Self-Assessment

Personality Type, Skills, Values, and Interests

Focus – Focus is a comprehensive web-based self-assessment and career exploration system offered free to all Notre Dame students. The program begins by assessing your current career planning status activities, and then moves on to explore interests, values, skills and personality. Discover and explore occupations and career paths compatible with your personal attributes. Learn about training, outlook, and earnings. Be sure to print out the Focus Workbook.

Personality Type

Personality type looks at the way people are “put together” and “what makes them tick”. It also helps describe why people are unique and how they differ from one another.

Personality Type Inventories

  • The Career Center offers the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to learn about careers related to your personality type. Make an Appointment to meet with a certified MBTI practitioner on staff.
  • Focus also has a brief section on assessing your personality.

Skills

Why is skill development important? When you are ready to pursue internships, jobs, research opportunities, or graduate school, you will be asked to articulate your skills and how you gained them.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the top ten skills employers seek are listed below. When looking at this list, which of these do you already have and which need development? Remember – these skills can be strengthened in the classroom, through involvement with club activities, or through a job and/or internship.

Communication Analytical skills
Motivation/ Initiative Interpersonal skills
Work ethic Computer skills
Detail-oriented Honesty/Integrity
Flexibility Teamwork

Skill Inventories

  • Download and complete the following skills inventory
  • The federal government has a comprehensive skills inventory through O’Net.
  • ISEEK Skills is a comprehensive career assessment site developed by the state of Minnesota.
  • Focus also assesses current and future skill development.

Work Values

What parts of your future job do you think will keep you happy and satisfied? These self-motivators are called work values. When exploring careers, be sure compare your top work values with careers you are considering.

Work Value Inventories

Interests

It is important to explore what you really enjoy doing. What types of activities draw you in? What are you doing when you lose track of time? Hopefully, while exploring your interests you’ll find a match between your interests and possible career areas. Get involved in a club activity of interest; many leadership skills and great friendships are developed through club involvement. Check out all of the club activities available on campus.

Interest Inventories

  • The Career Center offers the Strong Interest Inventory. This inventory generates an in-depth assessment of your interests amongst a broad range of occupations, work and leisure activities, and educational subjects. Make an Appointment to meet with a counselor to take the Strong Interest Inventory.
  • ISEEK also offers the MnCareers Interest Assessment, a free online interest inventory.
  • Focus also includes an interest assessment.

My Career Assessment Summary

Fill out the following checklist and summary, My Major/Career Situation to determine how well prepared you are to move on to Step Two or Step Three.