How to Make Mindful Career Decisions: A Holistic Framework
Inside: A tool to help you make mindful career decisions as a parent and professional. Let’s carve out a career path for you that fits your life!
See how I make mindful career decisions that help me live a life I love? Very demure. Very mindful.
(You have to say that line above like Jools Lebron, or it just won’t work!)
Mindful is EXACTLY how we want to be making our career decisions, though. Especially as parents and professionals balancing a lot of competing priorities.
You can’t leave things to chance or just go for it and see what happens; you have responsibilities that require being thoughtful. You can’t stay stuck forever; little humans are counting on you to be an example.
So, let’s start making some very mindful career choices using one of my favorite frameworks – career criteria.
What are Mindful Career Criteria?
I was introduced to the idea of career criteria over a decade ago at Harvard Business School by Dr. Tim Butler. Under his leadership, I learned how to be a career coach, and this tool is one of the most valuable in my toolbelt. Now, as a coach for mid-career parents, I’ve added my own spin on career criteria to help mid-career parents make decisions.
In the career criteria exercise I teach within the Career Clarity Program, I coach clients to develop a list of 10 sentences that represent what they are optimizing for in this next chapter of their careers.
Notice I didn’t say what you’re optimizing for “for your entire life.” It’s for this next chapter. That’s important because life will change, and we need to give ourselves permission to change along with it! Plans are great, but the here and now matters too.
Each of these 10 sentences should include a WHAT you and WHY you want it so that they serve as a well-thought-out rubric by which you will measure if a career path or opportunity is a fit or not.
Mindful Career Criteria Exercise
To ensure that your career criteria are complete and cover all areas that hold meaning to you, let’s be mindful about the process! Grab a journal or the notes app on your phone and write down what comes to mind for each of the following categories:
Needs
What do you need in this stage of life (money, benefits, schedule, etc.)?
The most common way to think about salary is, “It needs to be at least what I’m making now.” The mindful way to think about salary is “What does my family need (based on sitting down with a budget), and what are our goals?”
Sample career criteria sentence: I need to be in a remote role that will allow me the flexibility to get my kids off the bus in the afternoon. They are independent, but I must be there for safety reasons.
Motivators
What gets you energized? Like Hoda Kotb has said, you don’t want your kids to think that work is something you’re constantly dragged off to. You want to model to them that they can be motivated and energized by their work someday.
Things that might motivate you include company mission, core values, opportunity for advancement, competition, or passion for the subject matter.
Sample career criteria sentence: I want my next role to be aligned with my deep interest and passion for women’s health. Looking ahead, I want to be connected to the company’s mission and know I am making a difference at scale.
People
Who do you want to spend time with? Work can be a big part of our lives, so the people we surround ourselves with in a professional setting make a big difference in our happiness.
Put another way, what are the characteristics of a great teammate? What are the characteristics of a great boss? How would you describe “good” company culture?
Sample career criteria sentence: I want to work within a company culture that treats me like an adult and trusts me to get my work done. I am excellent at meeting deadlines but feel most fulfilled when my manager and teammates give me the space and autonomy to project manage my work.
Day to Day
What skills do you want to use on a day-to-day basis? Don’t jump to function or job title just yet; think about the actions you enjoy taking.
Examples include data analysis, public speaking, organizing projects, influencing others, and developing strategic plans.
Sample career criteria sentence: “I want to be in a role where I can use my interpersonal skills to build relationships with clients and uncover their needs. As someone who loves interacting with people, I do my best work when I am in relationship-building mode.”
Future You
What do you want to set yourself up for in the future? As I mentioned, we can’t plan everything, but we can give our future selves a leg up by making mindful career decisions.
For example, let’s say you would one day want to own your own business. Right now, that doesn’t make financial sense or you feel like you have gaps in your knowledge. That’s fine! How can you set yourself up for success now?
Sample career criteria sentence: “I aim to own my own business within the next 5 years. For my next job, I want to learn more about marketing to build that skill set and make at least $X salary now to give myself a financial cushion.”
Sit with some of these questions in the back-see what bubbles to the top. Knowing what you’re optimizing for helps you make great decisions for yourself and your family.
Using Career Criteria to Make Mindful Career Choices
Now that you have your career criteria written down (at least one per each category, but likely more than one per category and several sentences that include more than one category), this piece of paper is your guide!
Use your mindful career criteria list to:
- Assess whether a job offer is well aligned with your needs.
- Create a list of questions to ask in networking conversations.
- Build a target list of companies or roles that match your criteria.
- Boost your motivation when negotiating because you see the WHY clearly outlined.
See? VERY mindful career decision-making! It’s based on data (both qualitative and quantitative) about what you need. It’s real, meaningful, and helps you confidently move in the right direction.
If you would benefit from diving deeper into career criteria with some coaching support, you’re invited to join us in the Career Clarity Program. Learn more here!
