SELF-ASSESSMENT
(Knowing Yourself)
Choosing a major and/or career begins with first looking at yourself in relationship to your academic, personal, and work-related experiences. The more you know about yourself – your interests, aptitudes, abilities, personal traits, values, lifestyle preferences, etc - the better you will understand how these attributes interrelate with careers and influence your decisions.
Even if you have already made a choice of major and/or career, assessing your personal attributes may help you validate your decision.
CONSIDER:
Skills - What are you good at?
Work Values & Lifestyle Preferences - What is important to you?
Personality - How do you prefer to behave?
Knowing yourself from the broadest perspective possible will help you determine majors and careers that fit well with the greatest number of your characteristics.
CAREER CENTER RESOURCES THAT CAN BE HELPFUL:
Career Counselors – You can make an appointment to meet individually with a career counselor to discuss your goals and develop strategies for achieving them.
Assessments – The Strong Interest Inventory and Myers Briggs Type Indicator, taken individually or in combination, help you clarify your interests and personality temperaments. Each assessment correlates your results to a refined field of careers and majors to consider.
Career Center Library – An extensive reference library can be utilized to expand your self-awareness. Suggested resources include:
"What Color Is Your Parachute," Bolles, R.