Call it Career Assessment or Self-Assessment, an honest judgement about yourself is first thing you need to determine a career after 12th that’s right for you. Whenever you need career guidance at some point of time in your life, self-assessment is something you can’t ignore.
How to determine career choice? A career is not merely a question of doing something reasonably well and getting paid for it. As humans, we need more than just sustenance from our life. We also need satisfaction of own self, respect from others and rewards for posting good performances. Your career remains an integral part of your life and plays a huge role in determining its quality. Unless and until you find a career path that appeals to you and matches your personality, you will never feel happy or satisfied or successful.
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Assess Yourself to Determine a Right Career For You
Self-assessment is like taking a stock of your own self. In times of crises, or during major turning points of life, self-assessment can be invaluable in taking you to the best possible alternative. In the present context, we discuss Self-Assessment vis-à-vis Career Determination After 12th, which is one of the most crucial decisions, often you make or break for the rest of your life. Having said that, on what points or parameters does a somewhat confused school going youngster assess himself or herself to determine a career after 12th? We come to that in the next part of this article.
Effective Self-Assessment Leads to Effective Career Choice
For effective self assessment to begin, you first need to determine the parameters on which to evaluate yourself. Some of these key parameters, quite the cornerstones of your entire being and crucial for effective career determination, are your Interests, Values, Aptitude and Personality.
- Interests (what energizes you): what you enjoy doing e.g. singing, dancing, horse riding, sketching etc.
- Values (what you cannot compromise on): things that are important to you e.g. independence, status, honesty etc.
- Aptitudes (what you are good at): activities for which you have a distinct flair e.g. you may be good at cooking, designing, song writing etc.
- Personality (who you really are): your traits and attributes that make you who you are e.g. stubbornness, truthfulness, punctuality etc.
Now that you have these four parameter categories, it is time to sit down and take a hard and long look at yourself. If you like, jot down these four parameters as headings and start scribbling whatever relevant word comes to your mind with respect to your own self. Here is a small sample of how to go about it –
| Interests | Aptitudes | Personality | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanging out | Conversation & persuasion | Extrovert and outgoing | Respect for authority |
| Listening to radio | Good voice quality | Affable and friendly | Stubborn and fixated on own beliefs |
| Working out in the gym | Observing things around you | Can’t sit at one place for long | Participate in community service |
When you make one for yourself, just let go of all your pre-conceived notions or insecurities, or what your parents think correct, or what your peer group finds attractive. Write from the heart, with total honesty. Once your list is ready, read it over and over again. Add more points if they come to mind. The more honest you are about yourself, the more you reflect, the better will be the result.
At this age when you are studying in 12th standard, you may not recognize your own self fully but your personality is already set in mould. You have become the person you will be in later years. Think of yourself as a crystal clear globe obscured by layers and layers of dust.
As you slowly start thinking clearly, these dusty layers will be removed and you will see yourself for who you actually are. That will help you tremendously in finalizing your career preferences. Now we move to the next part – How to go about utilizing this list.
Working With The List – What You Discovered About Yourself
You are your own mirror, your own touchstone and your own judge.
Once you observe your own hidden and unhidden aspects clearly, see if you can locate a career stream that’s to your interest, for which you have an aptitude, which does not compromise your values and which suits your personality. In other words, spot careers where all the parameters of your assessment are being met.
Example One: If you are good at writing (aptitude), like staying up-to-date with current affairs (interest), respect honesty (values) and are an extrovert who enjoys meting and chatting up people (personality), careers in electronic media should be a good option for you.
Example Two: You are creative (aptitude), like to cook (interest), are a nurturer (values) and are a hard worker (personality), career like chef or caterer can be worthy option. Using the concept, you can come up with even better examples or most suitable career options after 12th based on an understanding of yourself.
Or Make a List of Career Options That Interest You
If you would rather catch the horse by the other hand, make a list of possible career options and start the process of elimination of the unsuitable ones by crossing off those that seem totally contradictory. In the end you will be left with those career options that are suitable for you. For example, if concepts of physics and maths never seem to make much sense, numerical questions make you yawn and you barely scrape through these exams, well, careers in engineering or architecture stand eliminated right from the start.
Self Assessment Works – For You and For Everyone Else
All great achievers down the ages, and from all walks of life, have had one thing in common. Whatever their field of excellence, they were interested in it. They had an aptitude for it, had the personality to match the demands of that field and their value system was compatible with it too. For example, Bill Gates had an interest in computers, he had an aptitude for developing applications, his raring-to-go personality had the power to be a leader and his value system was in favour of large scale social work. He is not only the founder of Microsoft Corporation or a billionaire, he also uses his billions to accomplish useful social work throughout the world i.e. his values have been satisfied too.
It is said that you are your own mirror, your own touchstone and your own judge. Self assessment is an intensive but uncomplicated way of getting to know what you will be good at in terms of career. It may seems a little confusing at first, but do believe that once you take it up, it will seem like the most obvious thing to have done in the very first place.
Other Useful Links
Grammarly.com: Write an Effective Self-Evaluation
LinkedIn.com: Career Related Abilities, Interests, Skills and Values
BrainWonders.in: Career Assessment Test
Edutopia.org: Self-Assessment Guide and Resources
