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Get help connecting your interests, skills, values and priorities to your future. Make a career coaching appointment with the ACES Career Education team.
People are generally happiest and most satisfied in their majors and careers when the work they are doing aligns with the things they enjoy, are good at doing, and care about.
It can be helpful to work with a career coach who may guide you through some exploration or even suggest a variety of assessment tools to develop a greater understanding. You might consider questions such as:
- What kind of work setting do I find most comfortable?
- What kind of people do I want to work with, for, or around?
- What are my priorities for life after college?
- Do I prefer to work independently, in a group, or one-on-one?
- What motivates me to do my best?
- What do I want to be doing this time next year?
Here are a few self-knowledge concepts to get you started:
Interests
Think about the classes and activities that you most enjoy. When are you happiest? Where do you feel most energetic and excited? What can you not wait to tell friends and family about?
When you are happy, are you working with people, data, things, or ideas?
People: Instructing, healing, entertaining, representing, etc.
Data and Information: Compiling, classifying, computing, analyzing, etc.
Things: Designing, creating, arranging, coordinating, experimenting, etc.
Ideas: Strategizing, communicating, interpreting, synthesizing, etc.
Skills
What are you good at doing? What abilities do you want to develop through your academic, work, or life experiences? What types of concrete tasks are you drawn to?
Skills are often divided into two categories:
- Skills related to specific work content or acquired knowledge.
- Some examples include: being able to create a data visualization, use professional mapping software, conduct business in a second language, write a legal brief, code a mobile app, teach an art class, conduct a field experiment, or raise funds for a non-profit organization.
- Skills related to habits of mind, character, or personal strengths.
- Some examples include: work well under pressure, build strong professional relationships, write persuasively, keep detailed records, pay attention to details, be reliable, resourceful, or empathetic.
Skills can be enhanced over time with attention and practice. When crafting your career stories, it will be important to be able to both (1) name your skills and (2) share specific examples of the experiences where you demonstrated those skills. Essentially, you will be asked to demonstrate your skills with evidence.
Values
Activities aligned with our values satisfy and motivate us, even in challenging times. Activities misaligned with our values can leave us feeling drained and disconnected. Identifying what matters most to you can help you make good career choices.
When you think about your life after graduation, what kinds of goals do you want to pursue? Identifying two or three priorities does not mean you are ruling the others out. It just helps you know what to focus on. Here are some examples to get you started:
- Achievement or status
- Family or community
- Financial well-being
- Helping others
- Intellectual challenge or growth
- Job security
- Potential for advancement
- Stability
- Work-life balance
- Meaningful work