Career Planning
Online Self Assessment Exercises
A Self Assessment Exercise
One of your first steps in career planning is to assess your interests, skills, accomplishments and work values. It is important that you be able to articulate clearly what is important to you in a work situation and what you are able to do well. This worksheet will help clarify what you are looking for in a career and, therefore, help you choose an employment situation that is right for you. You will need to explain your motivations and sell yourself in your resume and interview as "the one; candidate who is best for the job. To assist you, complete the exercises below and use the resulting information in your internship/job search.
Exercise 1 - List what you've done, accomplishments in your work experiences, internships, courses, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, community activities, etc. Allow yourself to write anything that comes to mind. Don't judge right now whether it was significant or not, just put it down.
Exercise 2 - What do you really enjoy doing the most? List those activities in your courses, extracurricular activities, work experience, hobbies, etc., that you've really felt good about. Why did you like that activity? What haven't you done that you think you might like to do? What would you like to do in an internship/job?
Exercise 3 - What are your skills? What do you do the best? Do not compare your performance to that of anyone else. Use yourself as your only standard (i.e., I encourage people, I explain things thoroughly and with patience, I have strong communication skills).
Exercise 4 - List all of the things that are important to you in an internship/job (i.e., creativity, recognition, helping others, learning more about a particular career field, etc.). Think about those tasks which you haven't experienced that you would like to. Determine whether the internship/job should be for academic credit or just for experience. Must you earn a salary for an internship, or can you work for a small stipend or on a non-paid basis.
Now -- this information can be used in selecting a career path and help find an internship or part-time job which meet your needs.