Job-Seeking Skills Resources: Self Analysis

Contents

• Personal Inventories
• Using a “Positive Approach” to Handle Weaknesses
• Practice in Analysing Yourself

Personal Inventories

These are planning documents used by job applicants at the outset of a job search. Personal inventories have no other audience than the writer. A personal inventory can help you collect preliminary data for the resume/CV, think about the match between your qualifications, experience, skills and qualities and the job description, and aid you in preparing for a job interview.

In conducting a personal inventory, you might consider the following:

1. What are your goals (short term and long term)?

   Setting goals will help you select the job position you want to apply for as well as prepare for job interview questions.

2. What do you expect out of a job (location, salary, hours, workload, authority, achievement, affiliation)?

   Knowing what you expect from a job will guide your research into job positions and help you choose the number of positions that you apply for.

3. What skills and training do you possess (academic skills, people skills)?

   Focusing on skills and training will help you apply for jobs that you are qualified for. It also helps you formulate the opening of a functional resume, organise your letter of application/cover letter and answer interview questions.

4. What academic and work experience have you had?

   Reviewing your experience will help you gather data for your application letter and resume.

5. What are your personality characteristics and personal preferences (strengths and weaknesses)?

   Knowing your personality characteristics helps you write a portion of the application letter and prepares you for a job interview.

   Example

   Perhaps the most challenging aspect of doing a personal inventory is analysing your personality characteristics. Below is an example of one person’s characteristics.

   My personality characteristics are as follows:

   • Dependable – I am always on time to work, classes and meetings, and when I cannot make it, I always let them know ahead of time.
   • Hardworking – During my vacations, I paint my parent’s flat and seek part-time employment.
   • Leadership ability– I was elected VP of the Finance Society and was co-chairperson for the Society’s Outreach Day display.
   • Organisational ability – When I was a society secretary, I organised all the files. I organise my daily schedule in order to meet all deadlines.
   • Quick to learn – I learned my assigned duties when I was secretary and then asked for additional responsibility.
   • Good time management – When I was a secretary, I had to manage my time in order to get a number of different tasks completed by the same deadline.
   • Responsible – I worked and saved money to help pay for my university education. I am continuing to work on being assertive by reading books about assertiveness and applying it to my daily life.

Using a “Positive Approach” to Handle Weaknesses

Being aware of weaknesses is also important. The description of weaknesses below is partially effective because it conveys a positive attitude while at the same time admitting to character faults. Because questions regarding personal strengths and weaknesses are common during job interviews in Western contexts, in that context, you would be getting a head start on the process by analysing these in a personal inventory.

Example

Practice in Analysing Yourself

Task 1

1. Identify the positive phrasing in the example above.
2. The applicant gives two different weaknesses, what are they?
3. How has the applicant dealt with the first one?
4. In the second weakness, the applicant gives two examples that demonstrate this weakness. What are they?
5. Particularly in an Asian context and also to some extent in a Western context, it may not be such a good idea to give too many examples of weaknesses. If you decided to only give one example for the second weakness, which one would you give and why?

Task 2

Discuss the questions below with some friends who are also job hunting:

1. How you can write about yourself effectively

2. How you can best present your achievements to potential employers

3. What you think counts as an achievement when you only have school, University and possible some summer work experience

4. Individually, write your answer to the following question: “What kind of person are you and what have you achieved in your life? Tell me in 250 words”

Get a peer in the group to review your work and make comments on areas that are good and areas that need improving and how.

Finally, email this to your teacher who will give you feedback on it later.

Task 3

The questions below are all authentic examples of difficult questions that you may have to answer on an application form.

• “Give an account of membership/offices held in organisations (clubs, hostels, societies, etc) within and outside school/college/university and describe your involvement in these organisations”

• “Give an account of your past employment, what duties you were assigned, what you have achieved, what observations you have made and how it would help you in your future career.”

• “Give an account of your background – family, personal achievement, hobbies, and interests, your strengths and weaknesses, your personal goals (including career objectives) and how you have planned to work towards their fulfillment”

• “Account for your career choice.”

• “Describe a situation where you achieved a great success or exceeded your own expectations.”

• “What are your career goals and ambitions?”

Discuss with your friends, why you think companies ask these types of questions.

Task 4

The first thing you need to do when stating you written job seeking process is a self-assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses. Think of and write down three positive personality characteristics, attributes or qualities that you would use to describe yourself and one or two negative ones.

Task 5

Now can you think of past achievements or situations that demonstrate one of the positive characteristics? Write these down.