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Do you feel like you’re doing everything possible when it comes to finding a job or advancing your career? Chances are high that you’re missing a key yet often overlooked strategy: professional self-evaluation. In this month’s final career expert Q&A, author Kathleen Brady tells us what professional self-evaluation is and why we all need embrace it.
What is professional self-evaluation and why is it essential to a successful job search?
Professional self-evaluation is an audit of your values, wants and needs AND the abilities, skills and expertise you have to offer an employer. One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is that they focus only on their needs or only on the employer wants. You need to understand both in order to market yourself effectively.
What do you say to job seekers who “don’t have time” for self-evaluation because they want to spend their hours networking, applying to jobs, and refining their skills?
I say you “don’t have time” NOT to self-evaluate. Our fast paced culture rewards “doing” and “thinking/reflecting” is seen as wasting time. But in job hunting it is a vital. Investing the time upfront to self evaluate allows you to be more targeted, and therefore more efficient, when networking and applying for jobs because you know what you want and what you have to offer. What good is it to apply for 25 jobs a week if they are not jobs you want or have a need for your expertise?
What is the hardest part of self-evaluating for most people?
The hardest part is getting started. People get stuck when they aren’t clear what they are passionate about or what their values are. So start by examining something some tangible and measurable….your skills and abilities. The Highlands Ability Battery is a great online resource that objectively measures innate abilities. After completing this 3-hour assessment, you get a 30+ page profile report and a feedback conference with a trained provider who can tell you what it all means. During the feedback, some of the passions and values begin to emerge, helping job seekers network better and focus their efforts more efficiently.
If you don’t like assessments, you can still get at the information by thinking about 10-12 examples throughout your life when you felt “successful.” Share those stories with a friend or coach. Ask them to tell you what verbs they hear. Odds are, your natural abilities will be revealed. Some people call these “transferrable skills.” These are your strengths. You will also likely see a pattern of what is important to you (a.k.a. your values).
Okay, so a job seeker went through the process of self-evaluation — what does she do with her newfound insights and information?
It is amazing to watch the shift in energy when people can articulate their strengths. They begin to focus on what they CAN do rather than on what they think they should be able to do. Now, they can use that information to do market research to find out which employers need what they can do. Look at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm and read up on different occupations, especially the “what they do” tab. At a networking meeting they can say, “I can do these three things and I have an expertise/interest in X. I thought you might have some ideas about who could use someone with my skillset” instead of “do you know of any job openings?”
What if you self-evaluate only to find out that you’re chosen career path isn’t a good fit for you?
That happens a lot. Don’t beat yourself up for having “made a mistake!” You learned something from the experience…you likely acquired transferable skills or an important knowledge base. Now you need to figure out how to use that experience in a new and different way. It is about reinventing yourself. BUT, if you start your networking conversation with, “I failed as an X….” you are shooting yourself in the foot. It is all in how you tell the story. “I started my career as an X and learned ____,____ & ____. I would like to use that as a basis to do Y,” shows you are running towards something, not away from something. Focus on lessons learned, rather than mistakes made!
Is there anything else you’d like to say about this topic?
People sometimes change jobs every few years without doing any self-assessment. That is because it is a bit like painting a room and expecting it to be a different place. While they may be good at the mechanics of job hunting, they are never quite satisfied or reach the level of success they desire. I can appreciate how time consuming and scary self-assessment can be. But I guarantee the payoff is well-worth the initial discomfort!
Kathleen Brady, CPC, is a career management coach and corporate trainer with more than 25 years of experience helping people identify and realize their professional career goals. In her new book, GET A JOB! 10 Steps to Career Success, Kathleen shares her secrets for navigating the job search process from start to finish.
For more information, visit www.careerplanners.net
