Self-assessment

What is Self-Assessment?

Self-assessment is a process of determining who you are. As you progress through your life, you will continue to develop and to learn new things about yourself. It is essential that you take time to reflect on and assess who you are as you develop. Self-Awareness (physical, mental and/or emotional) will help you make decisions about your future lifestyle and career.

By analyzing your personal history, personality type, mental and emotional intelligence, skills and values, you can better understand yourself. This knowledge, coupled with how you think other people view you, forms your self-concept, or how you feel about yourself. This process of self-assessment will help you make choices that are right for you in achieving personal and job satisfaction.

How to Assess Yourself

If you decide to do a self-assessment or career tests, there are a few things to think about:

• Your mood affects the outcome - Don’t take a career test if you are in a bad mood, depressed or angry. As you go through the test, your mood will be reflected in your choices. The end result may mean a career test that does not reflect you true career possibilities or options.  
• Use your intuition - You know yourself the best. If a test result comes back and you feel it is way off the mark, disregard it. Don’t assume that tests are always accurate. If your gut says no way, listen to it. Your career is ultimately your choice. Don’t let anything destroy your dreams of what you can do or be.
• Always take a few tests - Don’t rely on the outcome of just one test. There are a lot of them out there, and they are free. So, take a few of them and compare the results. Look for the similarities and differences.
• Take career tests on a regular basis - Career tests are based on the HERE AND NOW. They reflect your situation at the time you are taking the test. That can be good and bad. At this particular moment in time, you may show an interest in a particular career area. Think back to what you wanted to be when you were five. Is that still what you want for a career today? What interests you today, you may find totally boring tomorrow. Everything changes including you. Take career tests on a regular basis, and use them to map out your career options and possibilities.
• Remember, you are unique - Assessment tests are a lot like newspaper horoscopes. They are not unique to you. They are based on a group. Test results tend toward categories. You get categorized into a particular group based upon your answers. They do not tell you what is unique about you. Nor do they tell you what you should do the rest of your life.
• Unsure about how to interpret your results? - Talk to your guidance counselor.

Now….are you ready to begin your self-discovery? The next section contains Self-Assessment Tools and Exercises