6.0   More Self Assessment: Getting What You Want Out of Life!

The rest of the puzzle ...

Figuring out what you want to do and where you want to work is a complex task. It involves answering a variety of questions about what you need to thrive and what you want out of life.

We have already looked at your career personality. Your Holland Code tells us in a general way what types of work tasks interest you and what type of work environments meet your demands. Knowing your Holland Code is essential if you want to use job classification systems to find out what types of careers fit with your interests.

We have also taken a careful and extensive inventory of your skills and your motivated skills. The skill descriptions you developed will help you match your interests with the demands associated with specific jobs. And perhaps more importantly, you now have those skills listed in a way that will help as you build your resume and present yourself in interviews. You are ready to tell prospective employers what you can do.


But there is still more work to be done to make certain that you know what you are looking for and to make certain that you find it. You still have to answer the "What" and the "Where" questions.   You need to be clear about what you want to do and where you want to do it.

Many of the skills you have are transferable.  You can use them in a number of different industries.  You need to know which industries you want to focus on.

In deciding where you want to apply your skills and who you will allow to employ you,  you need to consider your work values and priorities.   What type of work environment suits you best?  What type of people do you want to work with?  What should your salary and benefit expectations include?  Do you need to live in a city or would you be happier somewhere else?  What really motivates you?

In the same way that  you have different skills that can be applied to different situations,  you also have an inventory of acquired knowledge that spans many different areas and interests.  Which knowledge areas do you want to apply to your work in order to thrive?  Is it just what you learned in college or do you want to apply the knowledge you've obtained from hobbies and extra-curricular pursuits?  Do you have expertise in some area unrelated to your studies and training?  Is it important to you to use that knowledge?

And what about life-style preferences?  I know young attorneys,  accountants and engineers who are happy working 80 hour weeks most of the year,  then vacationing large at the end of the year.  That might not be your style.  Perhaps it's more important to you to drop your kids off at school in the morning and to pick them up in the afternoon.  Maybe you like to be home for dinner,  or maybe you like staring at your computer screen until you drop. 

At some point,  there are going to be trade-offs and compromises to consider.  And there will be decisions to be made.  You need to understand what is really important to you.

There are five exercises you need to complete before you set out on the task of implementing your job search strategy. And keep in mind that someone wanting to hire you might very well ask if you have given any thought to these issues.

You need to know what you need to be satisfied,   to thrive and to get what you want out of life.  At some point,  you are going to allow someone to hire you.  On the other side of the equation,  an employer is going to want to know that the job they are offering is going to motivate and satisfy you.  You are going to expect them to provide you with more training.  They will want to know that they are making a good investment. 

Here are the next steps in the self-assessment process: 

1.   Identifying Your Work Values and Your Work Priorities
2.   Inventorying and Identifying Your Key Knowledge Areas
3.   Identifying Your Interest Areas
4.   Identifying Your Ideal Life/ Work Environment
5.   Setting Your Goals and Priorities