Archive for March, 2011

Career Skills assessment

Take a piece of paper and make out two columns. In the first, write “skills”. Under this heading, you will be listing different skills that you have collected in your lifetime, whether from formal education, college courses, personal interests, or work. Summer jobs, internships, and any jobs that you have held will include skills that should be listed. This is an area to list your greatest strengths and abilities, such as mathematical ability, communication skills, computer expertise, or creative projects completed. Skills can range the gamut from technical to physical, and will vary with a person’s individual experiences.

Values/interests assessment

In the second column, write “Personal values/interests”. List the values that are important to you personally, including your ideal working conditions and your “dream job”. Everyone has different things that are important to him or her. Do you enjoy security, routine, and detail-oriented work? Or are you a restless, creative, independent type? Invite feedback from others who know you well, such as family, friends, and teachers, or those who have worked with you.

Are you a risk taker? Or perhaps you’re a people person? How important is money to you? What about personal prestige? Do you enjoy supervising others, or following orders? Do you enjoy teaching others? Are you a team worker, or do you prefer working alone? What locations are acceptable? Is your dream to live and work in a rural setting, or in a major metropolitan center? How many hours of work per week are acceptable? The answers to these questions will help you to define what type of job you should be seeking.