Thursday 8 December 2011

How to Choose a Career?

Assessment TestHere are hundreds of career options out there. How do you make a career choice when you don't really know what you want to do? Does it seem like an insurmountable task? It's not. Yes, you will have to put some time and energy into making your decision, but your effort will be well worth it in the end. Follow these steps to making a good career choice.

ASSESS YOURSELF

Before you can make a career choice you have to learn about yourself. Your values, interests and skills, in combination with certain personality traits, will make some careers especially suitable for you and some particularly inappropriate. You can use self assessment tools, often called career tests, to gather this information and, subsequently, to generate a list of occupations that are deemed appropriate. Some people choose to have career counselors or other career development professionals administer these tests but many opt to use free career tests that are available on the Web.

What Is a Self Assessment?

Self assessment is the process of gathering information about yourself in order to make an informed career decision. It is the first step of the Career Planning Process. A self assessment is often conducted with the help of a career development professional.

Anatomy of a Self Assessment

What should a self assessment look at? It should include a look at your values, interests, personality, and skills. Let's take a look at the tools you can use to accomplish this.
Value Inventories
Value inventories measure how important different values are to you. Examples of these values, which play an important role in one's job satisfaction, include autonomy, prestige, security, interpersonal relations, helping others, flexible work schedule, outdoor work, leisure time, and high salary. 
 Interest Inventories
The questions in an interest inventory ask about your likes and dislikes regarding various activities. The premise of this self assessment tool is that people who share similar interests will also enjoy the same type of work. Examples of interests are reading, running, playing golf, and knitting. 
 Personality Inventories
A personality inventory looks at one's individual traits, motivational drives, needs, and attitudes. The most frequently used personality inventory is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI). 
 Skills Assessment
In addition to determining what you're good at, a skills assessment also helps you figure out what you enjoy doing. The skills you use in your career should combine both characteristics. You can use the results of the skills assessment to make some changes by acquiring the skills you need for a particular career.

No comments:

Post a Comment