What factors have led you to pursue your career of interest? While frequent responses to this question may involve elements such as the desire to make a greater income, wanting to climb the corporate ladder, and wanting to increase your marketability in a different area, making satisfying career decisions oftentimes involves examining a few different key factors, such as your interests, your skills, and your abilities. However, other factors may be just as important—including the review of your top values, your challenges, and your overall engagement with a particular field. In other words, factors directly related to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) are paramount to examine when establishing a career with a high degree of overall satisfaction.
SEL has been defined as “a lifelong process of developing skills that attribute to academic and career success, and overall individual and collective wellbeing. The five domains of SEL are: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Interpersonal Communication, Executive Function, and Social Awareness (Hilary Simon, Former Senior Manager, Social and Emotional Learning, WGU). “ Each of the five domains of SEL are further defined below:
- Self-Awareness—The conscious and clear perception and understanding of our own personality, feelings, thoughts, strengths, weaknesses, and motivation. Terms such as “Growth Mindset,” ” Self-Efficacy,” “Patience,” and “Self-Reflection” are common for this domain.
- Self-Management—The ability to accept responsibility and effectively manage our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Self-management skills are critical for completing tasks and taking control of the direction of our lives. Terms such as “Resilience,” “Goal-Setting,” “Initiative-Taking,” “Time Management,” and “Self-Motivation” are common here.
- Interpersonal Communication—The ability to effectively build and maintain relationships with others. Terms such as “Compassion,” “Conflict Resolution,” “Digital Communication,” Oral & Written Communication,” and “Relationship Building” are common for this domain.
- Executive Function—A higher-order mental process that enables us to manage complex tasks, such as organizing and planning and controlling cognitive flexibility. Executive function skills permit us to think critically, adapt to change, make responsible decisions, and reach our goals. Terms such as “Critical Thinking,” “Self-Directed Learning,” “Agency,” “Planning & Organizing,” “Mental Agility,” “Curiosity,” and “Creativity” are common here.
- Social Awareness—Allows us to engage, react, and respond in a variety of social situations while understanding the varying needs of others. Individuals who are socially aware are able to appropriately modify their behavior and apply effective interpersonal strategies to achieve desired outcomes. Terms such as “Empathy,” “Ethical Responsibility,” “Cultural Awareness,” and “Appreciation for Diversity” are common.
With a greater understanding of SEL and its five domains, how may the domains be directly applicable to making satisfying career choices? Much focus on selecting a career which leads to fulfillment may focus on Self-Awareness in terms of determining top personality traits, sources of motivation, and an accurate assessment of strengths/weaknesses. The other SEL domains may connect with preferred skills to utilize in a position, as well as preferences related to working with others, time and stress management, and desires for elements such as creativity and professional development. Below, find five ways to engage with SEL domains during the career decision-making process. You are also encouraged to see how your responses compare to the skills, typical work environment, culture, and professional development expectations for your field(s) of interest:
- Display awareness of your own honest strengths and opportunities for development. Requesting ongoing feedback from supervisors and colleagues may be very beneficial with this process. Conducting 360-Degree evaluations in collaboration with your annual performance review may assist you with developing a more comprehensive understanding of areas in which you excel, as well as areas for improvement. Next, define your top strengths and weaknesses, and how these may impact your career choice.
- Define top personality traits and sources of motivation. Do you consider yourself to more extroverted or introverted? Do you thoroughly enjoy being highly-organized and efficient, or do you find too much organization to be stifling? What truly motivates you to engage with your work—for example, do you find the most fulfillment from solving complex problems or helping others to grow and develop? Identifying and articulating such factors may greatly contribute to career satisfaction—especially when determining an ideal work environment.
- Discuss your preferred ways of building and maintaining relationships with others, as well as your conflict management style. These important points relate to the SEL domain of Interpersonal Communication and may be critical for workplace/career satisfaction. Do you prefer more independent work or more or a collaborative approach? Do you prefer more regular, daily communication or less frequent communication with others? In terms of conflict—do you prefer to avoid conflict or would you rather pursue a direct approach? How would you define your ideal boundaries with others in the workplace? Also, how do you maintain your energy levels when working with others—do you tend to be more energized by others or do you tend to need to take time to yourself?
- Define how you like to set and pursue your goals, as well as your preference for professional development. Certain careers may involve more regular goal setting and the pursuit of more ongoing, regular professional development. For example, many I.T.-related careers require professionals to maintain currency in the field through ongoing trainings and certifications. Are you a person who thrives on setting and achieving goals? Do you truly enjoy staying abreast of recent trends in your field and constantly learning new things? These factors may be important to career satisfaction, as understanding the related professional development piece may provide a more realistic landscape for certain career choices.
- Articulate and document short and long–term goals for your future. Documenting short and long-term goals in SMART Goal format will provide you with a roadmap, as well as tangible methods to implement, when pursuing each step of your professional journey.
Considering these important SEL-related factors and strategies may indeed lead to greater career satisfaction over time. For further assistance with holistically examining and defining the next step in your career, you may want to complete our exercises under Milestone One: Career Goal Identified. If Career and Professional Development may be assistance with devising your Career & Self Development strategy, please feel free to contact us.
