PERSONAL CAREER ASSESSMENTS



PERSONAL CAREER ASSESSMENTS

Atif Rahim Khan – atif@khan.name

“A musician must make his music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to ultimately be at peace with himself.”

- Abraham Maslow

(American Psychologist)

CONSEQUENCES OF CHOOSING A WRONG CAREER

▪ Stress

▪ Unhappiness

▪ Financial problems

▪ Mid-life crisis

▪ Regrets

▪ Depression

▪ Sleepless nights

▪ Relationship problems with your boss & peers

▪ Average, low or poor performance at work

▪ Infrequent promotions

▪ Stagnant pay

▪ Watching other people progress ahead of you

▪ Family problems

▪ One life to live, one life wasted

COMMON ERRORS IN CHOOSING A CAREER

1. Doing what your friends do only because they are doing it

2. Competing with relatives or others

3. Following somebody’s suggestion blindly

4. Imitating somebody blindly

5. Choosing a very small research sample size

6. Going where you get admission and sticking there – academic institution/ job/organization

7. Choosing an institution / program / career / organization for the money

8. Following a dream without the right abilities, skills or effort

9. Choosing an employer because you have heard the name

10. Choosing an organization only because it is a multinational

11. Choosing an organization whose products you have used or fancy

12. Choosing a career / organization only because you have contacts there who can help you

13. Assessing the entry job only

14. Trying to predict which professions / careers will be ‘hot’ in the future

15. NOT DOING ENOUGH RESEARCH!

You can add many more to the list

THE RIGHT APPROACH

Woh kaam karo jo kaam na lagay!

HOW TO FIND OUT THE CAREER THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU

Please answer the following questions to help you decide your career assuming only one thing: there is nothing or nobody to stop you or limit your wishes. Please do not be afraid that you will be made fun of. Please answer from your heart without considering what others want or will say, what traditions dictate, what would provide more income, what would be safe or what would be appropriate in the short term. Your answers should reflect what you want to do, not what you think you should do.

1. Do you have a childhood dream or passion?

2. Over the course of your past academic career which subjects/courses did you find easy and enjoyable?

3. Which exams do you find easy to pass?

4. For which subjects do your friends come to you to help them prepare?

5. Which projects did you enjoy?

6. When you work on teams which roles do you play? Which tasks are easiest?

7. Have you done any job/internship/volunteer work/business that you enjoyed? What was it? What did you enjoy about it?

8. Have you ever read a book that you loved? What was the topic?

9. What are your hobbies and extra-curricular interests? What do they say about you?

10. On which topics do others consider you to be an expert, i.e. in which areas is your advice sought?

11. Say you go to the USA alone for a month. At the airport you lose all your bags and money. You do not know anybody in the country. You have the option of doing any job there for a month to help you survive. What would you do?

12. Assume you are at the airport about to board a 14 hour non-stop flight to Canada. You realize you have nothing to read on the way. Which book/magazine will you buy regardless of price?

13. What are some of the compliments that you have received about yourself or your work by friends, family, teachers or previous bosses?

14. Has anybody ever told you that you would make a good __________ (enter career or profession)?

15. Who do you idealize? Why?

16. When you have a stressful day, what do you do to relax your mind?

17. In the year 2250 a journalist wants to write an article about your life. What do you want him to write as your biggest professional achievements?

18. Close your eyes and imagine ten years from now you are perfectly happy in your career. Describe what you do; who you do it for, where you are, why you are happy and how you do it.

19. If you got news that you won a lottery that would pay $1million to you every month for the rest of your life so that you don’t have to work for money what would you choose as a career?

20. Do you feel that you have any unique gift or talent? What is it?

21. What do you feel is the reason why God created you? What impact do you think He wants you to leave on this planet in this lifetime?

22. What are your most important career related values?

23. What do you know to be your strengths & weaknesses?

24. How do you define career success SPECIFICALLY?

25. What kind of organization do you want to work for? Public sector or private sector?

26. How large an organization do you want to work for?

27. Which industry/sector do you want this organization to be in?

28. Which country do you want to work in?

29. Please describe your ideal boss SPECIFICALLY.

30. Please describe your ideal co-workers in five words.

31. What do you want the qualification of your boss to be?

32. Where do you want your office to be located?

33. What do you want your office building to look like?

34. Please describe your ideal office.

35. What do you want your final job title to be?

36. What do you want your work timings to be?

37. What do you want your organization’s dress code to be?

38. Please use five words to describe the culture and environment of your ideal organization.

39. How much money in Rupees per month do you want to make 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 years from now?

40. What lifestyle are you looking for?

41. What benefits and facilities do you want your employer to offer you?

42. How do you want to feel financially secure?

43. How do you want your organization to facilitate your personal and professional development?

44. Do you want to travel? Live someplace? Where?

45. How do you want to be recognized for your achievements?

46. How much autonomy do you want to have?

47. Do you want to study further or seek a professional qualification?

48. How much time do you want to spend in a specific job before you are promoted?

49. What are the dos and don’ts for your career?

▪ Now please read your answers and see if there are any commonalities or evident themes. What possible careers come to your mind?

▪ Consult the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-09 Edition available at:

▪ Visit and use O*Net Online available at:

▪ Visit and use the Career Resource Library

▪ Visit and use the WetFeet Career and Industries guide

▪ Visit and use the National Occupational Classification (Canada)

▪ Look up ‘job descriptions’ and ‘career descriptions’ for short-listed careers

▪ Further shortlist and decide on possible careers

YOUR CAREER GOAL

Please write a career goal for yourself. Examples are provided.

I will ____

“I will become the IG of Punjab and will receive recognition from the Government of the Punjab for reducing violent crime rates per year in the province by 75% within a two year period.”

“I will become the first Pakistani CEO of Pepsi Cola International by the age of 55 and will ensure that it has a 10% market share lead over Coca Cola in all the countries where both are sold together.”

“I will become a Professor at the Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab by the age of 45. I will complete a Doctorate as well as a Post Doctorate both in Human Resource Management from Harvard University (USA) and will publish 150 research papers in HEC recognized local and international journals.”

“I will become the Marketing Manager of Ufone and will make it the largest telecommunication services provider in the country on the basis of annual sales revenue.”

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

▪ Take assessment tests

▪ Network with key individuals and ask questions

▪ Take up (multiple) internships and ROTATE between departments

▪ Engage in career-shadowing

▪ Conduct employer appraisals

▪ Read trade magazines/articles/books/other publications

▪ Attend conferences/lectures/seminars

▪ Try different careers, departments…experiment till you like something

▪ Practice what you like to make sure you really do

Sources other than those quoted above:























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