Assess Yourself

Career management is a cyclical and nonlinear process. The resources and services offered by Career Development will help you assess your strengths and skills while exploring industries and functions, develop a comprehensive career plan to work towards your career goals throughout the application and interview processes, and guide you in cultivating and facilitating career connections.

What can I do?

Intentional engagement focused on values and skills assessment leading to the identification of professional interests and motivations to drive future career success and satisfaction.

• Read about the world of work, sectors, industries and functions.
  • Join professional organizations, sign up for newsletters attend networking events to learn more
  • Explore Career Development Industry Pages, checkout Careernomics for guides and information.
  • Use Career Research Tools from AU Library to search industries and companies.
  • Take a look at companies based on TBJ Lists (National Company Lists and Business Rankings – The Business Journals) for different cities in industries of interest to see what companies there are
• Reflect on your values, interests, personality, and skills (VIPS).
  • Get your Top 5 Themes from the CliftonStrengths Assessment
  • Understand top five Talent Themes and how to apply them to job roles and environments.
  • See additional VIP assessment options below.
• Reflect upon interests and skills to evaluate functions (tasks/skills), industries, and culture-matches
  • What courses and topics spark your interest?
  • What social causes and activities are you passionate about?
  • What talents and skills come naturally to you?
  • What three adjectives would your friends use to describe your personality?
  • What tasks or activities do you like doing in class projects?
  • What parts of studying do you most enjoy?
  • How do the things you enjoy doing fit in with skills or competencies needed at work?
  • What types of activities or tasks can you see yourself doing in five or ten years?
• Compare major/career ideas that you have researched and evaluate their specific pros and cons.
  • Don’t forget to use the results of your VIPS self-assessments when you evaluate and compare the options.
  • Which options are a better fit? Why?  
  •  Some of the best career paths for you will start with your interests, take the Roadmap quiz to help.
• Determine priorities related to geographic location, income, etc.
• Align curricular and co-curricular involvements with competencies employers seek

Self-Assessment & V.I.P.S.

Self-assessment instruments may help clarify your VIPS: values, interests, personality preferences, and skills.

Self-assessment instruments provide suggestions –- not definitive answers — regarding potential careers. Self-assessment results may help you to validate your major/career ideas and even generate new ideas!

As a Kogod student your best place to start is with taking your CliftonStrengths and checking out our CliftonStrengths in Career Exploration resource. Below are additional resources that are very helpful.