If you are ever going to market and sell what you have to offer and contribute to others, you have to really get some real insights into you. People only tend to give this any consideration in job appraisals. While this is better than nothing, a job appraisal is about how you are performing in your current role rather than on your potential.
When I start working with any client on their career or in the areas of leadership and management, this is exactly where we start. Why? Quite simply you want to identify what skills, knowledge and personal attributes you have.
As well as doing your own self assessment, it is vital to get feedback from others. If you are fortunate enough to work for a big organisation you might well get this as a matter of routine. In many organisations you won’t routinely get this feedback. It is often surprising what clients actually learn about themselves from others. People often highlight skills and qualities they did not even know they
Here are some areas to think about when doing a self assessment. Simply rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 means poor, 5 means outstanding.
- Interpersonal Skills
- Communication Skills
- Leadership and Management Skills
- Planning and Organisational Skills
- Personal Productivity
- Problem Solving Skills
- Decision Making Skills
- Creativity and Innovation
- Accounting Skills
- IT Skills
Armed with this insight you can start to build the stories and examples of where you successfully used your skills to be more effective in your career.