Career Services

ASSESSING SELF

The first stage of the career development process is finding out about yourself. Most people think they know themselves fairly well; however, when confronted with the need to make choices, they may lack the clarity necessary to find a career that matches their interests, abilities, and values. During the process you will:

• Evaluate your career and educational options based upon your own characteristics, paving the way for a more informed and satisfactory career choice.
• Prepare to "market" yourself to potential employers and/or graduate schools.

The following are introductory self assessment exercises designed to help you identify and organize information about yourself. Complete these exercises and discuss your responses with a career counselor, faculty member, family member or friend.

1. Identify ten activities which you love to do. Mark with an asterisk those items which you would like to include in your career. How might you use these activities in your job?
2. Complete the Transferable Skills activity.
3. List your ten top skills and rank them in priority order. To help identify your skills, refer to the lists of Transferable Skills and Action Verbs.
4. List and rank the ten skills you most enjoy using. Which skills appeared on both lists?
5. Identify your academic strengths and list courses in which you have done well. In what tasks do you believe you are competent or do very well (e.g., writing papers, taking essay tests, summarizing written materials, working with numerical figures, participating in or leading group discussions, etc.)?
6. What magazines, journals or newspapers do you read regularly? Do you see any connection between your leisure activities and interests and any future plans?
7. Read the following list of career values. Rank order the list from 1-16. Use "1" as the most important.

___ Job security
___ Intellectual tasks or problem solving
___ Receiving sufficient training and supervision
___ Creativity
___ Working with your hands
___ High salary
___ High sense of achievement
___ Self development
___ Working with people
___ Independence
___ Routine activity
___ Variety
___ Working in a friendly environment
___ Physical activity
___ Leadership
___ Advancement

8. Identify your immediate job needs.

• Relocation. Is it required? Likely? Necessary to advance?
• Travel. Is it required? How often?
• Work Schedule. Consider the number of hours in a typical work week. Will it change after a few years? How flexible are you? How will you balance your work and personal life?
• Salary. Calculate how much money you need. List your anticipated expenses (e.g., rent, utilities, furniture, transportation, food, phone, clothing, entertainment, insurance, college loans).
• Benefits. Consider various companies' medical, dental, retirement, profit sharing, and vacation benefits. What is most important to you at this time?

Additional self assessment activities:

• Make an appointment with a career counselor to discuss your interests, plans, and/or concerns.
• Take the Strong Interest Inventory, Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, and/or StrengthsQuest, available in Career Services, and talk to a career counselor about the results.
• Use Minnesota Career Information System (MCIS), a web-based comprehensive career and educational planning guide. Obtain the web site, and user name and password to access the system, from Career Services.
• Enroll in a career planning course: “Major and Career Exploration” or “Strategic Career Planning.”
• Attend Career Services’ workshops.
• Discuss your interests, abilities, and values with faculty members, university staff, friends, parents, and others.
• Make career planning an integral part of your life!