Welcome to the first section of this module. In this module, I will go over the topic of self-assessment, which is essential for you to be able to decide effectively a career path. Self-assessment can help you land a career that will not only be rewarding, but also fulfilling. With self-assessment, you will be able to learn more about yourself and what you really want in your career. It includes techniques that will enable you to know your strengths and weaknesses, along with your passion, values, skills, and your personality.
Importance of Self-Assessment
Ideally, anyone who is about to embark on a career needs to start with self-assessment because a career should be something that will perfectly match a person, in terms of skills, interests, and personality. A person who is very shy and prefers to work alone will probably dread a job in sales. In the same way, a person who is outgoing, confident, and expressive will probably not want to work as a librarian. That being said let me now proceed to tackle on the two different techniques used for self-assessment.
Technique #1: Self-Directed Self-Assessment
As the name suggests, this technique is done completely on your own without the use of instruments and tools. Although this technique is easy and does not require you to spend for anything, expect that the results of your assessment may not be as objective and accurate than if you used instruments and tools.
Here are some activities you can do on your own in order to get to know yourself better:
- List down your strengths. Write as many as you can think of.
- List down your weaknesses. Just like #1, write as many as you can think of.
- List down activities you like to do. On the opposite section, list down activities you do not like to do.
- Write down the one thing that will make you completely happy. Explain why.
- Ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I an extrovert or an introvert?
- Am I a leader or a follower?
- Am I creative or simply use other ideas?
- Do I like to be with a group or on my own?
- Do I get upset when criticized or challenged?
- Do I feel comfortable with change or dread it?
- Do I act on my own or wait for instructions?
- Is having a high income important?
- Is having a prominent occupation important?
- Is being able to contribute to society important?
Technique #2: Self-Assessment with the Use of Tools and Instruments
As mentioned, another way to assess yourself is by making use of professional interpretation. This means that you will utilize specialized tests that have been designed to help you get to know yourself better. Among the most widely recognized tools and instruments are: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is a personality test, and the Strong Interest Inventory, which is a test to help you discover your passions and interests.
For skills assessment, you can make use of vocational skills testing. These tests are available online and will help you determine what skills you have, be it social, artistic, conventional, enterprising, or investigative skills. There are also online skills assessment tests that will help uncover skills in sales and marketing, communication, typing, math, sciences, as well as computer and networking.
After you have conducted a self-assessment, you should be able to get a clearer idea of what career is most suited for you. In the next article, I will provide a list of possible occupations that will match the different personalities, skills, and fields of interest. Find out what occupations would fit you in the next lesson.
Chandra Vennapoosa, B.S Arch Graduate, Managing Director – Exforsys Inc, Founder of exforsys.com and geekinterview.com. Chandra’s mission is “to provide quality career coaching and interview advice for aspiring candidates”.
Chandra Vennapoosa – who has written 7 posts on Online Learning.
