Self-Assessment
Understanding yourself—your interests, talents, skills, values, and desires—is a critical first step in career planning. It’s also a step that most people skip. Finding a field that fits you well and in which you can thrive is more likely if the career is a good match for your personality, your values, and your abilities.
In addition, employers want self-aware employees who know their own strengths and skills, who know how to articulate these, and who know how to take advantage of them.
Self-Exploration Tools
You can use the tools listed below to begin your personal assessment process. As you do so, keep in mind the following elements, and consider how they shape your career aspirations.
Values—what makes your life meaningful; what do you want to give to the world and what do you want to take?
Interests—what inspires and nourishes you?
Skills—which of these do you want to use in your work?
Personality—what are your quirks, and how do you best interact with other people and environments; how will this affect your choice of work?
Resources—financial, emotional, and physical—what will you bring to a career, what will you need to get by?
Responsibilities—financial, interpersonal, professional—how much do you already carry; how much can you take on?
Ambition—how much energy, focus, and drive do you have; what are your ultimate goals?
In addition to undertaking this exploration, we encourage you to meet with a career advisor to help better understand what the results mean and how to move forward to the next steps.
FOCUS is an online assessment system that will help you develop an accurate picture of your personal strengths, needs, and preferences, and develop a sound career plan. Using FOCUS you can:
- Analyze your career planning status.
- Assess your interests, skills, work values, personality, and preferences.
- Discover and explore occupations, career paths, and education programs compatible with your personal attributes.
- Map out your career and educational goals, action plans, personal development and training needs.
NOTE: You will need a keycode to access FOCUS, which you can obtain by calling Career Services at 413-545-2224 or e-mailing ccnhelp@acad.umass.edu. You will need to provide your student number, graduation date, and your UMass Amherst e-mail address.
After completing FOCUS, you should consider scheduling an appointment with a career advisor to discuss your results, and perhaps take further self assessments such as the MBTI (see below).
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The widely used MBTI identifies your personality type, your strengths, and your preferences as they relate to a potential career. It is not an online assessment—you must complete it at Career Services and there is a fee charged for the materials. Our advisors are qualified to administer and interpret the MBTI and will help you understand what the results mean for you. Go to Contact Us for information on making an appointment with a career advisor.
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter II
This is an adaptation of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, but without the benefit of its substantive research and development. If you are not able to take advantage of an in-person MBTI interpretation, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter may give some clarity to your personality style and related career issues. However, it is not nearly as accurate as the MBTI.
Princeton Review Career Quiz
Princeton Review offers this assessment quiz developed by the creators of the Birkman Method. After completing the quiz, the results will indicate your Interest Color (the kind of job interests and responsibilities that matches your preferences) and your Style Color (the way you tend to work). It will also suggest potential careers for you.
Jung Typology Test
The Jung Typology Test classifies people according to four criteria (Extroversion - Introversion, Sensing – Intuition, Thinking - Feeling, Judging – Perceiving) and provides immediate results. When you complete this test you will receive information on your type formula as well as a description of this type. You will also receive a list of suitable career choices based on your personality.
The Entrepreneur Test
Are you interested in developing your own business? As the name suggests, this interactive quiz will help you assess your entrepreneurial skills.
