No idea what you want to do?
Assessing your skill set might hold the answer
by Stacey Thornberry
It’s April of your last year at university and you still haven’t figured out what you’d like to do with your career. Or maybe it’s only the end of your third, second or even first year at university and you’re looking for some direction for your studies or life after school. Where can you find the help you need to send you along the right path? Just look inside yourself.
Take time to sit down and think about what skills you possess. Do you excel at creating and maintaining relationships with others? Are you constantly receiving compliments about your writing style? Do all of your friends come to you for their computer help? These everyday occurrences could be the keys to your future career.
Make a list of all your skills, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Organize your thoughts into categories such as communication skills (both oral and written), computer skills (software, hardware, typing), mathematical skills, analytical skills and other miscellaneous items (organizational, time management, event planning, persuasion, multitasking, etc.). Note any foreign languages you speak and your level of ability in speaking them. Review your course grades and take notice of where you’ve done the best, and what could use improvement.
Ask yourself questions about your daily life that could translate into skills. Are your DVDs, CDs and books alphabetized, arranged by author or category, or organized in some other fashion? This could be a sign that you’re skilled at organization—and like doing it. When your friends are trying to calculate what score they need to get on their final exam to earn an A in their history class, do they ask you? This could indicate that you have strong analytical skills and work well with numbers. Make observations about yourself, and solicit your friends’ and family’s opinions. Add their input to your list if you agree with their observations.
Once you’ve created your list of skills, decide which ones you like. You may be excellent at solving calculus problems, but don’t want to do math everyday. Or you may be the president of your sorority or fraternity, but don’t want to be in charge all the time, eliminating a supervisory position. On the other hand, you may be the one elected as spokesperson for your school project, and find that you thrive on anticipating, preparing for and delivering presentations. This could indicate that you’re destined for a career involving public speaking.
The last step is to combine the skills you have and like, and think about what types of careers require these skills. Are you very detail-oriented and enjoy mathematical work? Becoming an engineer might be right for you. Does persuasiveness come second nature to you and do you enjoy being creative? You might want to pursue a career in advertising. If you’re unsure what skills are needed for certain positions, research these positions online or visit your school’s career center. The staff is trained to answer questions like these.
After you’ve narrowed your career choices, experiment. Get an internship for a few months in each industry, taking note of how you feel in each job. Could you imagine spending 40 hours a week or more doing this? Would you be happy in this industry? This will help guide you on your way, eliminating positions you dislike and illuminating those you enjoy.
Examining your skills and experimenting with a variety of career options can be a very beneficial process. To give you a personal example, I sat down during the winter of my third year at university and assessed my skills. I had always received good grades in math, but I never enjoyed it, so I crossed that off my list. I enjoy talking to people and learning their stories, as well as organizing information. And I do them both well. I considered what positions would use these skills. I pinpointed event planning and pursued two internships and a summer job in the industry. I discovered that this was the right fit for me, and now I work at IABC as conference manager, doing what I love and am good at.
The self-awareness that comes from conducting a skill assessment will also help you in job interviews. When asked the question that never fails to appear: “What made you decide to go into [insert industry here]?” you will be able to provide a concrete answer by discussing your skill assessment and your decision-making process, impressing any potential employer. In one of my interviews, my interviewer responded to my answer, “Wow. I wish I had been that self-aware at that age.”
So, take the time to think about what you’re good at, and which of these skills you enjoy using. The time and effort will be worth it in the end.
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