CHAPTER 4

Career Self-Assessment Worksheet

To manage your career effectively, you need to know yourself well. Identifying your strengths and gaps can help you know where to start when asking for the learning opportunities and support you need. This brief self-assessment will help you begin to capture your skills and interests and unearth areas to explore as you begin to solicit feedback from others. When you know what you do well—and what you most enjoy—it’s easier to identify opportunities that allow you to deliver your best effort and cultivate a fulfilling career.

Instructions

Use the following questions to help you think through your developmental needs and goals. Periodically returning to this assessment will help you understand where you are—and where you’d like to go—as your career path evolves.

1. What’s the overall fit between your current position and your interests, values, and skills?
2. What is your overall level of satisfaction with your current position?
3. What do you think others would say are your strengths?
4. What do you think others would say are your gaps?
5. What do you consider to be your top five skills (that is, those where you have the most proficiency)?
6. Of your top skills, which ones do you most enjoy using?
7. 7What are the top two or three skills you need or want to learn in order to grow in your job, advance to the next level, or seek a new job?
8. What are your key transferable skills—those skills that are not just job-specific but that can be applied to work in many positions (such as basic computer skills, negotiation skills, financial analysis)?
9. What are your long-term career goals?
10. With your long-term career goals in mind, what are your short-term career-development goals? Where would you like to be 6 to 12 months from now?
11. What are some developmental opportunities you can take advantage of?

Adapted from Career Management module, Harvard ManageMentor.