When it comes to being in full-time employment, it is likely that you will spend as much time 'on the job' as with your family and friends, so it makes sense to do something that makes your heart sing. Therefore, investing some time in self-assessment is time well spent.

Self-Assessment - What's the value of it?

From a career development point of view, self-exploration is primarily about identifying your talents, strengths and weaknesses. It helps you to identify what motivates you and to understand what your hopes and aspirations are, using this information to point you in a particular career direction.

Start the process by completing some self-assessment exercises. None are going to provide you with a complete picture, but they all provide some perspective and can be used to open your mind to new possibilities, or to simply confirm what you already know (that’s not a bad thing, as it can increase your confidence in that area).

The process will help you to identify occupations that include things you really like to do. In the long run, you are likely to be more fulfilled, and you will probably be more productive too. Think about the impact having a career you enjoy would have on your personal life too - how it would affect your family, your friends, your social life?

Interest Test - Why do an interest test or interest profiler?

Choosing a career direction that takes into account the sort of things you are interested in makes good sense. This ensures that you will be motivated as you have a natural inclination already in a particular area.

You can take the Careers Portal Interest-Profiler (CPIP) to measure the relative strengths of your interests.

This instrument also provides you with a free printable report containing a summary of your career interests, along with some occupations that match your interest profile.

You will need to login to take this test as your results will be kept for you in your Career File.

FAQs - I did one in school - why should I do it again?

Interest tests will give you different results at different times in your life, based on where you are along life’s journey. Chances are that you no longer like the same things you liked a few years ago - you may have learned to like vegetables since then, or have shifted your allegiance from Leeds United to Liverpool (!!!). In the same way, your career interests may or may not have shifted and changed.