Carleton College: Career Center: Self-Assessment (First Step)

Self-Assessment (First Step)

Begin the process of self-awareness of your transferable skills, interests, and values.
Explore and define leadership potential.
Enhance positive work attitudes and skills.

Participate in a self-assessment workshop and meet with a career counselor to identify past accomplishments, transferable skills, abilities, interests, and life values.
Take an interest or personal style inventory such as the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS) or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), available through a Career Center workshop or by appointment. These inventories can help you identify how your interests and personality fit with different careers.
Get acquainted with Career Center staff members and resources through a tour of the Career Center. Drop in hours are available each afternoon for your convenience.
Build skills and define your own style of leadership through curricular, co-curricular, internships, service learning, and volunteer work.
Learn more about different kinds of work and life/work balance by talking with parents, friends, and faculty members. The Career Center also sponsors career talks and panels featuring Carleton alumni in a variety of different fields.
Gather first-hand knowledge about specific jobs by participating in a Career Exploration (shadowing an alum). The Career Center will arrange for you to spend half a day or more with an alumni or friend of the college at their place of work.
Consider taking summer or online courses in accounting if you are interested in nonprofit or business management. Summer is also a good time to take foundation courses such as speech, economics, computers, or statistics.