Self-Evaluation
If you’ve completed the checklists and tip sheets in the Living Independently section, you are well on your way to having an idea of what your basic literacy, numeracy, and personal knowledge and? skills are. In preparation for finding a job, self-evaluation requires you to consolidate all that you’ve discovered about yourself and categorize the information into a format you can use to determine your suitability for a job through comparison of your attributes to jobs you’re considering.
The work you do in this section will help you prepare documentation that an employer wants or needs to know about you. You can share this information in an interview or on an application.
The easiest way to capture information about yourself for future reference and review is through self-evaluation. Self-evaluations are formal or informal tests that offer insight into what you do well and what you like to do.
Formal tests are commercially available norm-referenced tests that are designed to evaluate people in comparison to others.
Informal tests are instruments designed for a specific purpose, often with a specific population in mind (for example, youth or adults with disabilities, women, disadvantaged workers, etc.).They are not norm-referenced and are intended for individual rather than group assessment.
You may have taken interest and ability (or aptitude) testing in school. If so, you may want to begin this self-evaluation process by reviewing the assessments you’ve already completed.
If you want to undergo additional formal testing, be aware that many of the commercially available tests will be difficult to access with braille or large print unless you can access the files in an electronic format on a computer. Many commercial tests are available online and you may be able to complete them interactively by using speech output or screen enlargement software.
If you want to take a formal test, you should contact a local rehabilitation counsellor, career/placement specialist, or employment officer to assist you in locating an accessible test centre or to help you investigate online testing options. However, you may be able to gain as much information through an informal assessment as you would by completing formal tests.
Self-Evaluation Profile
There are five areas that you’ll want to consider in your self-evaluation: Interests, abilities, values, work personality, and liabilities (challenges or barriers). Think about each of these topics and list your attributes in each area to complete a self-assessment profile.
- Make a list of your top 10 interests. Consider writing the things you enjoy doing such as singing, socializing with friends or family, walking in the park, cooking, listening to music, watching television or movies, dancing, playing sports, painting or drawing, gardening, shopping, etc. Don’t worry about whether these interests are career-specific – simply note the kinds of things you do because you enjoy doing them, not because someone pays you or gives you a grade.
- Add 10 skills or abilities. Include skills that are comparable to or better than most peoples’ performances; subjects you found easy to learn and in which you received good grades and ones that others (family, friends, and acquaintances) have identified as your strengths. Also consider the things other people ask you to do for them or to teach them to do.
- Write out your top 10 values. These are the things you believe in, such as health, wealth, family, religion, independence, adventure, freedom, security, etc. There are many words people use to describe their beliefs or values. If you need help with choosing the right ones, you can use this Values Word List.
- Consider your work personality and in what environments you are best suited to work. The most popular theory on work personality is John Holland’s Vocational Theory. It identifies six work personalities and the corresponding work environments: Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Realistic. Read about your Work Personality, then consider the three that are most like you and make notes for your self-reflection profile of what you’ve discovered and the jobs that may be of interest as a result of your findings.
- Think about your greatest vocational challenges or liabilities. List the three things that you think are causing you the most difficulty in looking for or securing employment. Consider the following:
- Are your knowledge, skills and abilities adequate for the jobs you’re interested in pursuing?
- Do you have enough functional vision to do the essential tasks required of workers in the fields you’re considering?
- Do you have enough experience to compete with other workers?
- Is your experience current?
- Do you have transferable knowledge, skills and abilities from other work or life experiences that will qualify you for the job you want?
The compilation of your interests, skills and abilities, values, work personality, and liabilities make up your self-assessment profile. You’ll need it to compare to jobs of interest that you’ll want to research. Learn how in the Career Exploration section.