupportive TTrustworthy
TAdaptable THelpful TConfident
TOpen-minded TPoised TLikeable
TSelf-controlled TCalm TRealistic
TAdventurous THonest TUnderstanding
TEfficient TPractical TConscientious
TOptimistic TTeachable TLogical
TSensible TCareful TVersatile
TOrganized THumorous TConservative
TAmbitious TTenacious TLoyal
TEmpathetic TImaginative TWitty
TOutgoing TProgressive TMature
TSincere TThorough TReserved
TAnalytical TCheerful TCreative
TEnthusiastic TIndependent TMethodical
TPatient TPunctual

Now return to Sigi and take the Skills assessment. Click back to your results. Top skills are:

Let’s not Forget Technical Skills:

Computer Programs (including social media):

Language:
Equipment/procedures:
Other:

Skills = tasks you are capable of doing Strengths = what you naturally do well
Personality
There are certain ways you work best, certain style preferences that come completely naturally to you.
Working against your preferences can be awkward, requiring a lot of focus and energy. For an informal
assessment of personality, read the following and pick one from each row:
Where do you focus your attention?
TExtroverts: TIntroverts:
Focus on the world around you Internally, contemplative
Are you an “E” Talk through decisions and thoughts Think through decisions/data
or an “I”? Have a large group of friends Smaller group of deeper friendships
Comfortable in groups Prefer small groups and one on one
Energized by interaction Work with ideas, thoughts
Action- focused Reflective and intentional
Act first, then think Think first, then do

How do you take in information?

TSensors: TIntuitives:
Focused on the present Focus on future possibilities
What is real and practical Can see connections and meaning
Are you an “S”
Like hard facts Theoretical
or an N”?
Prefer to perfect skills Always learning
Step by step approach Novelty
In tune with the five senses - what can be May skip steps
seen, heard, etc The sixth sense, hunches

How do you make decisions?

TThinkers: TFeelers:
Logical and objective decision-makers Decide based on values
Are you a “T” Think with their head Think with their heart
or an “F”? What is just? Subjective
Principles and ‘rules” resonate Shades of gray
Black and white Harmony is important
Firm but fair Empathy

How do you approach the world around you?

TJudgers: TPerceivers:
Like to regulate and control number of Attend to and gather information
options Flow
Are you a “J”
Need to feel in control of their time Adaptive, handle surprises well
or a “P”?
Prefer to have things settled Prefer to leave plans tentative
Feel better after a decision is made Let life unfold
Want to have a clear path Most relaxed with many options
Organized/structured Spontaneous and flexible

Still not sure? Take an unofficial personality quiz here, or contact us to take
the Myers-Briggs, mother of all personality assessments!
What Next?
Now you have most of the information you need about yourself. Let’s do a quick recap:

What are the most important interests you need express through your jobs?

What are your current top 5 skills? Top 5 strengths?

Your 5 non-negotiable values are:

Estimated personality type:

Career Paths:

Now that you have completed the assessments, we can start looking at Majors and Career Paths.
Click on the Results page of Sigi and scan through the suggested occupations.

Why are there some weird ones coming up?

Each of these was suggested because they fit one of your criteria. Your desire to make a lot of money
could be a great fit with the medical profession, but you may hate science or have no interest in
committing to that amount of education.
Then what do you look for?
Ideally we are looking for a match of all of your criteria- Interests, Values, Skills, and Personality. If you
are lucky, maybe some careers listed will even fit MOST of your criteria. But not all. That is why we rank
and prioritize, folks.

As you find careers you are interested in, click on Add to Bookmarks, and read through the detailed
profile. List your top three here. If you know what you want to do, just list one career.

Where is the gap?

Are you ready to commit? If not, what additional information do you need before you take the plunge?

If you are ready to pursue a career path, what steps do you see between where you are now, and
launching a successful career? Go back to Sigi and click on Next Steps, or just brainstorm below. What
can you do in the next semester to move closer to your career goals? Identify three things.
How about in the next year?

NEXT SEMESTER NEXT YEAR