1
00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:06,240
Journeys cannot begin without
first identifying where you are.

2
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,380
This is true in navigation,
it's true on websites.

3
00:00:09,380 --> 00:00:12,630
And it's especially true
when it comes to careers.

4
00:00:12,630 --> 00:00:15,630
But this is more than just figuring
out what you're doing right now.

5
00:00:15,630 --> 00:00:18,940
Self-assessment is
an important first step,

6
00:00:18,940 --> 00:00:24,655
to determine if your personal goals align
with the direction you have in mind.

7
00:00:24,655 --> 00:00:28,750
What's more, it can help you assess
your current job situation, and

8
00:00:28,750 --> 00:00:31,100
if you should consider a change.

9
00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:34,160
In some cases,
you might not need any sort of test to

10
00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,860
tell you that your current job
is not the one you want to have.

11
00:00:37,860 --> 00:00:40,040
But where do you go from there?

12
00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,180
Self assessment can help
provide a direction.

13
00:00:43,180 --> 00:00:47,000
Including ideas on where you can go,
and a range of job opportunities,

14
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,870
once you make the decision
to move on professionally.

15
00:00:51,660 --> 00:00:56,360
But if there were ever a time to be honest
with yourself about what you want to do,

16
00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:57,960
that time is now.

17
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,441
Self assessment forces you to be
honest about any responses you offerto

18
00:01:02,441 --> 00:01:04,170
personal questions.

19
00:01:04,170 --> 00:01:07,470
These tests will only work if
you provide accurate answers.

20
00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,060
A number of tests are available
online that gauge your interests,

21
00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:15,820
personality, and potential fits for
various jobs in industries.

22
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,950
These tests can be helpful to confirm
some of the things you already

23
00:01:19,950 --> 00:01:24,060
know about yourself, just as much
as they reveal new information, and

24
00:01:24,060 --> 00:01:26,568
perhaps some ideas you
haven't considered before.

25
00:01:26,568 --> 00:01:31,760
However, some self-assessment exercises
can be completed with just a notebook

26
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,250
and a pen.

27
00:01:33,250 --> 00:01:37,770
Author CC Chapman has one
activity you can try on your own.

28
00:01:37,770 --> 00:01:43,660
So, in terms of applying
a degree of focus to a career.

29
00:01:43,660 --> 00:01:47,580
One of those things that can really
help put a lot of things in focus

30
00:01:47,580 --> 00:01:49,178
is self-assessment.

31
00:01:49,178 --> 00:01:52,550
>> Right.
>> Now self-assessment is, it's so

32
00:01:52,550 --> 00:01:56,710
important, and it's not something that
you just do at the beginning of a career.

33
00:01:56,710 --> 00:01:58,070
>> No.
>> Like when you're getting out of, or

34
00:01:58,070 --> 00:01:59,431
you're going in high school.

35
00:01:59,431 --> 00:02:00,005
>> [LAUGH]
>> And

36
00:02:00,005 --> 00:02:03,732
I know plenty of people have probably
taken these self-assessment tests in high

37
00:02:03,732 --> 00:02:06,540
school or, maybe at some point,
in college.

38
00:02:06,540 --> 00:02:09,820
But self-assessment is important
throughout your career, isn't it?

39
00:02:09,820 --> 00:02:10,600
>> Oh, without a doubt.

40
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,600
If you're not looking at where you are and
what you're doing on a regular basis,

41
00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,190
you're never going to be happy and
you're never going to get anywhere.

42
00:02:17,190 --> 00:02:19,530
I try to.
You know a lot of companies will do it,

43
00:02:19,530 --> 00:02:22,770
as far as if you're working for
somebody, it's the year end review.

44
00:02:22,770 --> 00:02:24,470
That's when you look at it and
someone judges you.

45
00:02:24,470 --> 00:02:27,970
But honestly, don't wait for
other people to assess your career.

46
00:02:27,970 --> 00:02:30,950
You know, look at yourself,
figure out am I on the right track,

47
00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:32,290
am I getting where I need?

48
00:02:32,290 --> 00:02:35,100
You know, should I take more
classes to learn a new language?

49
00:02:35,100 --> 00:02:39,410
Should I take more here on treehouse,
to take my skills to a new level?

50
00:02:39,410 --> 00:02:41,110
The more you do that self-assessment, and

51
00:02:41,110 --> 00:02:43,000
don't just wait,
don't do it on a calendar.

52
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,610
Everybody does it in December,
you know, looking for the new year.

53
00:02:45,610 --> 00:02:49,470
Figure out what works for you and
be looking on a constant basis.

54
00:02:49,470 --> 00:02:51,570
>> Now one of the activities
in Amazing Things Will Happen.

55
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,424
Is the three-word exercise.

56
00:02:55,424 --> 00:02:56,830
>> Mm-hm.
>> And, and I know that you,

57
00:02:56,830 --> 00:03:00,580
you talked about this exercise
sort of being inspired by the,

58
00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:01,820
New Year's resolutions.

59
00:03:01,820 --> 00:03:02,350
>> Yeah.

60
00:03:02,350 --> 00:03:03,140
>> That you saw online.

61
00:03:03,140 --> 00:03:05,570
Can you explain how that
activity sort of came about?

62
00:03:05,570 --> 00:03:06,610
Yeah sure, so

63
00:03:06,610 --> 00:03:10,890
the three word exercise is something
that I learned from another writer, and

64
00:03:10,890 --> 00:03:15,180
what he always did, was instead of new
year's resolutions, which I'm not a fan of

65
00:03:15,180 --> 00:03:20,780
either, he would figure out three things
for the year, three things to focus on.

66
00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:25,040
And what the exercise is, is really
simply, is you lay out all the words,

67
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,050
you kind of do a brainstorm,
kind of a mind map, of

68
00:03:28,050 --> 00:03:31,455
all the terms you're focusing on for, you
know, you want to achieve in the new year.

69
00:03:31,455 --> 00:03:33,030
>> Mm-hm.
>> And then you start looking for themes.

70
00:03:33,030 --> 00:03:35,310
You narrow it down,
you simplify, you focus on it,

71
00:03:35,310 --> 00:03:38,170
and then you get down to 3 words
that you're gonna focus on for

72
00:03:38,170 --> 00:03:41,093
the year, and you attack and you make
>> Mm-hm.

73
00:03:41,093 --> 00:03:41,880
>> It happen.

74
00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,880
>> That seems like, it seems like
something that would be especially

75
00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,460
helpful for personal philosophy,
a personal, professional direction.

76
00:03:49,460 --> 00:03:53,102
I bet you could even apply it towards,

77
00:03:53,102 --> 00:03:57,590
you know, the types of projects, the types
of clients that you wanna seek out.

78
00:03:57,590 --> 00:04:02,320
When it comes to careers, how can
we take the three-word exercise and

79
00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,570
apply it towards the career search?

80
00:04:04,570 --> 00:04:09,310
Sort of directing our career path,
so to speak.

81
00:04:09,310 --> 00:04:12,080
>> Sure, so let's step through
the exercise as if we were looking

82
00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:12,740
for a new job.

83
00:04:12,740 --> 00:04:15,590
That a designer or
developer is looking for a new job.

84
00:04:15,590 --> 00:04:19,345
Now one of the things that where we start
is, of course you wanna make more money,

85
00:04:19,345 --> 00:04:22,950
you want more flexible hours,
you want a work shift, all those things.

86
00:04:22,950 --> 00:04:24,330
Those things are what we all want.

87
00:04:24,330 --> 00:04:27,360
Those are not the things to focus
on because we know we need those.

88
00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,050
So what you would do first, is you would
actually write down all the things that

89
00:04:30,050 --> 00:04:31,760
you really want out of this new job.

90
00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,690
Maybe it's more challenging,
maybe it's more responsibility,

91
00:04:34,690 --> 00:04:38,500
you wanna start managing people, you
wanna learn a new programming language,

92
00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:41,060
you wanna expand your portfolio.

93
00:04:41,060 --> 00:04:44,410
Write all those down and
do not be held back.

94
00:04:44,410 --> 00:04:44,940
Just write them down.

95
00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:48,010
Take, take the time, take a notebook,
take a whiteboard, wherever it is, and

96
00:04:48,010 --> 00:04:50,320
write everything that comes down,
and take a week.

97
00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:51,960
Take some time to really focus on it,

98
00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,980
because this is your master
list you're gonna work from.

99
00:04:54,980 --> 00:04:57,780
Once you've got those,
what you should start doing is actually,

100
00:04:57,780 --> 00:04:58,880
when I do it on a whiteboard,

101
00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,680
what I do is grab different color markers
start circling if there are any themes.

102
00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,340
Oh, look this kind of focuses on
the sort of responsibilities I want.

103
00:05:06,340 --> 00:05:09,670
And over here is maybe the locations,
maybe I want to move.

104
00:05:09,670 --> 00:05:11,220
>> Right.
>> I want to uproot my family and

105
00:05:11,220 --> 00:05:11,900
do something new.

106
00:05:11,900 --> 00:05:12,750
>> Or creativity.

107
00:05:12,750 --> 00:05:13,420
>> Or creativity.

108
00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:15,170
>> Right. Yeah. >> There are so
many different themes.

109
00:05:15,170 --> 00:05:19,070
It's up to you if there is any themes
that are grouping them together.

110
00:05:19,070 --> 00:05:22,460
Because your next step is to actually
take it and start chopping them down,

111
00:05:22,460 --> 00:05:26,070
because the goal is to get down
to three phrases or words.

112
00:05:26,070 --> 00:05:29,220
In this case, we're doing a career search,
maybe it'll be individual words,

113
00:05:29,220 --> 00:05:30,490
maybe it'll be phrases.

114
00:05:30,490 --> 00:05:32,748
>> Right.

115
00:05:32,748 --> 00:05:34,590
>> Managerial responsibility,
sronger creativity, but

116
00:05:34,590 --> 00:05:36,790
you want to narrow it down,
so that way at the end of it,

117
00:05:36,790 --> 00:05:40,110
what you're hoping for,
is that you've got these three really

118
00:05:40,110 --> 00:05:42,420
important things that you
want out of the next job.

119
00:05:42,420 --> 00:05:45,620
When that becomes important is, when you
start interviewing with people, if your

120
00:05:45,620 --> 00:05:48,430
not asking questions in an interview,
then you're not going to get the job.

121
00:05:48,430 --> 00:05:50,800
That's one of the rules
of interviewing for jobs.

122
00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,000
When you've got these three
things that you go you know what,

123
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,100
these are the really important things.

124
00:05:55,100 --> 00:05:57,160
You can sit there and
ask those specifically and

125
00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,660
say, hey, is there a chance for
me to do this here?

126
00:05:59,660 --> 00:06:01,530
>> Mm.
>> Because that's gonna show that you've

127
00:06:01,530 --> 00:06:02,730
focused on what you really want.

128
00:06:02,730 --> 00:06:04,250
This isn't just another job.

129
00:06:04,250 --> 00:06:07,370
This is actually something you want,
and it sets up for that career path.

130
00:06:07,370 --> 00:06:11,880
And if you go in, and you've taken
the time to go through this exercise, and

131
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,420
you go in and
you get no's on all those three things?

132
00:06:15,420 --> 00:06:16,930
That's not the right job for you.

133
00:06:16,930 --> 00:06:18,210
>> Yeah.
>> And too many people jump

134
00:06:18,210 --> 00:06:19,680
based on the salary, or

135
00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:23,380
based on something, you know, that short
term is great, don't get me wrong.

136
00:06:23,380 --> 00:06:26,060
But long term, eventually you're not
going to get what you need out of it, and

137
00:06:26,060 --> 00:06:28,440
you're going to be back
at these words again, so.

138
00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,000
>> So I bet you could take these
three words that you come up with for

139
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:33,080
the activity.

140
00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:34,760
And if you've really been
honest with yourself and

141
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,440
you're really focused on
what it is that you want,

142
00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,850
you could apply it not just towards
the interviews but take it a step back.

143
00:06:41,850 --> 00:06:43,800
You can look at the companies.

144
00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,778
You can do your research,
you wanna do research anyway,

145
00:06:46,778 --> 00:06:49,830
before you go out and
even submit a cover letter or resume.

146
00:06:49,830 --> 00:06:51,780
But when you're looking
at job opportunities and

147
00:06:51,780 --> 00:06:53,120
you see what's out there,

148
00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:58,110
This is almost like doing personal keyword
research on yourself, on what you want.

149
00:06:58,110 --> 00:07:00,530
Yeah, and
you should be investigating companies.

150
00:07:00,530 --> 00:07:01,950
If you're not looking at the companies,

151
00:07:01,950 --> 00:07:05,810
if you're not going out to both their
websites, their social media profiles,

152
00:07:05,810 --> 00:07:08,480
their Linkedin company pages,
which now companies have.

153
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,490
If you're not taking the time to
actually research the companies,

154
00:07:11,490 --> 00:07:13,530
you're going to find out
the culture doesn't mix, and

155
00:07:13,530 --> 00:07:17,350
granted you can only find out so
much before you're actually there on site.

156
00:07:17,350 --> 00:07:21,970
But, when you know what you want, it makes
researching these companies a lot better.

157
00:07:21,970 --> 00:07:23,860
You gotta get beyond the name.

158
00:07:23,860 --> 00:07:25,040
Ooh, that's a great company.

159
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:26,280
That sounds awesome.

160
00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:27,370
May not be a great fit for you.

161
00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,300
>> Try these tests out for yourself.

162
00:07:31,300 --> 00:07:34,770
Whether you are laser-focused
on a specific career, or

163
00:07:34,770 --> 00:07:37,880
you have no idea where
your path might take you.

164
00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,610
Identifying opportunities and
learning more about yourself is incredibly

165
00:07:41,610 --> 00:07:45,690
valuable, as you take your first steps
toward the next stop in your career.