Assess Your Skills and Interests
Self-assessment is the process of gathering information about you in order to make an informed career decision and ultimately establish a successful career identity. It involves examining your interests, values, personality, and skills. When your career choices are aligned with your interests, values, personality, and skills, you may be happier and more productive at work! Planning your career is a challenging and exciting process as well. Review the following resources offered by our Campus Partner:
Planning your career is a challenging and exciting process as well. Review the following resources offered by our Campus Partner: Career Exploration & Success
- Guide to Self-Assessment
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Making plans for your future can be challenging. Starting with the self-assessment process can give you more choices and increase your confidence that you are on the right career path.
A self-assessment process can reveal your personal attributes, values, skills, and interests, all of which help you make informed career choices that are appropriate. CES career development specialists can help you identify potential options using a combination of self-evaluation questions and career assessments.
Featured in this Guide are types of Assessments, Areas of Self-Assessment, Questions to Ask Yourself, and Summary.
- Find Your Career Community
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Based on the CES Career Cluster Model. This assessment will help you learn about which of the career communities tend to relate to your interests. Next, you can look at college majors, internship and job listings, student organizations, and more that may be consistent with your preferences. You are more likely to be satisfied with career choices that are consistent with your interests.
- Get Involved and Gain Experience
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Identifying and declaring a major is not required prior to building experience and creating your resume. Employers seek students with skills, not necessarily a specific major. As an adult, nontraditional student, continuing to build skills and enhance your resume is important. You can gain different experiences by participating in other experiential education opportunities. Read more about how these eight career readiness competencies, developed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), can help prepare you to become career ready.
- Networking and Interviewing
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Networking is the process of interacting with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one’s career. Networking is the number one way that job seekers found employment. This resource can help you learn about networking to build your professional network. An interview is a key exchange of information between the employer and the applicant. The employer’s main purpose is to determine if your education, experience, and personal attributes fit the organization’s needs. Your main purpose is to emphasize your ability and interest in the job and the employer and make it to the second round. Read more about preparing for the interview process here.
- Finding an Internship/Job
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There are companies and people that specialize in helping people find jobs. Some of them even focus on working with college students and recent college graduates. However, while most organizations receive their fees from employers (and not you, the job seeker), some will seek money from you. Therefore, use caution, be careful, and make sure you know who’s paying the bills. Read more about preparing for the search and finding internships and jobs.
Check out other helpful resources from Career Exploration and Success, our Campus Partner, below: