1. Exploring Self

Start with an exploration of your personality, interests, skills, and personal preferences. Some self-exploration can be informed by systematic assessments such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory. All self-exploration is ultimately tested by your own experience— any “test” is only an approximation used to stimulate your own observation. Other self-exploration is internally driven and no external tool exists.

• Personality: This has an important impact on career choice, as well as how one performs a particular job.
• Interests: What do you find inherently interesting? A career that matches your interests will insure ongoing fulfillment in the job.
• Skills: What skills do you have in working with people, data, and things?
• Personal Preferences: This includes the part of the country where you would like to live, income and other monetary considerations, number of hours per week you are willing to work, and how your occupation will fit into your overall life (a means to an end, or a major source of meaning).

Exploring Self Matrix

2. Exploring the World of Work

When you have a better understanding of your personality, interests, skills, personal preferences, and how all of those elements fit together, it is time to turn to the world of work. It is helpful to think in terms of a funnel: at the beginning you want to have a wide variety of potential job titles, and narrow them down as you explore more fully.

Start with many different types of jobs – do not eliminate at first.

As you explore different types of jobs, some will seem more attractive and others less so— start eliminating the less attractive ones.

Keep eliminating job types, but also retain some flexibility, as there is more than one job type that could be a fit for you.

You can seek information about types of jobs at these web addresses:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/
• O NET Online: http://www.onetonline.org/