Thoughtful self-assessment can streamline the steps of your job search: it helps you focus on organizations and careers compatible with your goals, and lets you market yourself knowledgeably and confidently.
Three aspects important to consider when choosing a career are: your interests, values, and skills. Being able to clearly articulate these on a resume and at an interview will promote a good fit with potential employers.
Our interest in the work we do is a key motivating factor for work. If we are interested in our work, we will find it more enjoyable, be more motivated to learn about it, develop relevant skills, work hard, and persist through difficult challenges, all of which increases our chance of success and job satisfaction.
Below are two interest assessment tools that you may wish to try out.
In planning your career, it is important to consider what you value most about your work.
The answers to these questions and others may depend on your personal work values.
Try out this Work Values Checklist on monster.com to help you prioritze what you feel are important qualities in choosing where you would like to work.
Your top skills and natural talents will bring you success in your career: Identify and learn to articulate your marketable skills.
Using the Employability Skills 2000+ from the Conference Board of Canada will guide you.
You begin to develop 80% of the skills you need when you are young, and continue to hone these transferable skills throughout your academic life and career.