Self Awareness

SelfAwareness Array how to choose the rightcareer path for youThis publication is available in alternative formats onrequest. Please ask at the reception desk or emailcareers@ /careersContents career jigsaw to you? life?e? 8. Resources (15)1. How useful is self awareness?.......................................................2 2. The 5 pieces to your personal .........................3 3. What kind of person are you? ...................................................... 4 4. What opportunities are open ........................................ 8 5. What do you want from ........................................................... 9 6. What are you good at?.. (11)7.What have you don (13)How Useful is Self Awareness?on to your career, then read on; hopefully you’ll start thinking about your future in a largely the concept of self-awareness figures:life?about making that all-important link between what you know about yourself and h ever if you are in any way hesitant about what you the questions in this booklet and reflect on your responses; they should give you a starting point.You probably already realise that self-awareness is a key aspect in your career decision making, otherwise you wouldn’t have picked up this booklet! If you are curious about what self-awareness means in relati different way.Look at the diagram below and you’ll notice howCareer Planning Jigsaw• What kind of person are you?• What opportunities are open to you?• hat do you want fromW • What are you good at?What have you done?•So how do you go looking for a job?The first step is to ask yourself lots of questions and be as honest as you can in your responses. If you believe you have a particular skill or strength and have evidence for this, then you have a muc better chance of convincing an employer; how have to offer an employer will easily notice.How then do you build a picture of yourself? Try answeringThe 5 Pieces to Your Personal Career Jigsawand inventories nd nowledge obtained from your degree or are you looking for something completely different? and motivations. We may not all o find the best possible fit. have lways been good at something, the chances are that you will continue to be in the future. f personal strength. It can also signpost any gaps (and this section uggests ways of filling them)!What kind of person are you?Some employers ask you this question at interview - where are you going to start? We often find it difficult to talk about ourselves and so the inventories in this section can be useful in providing a framework for your personal qualities, learning style and preferred team role. Our personalities influence our decisions and behaviour in all areas of life. The online questionnaires in this section will help provide a framework for analysing your own personal traits.What opportunities are open to you?You may have some ideas already but what else could you do? Do you want to use the skills a kWhat do you want from life?Employers are interested to know what motivated you to apply for a particular career area or position, and it is better to quote more than the starting salary and status! If you are to have a fulfilling career, it is important that it satisfies your internal needs find our "dream job" but you can try tWhat are you good at?Interviewers often ask about your "greatest strength" and your "greatest weakness" - what will you say? You may also find this section useful when putting together your job applications. We often take our skills for granted but employers get worked up about skills with good reason. If you aWhat have you done?Employers value work experience and extra-curricular activities as evidence for existing skills and the potential to develop new ones. By analysing your past experience, you can often identifypatterns of interest and areas o sWhat Kind of Person Are You?n. She then leans forward and asks... "So, tell me about yourself - r ll out loud or an be tricky. Try reflecting on the following sections: ? ople? hat am I interested in?lab work, being creative,rouble shooting problems) I enjoy doing? (perhaps helping others, outdoor working,d activities? If so you can use following in order from 1 (most) to 6 (least) preferred. referencePicture the scene: you are in an interview and the employer has just given you a brief synopsis of the position and the organisatio what kind of person are you?"We all have our own perception of the kind of people we are - or would like to be described as. Ou personalities can affect our choices and decisions in all areas of life, including our career. We a have some idea of our personalities; however, when it comes to talking about them committing them to paper, it c• What am I interested in?• What is my preferred learning style • How do I work with other pe • What is my temperament? WConsider:• What jobs am I interested in?• Do I have a dream job – it may not be possible, but what is it about that job?What do/ did I find interesting about my d • egree subject? (researching, team projects, government politics, etc)• What do/did I not enjoy? (Laboratory work, long lead times).What did I enjoy about my previous jobs? (although you may not want a career in bar• management you may have really enjoyed customer contact or t • Is there a job that I have always admired? (a friend’s / on TV) • Why so? (the responsibility, the type of clients, the sector, fun?) • What hobbies have I chosen to pursue out of work/ study?What does that say about what •leading/ co-ordinating people) You could try making a list of activities that interest you and rate them; for example, playing chess, rock climbing, organising social events, writing computer programs, designing posters etc. Next look at your list and identify which interests give you most enjoyment. By choice, to which do you give most time? Is there an overall pattern of preferre it to rate theType of interest P Scientific/Technical experimenting, researching,design, analysis, understanding cessing ractical making, shaping, building, physical People (caring) assisting, caring, advisingPeople (influencing) controlling, organising, communicatingCreative art, craft, music, design of all sortsInformation/Data numbers, analysing, classifying, proPIf you want to pursue this further the good news is that there are lots of useful persona inventories on th litye Internet that can help you. Your personality can have a big impact on many the results, jot down a few lines about s, to act as prompts later. Some may produce feedback with which you will provide is food for thought.Hoccupations, which would best suit your owne" you had that you felt taught you different aspects of your life; these tests attempt to identify your personality traits and idiosyncrasies.Each will set a hypothesis, which you can then use to analyse your personal qualities andmotivations. To get the most out of them, as soon as you get your immediate impression may disagree but what they ere are a few examples:What is my preferred learning style?When faced with a new situation, some people learn best by throwing themselves in the deep end whereas others prefer to do some background research first. Knowing your preferred learning style can help you to identify situations, and perhaps personal approach. For example, someone who adopts a cautious approach to new situations may not find a career in field sales suits them best.Take a moment and think back to the last "learning experienc most (this could be formal - e.g. a lecture or participative course - or informal - e.g. learning HTML from a book or a friend showing you how to play the guitar).Now think back to one whic h you felt was relatively ineffective. What were the differences between considering these issues as they may have an earn about a job best by interacting with les Indicator them? What worked best for you and why? It’s worth impact on your career choice. For example you may l colleagues and taking part in team tasks; or you could prefer spending solitary time familiarising yourself with the task in hand. Most jobs will contain an element of both but your bias may be towards one or the other.Profiling for Success: Learning Sty /mainThis test looks at the ways you prefer to approach learning situations.This test is restricted to students and graduates of the University of Manchester who should ask at the Careers Information Desk for login details.How do I work with other people?There are very few situa part do you usually play "we all did everyth tions when we do things completely independent of other people. But what when you work with other people? A typical response to this question is that ing" but in reality, this is rarely the case. Teams operate most effectively when their members contribute in different ways. Take the typical football team, for example; eleven strikers are not likely to result in a landslide win!Belbin's Team Roles A team role is essentially how we behave, contribute and interact with other people when working in any team. The concept comes from the work of Dr Meredith Belbin, who, after considerableresearch into management teams, devised an inventory that helps pinpoint an individual's pers role within a team.onal rom his research, he identified nine team roles each with its own traits and characteristics. Once aviour in a group situation, it can help you recognise how other people ur project team may not necessarily be awkward but rather may have he work done. The trick is to build a team of to play different roles in different team situations. Your temperament is concerned with: , but you may feel very uncomfortable if a big part of your job does not match your temperament. The an become aware of your temperament, the sounder the ass ake of ies both in terms of me ands of the job, and fin atisfying. m I? (on a scale of 1(a y)-5 (disagree strong yes or no) heerfulIndependentF you understand your own beh operate too. That person in yo complementary strengths that together help get t complementary types. You may adaptWhat is my temperament ?- how you come across to other people and interact or deal with them - how you approach and deal with tasks- how you react and feel comfortable or otherwise in various situations. Some qualities can be developed with experience or are trainable, so don’t be too hard on yourself more you c job possibilit Consider, a Assertive Confident Reliable essment you can m ding it s ly) rather than Reserved Cautious Relaxedeting the dem gree strongl Organised Meticulous Outgoing Methodical Consistent TactfulImaginative Energetic Competitive C Sensitive to others Warm DecisiveO AMake a note of the key characteristics which are most descriptive of you. Be honest with yourself and remember that there is nothing intrinsically good or bad about any of these characteristics, but sbjective daptable Adventurous Persistent ome relate better to particular jobs.What Opportunities Are Open To You?may e the many different ebsite /careersDo you know:• what % of all graduate jobs is open to any degree discipline? • what people who have done your degree subject went on to do? • the kind of jobs where a degree like yours would be most relevant?If Careers Consultants were asked to list the most common queries they receive, then these well be the top three! This section has been created to help you explor opportunities open to graduates, using a variety of online resources.Don't forget that as well as our w , you also have access to the Careers Resource Centres.I want to do something related to my degreeA starting point is to look at resources such as ‘Your Degree, What Next?’/links/yourdegree and the ‘Options with your Subject’ series on Prospects Web /links/options , which list occupations where your degree would be relevant or useful. Alternatively check out any careers material published by professional institu tions allied to g? How about those ble to you that help match what you like doing and what you are good if ds, it won't suggest that you become a indow cleaner! /links/pplanner your subject area e.g. the Royal Society of Chemists and the Engineering Council.Did you come across any occupational areas that you are already considerin which are new to you? Make a note of any that you want to explore further.I want to do something related to my interests and skillsMany people fall into this category; they enjoy their degree but don't necessarily want to work in that field after they graduate. In fact, around 40% of all graduate jobs are open to any degree discipline. Plus, with further training, such as a vocational conversion course, the choice gets even wider.There are various tools availa at to a range of occupations:Prospects Planner can be a way of exploring ideas and identifying areas of possible interest. You may have done something similar at school - however, this one looks at graduate level jobs, so you tell it that you want to work outdoors with your han w ries of questions about your work preferences and then sts careers that may be of interest.Another way of matching interests to occupational areas is to have a go at John Holland's Career Interest Game. This exercise asks you a se suggeSee:Career Key /english This site helps you to determine your Holland Code by eas. that in order to nities in the al course surveys. You can search by subject and by institution. asking you a series of questions. It then lets you explore the different occupational arI want to go on to further study…For some people, three or four years study at undergraduate level is "just enough, thank you", but for others it inspires them with a passion for their subject. Alternatively, some decide follow the career of their choice, they need to do a vocational or conversion course.The Prospects website has a complete searchable database of all postgraduate opportu UK, as well as vocation The Further Study section on our website has lots of other useful information too. /careers/furtherstudyWhat Do You Want From Life?tand what you want from life then you are less likely to become a square peg in a ned them as: "…an which determines what you want and need from your working life". meaning ity y and direction in pursuing our goals and ould it involve? Use the list below as a prompt. mall? ur ion on free on line career or vocational tests contains valuable guidance but it can reduce the occurrences of “Do I have to go in today, I want to stay home and watch TV.”rtance of values is individual. Some values are compatible with many careers, and some are not.If you unders round hole.This piece of the jigsaw considers your needs and motivations. Dave Francis summed it up neatly in his book "Managing Your Career" when he talked about Career Drivers. He defi inner forceThey are:• Material rewards • Power / influence • Search for • Expertise • Affiliation • Autonomy • Security • Status • Creativ • EthicsWhich ones do you identify with most?He argued that they are not just a superficial personality characteristic but a fundamentalcomponent of an individual's identity. They give us energ without them you may feel de-motivated and unfulfilled.Have a go at designing your ideal job - what w• Purpose : live to work or work to live? • Role : work with people, ideas or things?• Organisation : public or private? large or s • Career Motivation : security? variety? • Work Environment : steady? pressured? • Sector : engineering? IT? media?• Skills : what key skills or qualifications are required?Can an understanding of your personality suggest various jobs you would enjoy?Certain people are suited to certain types of jobs. Unfortunately there is no rigorous process for telling you which is the job for you. However there are numerous free on line tests that you can try and some could be very helpful. Richard Bolles wrote an excellent book called "What Colour Is Yo Parachute" and the sect plus many useful links.Another way of approaching this is to think about what your values are. Employers increasingly talk about values and some select employees motivated by similar principles to them and sharing the ethos of their organisation. The importance of values is unlikely to lead to “I love my job so much I would do it for nothing”The impoConsider the following values:lives of other people vation issuesntal impact, religious/moral convictions, animal rights, human rights, Third world seeing the product of your own t relationships, meeting newces, making speculative decisionsssessionse to help you think aims your own career-and shaping the kind of life you ionent• What do I want?o Variety - diverse tasks, people contact, places to work, experiencing changeo Social responsibility - helping or caring for others, working to better the o Environment - considering, promoting, changing conser o Aesthetics - enjoying, making, adding to artistic thingso Intellect - studying, learning, thinking, exploring ideaso Creativity - being original, developing new concepts or thingso Ethics - work in a job or for an organisation that is compatible with my values e.g.environme debt etc.• How do I want to work?Auton o omy - making your own decisions, independent action, worko Authority - having influence or power over otherso Abilities – using your talents, developing skillsPeople o / social – working with other people, developing clien peopleo Risk taking – taking chan• What outcomes do I seek?o Advancement – promotion, career progression, upward mobilityo Economic Reward – a high salary, additional benefits, expensive po o Prestige – being important, having your achievements recognisedYour personal ingredients for success?In "The Art of Building Windmills" Dr Peter Hawkins has developed an exercis about the various ingredients that go to make up your ideal job. As he says:"The more you go through the PROCESS and think about the elements, the clearer your picture will be - and the easier you will find it when you later start trying to spot hidden opportunities." Try the exercise and if you find it works for you, you may wish to try the rest of the book, which to help you master the art of taking control of choose. The key points to bear in mind are:1. Career motivat2. Environm3. Sector4. SkillsThe book is available in the Resource Centre but the new online version is at:(/interactive )This comprises a series of exercises which are aimed at helping you to focus not just on your skills in life. They cover the following:3. How can I start working towards my kind of life?and attributes but on your priorities1. Where am I?2. What sort of life do I want?What Are You Good At?We take lots of our achievements for granted. Often we think "anyone could have done that!" However that is probably not the case.d customer orientation. (Often termed management skills, ific roles. Understanding here your strengths lie and what skills you would most like to use in a job can help you steer your •What makes me competent in my degree course/ part-time job? (being organised, motivating head, IT skills, self promotion) ••Are there things I could do to develop the skills I lack? g/work – what skills made me killed than you think. Skills transfer across different jobs, outside work, uring your social life. It all counts.It you a jargon that recruiters will use, i.e. transferable skills. Unfortunately, there are many different definitions of transferable skills. It is worthwhile nderstanding the jargon so you can use it to your advantage!ransferable skills: Example 1• Interpersonal • Leading and directing • Developing people • Time management • Planning • Problem solving • Creativity• Decision making• Communicating• Organising• Profit and cost awareness• Analytical/researchTransferable skills: Example 2• Working in teams • Focusing on results • Self management • Influencing others• Information search skills • Communicating and presenting information• Demonstrating self confidence andpersonal drive • Thinking and decision makingOnce you have got into the habit of analysing what you have achieved in terms of the transferable skills you used, you will be more successful at convincing future employers. You will also be able to All jobs increasingly require a broad range of skills such as problem solving, communication, team-working, business acumen, an transferable skills or career management skills).Specialist skills or particular strengths are more or less important in spec w decision to something you would be particularly good at.Consider:others, planning aWhat about other jobs I have had? •What makes/made me successful in my degree? (researching skills, last minute essay writing under pressure, writing, visualising problems, co-ordinating team projects) •What gets/got in the way? (last minute working, shy of leading a group, IT skills)•What about my greatest achievements inside/outside studyin successful? • What does my lecturer /boss/ work colleague / friend / partner say about me and my self analysis (ask them to be honest and perhaps compare you to others)Remember, you are more s d is a good idea to invest some time in a structured process to consider/work out exactly what re good at. It is worth categorising these skills in the uTeek out opportunities to develop the transferable skills that you wish you had. Devising and develop and demonstrate: ‘self confidence ‘focusing on results’, ‘organising’ and ‘working in teams’ for xample.eeping a written record will make it much easier when you come to write that CV or complete an mpt. • the things you think you do well or like doingdo better or don't like so muchds u" nt. as much as you would have liked, why not start now and join a few ocieties, do some volunteering or apply for work experience? There's no time like the present! amily and friends are a good source of informationwhat do you think I do really well?" Consider all the things you can do many years ago - thing e e. If they are honest and able to suggest areas s manning a stall at a Freshers’ Fair could enable you to and personal drive’, ‘influencing others’, eK application form.Take a moment to consider your skills, using the above examples of transferable skills as a pro Draw up three lists showing:• the things that you can do to a reasonable level• the things that you feel you couldBe as honest as you can - try to list those you really are good at rather than those you feel you should be good at! When you are happy with your list, look to see if there are any patterns or tren in your responses. If you have attempted some of the tests in the "What kind of person are yo section, can you see any correlation?What have you done?The "What have you done?" section below contains tools to record and analyse your achieveme If you feel you have not done sFAsk your friends and family "now that you could not do s you take for granted such as IT skills, languag tactful, they may also be skills etc. - and make a not that you need to improve!What Have You Done?do to get more experience?aced with questions such as:at attracts you about the type of work you are applying for and offer evidence of your suitability." (Standard application form)Q er e found yourself in: from organising an event for a society you belong to, taking part in a grouppresentation as part of your course, or something relevant from part-time or voluntary work. Also try and what could you ……and what does it show about you?Probably more than you'd give yourself credit for!hen applying for jobs you will be f W"Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of a team. What was the team's aim? How was the team selected? What was your role?" (KPMG)"Explain wh uestions like these can be very daunting. The main point to remember is that you need to off vidence for these skills. You can take examples from a variety of situations that you may have for a useful web based tool that helps you to assess your current skills nd demonstrate your development.You will be able to rate yourself against the categories below and provide specific examples of where you used those skills.Transferable skills• Working in teams • Focusing on results• Self management • Influencing others• Information search skills • Communicating and presentinginformation • Demonstrating self confidence andpersonal drive • Thinking and decision makingWhy are employers interested in work experience?Recruiters will recruit the applicant who is most likely to achieve the job aims. Work experience is much valued by employers because it demonstrates your drive and it is likely that the exposure to different environments will have enabled you to grow. Evidence of past achievements is likely to be translated into ability to do things in the future.If you don't have a lot of work experience then there are a variety of services available to you:- It is worth registering on our website and getting useful work experience opportunitiesemailed to you. Student Workplace is a website dedicated to advertising temporary/part time jobs (/careers)- Shell STEP Scheme is a work experience programme for undergraduates( a ).- Don't forget about voluntary work, too! Manchester Student Volunteers(/careers/volunteering ) provides links to voluntary organisations in the Greater Manchester area.Why are employers interested in membership of University Societies etc?In a competitive world, if you have been able to get a good degree or postgraduate qualification AND grow in many other ways, then you will have a better chance of proving your capabilities versus other applicants. Employers also like people who "get involved" and make that extradon't have to run for NUS President (unless you want to) - simply helping organise nsibility on a committee can demonstrate many transferable in leading groups, taking responsibility, working alongside people ting on y.vironmental work and journalism, you will be at a disadvantage if contribution. You an event or taking a position of respo skills.Patterns of interestIf you've had no interest so far etc., what makes you interested in becoming a manager? Perhaps you are a slow starter or shy and you will be able to develop the appropriate skills as you mature. But it is well worth reflec where you are at present and whFor some work areas, such as en you cannot prove an active interest via work experience (paid or voluntary) or your leisure pursuits. So do something about it now, while you have the opportunity.s’ ResourcesWebsites• Prospects – Over 500 career profiles go under the microscope in the ‘Explore types of job section •DoctorJob – More career profiles, links and ways in the ‘Areas of work’ section .my/ •Inside Careers – A detailed resource for 13 professional career sectors ct – Searchable directory of over 700 profiles of graduate and non-graduate jobs /helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/• Learndire •University of London Careers Service’s Virtual Career Library - A useful list of links. /output/page178.asp •Choosing a Career - Guardian - Search the career centre for useful articles and strategies /graduate • Changing Direction - The Careers Portal - Overview of career change decisions and for returnin links g to further study BooksThe following books are available for reference in the Careers Resource Centre at Crawford House General• “The Graduate Career Handbook” - Shirley Jenner (2000, Pearson Education) Making career choices, graduate labour market, job offers• “Career Skills - A guide for Longterm Success” - Patrick Forsyth (1998, Cassell)Transferable skills• “Beyond the CV - Securing a (1997, Butterworth Heinema lifetime of work in the global market” - Helen Vandevelde nn)d jobhunting Sandra Walker ntury” – Dr Peter Hawkins The global market, opportunities available and how to get on• “The Guardian Guide to Careers” – Jimmy Leach (2005, Atlantic Books on behalf of Guardian Newspapers)All round career book including discovering your niche, researching careers an skills.• “Student Guide to Career Planning and Job Search” – Colette Aungier and (2002, Association of Graduate Careers Services in Ireland)• “Careers 2007 – Your one-step guide to over 750 careers” (Trotman)Self Analysis• “The Art of Building Windmills - Career tactics for the 21st ce (1999, The Graduate into Employment Unit)Excellent strategy book, also available online at 。