Career Decisions – Unit One

WHAT DOI WANTTO DOWITH MY LIFE?

DECISIONS, DECISIONS DECISIONS

Imagine spending 80,000 hours of your life doing something you don’t like. That’s about how many hours people work in a lifetime.

What if, day after day, you go to a job that’s not the right fit for you?

You could quit and find a different job. But if you first think about what type of job interests you, what skills you have and which jobs pay what you need, then you are more likely to be happy in a new job.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS DECISIONS

The more you know about your skills, interests and the types of job available, the more quickly you will master the game of life.

Give yourself points for knowing what your abilities are.

Advance to the next level with education or training.

Collect bonus points for researching the current and future job market.

ASSESS YOURSELF

Assessments are tools that help you learn your interests, abilities, personality and goals.

The five major areas of self-assessment that we will look at include:

Interests

Personality

Skills

Values

Self Reflection

INTEREST ASSESSMENT

You can learn more about yourself by looking at the activities, subjects and career fields that interest you. Your interests are another key to knowing yourself better and finding your way through questions such as:

What activities and experiences are you attracted to?

What subjects and courses do you like best?

What do you enjoy doing?

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT

Components of your personality, sometimes called traits, are another important part of your self-assessment. Knowing your personality can help you identify some potentially compatible careers. Exploring your personality may help you better understand:

Where does my energy come from?

How do I learn new information?

How do I make decisions?

How do I live my life?

SKILLS ASSESSMENT

Knowing what skills you already have and which ones you are developing can help you determine what types of careers might be best for you. Assessing your skills can also help you realize what skills you still want or need to gain. Your skill set will change continually as you gain experience, practice, and training so be sure to re-assess as necessary.

Skills can be grouped into two main categories:

Job Content Skills: These are related to specific jobs or careers. Some examples are: computer skills, technical skills, and subject matter expertise.

Transferable Skills: These are more general skills which may be useful in many work situations. Examples include: communication skills, problem-solving, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, leadership, organization and time management

VALUES ASSESSMENT

Your values are the things that bring energy, meaning and purpose to your life. Clarifying your top values can help you:

Feel more confident about yourself and your career choices

Find more satisfaction in your career choice

Further express your individuality and life passions

Understand the core of your character

Connect your values to your work choices

SELF REFLECTION

As you start the Unit One – “What Do I Want to Do With My Life?” you will start discovering things about yourself and at the end of each assessment you should complete each assignment.

Reviewing what you have discovered about your interests, personality, skills and values is an important step.

Ask yourself:

What patterns or trends do you see?

What did you learn that affirmed what you already knew?

What did you learn that surprised you?

Try to keep an open mind to new ideas and perspectives.