Black Collegian Career Center

Self-assessment is an in depth look at who you are. It is the process of discovering and learning your personality type; becoming aware of what's important to you; and understanding yourself (i.e. your values, interests, aptitudes, abilities, strengths and weaknesses). It is also a way to gain knowledge of what is a good fit or match for your personality. As you begin to explore careers, you will first need to understand yourself. Start by asking yourself the following questions: What do you want to do? What are your goals, dreams and ambitions?  Self-assessment is looking inside yourself and concentrating and focusing only on YOU, YOUR needs, and YOUR future not Mom's, Dad's, or friends. This is not to say that what your parents or friends have to say isn't important. On the contrary, hear what they have to say, but ultimately this important decision is yours. After all, you know you better than anyone else, even Mom.

This entire process of self-assessment may seem a little offbeat, but this is truly important stuff. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can make all the difference! If you take the time to know yourself or at least evaluate yourself, you will have a truer sense of what's good for you or should I say better for you. Many people choose a career and aren't really sure why. They never take into consideration whether it is a job that they are going to enjoy doing regularly, whether it's going to meet their needs professionally and personally. Many are just glad to have a job that pays decent wages. Yes, finances are important, but ultimately it's more important to be happy. If you are not happy in your job it will eventually effect your work, your level of commitment to the job, those you work for and even your personal life. Job satisfaction is directly tied to job performance and success. If you enjoy what you are doing, believe in it and you know why you chose to do it, you will tend to be more committed to it, better at it, and you'll work harder to do it well. This commitment, this strong work ethic is what aims us towards achieving greatness. If we are happy we look towards the future with ambitions, goals and dreams. If we are just getting by in our job, could care less about whether we get the job done or even whether we come to work at all, we tend to wallow in our misery. We do more looking back at what could have been or should have been and can only see the future as more of the same dissatisfaction. Success means taking an active role in the growth and development of our personal and professional life. 

One way to get started figuring out who you are and what you want in life is to begin by evaluating your academic exposure. Look at the courses you've taken: both the ones you liked and disliked. Of the classes you liked, what did you enjoy most about the subject?  What made you dislike some of those courses? Why didn't that class appeal to you?  Does the class provide you with something that you can develop into a career?  For example, if you had a psychology course that you did well in and liked a lot, examine what you could do with this field (i.e. counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist etc.)  Research those career possibilities; what do these people do in their jobs, what training/education did they need to perform this occupation?   What is the job outlook for these careers?  What opportunities exist in these jobs (i.e. upward mobility/career advancement, travel, salary etc)? Do any of these things fit with your personality?

Next, consider what's really important to you; things you value, interests you may have, skills and abilities you possess. Take some time and think about what you might need in order to be happy and ultimately successful in your job/career. We all have lots of things that we want, but which ones do you feel are vital to your job satisfaction and career success; prioritize them. For example, a few things to consider might be salary, geographic location, opportunities to travel, type of supervisor, level of responsibility, work hours, and professional growth opportunities just to name a few. Which ones of these and/or others are things that would make an obvious difference in whether we would enjoy our job/career?  If you don't take the time to consider who you are and what you want, you won't know what you are looking for. You need to be aware that no job/career is going to be perfect and meet all of your expectations, but if you at least think about which things are more vital to your happiness and aim for those, you can come pretty close to what you want. Think about the skills and abilities you may have that you would like to utilize in your chosen profession (i.e. leadership, helping others, mathematical, physical strength, creativity, communication, etc.).  Which careers give you more of an opportunity to express yourself and be yourself? Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can and will do just about anything for the right amount of money. They believe that money is more important than fit, or job satisfaction.  They believe that money will bring satisfaction. Well let me assure you that this is only partially true. In the beginning the money may seem like enough to sustain you, but soon everyone realizes that money alone is only a temporary fix. If you don't really like what you are doing, or believe in what you are doing, or like where you work, then you won't be happy and the money won't ever be enough.

Another way to assess your interests might be to consider careers that you may have already been exposed to.   Friends, family members, previous part-time and summer jobs, and even volunteer opportunities or internships will offer some insight. Talk to anyone you can find that may be involved in a career that you think that you want to explore. Really pick their brains about why they chose that profession, what do they like or dislike about their job, would they do it again if they could start over, what's a typical day like on the job for them? This is called informational interviewing. You are trying to gain as much knowledge as possible about the career areas that you may decide to pursue. The more insight you have the better choices you are able to make. Also, draw from your own experiences. Ask yourself questions! What did you like and dislike about jobs you may have held?   What kind of supervisor would you prefer?  Do you prefer flexible or set work hours? Do you like being in a leadership role where you supervise others or have managerial responsibility? Would you like a career involving travel, etc.  Answering these questions and others will provide you with clues about what's really of value to you. 

Internships and co-ops are other ways to explore your interests.  If you have not considered an internship or co-op before, please do. Cooperative education and internships add meaning to the academic experience. Both offer the student the opportunity to gain practical experience. At the same time students can identify career interests and goals and relate them to academic endeavors.  Check with your Career Center, Academic Advising Center or Co-op office about how to take advantage to these opportunities.

When to start the process of self-assessment and figuring out how often you should  do it are good questions.   Most people believe that you don't need to be concerned about figuring out who you are and what you want to do until you're just about ready to graduate. Yes, this is one way to do it, but why wait until the last minute. You may realize, as mentioned earlier, that what you thought you wanted to do, really doesn't appeal to you at all. Self-assessment should be done early and regularly, as early as your junior year in high school and at least once a year thereafter. The sooner you start to think about your future the better prepared you'll be for it. While you were in high school, you should have made a point to see your guidance counselor about your options such as area of study, types of careers available, choice of college/university, etc. If you didn't go this route, it's still not too late to catch up and there is help available.

There is often a certain amount of fear that goes along with making decisions about ones future. Some of the questions we panic about are: What if I don't have a clue of who I am and what I want? What if I'm intrigued by many things and I want to do them all? What if I make a mistake and choose the wrong thing?   One thing to realize is that figuring out who you are and what you want takes time and a lot of effort on your part. Through examining what you've enjoyed doing, what things come easily or naturally to you, what gives you motivation, what peaks your interests, etc., you will begin to put the puzzle pieces together. Bit by bit you will see a pattern developing. For example, if you tend to be inquisitive, then things that allow you to discover, uncover and research may be more to your liking. If you are more enterprising, then you may prefer careers in business such as marketing or advertising. Next, realize that you can do just about anything you want and you can do more than one thing, you just can't do it all at once. If you like lots of things and can't seem to eliminate any of them, then your task is to select which thing you would like to do first and move on to the next at a later time until you have accomplished all that you want.   The most important thing to remember is that nothing is one hundred percent guaranteed. Life is about change and career planning and self-assessment are lifelong processes. You don't just make a decision today and expect that you'll be completely satisfied with that choice for the rest of your life. As you grow and experience things and meet different people, as society grows and technology develops so will your interests change, grow and re-develop. Expect it; that's life!   However, this doesn't mean that the choices you make today are worthless. They too will play an important role in your future. You will be able to draw on these experiences to help you assess yourself later when you want to consider new options, goals, and dreams. There are no wrong choices really, because all choices provide some lessons to be learned and will help you make better choices at a later time.

Sometimes, the task of putting all the pieces together can be a bit overwhelming and you may need to seek assistance from more experienced and knowledgeable resources. Three sources I recommend are your career counselor, your academic advisor and the Internet.  Your career counselor is the most experienced of the three sources. A career counselor will be able to offer you not only his or her expertise through one on one counseling and advising, but also many more tools to uncover your true self. A career counselor can provide career specific library resources such as books and videos about certain college majors, careers within those majors, and companies that seek to hire graduates of those majors. In addition, career counselors provide career interest testing such as the Strong Interest Inventory, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the Self Directed Search, and the Kuder Occupational Orientation to name a few. As well, they will offer access to computerized career guidance programs such a SIGIPLUS, DISCOVER, and Career Key. All of these indicators help gauge your personality and your interests and compare them with others who are already in the field. A career counselor will then sit down with you and help you interpret the test results, while helping you see the similarities of your interests in different fields and types of careers. Your academic advisor is another important source to refer to about college majors and courses as well as jobs related to the field. An academic advisor can help guide you through your four years of undergraduate study and help you to stay focused on the courses needed to fulfill the requirements of your selected major. Lastly, another wonderful resource is the Internet. The Internet can, however, be a bit overwhelming with the amount of information readily available at your fingertips, so you'll need to learn to focus your search.  The more you use the Internet, the better you'll become at navigating through it.  You can query an occupation on the Internet and end up with hundreds of pages of information to help you better understand that occupation and many others. You can research job openings, internships, co-ops, and even scholarships, grants and loans for college financial assistance etc.

Life is about choices!

Take control of your own destiny as long as you are going to make a choice make it an informed one and choose wisely! 

Here are a few tips to remember . Do's and Don'ts:

There is a lot of information to help you get to know yourself and know your options. Remember to begin your assessment by taking a good look at YOU. Look at who you are; the goals you have set for yourself and the strategy you have devised in order to meet the goals.

• Take an inventory of yourself, both the likes and dislikes. Realize that you are growing and are approaching crossroads in your life. Accept the challenge to understand yourself and to like who you've become or the person you aspire to be. 

• Take an inventory of your career choices and options. Understand that there's a sea of knowledge out there waiting to be excavated by you, waiting for you to venture out and discover terrain never before chartered, but you must first discover yourself! 

• Ask yourself questions and take the time to find the real answers.