A presentation I delivered to MBA students on the important of Self-Assessment in their career planning.

1. Self-Assessment:
“Navigating your own path through
realization”
&
“Career Preparedness as a strategic
process”

2. Self-Assessment
Today’s Agenda
• Identify the Key Components of “Self-Assessment”
•Self Reflection, Six Intrinsic Measures, Personality/Type Association
• Self-Assessment in your personal life
• Self-Assessment and Career Preparedness
• Illustrate the Four strategic steps to Decision Making and Career
Planning
• Quick Exercise and closing

3. Self-Assessment
What is Self-Assessment?
“Self-Assessment is a process by which you learn
more about yourself—what you like, what you don’t
like, and how you tend to react to certain situations.
Knowing these things can help you determine which
occupations and work situations could be a better fit
for you.”
-The Riley Guide: Before you Search, 2006

4. Self-Assessment
The Beginning: Self-Reflection
Your
Road
• Where did this Journey Begin? Map
• What activities did I enjoy the most?
• When you walk into a bookstore, what books attract you the most?
• Would you rather work with things, people, ideas, information/data or a
combination of two or more?
• What people did you find yourself working with and spending your time
around?
• What made you choose X University for your Bachelor’s degree?
• Why did you originally choose your major?
• Why did you choose to pursue a Master’s degree here at Clarkson?

5. Self-Assessment
The Six Intrinsic Attributes in
Self-Assessment

6. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your interests
Identify your abilities
Identify your skills
YOU
Identify your values
Identify your work
habits
Identify your Goals

7. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Interests
Interest (n): A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to
something.
• What do you like to do for hobbies?
• Do you like to travel?
• Do you like Community Service?
• Why did you select your undergraduate major?
• Think about what interests or interested you in the past, and think about
how that contributed to where you are today.

8. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Abilities
Ability (n): A natural or acquired skill or talent.
• What things have always been somewhat natural for you?
• Do you remember numbers?
• Are you quick with math?
• Do you have the natural ability to talk to anybody?
• Are you naturally athletic?
• Think about what abilities you’ve utilized throughout your life up to today.

9. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Skills
Skill (n): Proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed
through training or experience
• Interests as the motivating factor
• What you’re good at and what you like are not always the same thing
• Think about the skills you have developed through education, work
experience, and how these skills have got you to where you are today

10. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Values
Values (n): A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or
desirable
• What matters most to you in your work?
• What is important to you? Knowledge? Money? Social Status?
• What do you want from your education?
• What you do, how you do it, and who you do it with indicates
values

11. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Work Habits
Habit (n): A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is
acquired through frequent repetition.
• How hard are you willing to work for what you want?
• Are you a team oriented person or do you prefer more autonomy?
• Are you always striving to perform your best?
• What work habits or things you find yourself doing repeatedly fit in
the things you have done so far in your life?

12. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Identify your Goals
Goals (n): The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an
objective.
• Where do you want to be in five years? Ten years? Short term? Long
term?
• Driven by your abilities, interests, skills, preferences, etc.
• Do your goals reflect a true combination of the attributes discussed?
• Are your goals concrete?
• Where do your goals cross with the road your life has been down?

13. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Personality/Type
Association

14. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Personality/Type Association
• Whatdo we mean when we say your “type” or
“personality”?
• What does your “type” have to do with self-assessment?
• Does it have an effect on your school work? Your job
search? Both?
• How can this be measured?

15. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Personality/Type Association
• Do I think I am introverted or extroverted?
• Do I process/make meaning of new information with my 5
senses or with my 6th sense?
• Do I make decisions based on my principles or based on my
personal values?
• Do I like my life organized or to be more open and
spontaneous?

16. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Personality/Type Association
“Psychological type” describes the different ways people:
• prefer to take in information,
• prefer to make decisions,
• are energized by the outside world or by the inner world,
and
• prefer to keep things open or to move towards closure.
- Myers-Briggs Foundation

17. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Personality/Type Association
Theory says….
People with different preferences naturally have different interests,
perspectives, behaviors and motivations. Awareness of preferences
helps people understand and value others who think and act quite
differently.

18. Self-Assessment – Intrinsic Attributes
Self-Assessment in your personal lives
• Be honest with yourself
• Utilization of others for your own assessment (in the form of feedback)
• What do I want people to see in me?
• Describe yourself (seen a lot in interviews and/or application essays)
• Identify areas of interest that you may be weak in – what can you do to
further develop those skills?
• Keeping yourself accountable for results
• Think about how you handle yourself in certain situations

19. Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment and Career
Preparedness
Decision Making and Strategy

20. Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness
Self-Assessment and your Career
• How do I synthesize my time spent self-assessing into my job search?
• What have I discovered are some skills I wish to further develop? Are
these skills related to where I want to work?
• Do I have a clear picture of what my strengths and weaknesses are
relative to my position of interest?
• What should I be aware of when speaking to corporate recruiters?
• How the Self-Assessment time you spend translates into rational
decision making
• Career Development: The integration of Strategy and Self-
Assessment

21. Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness
Step #5: Establish yourself in a career
Make Adjustments as Needed
Step #4: Plan and Conduct the Job Search
Time to implement the plan! Prepare an Error-Free Resume and Cover
Letter. Interview, Negotiate, etc.
Step #3: Focus and Set Goals
Identify a Career Goal. Prepare for entry into career. Seek training and
relevant work experiences
Step #2: Explore Options
Time to: - Research - Investigate - Evaluate Career Options
Step #1: Conduct Career Self-Assessment
What are my: - Skills - Interests - Values - Personality Preferences?
*See Handout Courtesy of University of California, Davis Career Resource
Manual 2006-2007

22. Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness
Self-Assessment and your Career
• Skills, Abilities, Interests all make up who you are, what your ideal
career would be
• SWOT analysis on results of your assessments
• Read through “Job Searching” webpage, complete strategic step packet
• Utilize advise from exercises (i.e. career leader, etc) to begin
researching various positions, industries, etc.
• Develop a strategic action plan for yourself with timeframes, etc.
• Think short and long term! What can you do this year to develop certain
areas that might help you with your job search?

23. Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness
Self-Assessment and your Career
Corporate Recruiters, Interviews and preparing to impress
• Recruiters assess the quality of their applications by measuring their
talent and effectiveness in three categories:
-Technical
- Functional/Transferable Skills
- Personal Qualities
Recruiters/Employers like to ask questions to get to the route of an
applicant’s values or ethics, honesty and integrity through essay
questions and/or behavioral types of interviews.

24. Self-Assessment – Career Preparedness
Self-Assessment and Decision Making Recap:
ASSESS- Identify your needs and your interests, values and skills
EXPLORE- Research careers to learn more about possible options
DECIDE- Determine and then focus your goals
ACT-Develop and implement an Action Plan

25. Self-Assessment
Throughout the process of self-assessment, remember
these…..
Self-Assessment is the beginning to a lengthy career
development process. Career and Personal Development…
• Is a process that takes time
• Requires Action
• Is YOUR responsibility
• Is Lifelong

26. Self-Assessment
In Closing…
• Make the time to prepare for your future!
• Utilize your resources
• Read through handouts and spend time with some other
assessments
• Ask questions, seek advice from as many people as possible!
• Seek out the Career Center, myself, Alumni (Mentor Program),
Faculty, and others!

27. Self-Assessment
Brief Exercise on Occupational
Themes

28. Self-Assessment
Remember: When it comes to your future, use your SMARTS!
S- Strategic Searching
M- Masterfully
A- Always
R- Reaps
T- Tremendous
S- Success

29. Marketing My Skills Exercise
Life Achievement
• Small Groups of 4-5
• Share one life achievement with member of your
group
• Select one life achievement for the group
• Write this achievement into a short narrative
• Now, we will mine the stories for skills

30. Marketing My Skills Exercise
• What skills do we get from our narratives?
Be specific
• How would we categorized these skills?
• What skills are transferable and what are
technical?

31. Marketing My Skills Exercise
• Create your own Master List of Skills
– Top five you enjoy using most
– Top five you are best at using
– What skills are most marketable or relevant to
what interests you?
– What do you think would be in your “top five”?

32. Marketing My Skills Exercise
• Document your list of skills (provide proof)
• PSR, CAR, STAR techniques
• Marketing Plan Discussion

33. Marketing My Skills Exercise
• SWOT Analysis
• Top Five Skills on the Marketing Plan
• Transferable Skills
• Strategies and Action Items

35. Top Five
Skills from
exercise
earlier
Strategy
and Action
Items can
go here

36. Marketing My Skills Exercise
• How does all of this fit in my job search? My
resume? My interview?
• The Marketing Plan as a map, reference
point, etc.

37. Questions?