Assess Yourself

Why Assess Yourself

To choose a career that is best for you, you must assess yourself

     Successful people choose work that allows them to utilize their talents for good use.

     People that can talk about and recognize their strengths have a good chance of being hired in an interview.

     Looking at your strengths is a good way to boost your self-esteem.

People that are confident receive respect.

This doesn’t mean being arrogant or egocentric. These attitudes can turn people off.

Assessing Resources

There are a number of resources you can use to access yourself.

1.    Books

     Certain textbooks offer steps to assess yourself.

     Most popular book in this area is What Color Is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles.

2.    Family and Friends

     Having an outside opinion can be information that you can use in a self-assessment.

     Since it us hard for us to be honest with ourselves, other people can help us that way.

3.    Career Counselors

     Career counselors help match people with the right career.

     They are trained to assessing people’s strengths.

     Career counselors will ask you questions and offer suggestions on your career.

     The individual makes the final decision.

     There are career counselors at schools or employment agencies.

4.    Assessment tests

     These tests try to match a person with a career.

     They are used by career counselors.

     One of the more popular ones used is the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)

     This measures one person’s aptitude (natural ability to do well in various areas.

How to Begin a Self-Assessment

1.    Determine your needs and wants.

need is something necessary for your existence

want is something  you desire but can live without it.

2.    List all your strengths and skills.

3.    This would be your accomplishments. This would be in school, sports, and private life.

4.    List your interests and aptitudes.

aptitude – is a natural physical or mental ability that allows you to do certain tasks well

interests – things you like to do.

Interests in time can be turned into a strength.

Rank your interests from those you feel strong about to those that you have minimal interest.

5.    Analyze your personal qualities.

This is a person’s personality – the many individual qualities that make a person unique.

Everybody’s personality is different, no two people are the same.

The following are personal qualities:

     sense of humor

     creativity

     intelligence

     appearance

     general attitude

Most jobs require a personal to have a certain set of personal qualities.

Types of Skills

Hard skills – those that are related to a particular job.

Soft skills – those that can be used for any job.

 

Exercise

Have two students do the experiment in the room.

Have one student answer the questions below about themselves.

Have another student answer the questions about the other person.

 

Has a good attitude toward own work and that of others.

Shows courtesy and respect toward others.

Is dependable and will do what is promised.

Has a desire to succeed and to do a good job.

Has enthusiasm for the job and life.

Has a healthy appearance.

Is friendly and helpful.

Has a good sense of humor.and cares about others.

Is will and able to learn new skills.

Is able to adapt to change quickly and easily.

Is capable of working in a stressful and rapidly changing environment.