Career Handbook
7th Edition
Self Assessment
The first stage of the career development process is finding out about yourself. Most people think they know themselves fairly well, but 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.
- 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?
- Complete the Transferable Skills activity.
- 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.
- List and rank the ten skills you most enjoy using. Which skills appeared on both lists?
- Identify your academic strengths and list courses in which you have done well. In what tasks do you feel that you are competent or do very well, i.e., writing papers, taking essay tests, summarizing written materials, working with numerical figures, participating in or leading group discussions, etc.?
- What magazines, journals or newspapers do you read regularly? Do you see any connection between your leisure activities and interests and any future plans?
- 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 - 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, i.e., rent, utilities, furniture, transportation, food, phone, clothing, entertainment, insurance, and college loans.
Benefits. Consider various companies' medical, dental, retirement, profit sharing, and vacation benefits. What is most important to you at this time?
Other Ways to Assess Yourself
Make an appointment with a career counselor to discuss your interests, plans, and/or concerns.
- Participate in additional self-assessment activities including the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, 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 address, and user name and password to access the system, from Career Services.
- Enroll in Psy 3535, Career Awareness and Development.
- Attend Career Services workshops.
- Discuss your interests, abilities, and values with faculty members, university staff, friends, parents, and other relatives. Make career development an integral part of your life!
