If you’re not sure of what kind of work to seek, beginning with a Self-Assessment of your interests, values and skills can help you make choices and broaden your career plans particularly if you’re transitioning from one job, or place in your life, to another. The spiral staircase in the adjacent picture is a metaphor for your career or life. Each new decision you make concerning your career, finding a new job, or giving greater attention to situations in your life, advances you a step further ahead in your life.

There are many assessment tools available online and at the Career Center to help you identify your, interests, values, skills and personality traits.

Interest inventories help you to identify a career by observing consistent patterns of interest. Exploration of your interests helps with choosing careers that are rewarding.

Value surveys are useful because our values are central to every career decision. As you make decisions about entering a particular career, identify the values that are important to you. A values clarification exercise can help you rate & prioritize the importance of each value.

Personality inventories help you identify your unique personality profile. Your personality preferences will help determine what environment is a good fit for you. The most commonly used personality type instruments are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Self Directed Search (SDS). Both of these inventories are offered by the Career Center.

Skill inventories help identify the skills you need to acquire as well as the skills you can transfer to a new career. Are you using your skills and abilities in a satisfying way? There are several types of skills to assess.

There are also free assessment instruments on the web, in books and at the Career Center. Free O’Net inventories are available at www.mass.gov/dwd.

For more information on Self-Assessment tools contact one of the Franklin Hampshire Career Center offices listed below.