Career decision-making can be overwhelming. On one hand there is an overload of information available as we are bombarded with news, stories and social media posts via a variety of communication channels. On the other, there is simultaneously lack of information as past truths and solutions are becoming obsolete in the radically changing world.
One of the ways we simplify information processing is WYSIATI. This acronym, coined by Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate and cognitive psychologist, stands for What You See Is All There Is. In other words, we consider information that is readily available to us and ignore other possibilities. When it comes to careers this may mean that we consider only options that we already know (e.g. what our parents, friends or media tell us).
Gloria SteinemWithout leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
When we are faced with an important problem or a decision, we typically begin to work on the problem by collecting and analyzing data. We think that working linearly on the problem is the way to a solution. However, the more complex the problem, the more inefficient this approach seems to be.
Career design is essentially a process of creative problem solving. One of the design thinking tools it uses is What if thinking. In other words, instead of resorting to your first idea or looking for one right answer, the point is to generate many options from which to choose. This helps you challenge your habitual ways of thinking and see your problem from many perspectives. It also connects you with your emotions and intuition as it aims to suspend your critical mind for a moment.
Ideate 10 different future careers for yourself. You can use one of the instructions below to help you ideate.
a) Begin with your current idea and then think of the next option, assuming the earlier ideas are not possible.
b) List 10 biggest challenges in the world and think how you could work to solve them.
c) List 10 jobs/careers you could do if money was not an object.
Design a Meaningful Career online course is crafted to help you navigate the complexities of modern career dynamics. Through a blend of creative thinking and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to build a career path that resonates with your personal values and goals.
We are amid a revolution of work, which started already long before the pandemic. Making sense of the future of work can feel tricky in the middle of a constant information overflow. This course is supported with academic research and references packaged in a way that is easy to access. In this course, we will look at how the roles of the individual, organisations and society have changed and how it affects how we work today and in the future. The course is an open online course. The course material is divided into five (5) chapters.
In this course, you will learn what radical creativity is and how to apply it at both individual and organizational levels.
Learn to think like an entrepreneur and to solve real-world problems by creating something new.
