ASK THE HEADHUNTER How to make a tough job or career choice

[deanwebb]

How to make a tough job or career choice

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Question I really can’t decide between two good job offers that require a career choice. Each would take me deep into a career dramatically different from the other. I’ve done lists of pros and cons and still cannot figure this out! Got any suggestions? (NOTE: This is an old question that I’ve never published because I didn’t have an answer for it — until now. Strap in, because some might think I’m going a bit “out there” on this! – Nick) Nick’s Reply Sometimes you've got to make a choice between two job offers, or you've got to decide "Do

Join us for discussion! https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/16485/job-or-career-choice">How to make a tough job or career choice

                              

Question

I really can’t decide between two good job offers that require a career choice. Each would take me deep into a career dramatically different from the other. I’ve done lists of pros and cons and still cannot figure this out! Got any suggestions?

(NOTE: This is an old question that I’ve never published because I didn’t have an answer for it — until now. Strap in, because some might think I’m going a bit “out there” on this! – Nick)

Nick’s Reply

https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/coin-toss.png" alt="career choice" width="300" height="200" />Sometimes you've got to make a choice between two job offers, or you've got to decide "Do I stay, or do I go?" Much of the time you can pretty easily judge the evidence supporting one choice or the other. But sometimes you can't — because "I" gets in the way.

Does “I” cause confusion when making a career choice?

I is who talks to you when you stop living and start "paying attention." Really, there is never a need to "pay attention." We do that automatically. It's how our senses and our brains work. As long as your eyes are open, when that swerving car comes toward you unexpectedly, your brain makes your body jump out of the way — you don't need to "pay attention."

Likewise, when you have job choices that seem confusing, it's often illuminating to merely stop thinking about it. Stop I.

A lesson from the Buddha

A Buddhist friend suggests we don't need I. In fact, I gets in the way of knowing all we need to know. And that includes knowing which choice in virtually any situation is the best choice for us.

Stopping I is hard. It's why the https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/buddha" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buddha spent years in contemplation — to stop his I. Well, not to stop it. Rather, to experience the knowledge that there is no I. Everything —

[deanwebb]

Here's the article the author of the above linked up: https://stanfordmag.org/contents/keep-the-change

I like it. If you flip a coin and hate the result, then you know what you gotta do, no matter how hard it will be to do it.