Decision Making for Juniors -- and Their Parents

High school juniors face a lot of decisions over the next year as they prepare to graduate from high school and enroll in college. At the core of their decisions is the big question: What do they want to do with their life? Their decision-making style will shape their plans.

Effective planning is the key to your child's work and education future. Important components of effective planning include understanding the planning process and using good decision-making skills.

Helping your kids explore and gather information about themselves and the world of work is the starting point in this process. Investigating interests and identifying skills, personality styles and values will help your kids make connections between themselves and work. What type of work will "fit" them? What education and/or training will they need to acquire to do the work?

Now they are ready to set some goals and develop their action plans, including their college plans. Following up on action plans is the final step.

It all sounds straightforward and systematic, doesn't it? But none of this comes together unless your child can make a decision using the information they have gathered. A key skill that runs through the whole process is decision making.

Why is Decision Making Critical to Career and College Planning?

The essence of career planning is decision making based on good information. Deciding what you want to do and taking action based on this decision is the culmination of all the stages of the career planning process. Understanding decision-making styles will be important for you and your child.

How Does Your Child Make Decisions?

You may have noticed that your kids or their friends each make decisions in different ways. That is because they each have a unique style. How we make decisions is often determined by what we have to decide upon. How important is the decision? Are there any consequences to the decision I may not be able to live with? Do I have enough information? Do I have to decide right now?

There are several ways we make decisions. Here are some decision-making styles to think about:

Impulsive -- decides, then thinks about the decision
Delaying -- can't make up their mind to make a decision: "I'll decide later. What's the big rush?"
Fatalistic -- thinks that what will be will be: "Why decide? It's all in the cards!"
Compliant -- prefers to let someone else decide for them: "Whatever you say."
Agonizing -- searches for so much information that the decision gets too complex and they get lost in the confusion
Planning -- organized, carefully weighs the alternatives before deciding, follows a definite strategy
Intuitive -- uses feelings more than thinking: "It feels right inside so I think I'll do it."

Finally, there is the decision maker who experiences paralysis. This person knows they must decide, but is so overwhelmed by the choices that they are unable to make any decision at all.

Can you relate to any of these styles? Can you see any of these styles in your kids? Help them recognize their style so they can balance these styles and make effective decisions.

How Do These Styles Relate to Career Planning?

Each time someone makes a decision, they take a step towards taking action.

Don't be too concerned if your kids change their plans. They will change with every new experience. Understanding which decisions are the important ones and the consequences of each decision will help.

For instance, many young people today "end up" in educational programs or jobs not related to their interests and skills. They often chose these paths by default. This is the compliant approach to decision making. The danger in this is that the consequences are not their responsibility because someone else decided for them.

Talk to your kids about the planned decision-making style in career planning. Look at the decision-making style they use to support their career planning process. Help them avoid the compliant approach by encouraging them to follow all the steps in the career planning process.

Career and education planning is a series of big and small decisions on the journey to their futures. Help them enjoy this journey by understanding, encouraging and supporting good decision making.