Career Planning

Career Assessment Tools Can Help You Figure Out Your Next Move

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Dissatisfied with Your Career, But Not Sure What to Do Next? Many of us have vague ideas about changing careers but aren’t exactly sure what it is we want to do. If you are in a quandary about what to next, you may want to consider taking a career assessment.

Career assessments are tools that are designed to help individuals understand how a variety of personal attributes (i.e., values, interests, motivations, behavioral styles, aptitudes, and skills) impact their potential success and satisfaction with different career options and work environments.

Assessments of some (or all) of these attributes are often used by individuals or organizations — such as university career services centers, career counselors, outplacement firms, HR staff, executive coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and guidance counselors — to help individuals make more informed career decisions.

Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential Assessment (MAPP)
The MAPP career assessment is perhaps one of the most widely used tools for finding a career that fits with your interests. It consists of 71 questions regarding your “likes” and “dislikes” and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
*Future articles will explore these tools in greater depth so stay tuned.

These decisions may be on the front-end — as in, “What are some suitable career options I should pursue?” — but they are also beneficial for helping experienced professionals assess why they are feeling unfulfilled in their current occupations or worse yet, totally “burned out.”

Additionally, some individuals are “thrust” into exploring careers because the career path they were on is no longer viable, either because of industry, economic, or life changes.

Find a match

Career assessments can help you learn about occupations that are a good match for you, identify skills you bring to a job and/or decide where you need training, consider careers you may not have thought about before, and even help you write a more personal, focused résumé.

In short, a career assessment can help you make the best career decisions to grow both personally and professionally.

However, there are some drawbacks. Although the results of an assessment may provide some enlightenment and options, it may not address your particular issues and needs.

Additionally, some of the best assessment tools require the help of a qualified professional to ensure you interpret and apply the results correctly (lest you find yourself on a path to working in another occupation you don’t like). Also, keep in mind that many of the assessments are based on your view of yourself and we are often unaware of our own strengths, weaknesses, and ingrained misperceptions.

Whether completed online or in print (paper and pencil), the majority of assessments are administered in the form of a questionnaire. You may be asked to choose from a group of options, select from terms that are most like you or least like you, or rate activities as those you most enjoy/least enjoy.

Each assessment is scored against characteristics of various occupations — the skills/abilities, interests, values, and motivations required to effectively perform and enjoy the occupation.

Assessment results are not randomly matched to occupations. The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System, a United States government system of classifying occupations, is used by U.S. federal government agencies collecting occupational data. This system enables comparison of occupations across data sets. The SOC covers all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit and reflects the current occupational structure in the United States.

On the other side of the equation are the tools themselves, which are drawn from research studies, collected data, and theories developed by psychologists. Several well-known and popular assessments are modifications based on these studies. Our next several articles will explore these tools in more depth.

New Year’s Resolutions for your Career

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Only one third of federal employees reported being satisfied with the opportunity to get a better job within their organizations on the most recent Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Are you or should you be looking to make a move in 2018? Regardless, here are some 2018 career resolutions as another year gets underway.

  • Should you be looking for a job? Is your network up-to-date? If you are even only vaguely thinking about looking for a new job, you need to start reaching out to your contacts – and it’s best to do this before you need them or call on them.
  • Does your LinkedIn Profile reflect who you are? Do you have a personalized headline? A picture? A Profile Summary that is key-word rich? Yes, I know I harp on the importance of LinkedIn; it does really matter—especially in seeking private sector employment. Its importance is growing in the federal realm as well.
  • Are you convinced that should stay (or leave) your current position? Is this a thought-out decision or a “knee-jerk” reaction?
  • Is your resume up-to-date? Even if you’re not looking for a job right this minute, you should be prepared with an updated document in case someone asks to see your resume.
  • Does your resume reflect your achievements? And do your achievements reflect the “so what?”—how you added value / made a difference to your employer?
  • Does your resume include metrics to give your work context? Without metrics, readers of your resume don’t know how large your budget is, how many people your teams have, how many customers your support, or how many transactions you process in a month.
  • Does your resume include the key words for the positions you’re thinking about (and currently in)? Applicant Trackign Software (ATS) is rampant in the private sector; most resumes are screened for key words—if you don’t have them, your resume likely won’t be read. If you’re pursuing federal employment, reviewers are resume (humans, not machines) are looking for the key words too.
  • Are your skills up-to-date? If not, what are you doing to close your skills gaps?
  • Is your assessment of your value consistent with those of supervisors and colleagues? Talk to trusted colleagues, carefully review your performance rating, or think about using a 360 feedback tool to get some candid advice about where you excel and where more work might be needed.

The new year should be an opportunity for self-reflection and forward movement. What do you want in 2018?

Career Tools for DIYers

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There are lots of tools out there for people who want to take charge of their own careers. Here are some of my favorites:

Tools to Find Key Words

Wordle: www.wordle.net. Copy and paste job descriptions to create a word cloud

O*Net: www.onetonline.org. Search your occupation to find common keywords

Manage Your Job Search

Jibber Jobber: www.jibberjobber.com. A free online database to help manage your job search

Grammar & Spelling Tools

Grammarly: www.grammarly.com/ Create a free account; Grammarly was launched in 2009 and it instantly eliminates grammatical errors and enhances your writing.

Personal Branding Books

Ditch. Dare. Do!: 3D Personal Branding for Executives by William Arruda and Deb Dib

Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson

Resume Writing Classic

Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer by Susan Britton Whitcomb. This book tells you the how’s and why’s of private sector resume writing.

Tools to Help You Answer the Question: What Do I Want to Do?

What Color is Your Parachute? By Richard Bolles

O*Net Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip. This free online assessment measures your interests and shows how they relate to different careers. At the end of the Interest Profiler, you are presented with a list of careers that match your interests and preparation level.

And of course, FEDweek’s handbooks:

The Complete Guide to Completing a Federal Resume, http://www.fedweek.com/store/the-complete-guide-to-writing-a-federal-resume-3rd-ed/

The Complete Guide to Interviewing for a Federal Job, http://www.fedweek.com/store/complete-guide-interviewing-federal-job/

The Complete Guide to Federal Career Transitions, http://www.fedweek.com/store/complete-guide-federal-career-transitions/

Take some time during the holiday season to review these resources and let us know what you think. If you have favorites, please share them. Best to you and your loved ones for the season!

– Nancy

12 Easy Things to do to Get Your LinkedIn Ready for the New Year

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While things are slowing down at work, you can use your time to get your LinkedIn Profile ready for 2018! Here are 12 simple ideas you can use to freshen up your LinkedIn profile, and to take advantage of LinkedIn’s latest changes.

  1. Profile images are now displayed in a circle. Check that yours looks good and adjust it, if necessary. Use the LinkedIn Photo Editor function to zoom, crop, and/or straighten — and, if desired, apply filters.
  2. Create a new background image for your profile page. The size should be 1536 x 768 pixels – Canva.com has templates that you can use.
  3. Double-check your privacy settings. Go to “Privacy & Settings,” then click on “Privacy” and check each setting.
  4. Re-populate any information that may have been removed with the change to the “new look” — for example, putting your contact information at the bottom of the Summary section, or adding information to the “Volunteer Experience” section.
  5. Check the first 2-3 sentences of your Summary. Are they attention-getting? Would they entice someone to read further?
  6. Review your Work Experience section. Do you want to re-arrange what is showing up as your current position?
  7. Get familiar with where you can find your “Groups” now — either bookmark http://www.linkedin.com/Groups or explore the “Work” tab on the main navigation menu.
  8. Try the “new look” LinkedIn search function on the main navigation menu. Type in a person’s name, company, or Group and explore the filter functions.
  9. Visit the Notification area and update your connections. It’s much easier to manage now.
  10. Familiarize yourself with the Messaging function. Respond to messages with a personal response, instead of a “canned” reply.
  11. Proofread your entire LinkedIn profile carefully!!
  12. Make a point of visiting LinkedIn and using your account on a regular basis.

BONUS: Take a minute right now and backup your LinkedIn Profile (both “Save to PDF” and creating a full data archive). You want to make sure you have a copy of all your hard work!

Seven Reasons Not to Give Up on Your Job Search During the Holidays!

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Conventional wisdom has it that no one hires during the holidays. While most of us would agree that hiring certainly slows down during the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year, work does not come to a complete halt. In fact, some people argue that the holidays is a great time to look for a job. Here are 7 reasons to consider:

  1. Oftentimes employers are looking to fill positions before the end of the year so people can start in early January.

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10 Ways to Improve How you Network

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We have all heard that networking is important but most of us would rather not do it. Here are 10 easy things to make networking easier

  1. Attend conferences and meetings that really interest you. This way you’re more likely to interact with people who have similar interests which will make it easier to talk to people.
  2. Organize your thoughts first. How will you answer questions about your interests? What specific talents, skills, and connections can you bring to the table? Practice saying those things out loud.
  3. Help others. Once you listen to what others have to say, you may begin to see how someone you know may be able to help that person. Be a connector!
  4. Follow up and follow through. Do what you said you would do; if you told someone you would be in touch, do it. If you said you would introduce people, do it. Send people you meet LinkedIn connection requests (with a customized invite, of course).
  5. Be approachable. Smile and be pleasant. To everyone. Enough said.
  6. Listen more than you talk. Everyone likes to be listened to. Listen actively, while looking at the person talking and not over their shoulder. Ask questions. Put your phone away.
  7. Always have business cards. If your organization won’t give them to you for free, buy them yourself—they’re not expensive. If you meet someone, offer your card and tell them that they are welcome to follow up. You’re likely to get one in return. Follow up on LinkedIn.
  8. Use people’s names. When you meet them, as you are separating, and throughout the conversation as appropriate. This helps make your connection more personal and you’re more likely to remember them if you run into them again.
  9. Network in different ways. These include casual contacts at official network events, professional associations, and online networks. Each serve their purpose and you’ll be more effective (and get to know more people) if you explore different networking venues. Be visible.
  10. If you’re still not sure, check out these resources (and of course, there are many more available as well): How to Work a Room, Susan RoAne; Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi, and Networking Like a Pro, Dr. Ivan Misner.

BONUS: Networking doesn’t have to be a special event. Any conversation you have has the potential to be a networking opportunity! Its about establishing and maintaining connections with people, not just meeting them.