Unit 2: Self - Awareness By Dr. David Agnew and Mr. Jim Wendell Arkansas State University

Who Are You? Values, Interests, and Abilities Discovering who you are is one of the five major purposes of CO in Arkansas

Objectives: b Define “Career Terms related to Self -Awareness” 2.1 b List reasons why people should identify interests, aptitudes, and abilities. 2.2 b Assess personal interests, aptitudes, and abilities Analyze personal assessment data b Develop a personal career portfolio b Discuss values as they relate the world of work. 2.3 Demonstrate personal values needed for a particular career b Relate personality traits to the world of work. 2.4 b Analyze personality traits needed for a specific job b Identify factors of a person's lifestyle. 2.5 b Describe how career choices affect personal lifestyle b Describe the difference between life values and work values. b Assess personal interests, aptitudes, and Identify your values

Terms and Definitions b 1. Aptitude -- the natural ability or potential for learning new skills b 2. Assessment -- a personal evaluation b 3. Career portfolio -- collection of information about oneself b 4. Identity -- the personality or activity by which a person is known b 5. Interest -- a thing a person enjoys doing or thinking about b 6. Interest inventory -- an assessment that helps people identify their interest areas b 7. Learning style -- natural method or way one thinks or learns b 8. Lifestyle -- typical way of life b 9. Personality -- the combination of attitude, values, interests, and behaviors that identify a person b 10. Procrastinator -- one who puts off doing things or making decisions b 11. Self- concept -- the way in which a person views his or her self- worth b 12. Skill -- the ability to perform a certain activity well b 13. Values -- personal standards by which one lives

Additional Career Terms b Life Values - things that are important in your life such as family values and social values b Work Values - represent what is important I work such as the money you earn, job security, and your work environment b Conflicts of Values - when you have one or more values that you can’t satisfy at the same time

Eleven Main Aptitudes b General - ability to learn, general intelligence, understanding facts and reasoning b Verbal - speaking and listening skills b Numerical - ability to solve number problems b Spatial - visualizing shapes and dimensions mentally b Form Perception - noticing details about objects b Clerical - recognizing errors in written words and numbers

Discovering Aptitudes b Aptitude - potential to learn b To discover your aptitude look at your strong points about what you do best. b Remember, you may not know all of your aptitudes at the present time because you may not have any experience in that area yet.

Main Aptitudes (Cont.) b Finger Dexterity - using fingers accurately to work with small objects b Manual Dexterity - using hands accurately in placing and turning objects b Motor Coordination - ability to coordinate hand, finger, and eye movements to assemble parts b Eye - Hand - Foot Coordination - ability to move the hands and feet together to complete a task after visually recognizing it - drive a car b Color Discrimination - ability to distinguish shades of color and to match and select colors that go together

Aptitude and Skill Tips b Most people find it easier to develop skills in areas of their interest b Don’t be afraid - you CAN learn skills that you don’t already possess b Everyone has different interests and abilities b Don’t stop working at a skill just because you feel you have mastered it

Discovering Your Interests b Just imagine how great it would be to get paid for what doing what you like to do. Some people have turned their hobby into a career. b What do you watch and read ? b What are your hobbies and dreams ? b What are your favorite classes in school ?

Matching Interest to Careers b Selecting an interesting career can begin with taking an inventory of your interest areas. b Matching your interest with job skills and requirements will allow you to investigate career possibilities. This helps you to avoid selecting a boring job.

Discovering Skills b Skill - ability to accomplish a task b Skills are learned through experience of doing b You constantly learn new skills throughout life b Everyone has learned hundreds of skills since birth b Remember it is important to know your skill level to be able to choose a suitable career

Special Talent b Many career - music, arts, sports - require a great deal of natural talent. Natural talent is a “superior” natural ability or skill. Many times this natural talent is called a “GIFT”. b Remember that talent alone is usually not enough to be successful. Most talented and successful people worked very hard and devoted much time, training, and practice to their careers.

Listen to Your Values b Learned many from your parents b Developing all your life b Have become a big part of what is right for you b Harmony or an internal calm occurs when you are true to your values b Values affect career choices by giving signals about how happy or successful you will be in particular careers

Values to Consider b Money - You must decide if money is the leading aspect of your life or would you take less money for more important things ? b Independence - Would you like to work for yourself and make your own business decisions ? b Security - Do you need the knowledge of having a secure day-to-day job with a guaranteed salary ? b Education - Do you need to keep learning to be able to talk to many people about various topics ? Does your career choice involve years of formal educational training ? b Creativity - Would you bypass a steady income to become an artist or to create something ?

Values to Consider (Cont.) b Making Changes in Your Community - Would you like to be publicly involved in community improvement ? b Regular Work Schedule - Would you work the same hours with scheduled time off or is overtime pay more important than free time ? b High Profile or Recognition - Do you want a career that could make you famous or give you recognition ? b Personal Life Ahead of Job - Which is more important - a career and money or spending time with your family ? b Being a Leader - Do you enjoy decision making or prefer others to assume that responsibility ?

Conflict of Values b Trying to make a decision where you really want more than one thing, but can only have one b Be careful - it is important to be aware of how other people’s values can influence the decisions you make - peer pressure or family pressure

In Summary b The most important first step in choosing a career is to learn more about yourself b Self-appraisal is necessary to identify themselves from several perspectives b Values, personal standards, interest, aptitudes, skills, and special talents are discussed b Confidence building skills in decision making aids in career choices

The End