Self Exploration Through Various Assessments

The first step in making a decision about your career future involves taking a look at yourself. What are your interests, skills, values, characteristics, and personality type? By knowing yourself better, you can more easily see what career fields are the best match for you.

What are My Interests?

Making good decisions depends on gathering good information about yourself and careers. There are a number of ways to gather information about your current interests. Here are a few assessments available at your Airman & Family Readiness Center:

• Discover®: The "Interest Inventory" will help you identify your strongest work-related interests.
• Self Directed Search (SDS): This assessment measures your level of interest in a variety of occupations, activities, hobbies, leisure activities, and types of people. Contact the Airman & Family Readiness Center (605-385-4663) for information on the availability of this assessment.

What are my Values?

Values are the deeply held commitments that influence your thinking when you are faced with choices. They indicate what you consider most important in your life.

• Discover®: The "Values Inventory" will ask you to rank different aspects of work that represent six important work values and will help you explore career options.
• Value Surveys: An activity that is available at the Airman & Family Readiness Center to help you clarify important motivators for you and how they impact career choices.

What are My Abilities?

Abilities can be acquired and developed through exposure to, and repetition of, a task or learning processes that may take place in the classroom or laboratory, through training or study, or in a workplace.

• Discover®: The "Abilities Inventory" will help you identify your existing work skills and see occupations that use those skills.
• Skills Sort: An activity that is available at the Airman & Family Readiness Center to help you identify your present and desired work skills in terms that match career information.

What is My Personality Type?

Each one of us has a distinct personality, like an innate blueprint that stays with us for life. Identifying your own personality type will help you flourish in certain jobs and discover career satisfaction.

• Keirsey Temperament Sorter. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) is a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves and others. The results can help you align your career preparation and choices with your innate strengths and preferences. It can provide you with on career options, tips on communication, interpersonal skills, and insight on navigating the job market based on your personality type. Contact the Airman & Family Readiness Center (605-385-4663) for information on the availability of this assessment.

Knowing which one of the 16 different personality types you match facilitates the explorations and understanding of your choice of major, occupation, and work setting.

How can the Internet Help Me?

• The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey
• The Career Key
• Career Planning Steps
• Humanmetrics
• Life Colors Online

Go to STEP 2: What are my Career Choices?