2. Self-Exploration

A person should know their own expectations of an occupation or career. Do I like working indoors or outdoors? Do I like dealing with the public? Do I want to work as part of a team or alone? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, just personal preference.

There are numerous ways to figure out what you prefer in a career or occupation. A lot of people move into occupations almost by instinct, they are attracted to activities that interest them. For example, the kid that is always fixing snowmobiles may work as a mechanic when he or she gets older. People doing Occupational Exploration as described above are usually self-exploring at the same time, guaging the appeal of various occupations. There is nothing wrong with this method as long as you don't get bogged down.

A lot of people, however, are not sure what kind of occupation they would like, or want confirmation that their first interest is right for them. In this case a number of tools are available that can help. Some of these tools are listed below.

• On-Line Self-Assessment Tools - many assessment tools are available on web sites related to career planning. A number of those sites are linked below:

"Who am I?" Career Quizzes - These career quizzes from HRDC's Worksearch site provide a handy assessment of your interests, work style, and work values. There are 5 quizzes, and people can take just one or all of them. You will answer some questions about your preferences with online forms and receive instant results including a brief profile and some suggested occupations. We recommend the "What are my work interests?" quiz to get started. These on-line quizzes provide a quick profile of a person, do not expect an in-depth analysis.

The Princeton Review Career Quiz - From a comprehensive U.S. college preparation and career site. It is an easy to use tool that asks people 24 questions that give a profile of most likely interests and work style, and a list of careers that match personality.

Career Development Manual - From the University of Waterloo, this site provides assistance with the steps to career planning as we are outlining on this site. Exercises and information help with Self Assessment, Occupational Information, Decision Making, Employment Contacts, Work, and Life Planning. Unfortunately, the activities are only printable and are not interactive. The exercises and information are quite in-depth which may be desired by some people while losing the interest of others. Still, a well structured and comprehensive career planning tool.

Other sites provide lists of on-line Self-Assessment tools. If you want to try other methods of Self-Assessment in career planning check these links:

SaskNetWork's Links to On - Line Self-Assessment Sites - A section of Can/Sask Career Services website. The SaskNetWork site provides comprehensive information on the career planning process, describes services available in Saskatchewan at Can/Sask Centers.

NextSteps.org Self - Exploration Resources on the Internet - A section of NextSteps.org's web site from Calgary. The web site itself has comprehensive resources for youth who are in the career planning process.