Understanding my Strengths and Skills

Finding a career niche that fits you and that will be rewarding and challenging starts with knowing yourself – the skills you have and enjoy using, your interests, your personality and your values. There are many factors to take into account when developing your career direction, as described in the career wheel below.

External Factors

Internal Factors

(source: http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Student_Services/students/counselling/career_planning/the_career_decision_wheel.html)

There are many activities and assessments you can use to take stock of your experiences and get a holistic profile of both your internal career factors (the lower half) and the external factors (the upper half) that have an influence on your career direction. Many students initially focus more attention to external factors like the labour market conditions even though the internal factors are most crucial for finding a career path that is personally rewarding. Turning to those internal factors first, here is a selection of tools some which can be used independently and in conjunction with a Career Counsellor though the Career Centre.

2A. Skills

Skills focus on your abilities and the tasks you are able to do and how well you can do them. As well, skills focus on the tasks you actually want to do as part of your work — e.g., analytical, research, writing skills.

Many graduate students lament that they do not have marketable skills for careers outside academia. Here is a brief list of the marketable skills that are transferrable from course work and independent research activities for various discipline areas.

Humanities & Social Sciences

These graduates possess critical and speculative competencies. They can employ empirical methods of investigation prior to drawing any conclusions or inferences from data. Key competencies commonly include:

• analytical thinking
• critical thinking
• qualitative research skills
• report writing
• debating
• language skills (bilingualism or multilingualism)
• deductive reasoning
• creativity
• expressivity
• attention to detail

Physical & Life Sciences

• In addition to some of the skills outlined above, these graduates possess specialized competencies in:
• Employing equipment and instrumentation to conduct research and experiments according to rigorous procedures and safety standards
• Performing controlled experiments requiring consideration of numerous variables, constants and controls
• Executing graphing and process skills requiring precision and accuracy

Professional Degrees

• These graduates will leave the University of Toronto with the following competencies:
• Knowledgeable about current practice in their field of professional endeavour
• Capable in the common technical procedures required by their professional field
• Capable of mentoring others effectively in a professional setting
• Knowledgeable about the professional structures, practices, standards and skills of their area of professional practice
• Well informed about, and deeply committed to, standards of ethical practice
• Prepared to exercise professional leadership in their chosen field

Additional skills that could be important for identifying your career direction may also come from: extracurricular activities, volunteering, paid work, internships, travel and study abroad, entrepreneurship, parenthood, as well as involvements in faith communities, athletics and the arts. Knowing all the skills in your repertoire, including those developed outside academia, is an important step to finding your non-academic career path. Identifying those skills that you enjoy and want to use in your future career as well as those you’d prefer to limit or avoid is also an important consideration. Here are some tools and services to help you catalogue and explore your skills.

Skills Assessment Strategies:

• Detailed Skills Analysis of your Major Experiences – An in depth review of your major experiences and the skills, knowledge and accomplishments you acquired. Review the example skills analysis and then use the template to complete your own analyses.

(Based on "You Got Skills” Workshop, University of Toronto Career Centre 2013)

(Based on ‘You Got Skills” Workshop, University of Toronto Career Centre 2013)

• Skills Identification Exercise
  • This assessment is a shorter, more structured but less detailed version of the above exercise to identify the skills you have acquired from diverse experiences and activities

• Skills Card Sort
  • A popular and more interactive way to identify your top skills and those you would like to avoid. Available by appointment at the Career Centre
• Career Counselling
  • Get assistance understanding your skills, skills preferences and implications for your career search in a one-on-one discussion with a Career Counsellor.
  • The Centre is staffed by Career Counsellors who hold a Master of Education in Counselling, training in career development including certification in a variety of career and personality assessments, and many years of experience both inside and outside the University. Read their bios here on the Career Counselling page.

2B. Interests

Interests are the types of topics, situations, issues that you are attracted to learning, thinking about and dealing with. Although your field of study and thesis work have likely monopolized your energy and focus for many years, think about interests you have had outside of your degree. In conjunction with other factors, your broadly defined interests can be very useful for identifying career areas and options outside of academia.

Interest Assessment Strategies:

• Reflective Questions: The answers to these questions can provide you with some insights about your interests.
  • What are your favorite sections of the library or bookstore?
  • When reading newspapers, magazines, surfing the Internet, or watching television, which issues/topics are you naturally drawn to?
  • What are / have been your favorite courses?
  • What activities or hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
  • What are the most interesting jobs you can think of?
  • If money were no object, how would you make a living? How would you spend your time?
  • What kinds of things are you doing when you lose track of time?
  • If you won the lottery, to which causes/issues would you give the money?
  • If you were a reporter, what kinds of stories would you write?
  • What kinds of information do you find most fascinating?
  • What do you love to do?
  • Of all of the people you know, who do you think has the most interesting job?
  • What do others know me for in terms of interests and pursuits?
  • Who are your heroes?
  • What would you do if there was nothing to hold you back?
  • How would I have answered these questions before grad school? Are these answers still valid?

(Source: University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business: https://unet.rhsmith.umd.edu/undergrad/portal/portalhub.nsf/Files/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20CareerSelfexplorationunet09.pdf/$file/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20CareerSelfexplorationunet09.pdf)

• Holland Codes
  
  • Source: http://utsa.edu/careercenter/students/career_assessments/RIASEC_Holland_Codes.html
  • The Holland Codes system is a quick and simple way of getting to know your career interests within six broad vocational themes and environments to assist you in researching these areas in more detail. This graphic shows the six codes of which most people identify with two or three. Career areas associated with the codes which can be used to generate career ideas for further research. Below is a graphic with the six main Holland Codes which this assessment uses. Available with by appointment at the Career Centre.

• Strong Interest Inventory Assessment
  • The Strong Interest Inventory is a more detailed assessment that assists in identifying your interests in terms of: occupations, subject areas, activities, leisure activities, people and some personal characteristics as well. This assessment is more in depth and time consuming but can be helpful for those struggling to identify their interests. This assessment is available with by appointment at the Career Centre.
• Career Interest Card Sorts
  • A popular and more interactive way to identify your top career interests to contribute to your career planning. Available by appointment at the Career Centre.
• Career Counselling
  • Get assistance understanding your career interests and implications for your career search in a one-on-one discussion with a Career Counsellor
  • The Centre is staffed by Career Counsellors who hold a Master of Education in Counselling, training in career development including certification in a variety of career and personality assessments, and many years of experience both inside and outside the University. Read their bios here on the Career Counselling page.

2C. Values

Values are guiding principles that help us make decisions. Values can change over time and can be influenced by others. They can relate to your 'big picture' (personal values) or to specific contexts such as careers. Examples of career values include 'job security' and 'variety.' Values are often overlooked and of prime consideration for career satisfaction and sustainability. A career or employment situation that embodies values contrary to your own will feel 'wrong' and present barriers to full engagement, achievement and satisfaction. Here is a short video on the importance of a career that fits your personal values: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ljmrhiNkQM

Consider both your personal values that inform what is important to you in the grander scheme of things and which help you define a life worth living such as: contributing to the development of others, making a positive difference in society through contributing new knowledge, personal integrity etc. Knowing what you need out of a career in terms of work values such as recognition and work-life balance, is also important to finding the right career fit.

Values Assessment Strategies:

• Career Values Survey
  • Values are deeply held beliefs which guide a person’s actions. It is important to recognize the important role values play in one’s level of career satisfaction. This exercise is geared to help you reflect on values you may want to consider when evaluating a career direction.

1. Review this list and determine their level of importance to you
2. Add any of your own values if not listed
3. Underline the part of the value that best describes you.
4. Review those you marked “very important” and prioritize on the last page.

• Top “Very Important” Values

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• Points of Reflection:
  How did your values develop and become important to you? What factors in your life were influential? ie., friends, family, society.
  • Which values would you be willing to compromise if needed?
  • Which values would you be most hesitant to give up?
  • Which values for you feel would be essential for you to be satisfied in your career?
  • Values can also be satisfied in ways aside from your career, such as through volunteer activities, leisure activities, and participating in clubs. Can you think of other ways that you can incorporate your very important values into your life?
• Personal Values Reflective Exercise
  To explore some of your personal values reflect on these questions and / or discuss them with a friend. Being able to articulate “why” will provide insights as to what is most important to you:
  • Who do you admire and why?
  • If you could have dinner with anyone (past, present or fictional) who would it be and why?
  • What is going on in the world today that captures your attention and makes you want to get involved and why?
  • Project yourself into the future around your retirement. You are proud and content with what you have accomplished. What have your achievements been? How would others describe you? What aspects of your career have been key to your sense of pride and contentment?
• Career Interest Card Sorts
  • A popular and more interactive way to identify your top career values to contribute to your career planning. Available by appointment at the Career Centre.
     
• Career Counselling
  • Get assistance understanding your personal and career values and implications for your career search in a one-on-one discussion with a Career Counsellor. The Centre is staffed by Career Counsellors who hold a Master of Education in Counselling, training in career development including certification in a variety of career and personality assessments, and many years of experience both inside and outside the University. Read their bios here on the Career Counselling page.