self assesment and career planning

Self-Assessment:

“Navigating your own path through

realization”

&

“Career Preparedness as a strategic

process”

Self-Assessment

Today’s Agenda • Identify the Key Components of “Self-Assessment”

•Self Reflection, Six Intrinsic Measures, Personality/Type Association

• Self-Assessment in your personal life

• Self-Assessment and Career Preparedness

• Illustrate the Four strategic steps to Decision Making and Career

Planning

• Quick Exercise and closing

Self-Assessment

What is Self-Assessment?

“Self-Assessment is a process by which you learn

more about yourself—what you like, what you don’t

like, and how you tend to react to certain situations.

Knowing these things can help you determine which

occupations and work situations could be a better fit

for you.”

-The Riley Guide: Before you Search, 2006

Self-Assessment

The Beginning: Self-Reflection

• Where did this Journey Begin?

• What activities did I enjoy the most?

• When you walk into a bookstore, what books attract you the most?

• Would you rather work with things, people, ideas, information/data or a

combination of two or more?

• What people did you find yourself working with and spending your time

around?

• What made you choose X University for your Bachelor’s degree?

• Why did you originally choose your major?

• Why did you choose to pursue a Master’s degree here at Clarkson?

Your

Road

Map

Self-Assessment

The Six Intrinsic Attributes in

Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes

Identify your interests

Identify your skills

Identify your abilities

Identify your work

habits

Identify your values

YOU

Identify your Goals


Identify your Interests

Interest (n): A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to

something.

• What do you like to do for hobbies?

• Do you like to travel?

• Do you like Community Service?

• Why did you select your undergraduate major?

• Think about what interests or interested you in the past, and think about

how that contributed to where you are today.


Identify your Abilities

Ability (n): A natural or acquired skill or talent.

• What things have always been somewhat natural for you?

• Do you remember numbers?

• Are you quick with math?

• Do you have the natural ability to talk to anybody?

• Are you naturally athletic?

• Think about what abilities you’ve utilized throughout your life up to today.


Identify your Skills

Skill (n): Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed

through training or experience

• Interests as the motivating factor

• What you’re good at and what you like are not always the same thing

• Think about the skills you have developed through education, work

experience, and how these skills have got you to where you are today


Identify your Values

Values (n): A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or

desirable

• What matters most to you in your work?

• What is important to you? Knowledge? Money? Social Status?

• What do you want from your education?

• What you do, how you do it, and who you do it with indicates

values


Identify your Work Habits

Habit (n): A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is

acquired through frequent repetition.

• How hard are you willing to work for what you want?

• Are you a team oriented person or do you prefer more autonomy?

• Are you always striving to perform your best?

• What work habits or things you find yourself doing repeatedly fit in

the things you have done so far in your life?


Identify your Goals

Goals (n): The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an

objective.

• Where do you want to be in five years? Ten years? Short term? Long

term?

• Driven by your abilities, interests, skills, preferences, etc.

• Do your goals reflect a true combination of the attributes discussed?

• Are your goals concrete?

• Where do your goals cross with the road your life has been down?


Personality/Type

Association


Personality/Type Association

• What do we mean when we say your “type” or

“personality”?

• What does your “type” have to do with self-assessment?

• Does it have an effect on your school work? Your job

search? Both?

• How can this be measured?



• Do I think I am introverted or extroverted?

• Do I process/make meaning of new information with my 5

senses or with my 6th sense?

• Do I make decisions based on my principles or based on my

personal values?

• Do I like my life organized or to be more open and

spontaneous?



“Psychological type” describes the different ways people:

• prefer to take in information,

• prefer to make decisions,

• are energized by the outside world or by the inner world,

and

• prefer to keep things open or to move towards closure.

- Myers-Briggs Foundation



Theory says….

People with different preferences naturally have different interests,

perspectives, behaviors and motivations. Awareness of preferences

helps people understand and value others who think and act quite

differently.


Self-Assessment in your personal lives

• Be honest with yourself

• Utilization of others for your own assessment (in the form of feedback)

• What do I want people to see in me?

• Describe yourself (seen a lot in interviews and/or application essays)

• Identify areas of interest that you may be weak in – what can you do to

further develop those skills?

• Keeping yourself accountable for results

• Think about how you handle yourself in certain situations

Self-Assessment and Career

Preparedness Decision Making and Strategy

Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness

Self-Assessment and your Career

• How do I synthesize my time spent self-assessing into my job search?

• What have I discovered are some skills I wish to further develop? Are

these skills related to where I want to work?

• Do I have a clear picture of what my strengths and weaknesses are

relative to my position of interest?

• What should I be aware of when speaking to corporate recruiters?

• How the Self-Assessment time you spend translates into rational

decision making

• Career Development: The integration of Strategy and Self-

Assessment

Courtesy of University of California, Davis Career Resource

Manual 2006-2007

Step #1: Conduct Career Self-Assessment

What are my: - Skills - Interests - Values - Personality Preferences?

Step #2: Explore Options

Time to: - Research - Investigate - Evaluate Career Options

Step #3: Focus and Set Goals

Identify a Career Goal. Prepare for entry into career. Seek training and

relevant work experiences

Step #4: Plan and Conduct the Job Search

Time to implement the plan! Prepare an Error-Free Resume and Cover

Letter. Interview, Negotiate, etc.

Step #5: Establish yourself in a career

Make Adjustments as Needed


*See Handout



• Skills, Abilities, Interests all make up who you are, what your ideal

career would be

• SWOT analysis on results of your assessments

• Read through “Job Searching” webpage, complete strategic step packet

• Utilize advise from exercises (i.e. career leader, etc) to begin

researching various positions, industries, etc.

• Develop a strategic action plan for yourself with timeframes, etc.

• Think short and long term! What can you do this year to develop certain

areas that might help you with your job search?



Corporate Recruiters, Interviews and preparing to impress

• Recruiters assess the quality of their applications by measuring their

talent and effectiveness in three categories:

-Technical

- Functional/Transferable Skills

- Personal Qualities

Recruiters/Employers like to ask questions to get to the route of an

applicant’s values or ethics, honesty and integrity through essay

questions and/or behavioral types of interviews.


Self-Assessment and Decision Making Recap:

EXPLORE- Research careers to learn more about possible options

ASSESS- Identify your needs and your interests, values and skills

DECIDE- Determine and then focus your goals

ACT-Develop and implement an Action Plan

Self-Assessment

Throughout the process of self-assessment, remember

these…..

Self-Assessment is the beginning to a lengthy career

development process. Career and Personal Development…

• Is a process that takes time

• Requires Action

• Is YOUR responsibility

• Is Lifelong

Self-Assessment

In Closing…

• Make the time to prepare for your future!

• Utilize your resources

• Read through handouts and spend time with some other

assessments

• Ask questions, seek advice from as many people as possible!

• Seek out the Career Center, myself, Alumni (Mentor Program),

Faculty, and others!

Self-Assessment

Brief Exercise on Occupational

Themes

Self-Assessment

Remember: When it comes to your future, use your SMARTS!

S- Strategic Searching

M- Masterfully

A- Always

R- Reaps

T- Tremendous

S- Success

Marketing My Skills Exercise

Life Achievement

• Small Groups of 4-5

• Share one life achievement with member of your

group

• Select one life achievement for the group

• Write this achievement into a short narrative

• Now, we will mine the stories for skills

• What skills do we get from our narratives?

Be specific

• How would we categorized these skills?

• What skills are transferable and what are

technical?


• Create your own Master List of Skills – Top five you enjoy using most

– Top five you are best at using

– What skills are most marketable or relevant to what interests you?

– What do you think would be in your “top five”?



• Document your list of skills (provide proof)

• PSR, CAR, STAR techniques

• Marketing Plan Discussion

• SWOT Analysis

• Top Five Skills on the Marketing Plan

• Transferable Skills

• Strategies and Action Items


Top Five

Skills from

exercise

earlier

Strategy

and Action

Items can

go here

• How does all of this fit in my job search? My

resume? My interview?

• The Marketing Plan as a map, reference

point, etc.


Questions?

self assesment and career planning

Education

assessment

job search

skills exercise

life achievement

career

identify

time

abilities