Self-Assessment
Before embarking on a job search, it’s important to take a step back and do some self
assessment. Without assessing your values, interests, skills, and personality, you may head
down the wrong path in your job search, and waste valuable time. Conducting a job search
without having done any self assessment first is like getting into a car without a map to your
destination. Knowing more about who you are will help guide you toward the jobs that are right
for you, and in a work setting that compliments your personal style. Ultimately, you will achieve
more career satisfaction if your job search is informed by a thorough self assessment. The more
you know about yourself, the better off you will be when working with your financial planning
clients. Since you’ve gone through the process of assessing yourself, you’re in a good position
to help them analyze their own financial situation.
What do you need to know about yourself?
Your self assessment should include knowing more about your values, interests, skills, and
personality. Simply stated, your values are the things that are important to you. Your interests
are the things that give you life satisfaction. Your skills are the things you are good at. Your
personality is the characteristics that make you who you are. In the financial planning
profession, there are many types of people. However, they do have one thing in common: they
inherently want to help people succeed in achieving their financial goals. Their values, interests,
skills, and personalities all point toward that key characteristic.
It’s important to know what your values are, because each organization you will work for has its
own set of values that guide the way they do business. If your values don’t match with theirs, it’s
probably a bad fit for you, and you will likely be unhappy in that organization. It’s important to
find an organization whose values and mission you believe in. Work values are both intrinsic
and extrinsic. Intrinsic values are values that deal with the daily tasks you will be performing. For
example, helping others and doing challenging work are intrinsic values. You’ll want to practice
these on a regular basis in your job. Examples of extrinsic values include your compensation, as
well as recognition for your work. Having your extrinsic values met increases your job
satisfaction.
Most career counselors will advise you to choose your profession based upon interest, or what
you like to do. This makes sense, given the amount of time you spend at work each week. You
want to be doing something you like to do if you are going to dedicate many hours and years to
it. In fact, most self assessment tests are interest based. Of course, you have to have an
aptitude for the job in order to do the work, however having a strong interest in a job is vital in
achieving career satisfaction.
Knowing what your skills are is also an important component to your self assessment process.
When you know the skills you have, you can tailor your job search toward positions where you
will flex those skills the most. In the financial planning profession, communication skills are
highly valuable, in addition to analytical, critical thinking, and customer service skills. Skills can
be learned through education and experience as well as coming naturally to you. A highly potent
combination is using a skill that interests you on the job.
Finally, knowing your personality is a part of your self assessment process. Are you extroverted
or introverted? Logical or intuitive? Flexible or methodical? Team oriented or solitary? Once
you’ve identified these characteristics in yourself, you can look for them in a job description as
well. In addition, you can look for a work setting that will compliment your personality, so you
won’t feel like a fish out of water. For example, some financial planning positions work in a team
environment, in combination with lawyers and accountants. In other cases, you will work alone
with a client to develop a financial plan. You need to know what kind of environment fits your
personality so you will thrive.
Seek Advice
To assist you in your self assessment process, engage former employers and trusted
coworkers. Ask them how they would rate your key skills. Ask what their impressions are of your
personality. Sometimes it is difficult to see ourselves objectively. Having an outside opinion can
help you hone your self assessment, and give you different perspectives to consider.
While it’s helpful to seek out a professional to conduct self assessment tests and analyze them
with you, there is a lot of self assessment you can do on your own, just by contemplating the
four factors mentioned here: values, interests, skills, and personality.
In addition, there are free tools online you can use. One site run by the Department of Labor is
called O*NET, and has assessments that are self-guided. However you choose to do your self
assessment, know that this process is not optional in a solid job search plan. Doing a thorough
self assessment will give you the map that will guide you to your next career destination.