Making the right plans for your future during these turbulent times can be difficult.
Starting with a self assessment can give you more choices and broaden your options. You then can have the conviction that you are on the right road.

A personal inventory can reveal your abilities, interests and attitudes. It will define your strengths and your weaknesses. Looking for a match between your strengths and the work you are considering is the most important step before you write a resume or search for a job. In fact, when the time comes to write your resume and prepare for a job interview, you will find the task much easier the more you know about yourself.

What if you are not sure what kind of job or career you want? "You" are the place to start.
What do you do well and enjoy doing?
Answers will help you identify your strengths and help you to decide on what contributions you can make in the marketplace.
Many people try to fit into jobs advertised in newspapers or other sources.
The employer today has many qualified candidates from which to choose.
You will be seriously considered for a position only by showing the employer that you know who you are, what you can offer and where you are going.

Sometimes it is difficult to examine what may be a weakness.
Everyone is not equally good at everything. If you want to improve an area, take steps to work on it, e.g., a writing course to enhance written communication skills. Or, perhaps what you or your friends may think of as a deficiency or weakness in you can be turned into a strength in the right job, e.g., lack of empathy may seem like hardheartedness, but to a person who repossesses furniture and cars, it can be an advantage.

You will need to commit some time to prepare your personal inventory.
Your honesty and the quality of your work will predict your level of success in getting the right job.
Write out your answers and the conclusions you come to as a permanent record of your thoughts and feelings.
The data then becomes an important resource as you continue in your career planning and job search activities.

Two of the most important factors to determine your happiness and success in a job are your personality and attitudes.
Assess your feelings and actions in different situations as they may be different, e.g., in a large group vs. one-on-one, in a fast-paced vs. slow-paced environment.
You are unique, having different tolerance levels than others for chaos, detail, and risk-taking.

Evaluate who you really are now, not the person you think you would like to be.
Be honest when you judge your thoughts and feelings, your attitudes and behaviours.
Put an x to show each personality trait and self-management skill that especially apply to you.
Add to the list other traits describing yourself. Check with your friends. Do they see you as you see yourself?

Choose what you would consider your top 5 personality and attitudinal strengths, and think of an example of a time when you successfully used each one.

Personality Preferences

Discuss your preferences in terms of the way you live in the world both outside yourself and inside yourself, the way you take in information and make decisions, and the type of environment you are most comfortable in.