Assessing Yourself
Your Skills
Knowing what skills you already have and which ones you are developing can help you determine what types of careers might be best for you. Assessing your skills can also help you realize what skills you still want or need to gain. Your skill set will change continually as you gain experience, practice, and training so be sure to re-assess as necessary.
Skills can be grouped into two main categories:
Job content skills: These are related to specific jobs or careers. Some examples are: computer skills, technical skills, and subject matter expertise.
Transferable skills: These are more general skills which may be useful in many work situations. Examples include: communication skills, problem-solving, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, leadership, organization and time management.
Free Online Career Skills Assessments
These resources can give you a sample of how your skills may relate to various career options:
ISEEK Skills Assessment This tool has you rate your skills in up to ten categories. Based on the results, you can see a list of careers that best match the skills you have selected.
Skills Profiler On this site, you can compare and contrast your current skills to the skills needed for specific occupations. It will also identify occupations for you to consider based on your current skill set.
Occupational Information Network (O*Net) This tool is especially helpful for those who have been in the workforce for some time and are re-careering. This assesses your current professional and technical skills as well as identifies occupations for which these skills may transfer.
Professional Career Skills Assessment
The following tool may be available at your campus which can help you get a clearer picture of how your skills relate to possible career options. View the links on the Campus Resources area to see if these are available on your campus. Some may involve minimal costs and/or a special username and password:
Campbell Interest and Skills Survey (CISS) This well-researched instrument analyzes your interests and skills and indicates how they compare to the general population and to people in a variety of occupations. This tool is recommended for persons with work experience.
