Summary of Self Assessment Exercises

The first step in the “Career Management Process” is to determine:

a) who you are in terms of what values/strengths you have offer; 

b) what kind of work do you really want to do i.e. marketing/sales, corporate finance, management leadership etc. and 

c) where do you want to do it in terms of what industry segments and what organizations within them do you want to explore? 

Here are some analytical exercises that will help you get self information out of your head and on to a piece of paper,:

Exercise #1: Look Carefully at Your Resume.

1.    a) Make a list of all the positions by title that you have held including non- business and during your education.

        b) Which three did you like the most and why?

2.     a) Identify and write down all the industries and organizations you have been in including non-business activities. Now itemize all the products and/or services with which you have been involved..

        b) Which three did you like the most and why.

3.     a) With a red pencil go through and underline all the action verbs and phrases.

        b) Make a list of the four or five that are underlined the most the most.

        c) These should be skills that you have that you really like to use. Is this accurate?

Now you have some (not all) information on your key strengths, what kind of work you might like to do and where,

Exercise # 2: Examine “12 Things I Really Like To Do.”

1) Get relaxed and create a list of 12 (or more) things you really like to do. Explore all areas of activity, not just work. Consider recreation and sports, volunteering, community, clubs, church involvement, hobbies, and education. Let it all hang out.

2) Look over the list carefully and then mark/identify the top four of five in terms of your interest level. Are any of them real passions? Do any suggest a possible career directions other than what you are doing now?

Exercise # 2A: "Who I Am.  "

Most job seekers plan and present themselves, whether networking or interviewing,  based on their technical/functional skills. 

In order to stand out from the crowd,  go back to the three, four or more jobs you liked the most in Exercise #1 and under the heading “Who Am I? list everything you can think of that demonstrates how you interfaced with each process in which you were involved.

How did you get along with bosses, cohorts and subordinates? How did you anticipate and deal with their needs? How did you go about solving problems?  How did you manage/lead? Did you come up with new ideas that moved the process ahead?

This list, with accomplishment examples,  will allow you to  more interestingly communicate how you  can make a difference and be remembered.

Exercise # 3: Study Your Personal Characteristics.

1.) Make a list of 10 adjectives or phrases which describe your personality, what kind of person you are. Not all of them will be positive.

2.) Opposite each in #1 above, define and/or give an example.

3) Have someone who knows you well make a similar list about you and compare.

4) With a red marker, check off which three or four of these are most like you. There will be other exercises to corroborate these.

Exercise #4: Review Your Current Value System.

Values are things that you hold dear, things you want and need to protect. They change as circumstances change, so need to be reviewed fairly often. They are important as you evaluate new opportunities because most organization have sometimes hard to identify “cultures” or shared values. If you get into a situation where the the values, ( how things get done around here), are very different from yours, there could be trouble.

What follows is a list of values with substitute definitions in parentheses. By a process of elimination identify and write down your six current most important values right now and your four least important; ones that can be traded if appropriate. When you get an offer review this list against the culture you are going into.

Once you have completed Exercises #1 - #4 on this page of the Self Assessment Portion, you should move on to page 2. 

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Self Assessment Exercises - Page 2 of 2