Self awareness

Self awareness is about knowing yourself, and how knowing yourself helps you make the right career decisions. Things will change throughout your life and will have a bearing on your career plan.

Important to reflect

It is very important that you spend some time reflecting on your:

• skills and aptitudes
• qualifications
• interests
• personal qualities
• personal circumstances

Skills and aptitudes

Employers continually stress the increasing importance of communication, numeracy, ICT, improving self-learning and performance, working with others and problem solving skills.

You can show evidence of these skills from your qualifications, extra curricular activities in education or elsewhere, training, full time or part time employment, volunteering, clubs and organisations that you belong to.

Qualifications

There a great variety of qualifications that can be obtained while in school, college, university or at work. It is important to keep your records of achievement up to date as this makes it easier to apply for a job and for an employer to verify your achievements.

Interests

Making career decisions are difficult. You can increase your chances of making successful career decisions if they reflect you interests. For example, If you coach a sports team then you may enjoy a job that involves drawing up plans and managing staff who work in teams or if you decide to follow a Sports Studies course.

Interests can also prove you have the talents required for specific careers such as art and design, drama, singing playing a musical instrument and sport.

Personal qualities

These can be gained and developed while in education, training or employment or through the activities you are involved in. Examples of these qualities are confidence, adventurous, independence, patience, competitiveness, organised, reliable and self motivated.

Personal circumstances

Age, disability, or gender can influence the career choice you make. If you are a parent, guardian or a carer this can impact on the choices you make. Your access to transport that will get you to work, school or college will also influence your choices. Are you able or willing to move house in order to study or undertake your ideal job or course? Is your financial or personal situation something you need to consider?

Revisiting these through self awareness will be an important part of your career planning. Look to improve any areas of weakness, and to look for ways to over come any hurdles or obstacles.

You can get help in progressing your career ideas through self awareness tools. A careers adviser may be able to take you through a number of psychometric tests if they are appropriate.