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Identifying your skills
Online Resources
Career Development Resources
Self-assessment is the essential first step for anyone considering a new career path. Honest self-assessment now may save you from pursuing an ultimately unfulfilling career of convenience ('This is what all Ph.D.s in ______ go into outside of academia"). Find out if your career interest(s) fit with your personality, temperament, interests, values, learning style, and work style. Read about the importance of self-assessment for graduate students considering non-academic careers.
Featured Article: "Taking Stock of Yourself" by Margaret Newhouse. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Featured Article:"Know Thyself" by Sandra Yin. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
You will spend at least one-third of your life working. Make sure you enjoy it! Take the time to identify your goals, skills, likes and dislikes. Be aware that you may need to repeat these tests periodically throughout your working career as your interests, experience and priorities change. Below are some well-known self-assessment tools as well as resources to help you identify your unique skills. After consulting the following web and print resources, meet with a career counselor to discuss your findings and what they mean for you.
Self-Assessment Tests
Richard N. Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute offers the following points of advice to keep in mind when using career and personality tests. These can be found in more detail on his website Jobhuntersbible.
1. There is no one test that everyone loves.
2. There is no one test that always gives better results than others.
3. No test should necessarily be assumed to be accurate.
4. You should take several tests, rather than just one.
5. Always let your intuition be your guide.
6. Don't let tests make you forget that you are absolutely unique on the face of the earth - as your fingerprints attest.
7. You are never finished with a test until you have done some good hard thinking about yourself. Be absolutely honest in your responses.
As Bolles says, "Lie, and you'll get what you deserve."
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Identifying your skills
"But I don't have any skills!" is what nearly all graduate students say when asked what skills they have. You do have skills, which can be applied to numerous career arenas. Take some time to explore them! Here are some great sources of information.
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Online Resources
- The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
Are you an Introvert or an Extrovert? Do you rely more on intuition or sensory data? Take the Keirsey test (based on the work of Myers and Briggs) and find out what it all means.
- TypeFocus - Personality Test
Discover your personality type, strengths, and how they relate to careers.
- Personalitytype.com
From the authors of the book Do What You Are (in the Career Services library).
- Steps to Career/Life Planning Success ( University of Waterloo)
A must see! This is one of the best Career Planning resources on the web. Print out the manual and work out each exercise over the course of your career search. Start with step one: self-assessment.
- The Princeton Review Career Quiz
A shortened version of "The Birkman Method" consisting of 24 forced-choice questions. This is is a fast test that in each question asks you to choose between two categories even if you do not particularly like either one.
- The Career Key
This quiz based on your interests, values, and personal style will lead you to a variety of careers, which you can then research immediately through the online Occupational Outlook Handbook. It's designed for general audiences. Automatic connection to online material about career fields relevant to your style is very helpful.
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Self-Assessment Resources at the Career Development Center
Self-Assessment Counseling Call 401-863-3326 to make an appointment. Be sure to identify yourself as a graduate student.
Strong Interest Inventory This self-administered instrument is used to help understand your interests and identify the kinds of work for which you might be suited. The test is available from Career Services for a cost of $15.00. After completion, the test is sent out for scoring and an appointment is booked for an interpretation with a counselor.
FOCUS IIFOCUS II is a computer program that leads you in an exploration of career-related interests and values. FOCUS II also offers extensive background information on over 600 possible occupations. You are invited to drop by the Career Library in 107 Pembroke Hall to use FOCUS II for your career exploration and research.
Books
- What Color is Your Parachute? : A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters & Career Changers by Richard N. Bolles. (Ten Speed Press, 2002 edition.)
This is the best-selling job-hunting book in the world. Contains self-assessment, practical advice and a wealth of information.
- Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul and Barbara Tieger. (Little Brown and Company, 1992.)
Helps you identify careers that match your personality type.
- Personality Type -An Owner's Manual: A Practical Guide to Understanding Yourself and Others Through Typology by Lenore Thomson . (Shambhala, 1998.)
- What's Your Type of Career?: Unlock the Secrets of Your Personality to Find Your Perfect Career Path by Donna Dunning. (Davies Black, 2001.)
- Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design by Laurence G. Boldt. (Penguin, 1999.)
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