Job Hunting and Self Assessment

That's the question that I heard so much of when I was growing up. It's like a specific career defines who you are as a person. Oh wait a minute-It Does!! Jobs and careers are different like the people who do them. Think about it-to be a doctor, you must be self motivated to go through years of very rigorous schooling that is competitive and at times cut-throat. You must be willing to work long hours and be compassionate towards others in pain and it would probably help if you could stand the sight of blood. On the other hand, the schooling to be a policeman isn't incredibly long but you have to be mentally strong and have a strong sense of justice and what it means to be able to uphold the law. While also having to be able to stand the sight of blood, you'll probably also have to be able to stand the sight of horrific horrors that only policemen see. Each of these professions are worthy and exciting in their own right but if you have the skills to be a doctor it doesn't mean you have the skills to be a policeman. We are all wired differently and we all have different roles to perform within society. However, with that being said, regardless of the profession, the job search is going to follow similar paths.

Before beginning any job search, you must first do a self assessment. Continue reading below to learn about the three types of self assessment: values, interests, and skills. Each of the following articles will briefly describe the parts of a valuable self assessment.

Your values take into consideration the aspects of the job that are important to you. For example, do you need to do something different everyday or do you need a predictable schedule? Some people thrive of routine and they stress out over change. For these people, a job that contains unpredictability would wreak havoc on their psyche. Other values could include:

Job Hours - Do you want a job where you work predominately nights? How about a 9-5 job?
Job Location-do you need to work in an office? What about working from home?
Attire - Do you want to dress casually or would you rather be dressed up (you know the clothes makes the man or woman)?
Teams-do you want to work individually or with a team?
Productivity-do you want to create or make something?
Customer Service-do you want to work with people or by yourself?

This is just a small sampling of values that one must consider before embarking on a job search. As you can see, each of these values describes one part of a person. Not everyone is the same and not everyone is looking for the same thing. However, being honest with yourself about what's important to you could save you a lot of time in your search and it could mean the difference between being satisfied with the job and being miserable.

Your personal interests are the next aspect of any self assessment. What are you interested in? For me, I hate math but I love to read. Knowing that, I am not going to try to get a job as an accountant but maybe an editor would be a good choice. Other examples of interests include:

Specific school subjects-such as psychology, history, science
Specific hobbies-golfing, knitting, cooking
Specific activities you enjoy-running, surfing, going to the theater

Knowing your interests will help narrow down the type of work you would like to do.

What can you do and do well? Are you able to type 300 words a minute? Can you file faster than anyone else you know? Do you have a knack for drawing or sketching? With regards to skills, these include natural born aptitudes toward a job and specific job skills that may be learned.

Do you know how to operate a computer?
Do you know how to diagnosis an illness based on specific symptom?
Do you know how to hammer and use a power saw?
Do you know how to drive and back up an 18 wheeler?

Each job has a specific skill set associated with it. Before choosing a job you should know what skills already possess. Then based on your values and interests, you can think about how to obtain the other skills necessary for a job. Will you have to go to college? What about graduate school? Is there an apprenticeship program? How long will it take? The answers to these questions will help you decide if you want to try and get the skills or find something else.