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Phase 1, Step 2 - Complete a Self Evaluation

Step 2:  Look inward at your strengths, personality, leadership qualities and accomplishments. Identify areas for professional development. Over the first semester, many assessments will be done in PACE and other classes. Apply this material to your career development. According to recent Gallup Surveys, only 33% of the workforce is ‘engaged’. These are people who wake up and look forward to going to work, enjoy their day and feel successful. Knowing yourself is key to indentifying a job/career that will make you feel successful and get you excited about going to work each day. Not only will this benefit you, but recent studies by Gallup show that employees who know their strengths are 4.8 times more likely to know what’s expected of them at work and 6.1 times more likely to believe that they can do what they do best. Gallup studies also show that engaged organizations have 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with lower engagement in their same industry. Take the time to find a job in which you will be fully engaged. You will feel better about what you do and so will your boss. This step is complete when you clearly articulate your strengths, accomplishments, likes, dislikes and have identified areas for professional development.

Questions:

1. What are your strengths? What is your DISC profile? Career Leader Results?
2. What do you see as your major accomplishments in life?
3. How do you define success?
4. In what type of an environment do you perform your best?
5. What is your area or areas of interest? What is your passion?
6. What stretches [1] have you identified – what are areas for professional development?
7. Career Changers: How might my past work experiences/strengths be transferrable to my new career?

Checklist:

1. Take the Gallup Strengths Survey and read about your top five areas of strength.
2. Take Career Leader and consider your interests and values. Consider the values/motivators listed in this section.
3. Look at your DISC profile – what does this say about your potential career choices?
4. Review your vision. Read the vision questions in this section and write down your thoughts.

Deliverable for GSM5108:

Write a self analysis, outlining how your inventories blend together making you a unique candidate. Put your raw scores into a table format for quick periodic reflection. (Career Changers:  pay particular attention to transferrable skills).  Post your analysis in your Optimal Resume Portfolio.

Why this is important:  

Your strengths are what bring you success in the workplace.  It is essential to articulate your top strengths by conducting career self-assessments.  You will have better direction and ideas for your career by understanding your strengths.

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