SELF ASSESSMENT

Making the right plans for your future during these changing times can be difficult. Starting with a self assessment can give you more choices and broaden your options. You then can have the conviction that you are on the right road.

A personal inventory can reveal your abilities, interests and attitudes. It will define your strengths and your weaknesses. Looking for a match between your strengths and the activities you are considering is an important step before you develop a plan. 

If you decide to "start another career or just work to stay busy", you will find it much easier to decide what to do the more you know about yourself.

What if you are not sure what kind of job or career you want? "You" are the place to start. What do you do well and enjoy doing? Answers will help you identify your strengths and help you to decide on what contributions you can make in the marketplace.

 Many people try to fit into jobs advertised in newspapers or other sources. The employer today has many qualified candidates from which to choose. You will be seriously considered for a position only by showing the employer that you know who you are, what you can offer and where you are going.

Sometimes it is difficult to examine what may be a weakness. Everyone is not equally good at everything. If you want to improve an area, take steps to work on it, e.g., a writing course to enhance written communication skills. Or, perhaps what you or your friends may think of as a deficiency or weakness in you can be turned into a strength in the right job or volunteer opportunity, e.g., lack of empathy may seem like hardheartedness, but to a person who repossesses furniture and cars, it can be an advantage.

You will need to commit some time to prepare your personal inventory. Your honesty and the quality of your work will predict your level of success in getting the right job or determining the right activities to stay productively active. Write out your answers and the conclusions you come to as a permanent record of your thoughts and feelings. The data then becomes an important resource as you continue in your retirement planning.