Career Self-Assessment

Mar 26

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Throughout our working life, we encounter key decision points. These are opportunities to pivot and make choices that affect the trajectory of our careers. External drivers always influence these choices. Some require dramatic action; others allow for more measured activity. To make the right decision, we need to examine many factors. To recognize career pivot opportunities and put them in perspective, we must know ourselves.

The personal assessment you need to prepare for a Career Pivot is very different from your employer’s annual self-evaluation. The usefulness of company self-evaluations is limited. They focus too much on the current job and do not consider external growth alternatives. Because they are not private, it is impossible to be as candid as you need to be. There are some valuable tips for preparing a company self-assessment in a recent CIO Online article.

Self-assessments answer three questions

These evaluations can be your starting point for your analysis. A thorough personal/private self-assessment helps answer three key questions.

Why is this the time right for a change?

This question strives to uncover what about your current job or employer is leading you to believe it is time for a change. Are your skills falling out of date? What are the realistic advancement opportunities? What is the stability and financial health of your employer? Do you have personal obligations that are driving the need?

How do I want to define success?

Success is personal. Success really should not be defined by title or salary. Your definition will change over time. In the end, if you can provide for your family, feel good about what you do, and make a positive difference, you are successful. A recent article posted by MIT Sloan explores this idea.

Where do I want to be?

Do you want a leadership role? Do you want to be a nationally recognized expert in your field of study? Perhaps success is not defined by your paid job but by the time you devote to your community or church. There are many measures of success. If you do not take the time to understand what you want, you cannot select the right map or chart a course to your destination.

Three steps to self-assessment

A good self-assessment is hard because you have to be brutally honest with yourself. The process is not easy.

Write down your questions and doubts.

Begin with the catalyst that started you thinking about the need for change and why it makes you feel uncomfortable. Without these, you cannot analyze the situation.

Consider taking personality tests.

Taking a test is an optional recommendation. If you choose to take a test, take several. Do not focus on the scores, letters, colors, or labels. Read the reports and look for phrases and descriptions that resonate. The uncomfortable descriptions are the hardest to accept. Do not lock yourself into one test over the other. They can be helpful discussion starters, but these tests are not predictors of success. Many have very little science behind them; what they have is are large data sets that may provide context.

Discuss your thinking with people you trust.

The greatest athletes in the world have coaches, and you should too. Coaches help individuals improve. More importantly, they help individuals learn to be members of effective teams. A good coach will help you frame your questions and clarify your thinking.

If the change affects your family, they need to support any change you decide to make. Get a coach.

Once you know where you want to go, it’s time to build a plan. I’ll cover that in next week’s post.