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Chapter
Know Thyself!
Self-Assessment
To know yourself is, of course,the task of a lifetime, but it is also
an essentialfirst step in exploring alternative careers. Self-assessment
includes asking yourself: what are my most important values, goals,
interests,and skills, particularly as they relale to work-the careerfield,
the
job function, the environment
and people, and the lifestyle implica-
tions? This self-knowledgewill not only help you !o focus your
exploration and job search and to narlow options, but it will
also
substantially
increaseyour chancesof getting a job. Employers find it
hard to resistcandidateswho convey an understandingof and
conviction
aboutthe marchbetweenthemselvesand thejob. And onceyou're in the
job, you'll perform with better resuls and geater pleasure.
This chapterfocuseson the intemal dimension: Wln un I at this
point in my life? andWlnt doesthat suggestabout
my clnice of work and
careers? The next hro chapters will consider the external dimension:
How do I discover wln is out tlrcre that matchesme? Tlnepremisehere
is thatpeoplearehappiestwhentheir work isav@ation,thatis, whenthey
aredoingjobs or usks thatgive them a senseof purposeandmeaning,and
which they would choose!o do even if they did not get paid. This work
may be
paid or unpaidand of high or low status;it may
take many forms
and may well changeover the courseof a life and career. You may need
Ae
r
I
Ouside the Iwry Town
to makecompromisesalongtheway for legitimatereasons;rherick is to
hold the
goal firmly in sight while compromising.Becausewe spendso
muchtime in gainful employment,we mightas well aim for payingjobs
that fulfill us,realizingat the sametime that fulfrlling work is generally
a necessarybut not sufficient condition for a fulfilling life.
You may find the diagrambelow helpful for thinking about the
process of self-assessment.Typically, in this
processyou try !o ascertain
your valuesand goals,interestsandpassions,and skillsand capacities
(especiallythoseyou most
enjoy using or would like o develop). You
then consider how they affect your preferencesabout various aspectsof
work. These include: (1) the work environrrnnt, i.e., the physical
characteristicsof the workplace, organization size,culture, thepeople-
bothclientsandcolleagues(theircharacteristics andthetypesofrelation-
shipsyou havewith them); (2) the conditionsand lifestyleimplications
of the work, e.g.,stability, incomeand benefits,prestige,time commit-
ments,flexibility; (3) the tasksandfinctions you will perform and the
associaledwork style; and (4) the substantivecontent-the organiza-
tional missionor product/service, the
field, or profession.Notethat your
Know Tftyselfl
skills primarily affect your choice of tasks;
interests,primarily your
choiceof substantiveareaand the organization'spurpose,product,
or
service;and values,your preferencesregardingwork environmentand
lifestyle implications,as well as organizationalmission.
Someof you may
havea clear senseof your values,interests,and
skillsandeven ofpurpose
or vocation,butthoseof youwho"glided"from
college !o graduateschool may not have neededto pay them much
attention. Now is the time to begin clarifying your talents,passions,
motivations,
goals,andvalues. It will help to talk to your friends,spend
sometime by yourself thinking, and even notice your daydreamsand
fantasies. Homer Hagedorn,a consultantwith Arthur D. Little, Inc.
whosePh.D. is in history, recalls
"with the wisdom of hindsight" the
many clueshe ignoredas a graduatestudentthat academia
was not for
him: the
"torture" of graduate school,the choiceof a dissertation
topic
on managementconsulting,the visceral
negativereactionhe had to the
atmosphereat theannualAmericanHistorical Associationmeeting.Pay
attentionto your intuitive responses,he urges.t
To Finish or Not to Finish
Beforeengagingin a structuredself-assessment
process,you may
needto addressthe issueof whetheror not to finish your Ph.D. This is
ahighly personalandindividual decisionandcanbe a very complexand
difficult one,so it is importantto rememberthal you arenot alone. Here
are a few guidelinesfor grappling with the issue.
. Try lo seporalethe "shoulds" from your own true voice' The
"shoulds" come from a variety of sources,including
parentsand other
family members,significant others, professors,mentors,
peers, and
peoplewho adviseyou on the new career.You may in the
end decideto
heed someof the"shoulds,"butmakethisa
consciouschoice,
givingfull
weight to the
"I want" as well.
. Thinknot
only aboutthesubstantive
reasons
for finishing or not,
but alsoabouthowyouwillfeel about "quitting." For some,it may
be
a sourceof lastingregretor a psychologicalburden;for others,it may
be
a long-overduedeclarationof independence.Try to imaginehow
you will
l. From a panel on Consulting Careers, held at OCS, March 18, 192.
woRr ErvrRolvuEnrT
People: Colleagues & clients
Soc b b gicall O rganizatio wl :
Size,structure
Physicak Work space, confort,
safety, aestlvtics
rlEll)
Substance,content, mission, or
p rodtrc tl sem ice of o r ganizat ion
I.IFESTTTEITPLICA-
TTOIYS
(E
TgE WORK
I rc one, benzfis,prestige,
securiry,tavel, bahtrcewith
farnily and otller activities,
autonomy,flexib ility, p resswe,
lpurs, contrude
JOB AASKqlsKlIJ"s
Work style,
futtctionin
organizotion or enfuqtor
(e.9., nurkcting, sales,human
resources, prductionl
operat ions, ttunagenett, R &.D)
OuSide the luory Toutr
Wheredo you see
yourselfin two years? five years?tenyears?Include
both your personaland professionallife. Try visualizing in great
detailaday orweekin yourlifeatasettimefromnow,e.g.,fiveyears.
Imagineyou are writing your epitaphor obituary. What would you
like to beremembered for? Whatwould you do
if youknewyoucould
not fail? Whatwouldyou do if you hadonly a yearto live andwere
guaranteed
success?
Makea two-columnlist of "characteristics anyjob I take musthave"
and"characteristics ilmust not have." This list will be veryprelimi-
nary,and you will constantly reviseit throughoutthis processand
beyond.But makingthelist witl helpyou
capsulizeyourknowledge
todateandkeepyoufocused
on
yourcentralvalues andrequirements.
It canalsokeepyou from compromising on essentialthingswhenyou
ger a job offer.
Iook throughthe following list of work-related values,changingthe
terminologyor concepts as they apply to you, and addingany more
general life valuesthat you want to consider.Thenratethe degreeof
importancethatyou wouldassignto eachfor yourself, usingthisscale:
I = Not importantat all
2 = Somewhat, but not very important
3 = Reasonably important
4 = Very importantin my choiceof career
Takeyourtentopvalues (presumabl y alI 4' s)anddothepriority-seuing
exercise usingthegridson p. 13. @ora quicker,lessrigorousversion,
simplynumberthe tenmostimportantvaluesin orderof priority.)
Work-RelatedValues
Socialservice:Do somefting to contributeto the
bettermentof my
community,country,society, and/orthe world.
Service: Be involvedin helpingotherpeoplein a directway,either
individually or in smallgroups.
- Adapted from various lists common in rhe literature.
Know Thyselfl
People contacl: Havea lot of day-to-daycontactwith people--either
clientsor thepublicand/orhaveclose
working relationships
with a group;
working collaboratively.
Workalone:h
projects by myself,withoutany
significantamount
of contactwith others.
, Friendships: Developclosepersonalfriendshipswith peopleas
a
result of my work activities or have work that permits time for close
personalfriendships outsideof work.
-Competition:
Engagein activities thatpit my abilitiesagainstothers
wherethereareclear win-and-loseoutcomes.
Job pressurelFastpace; Work in situationswith high pressure[o
perform well and/orundertime constraints;fast-paced
environment.
PowerlAuthority: Have the power to decide coursesof action'
policies,etc. and/orto control
the work activitiesor affect the
destinies
of other
people.
Influence:Be in a position to changeattitudesor opinionsof other
people.
Knowledge:Engagemyselfin the
pursuitof knowledge,truth,and
understandingor work on the frontiers of knowledge,
e.9., in basic
researchor cutting-edge
technology.
-Expertiselcompetence:
Beinga pro, an authority,exercisingspecial
competence
or talentsin a field, with or without recognition.
Creativiry: Createnew ideas,programs,organizations,forms of
artisticexpression,or anythingelsenot
following a
previouslydeveloped
format.
(Specifytype of creativity.)
Aesthetics:Be involvedin studying
or contdbutingto trulh,
beauty,
culture.
$
1t.
r..;
'dr*
Ouside theluory Tower
Changeand Variety: Have work responsibilitiesthat frequently
changein contentand setting;avoidance of routine.
Job stabilityandlor securiry: Have a predictablework routineover
a long periodand/orbeassured
ofkeepingmy
job anda reasonablesalary.
RecognitionlPrestigelstatus: Be recognizedfor the quality of my
work in somevisible or public way; be accordedrespectfor my work by
friends,family,
and/orcommunity.
-Challenging
problems: Havechallengingand
significantproblems
!o solve.
-Career advancement:Have the opportunityto work hardbnd make
rapid careeradvancemenl.
Physicalchallenge:Havea job thar makespliysical demandsrhat I
would find rewarding.
ExcitementlAdventure: Experiencea high degreeof (or frequent)
excitementin course of my work; havework dutiesthatinvolve frequent
risk taking.
-Wealth
or Profit: Have a strong likelihood of accumulatinglarge
amountsof moneyor other materialgain.
_lndependence: Beable to worVthinlVactlargely in accordance with
my own priorities.
Moral
fuffiltrnent: f'eet ttrat
my work contributessignificantly to,
and/oris in accordance with, a set of moral standardsimportantto me.
Location:Find a place
to live that is conduciveto my lifestyle and
affordsme the opportunity to do the things I enjoy most or providesa
community whereI canget involved.
Self-RealizationtEnjoyment: Do work that,allows realizing the full
potential of my lalents and/or gives high personal
satisfactionand
enjoyment.
Listhere the values (titles only)
receiving arating of "4" (do not
prioritize). Leave the
*score"
column blank at this point
SCORE VALUES
l.
.5.
FINAL PRIORITVFD LISTING
VALUES
r _
Know Tlryself!
Now compareeachvalue, in turn, with each
of the others, circling on the grid below the
number of the most important value in each
comparison. So, for example, to compare
value #l with the others, move from left to
right across the first double row.
To hnd your scores, count the number of
"l's'! circled, the number of "2's," and so
on. This will give you the score for each
value, which can be placed in the "score"
column above. If two numbers have the
sarne score, break the tie by looking
at the
grid to see how you compared those two
numbers. On the basis of
these scores,
construct a fmal list ofvalues prioritized in
this way.
l l l l l l l l t
2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 1 0
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
3
4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0
4 4 4 4 4 4
5 6 7 8 9 1 0
5 ) f ) )
6
7 8 9 1 0
6 6 6 6
7 8 9 1 0
7 7 7
8 9 1 0
8 8
9 1 0
9
1 0 \
i
I
J.
i Oulside the luory Tower
skils
E
Administering
a department of people, programs
a specific activity
A naly zi ng and C lassify ing
quantitative, statistical, physical, and/or scientihc data
humarVsocialsituations
classifying information into categoriesor people into programs
Anticipating
staying one step aheadof public moods
able to sensewhat will be fashionable in consumergoods
expecting a problem before it develops, seeing the first signs
AtrditinglAccounting
assessingthe financial statusof an organization
Calculating andlor RiskM anagement
performing mathematicalcomputations
assessing risks of a contemplatedactivity
CoI labor ati ngI Teamwo r k
attaining objectives through group/team/committee processes
Concep tualizi ngIAbstr a ct i ng
parts of a system into a whole
ideas from surface evens
new spacial relationships
non-observablephysical phenomena
concepts,interpretations
ConsI r uct ing andlor Repai r ing
mechanicalapparatus,electronic equipment
physical objects, furniture, etc.
houses/buildings
I
- Adapted from a list from Radcliffe Career Services, based on Howard Figler's T/re Complete
Job Search Handbook, with inpur frorn various standard sources, which are lisred in rhe
Bibliography.
Know'Ihyself!
l
Coordinating (seealso organizing)
numerouseventsinvolving different people
great quantitiesof information
activities in different physical locations
events in time sequence
Courcelingl Advisingl Gr oup F acil irailng
helpingor advisingpeopleindividually, in groups,in variousorgani-
zationswith personal/emotionalconcerns,life developmentcon-
cerns
(career,finances,education), and/or family matters
Creating
artistically (visual ars, performing arts, crafts, music, writing)
new ideasfor an organizalion
new ways of solving mechanical problems
ways of inventing new equipment"processes,materials \
Dealing with Pressure
risks toward self, physical or otherwise, and/or risks toward others
time pressure,deadlines
complaints, abusefrom others
Dealing with Unknowns
making decisionsbasedon severely limited information
making hypothesesabout virtually unknown phenomena
Decision Making
about the use of money
about alternative coursesof action
involving physical safety of others
Delegating
distributing tasks to others; giving responsibility to others
D esi
g ning andlor D rawing
layous for printed media,
purposes
advertisements
physical interiors of rooms
buildingsof all kinds
public displays, or other commercial
clothing
exhibits
commercial drawingfuhotography
Outsidethe[rcry Towu
Developing M atlwmaticall S tatislical M odets
I
for scientific, economic, other behavioral phenomena
Displaying
ideas in artistic form
products in store windows
equipment,mechanicaldevices
EditinglRevising
newspaper,magazinepieces
book and other manuscrips
EnduringlPersisting
long hours of work, physical danger or hardship,periods of solitude,
or "difficult" people
failures/obstacles
Evaluating/Ap p rais ingl Co mparing
evaluating the performanceof individuals
evaluatingprograms or servicesin terms of objectives
judging the value of property
judging similarity or divergenceof data people, or things from
obvious standards
F undraisingl Soliciting--for varicty of causes
on person-to-person basis or from large foundations and organizations
through advenising or sale of products or fundraising events
for political candidates
Hardling Cornplaints
from customers,stockholders,citizens, clients
Handling Detail or PrecisionWork
doing numerous small tasks efficiently; attending to small details
working on physical materialsor with data with litUe margin for error
working with small motor dexterity
Initiating
new ideas,approaches, ways of doing things
new projects
i
conhcts with people, sEandgrs
Knou Thyselfl 1,
I nterp r eti nglT r anslat ing
other languages,cultures I
obscurephrasesor passages
meaningsassociatedwith statistical data
highly technical,abstract,sophisticatedconceptslanguageto simpler
Ierlns
I nterv i ewingI Questio
ning
evaluating applicantsto an organization
obtaining information from others
obtaining evidencein legal situations
asking creative questionsin fluid situations
I nvest igatingI F inding
seekinghard-to-find or withheld information
seeking underlying causesfor a problem
finding information in obscure, remote, or varied sources
locating potentially helpful people
)
Listening
to one person or extended conversationsbetween others in order to
help
to recording devicesor other monotonous listening situations
Managing
being responsiblefor the work of others
organizing, coordinating, and developing human, informational, and
materialresourcesto effect greaterproductivity or otherwisemeet
the objectives of an organization or department
guiding the activities of a team (athletic or otherwise)
Meeting the Public
being a public representativeof an agency or organization
being a tour guide, park ranger
selling products in a public place
dealing with the public in a service capacity
acquiring information (survey taker)
Motivating or Leading
persuadingothers to help or follow you
motivating others for peak physical or psychological performances
OusidethelwmTouu
Teaching andlor Coaching
teaching in the school or college classroom
runring individuals in certain subjects
training individuals to perform certain tasks
guiding the activities of an athletic team
Toleration
of misbehavior or mistakesof people you are responsiblefor
of lack of support or understanding of the work you are doing
of anonymity or lack of recognition for your work
Tr oubleshootingl P roblem So lv ing
finding sourcesof difficulty in human relations or physical systems
conceiving solutions to problems
Using Instruments
assemblingtechnical apparatus
using scientific, medical, or technical instruments
obtaining accuratescientific measurements
Working Ouldoors
involvement with the land and its resources,and/or animal and plant
life
testing oneself againstphysical challenges
collecting scientific data
Wriling (seealso editing)
copywriringforsales/advertising proposal/grantwriting
technical and scientific writing expository writing, essays
creativewriting,prose,poetry popularwriting/journalism
repon/memo writing, correspondence
The above exercises represent a fraction of the possibilities for
self-assessment, some of which are listed in the Bibliography.
In
addition, you can take vocational interest tests such as the Strong Interest
Inventory and the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey, which are offered
at the Office of Career Services (OCS). These tests suggestcareer fields
that fit your expressedinterests, work styles and roles, and other-prefer-
ences,based on profiles ofpeople already in those caresrs.e
- The Myers-Briggs Trait Inventory has been popular as an indicator of work predilections
and styles and can be taken at Radcliffe Career Services, among other places.
Knou Thyself! 23
As you look back over your responsesto the exercisesyou have
chosen,try to find common themes.List yourvalues,interests,andskills
in order of priority. Also list the top few characteristics of the work
environment,conditions,people,and tasksor work style. As you go on
!o thenextphaseofthe process, be
prepared toalter yourpriorities asyou
discovermore aboutwhatparticularcareersandjobsarelike. And goback
to theself-assessment.pr(rcessfrom time to time, to discoverandrespond
to how you havechanged in the meantime.
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