Self-assessment: Know Yourself!

Harnessing the Power Within

By Donna Hicks-Mitchell

As soon as the candidate entered the interview suite, it appeared that she had all the “right stuff.” As a recent college graduate, her resume listed strong credentials including a double major, work-study programs, and recommendations from internships with notable companies.

The suit that she wore reflected careful consideration of style, color and fit. It was indeed appropriate for the environment.

Nails …check, Hair groomed and neat… check. A bright smile including energetic and positive body language — Check! Finally a firm handshake and direct eye contact by the candidate made a powerful first impression upon the interviewing team. All of that preparation made a lasting impression and put her to the top of the list. They followed up with a job offer.

However to get to that point of confidence, you have to truly believe in what you are selling — you! Even with a 4.0 grade point average, internships, and awards, the “true you” will be representing that extensive pedigree. It’s not enough to have it on paper, you have to “be” the success.

Have you ever wondered why some people are so comfortable to be around and are instantly likeable? Whether accomplished or not, those are the people who have learned to be comfortable in their own skin. They seem to know what they like and dislike. They can make decisions with ease, and can present themselves as the complete package. So, what does it take to reach that point? It requires doing the hard work of self-assessment.

For much of your life you may have been defined by your family, your teachers, your organizations, and maybe even your grades — but most of those things are external. On campus, you may have found yourself defined by your Greek affiliation, clubs, sports and other activities. Labels are easy because it doesn’t require people to do much work. However, labels never capture who people really are. The “jock” who bakes and listens to classical music doesn’t easily fit into a stereotype.

As you prepare to leave college and enter the job market, external labels will matter less, and your ability to pull from the true you will matter more.

Factors like integrity, self-confidence, personal drive, fortitude and perseverance in the workplace and life will take you further than a high GPA and your lengthy resume. Your success will hinge on being able to bridge the gap between what you’ve attained as a college graduate and who you are as a person.

You’ve done the work to get this far, now to ensure career success and personal gratification, you'll need to take a little time to work on you. Before you go on another interview, decide to invest some time in getting to know who you really are. Have you chosen a career path that follows your true passion? What makes you happy? What moves and motivates you?

As part of this process, take advantage of resources in the Career Services office on your campus. That’s what the career counselors are there for. It may also help to have someone support you on this journey of self discovery. There are numerous self-assessment tests around to help you dig deep into understanding yourself better and exploring thoughts and options that you may have never considered.

In the meantime, you can start by understanding that self-assessment means looking deep inside yourself and focusing on you — not in a self-centered way, but in a way that allows you to learn more about the person staring back at you in the mirror.

Take a minute to review the points and exercises below to begin the road to a better you.

KEY ELEMENTS OF SELF-ASSESSMENT:

• Honest dialogue with oneself. Take a hard look at yourself in the mirror. Who is the person that you see reflected there? If you were to describe the person that you see in the mirror, what types of adjectives would you use? (Exercise: Get a pen and write down 25 meaningful adjectives, both the good and the bad. Be daring, dig down and re-discover a few truths!)

• Analyze your likes and dislikes. What types of activities do you enjoy? What can you absolutely not tolerate? Note: It is very important to identify potential issues and get to the root cause of why they affect you in a negative way. If we fail to confront our past, we are destined to repeat it. Look for understanding and try to find new ways to cope with these stressors.

• Identify your passion. What brings you the most satisfaction? What is effortless and most rewarding? What is it that everyone close to you tells you that you are good at? How can this natural ability be nurtured and developed into an effective skill-set?

• What are your strengths and weaknesses? We all have both! You should be prepared to discuss both the positive and negative traits. Be prepared to analyze and discuss what you are doing to increase or decrease their effect on your overall performance.

• Personality check. What type of person are you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Are you a leader or would you prefer to sink into the crowd? Does a change of routine upset you or are you excited about new and fresh ideas? Are you a team player or do you prefer to work alone?

• What is the most powerful motivating factor for your career choice? Now this is a hard one. Many people say “Money!” However, it has been proven that people are motivated by different things. Some people desire recognition for a job well done, others are motivated by contributing something of value to the organization. Others may wish to make a difference in the lives of others or provide for family members. The list goes on and the choice is yours. However, by identifying your motivating factor, the “why” for what you do, you will find it a lot easier to get out of bed on those rainy, Monday mornings!

In essence, the career exploration process can be a journey of discovery and self-analysis. This discovery process includes one’s understanding of skills, values, interests, culture and societal interests. Hint: The longer and harder you look into the mirror, the clearer the picture will become.

Whether you decided to delve into the self-assessment process on your own, with a career counselor, or take a formal self-assessment test, remember that there is no one way to do it. It’s the end results that really count. The goal is to have you feel good about “you” from the inside out.

The better you feel about yourself, and the more you know who you are — the more successful you will be in selling yourself on job interviews, performing your assignments in the workplace, and developing healthy relationships in life.

Donna Hicks-Mitchell is the president and CEO of Lift Those Hands, which provides keynotes, seminars, executive workshops and coaching sessions to colleges, corporations, trade associations, churches and private organizations.