Career Skills Assessment: Access Yourself Before Job Hunting

Struggling to find the perfect job? A career skills assessment can help you find a job that matches your aspirations with what employers need.

First Steps in Finding a Job

If you asked ten people in your daily life what the first step to finding a job is, most would say filling out an application. Most people think the job hunting process is very simple and straightforward. You find a job listing that interests you or walk into a business that you would like to work for and fill out an application. Then it is a waiting game until someone calls you back. While that is one way to search for a job, it is not the most effective approach.

Before you fill out another application or even search through the job ads, take the time to assess your own skills and values. If you are not very clear on what you have to offer an employer, how are you going to convince anyone else that you have something of value to offer?

Career skills assessment is always the first step in finding a job because it allows you to see your value in the business world. You may come out of this with a more concrete idea of what you have to offer an employer, or you may come out with a whole new idea of what you should be doing with your life. Don’t be surprised if your opinions change in some way through this self-assessment.

Journaling

Journaling is one of the best ways to get to know yourself and is used in therapy for people with a variety of problems. You may not have time to go through months of journaling for self-discovery, but you can put pen to paper to do some explorations into your skill sets and values.

Start by drawing a line down the middle of the paper. On one side write experiences that you have had in the past. On the other side write skills that you gained through those experiences. You can include working experiences as well as any volunteer experiences or internships you may have completed. You can even include experiences working for yourself, your hobbies, and other things you enjoy doing in your spare time.

As you write, think about how these skills could translate into valuable assets for your chosen career field or other career fields.

Natural Attractions

This can be something specific such as “science teacher,” or it can be something generalized such as “work with children.” What gets you excited? Write it down. Do any of the skills explored in the previous exercise match up with any career fields on your list?

Personal Attributes/Attitudes

Everyone has their own personality and with that comes their own beliefs about the world. Spend some time listing your beliefs and attitudes. Do this quickly off the top of your head without thinking how they link up to your chosen career field. Once the list is complete you can go back and see whether your personality and attitudes match up to any career field that gets you excited.

The Final Step

From the above exercises you will have a much better understanding of who you are, your career skills and what type of job you may be well suited to fill. The final step is to go online for career guidance or find a book that helps you further explore your own preferences and personality. In the meantime, you should have a better idea of what jobs you are looking for when you look through the help wanted ads.

For help with positioning your career skills on your resume, click this link.

Don't forget to consider the following pages:

• What you liked and disliked about your past jobs
  
• What your hobbies and extracurricular activities say about you
• Your priorities with respect to money, family, and lifestyle
• What career aptitude tests might uncover
• What you envision in your mind's eye, where you see yourself