Career Services Office
Career Exploration
Assess Your Values, Interests, and Skills
Self-assessment is the process of identifying:
- what matters most to you (VALUES).
- what you enjoy doing (INTERESTS).
- what you are good at (SKILLS).
Values
Values may influence the kind of work you choose. While not everyone believes work and values must be aligned, consider the following if you do want to link your work to your values.
• What do you care most about? • What kind of lifestyle are you seeking? • Do you require your work to satisfy intellectual or moral needs? • Do you require your work to satisfy intellectual or moral needs? • Is it important to help others? • What kind of work environment do you prefer?
Values Exercise (PDF)
Interests
Interests are reflected in your activities and affinities. Identifying your interests often helps focus you on what ideas and pursuits keep you engaged, an important element in satisfying work.
Interests Exercise (PDF)
Skills
The skills students have strongly influence their career options. Transferable skills are competencies learned in one environment that can easily be employed in other settings.
During graduate school, students usually acquire sophisticated skills in:
- research
- problem solving
- project management
- communicating complex ideas.
Taking time to identify and articulate your skills is critical not only for successful career exploration but also for the creation of convincing résumés and cover letters. The knowledge gained during the self-assessment process also translates into greater self-confidence and savvier answers in interviews.
Numerous career advice handbooks feature useful exercises to help you identify your transferable skills. We recommend Basalla & Debelius's So What Are You Going to Do With That? and Richard Bolles's What Color is your Parachute?
Or use the exercise below to identify skills developed and honed during graduate school. To facilitate this exercise, you may wish to refer to the list of skills at the end of this document.
Skills Exercise (PDF)
Skills List (PDF)
Bringing It All Together
Use the following exercise to examine themes across your Values, Interests, and Skills. This should allow you to imagine career paths that will fit you best.
Brainstorming Exercise (PDF)
PDF files require
Adobe Reader.
