Every day I fall a little more in love with your site.”

Online Learner

Creating Opportunities For A Better Life.®

Career Planning and Salary

Single page view print copy

Discover Your Career Needs

Assessing yourself

As we have seen with Tony and Meral, taking the time to learn more about yourself and your needs can make a huge difference when choosing a career path. Understanding what you truly need and value will help you gain a clearer sense of purpose and direction as you pursue a career.

Review the interactive below to learn about the different factors you should consider when thinking about yourself and your career needs.


Self-assessment tools

Learning more about your skills and interests can help you find a career that fulfills your needs and feels right for you. Below are some free resources for assessing yourself and your possible career paths:

  • The O*Net Interest Profiler is a great tool that can help you understand how your interests align with different career options. You can even explore different career paths based on your results.
  • The Skills Profiler allows you to measure the strength of your current skills and determine possible career paths based on your skill set.
  • MySkillsMyFuture suggests possible new career options based on your current job and displays a helpful summary of transferable skills you have gained by working in your field.

These tools are a great starting point, but they can only tell you so much about yourself. Be sure to spend some time reflecting on your own values and interests as you begin exploring different careers.

Use one of the self-assessment tools above to measure your aptitude for different career paths.

  • Do you think the results accurately reflect your personality or skills?
  • Can you imagine yourself pursuing any of the suggested careers?
  • Are the suggestions realistic?

Additional resources

  • Visit a career center. Many communities and colleges have career centers with resources that can help you determine your areas of interest and aptitude. Visit servicelocator.org to find local resources and career centers in your town.
  • Download and install one of the many O*Net Career Application Tools on your computer. These simple programs allow you to explore different aspects of personal assessment, such as finding your ideal workplace environment.
  • Review What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers by Richard Nelson Bolles. This guide is updated yearly and is an industry standard for career planning. You can also visit the corresponding website, JobHuntersBible.com.
  • Review Self Matters by Dr. Phil McGraw or visit Dr. Phil's Advice - Self Matters. This may be a good resource if you are having difficulty assessing yourself and what you truly want.

1 2 3 4