Photo credit: Hamza Butt via Flickr
Published: November 6, 2017
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Teresa Scannell has worked at U of T for almost 25 years. She is the career and work-life consultant at the Organizational Development and Learning Centre (ODLC).
Thinking about professional development and setting personal goals? Book a consultation with Teresa or other ODLC colleagues. Her initiatives as a consultant at ODLC includes providing individual career counselling and coaching services for staff and delivering career management workshops. Scannell shares her five quick tips to assess your skills and interests to inform your career choices.
1. Choices
What do you naturally do when you have the choice? Are you the one who always organizes your friends, do you read everything you can find on politics? How you naturally spend your time could lead to ideas about work you would really love.
2. Feedback
What feedback do you get from peers, friends, family? Listen carefully and consider there are good reasons for their suggestions. Ask the person why they are suggesting those particular roles.
3. Strengths
What were you always good at and what is effortless for you? Some people think problem-solving is fun and enjoy coming up with endless solutions, others might be gifted at figuring out how machines work and love the challenge of fixing them. Your strengths are one of the keys to where you will shine at work.
4. Feelings
What brings you peace, joy and relaxation? Maybe it’s balancing a budget or helping a student who is distressed. What does this say about the type of work that would satisfy you?
5. Personality
What type of person are you? Are you a serious, focused, logical, formal person or are you spontaneous, flexible and casual? What does this say about the work environment in which you would thrive?