If you’re reconsidering a career direction, you need to understand your current strengths and weaknesses. This is part of being self-aware.
What are you good at? Maybe you excel at fixing engines, teaching others, or performing physically demanding activities. When using your strengths, time flies by and you learn quickly.
What are you not so good at? Weaknesses are the areas where you feel uncomfortable, bored, ineffective, or frustrated. Maybe it’s hard for you to speak in front of groups or to work with numbers.
Chances are, you have more strengths than you think (and possibly more weaknesses). The first step in identifying your strengths and weaknesses is to think about what you do and how well you do it. At a minimum, this information comes from your own self-examination. You can also get some valuable information about yourself from outside sources, such as on-line free assessment tools and from people who know you. You also may be able to generate feedback about yourself by asking your superiors, peers, and subordinates provide anonymous feedback. This method is what we call the 360-degree assessment.
This four part blog will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses by giving you the tools you need to:
• Collect results from assessment tools.
• Gather feedback from others.
• Perform a self-exam.
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses.
As you go through the following assessment tools keep your responses handy. You’ll need them when it comes time to finalize your list of strengths and weaknesses. First, we’ll cover how to gather information from free on-line assessment tools.
Collect Information from Free Assessment Tools
Career assessment tools are a good place to start gaining insight into your strengths and weaknesses, as they measure your performance and compare it to a standard. On-line free assessment tools include:
The Big Five Personality Test -- Formerly called All About You, this test measures personality aspects that can be applied to careers. Cost: Free
The Career Interest Profiler -- This 180-question assessment is a measure of occupational and career interests. Cost: Free
Career Interest Test from LiveCareer -- This 100-question assessment identifies your career interests and then tells you what jobs are out there for you. Free for basic results. Site also offers Career Satisfaction Test, Resume Test, and Start a Business Test.
Careerlink Inventory -- A 36-question assessment based on the premise that your self-estimates are a valid basis for career decision-making. Cost: Free
Career Values Scale from testingroom.com -- This 88-question assessment looks at values to see how they relate to the test-taker's world of work and help to identify areas of career satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Cost: Free
Career Zone -- An extremely bare-bones, 3-question assessment. Cost: Free
Carolyn Kalil's Personality Assessment (True Colors) -- True Colors is a personality system that has been around since 1979 and is modeled as a graphical presentation of both Keirsey's Temperament and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The assessment asks you to choose one of two ways to finish 36 statements. The results can help you define your skills and talents -- and possibly direct you to various career paths. Cost: Free
Dreamfedjob - Turning unemployed into employed.
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