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Know Yourself: Find Your Fit

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Know Yourself

The first step in the Career Roadmap is to Know Yourself. Whether you are a first year student interested in learning how majors relate to careers, a senior contemplating graduate school or an alumnus considering a career change, it is crucial that you first identify your INTERESTS, VALUES, SKILLS and PERSONALITY PREFERENCES in order to make a well–informed decision.

Interests

Learning about your interests will help you identify opportunities to pursue and the topics you are most naturally drawn to, making school and work more motivating and enjoyable. The below model, based on John Holland’s Occupational Themes, describes six basic interest areas and their connection to academic and career choices. Click to find your fit!

Other Ways to Identify You Interests

  1. Use the CHOICES Planner Interest Profiler. Log–in to Choices and select the “Interest Profiler”. The profiler helps you find your work interests and match them to career options.
  2. Attend the Strong Interest Explorer workshop. You will take an inventory that will help you see how your interests relate to different occupational fields and college majors.
  3. Meet with a Career Advisor
    • Ask your advisor about the role interests have been shown to play in career satisfaction
    • Inquire about which career fields incorporate your top interest areas
    • Ask what majors or graduate programs relate to your interest results

Values & Cultural Identity

Values are the things that motivate us and move us toward certain decisions, behaviors and goals. In the context of work, values are the things which we believe ought to be a major part of our daily lives. Values greatly influence the career decision making process, job satisfaction and, ultimately, life satisfaction.

Which do you relate with?

  • Advancement
  • Adventure
  • Competition
  • Creativity
  • Helping Others
  • Independence
  • Knowledge/Learning
  • Leadership
  • Power/Authority
  • Recognition
  • Relationships
  • Security

Uncover Your Values

  1. Use the CHOICES Planner Work Values Sorter.
    Log–in to Choices and select the “Work Values Sorter”. This assessment can help you figure out what work values you have and match them to careers.
  2. Attend career workshops to learn about your work values and how they guide your career decisions:
  3. Meet with a Career Advisor
    • Do the Values Card Sort exercise to rank your values depending on your feelings and motivations. Your advisor will help you narrow your list without outside influence from others.
    • Ask your advisor how values affect career satisfaction
    • Inquire about which career fields fulfill your values
    • Ask what educational programs might allow you to connect your values to careers

Skills

Skills are the things that you are good at and have the ability to do well. Assessing your skills will allow you to determine which ones you want to acquire or further develop, the specific ways to accomplish those goals, and how your skills match with potential careers.

Ways to Seek Out Your Skills:

  1. Use the CHOICES Planner Basic Skills Survey.
    Log–in to Choices and select the “Basic Skills Survey”. This online survey help you assess your basic skills and match them to career options. You will be asked to select skills in 10 areas and it usually takes 10–15 minutes to complete.
  2. Attend the Skills and Accomplishments workshop to learn how to clearly articulate your skill set and provide solid examples of those skills in practice.
  3. Meet with a Career Advisor
    • Do the Skills Card Sort Exercise to explore seven broad skill areas and identify and visually organize your skill sets. This information is useful for helping you write a resume and in answering interview questions regarding your skills.
    • Ask your advisor what skills are needed for certain careers
    • Ask how to develop the skills you‣re most interested in strengthening
    • Ask what educational programs might allow you to connect your skills to careers

Personality Preferences & Interpersonal Needs

Your personality and interpersonal needs tend to differ from your interests, values and skills in that they are related to your individual, innate nature. As a result, these are more likely to be consistent over time. Understanding personality and needs allows you to see correlations between the way you make decisions and your work style.

Ways to Discover Your Personality Preferences

  1. Attend relevant Career Center workshops including
  2. Take Individual Assessments with a Career Advisor
    • Take the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation–Behavior (FIRO–B)
    • Ask your advisor how your personality preferences and interpersonal needs can help or hinder your career progress
    • Ask which career fields are ideally suited for you based on your preferences and needs
    • Ask what educational programs are most highly correlated to your personality preferences