You’re at the optometrist. The doctor has you sitting in front of the eye chart while you look through the phoropter machine. He is switching the lenses back and forth and asking you questions like, “Which one is clearer, this one? Or that one? Lens A? Lens B?” You know that some of the lenses are the same over and over again, but he’s also introducing some new choices along the way. Although you can’t think too much about that. What you need to focus on is the clarity. Sometimes neither option is clear. Sometimes, one is vastly superior to the other. Ultimately, your optometrist is narrowing down the options for the sake of clarity. 

We’ve all been there, right? Well, what if you could take a similar approach, but with your career options? That’s exactly what you get to do with the This or That exercise.

“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No…’” (Matthew 5:37a)

The idea behind the “This or That” career preferences exercise is to create a series of questions for yourself that force you into an either/or decision or a yes/no decision. This can be used to understand preferences, make decisions, evaluate opportunities, or manage risks when it comes to careers and job searches. By examining your reaction to different options, you’re narrowing down for the sake of clarity. Just like at the eye doctor. 

As part of understanding your Aptitudes (Step 3 in You Are Created For Good Works) we present to you an example of a quiz, using broad considerations that may be important to job seekers. We encourage you to create your own categories. Ideally, you would create your own quiz and then take it several times over a period of days or weeks and see if your answers or perceptions have changed. This will give you valuable information when making career decisions.

This or That? Career Preference Exercise

Career Preference A	Career Preference B
Work alone	Work with others
Big company	Small company
Competitive pay	Nominal pay
Work remote/from home	Work in office
Private company	Public company
Specific industry	No specific industry
Work inside	Work outside
Travel	No travel
Flexible schedule	Set schedule
Speaking	Writing
Numbers/Data	Words
Manager/decision maker	Not in charge of others
Healthcare plan	No healthcare plan
Advancement opportunities	No advancement
Hourly	Salary
Customer-facing	Not customer-facing
Physical job	Desk Job
Something new every day	Consistency
Short Commute	Long Commute

Once you understand what your preferences are better through the This or That exercise, you can use those preferences as binomial criteria to assess one or more career decisions (Step 7 – Selecting in You Are Created for Good Works). It’s like looking at your options with a new set of lenses! This approach can help you examine whether or not a job opportunity or career decision would be a good fit for you. 

See the example below.  Based on this hypothetical comparison, I may be more interested in “Career Decision A” because it positively answers more of my criteria. Keep in mind that some of your criteria may be more important or bear more weight than others, and assess your results accordingly. 

This Or That? Career Decision Comparison

Preference	Career Decision A	Career Decision B
Work with others	Yes	Yes
Small company	Yes	Yes
Competitive pay	Yes	Yes
Work in office	No	Yes
Private company	Yes	No
No specific industry	Yes	Yes
Work inside	Yes	Yes
No travel	Yes	Yes
Flexible schedule	Yes	No
Writing	Yes	Yes
Words	Yes	Yes
Manager/decision maker	No	Yes
No healthcare plan (on spouse’s plan)	Yes	No
Advancement opportunities	No	No
Hourly	Yes	Yes
Not customer-facing	Yes	No
Desk Job	Yes	Yes
Something new every day	Yes	Yes
Short Commute	Yes	No

Laura Miller works for Crossroads Career as a writer, editor, and podcaster. She lives in the Kansas City area with her accountant husband. Laura hosts and produces The Library Laura Podcast, which is a weekly dose of book recommendations, library love, and literary enthusiasm. Previously, she worked in the insurance and retail industries.

Special thanks to Dave Sparkman and his daughter for their significant contributions during the creation of this exercise!