I know that many of you have received a pink slip or fear that you might get one soon. Either way, it’s an awful situation. But it also has a positive aspect to the extent it makes you take stock of what you want from your career. Here are some pointers to help you make introspection a fruitful and positive experience.

Why Self Assessment Is So Important

Experts agree that regular career introspection is necessary; but they also say that executives and managers don’t self-assess often enough. According to career consultant Beth Ann Wilson, “most executives find themselves assessing what is important to them in their lives and careers only when crisis strikes or when an opportunity to make a change presents itself.”

Under these circumstances, assessment is driven less by self-reflection than by pragmatic considerations. For example, consultant Cliff Hakim told me about a vice president of finance of a mid-size consulting firm who lost his job and let his fears and anxieties dictate his next move. “Instead of reflecting on what he really wanted, he took the first job that came along.” It was a poor choice. “He had an impossible weekend commute. He missed his family, and for what? He was still stuck on the same rung of the career ladder. The process of reflection would have saved him this misstep.”

How to Engage in Self-Assessment

There are several things you can do to take stock of your career. Consider the goals you have achieved and those that have eluded you so far. “Most assessments take the form of an internal dialogue where the individual looks back at the work-related goals and aspirations he or she had and evaluates the actual results he or she was able to accomplish against these goals,” says Dr. Agata Dulnik, president and owner of Executive Value Solutions, LLC in Connecticut.

Wilson suggests making a list of career and personal accomplishments for the year, answering questions such as: What are you proud of having completed? What was most meaningful to you about your work and your community affiliations? What proof do you have of these accomplishments?

Hakim stresses the importance of clarifying what value most inspires and drives you. He suggests brainstorming with a friend or colleague to create a list of 20 or 30 primary values, such as freedom, health, creativity, generosity and family. “Decide which value is the foundation value that supports all the others,” he advises. Hakim says that he asks his clients to write about their history, beginning with family background and noting the high and low points of their lives, major turning points and how they arrived at their current career position.

Enlisting the Help of Outsiders

Introspection isn’t necessarily a completely internal dialog. Talk to loved ones about your career choices. Think about asking an independent third party to conduct interviews with people who know you well, such as your spouse, friends, colleagues, employees and clients. Some questions the person can ask:

• What do you think John brings to the marketplace that has the most value?
• What are John’s talents and what does he do best?
• If you could place John in the perfect job, what would it be?
• If you could put John in the job or role most likely to make him miserable, what would it be?

Conclusion

Another part of the introspection process to consider is taking one or more of the structured assessment tests administered by licensed psychologists to individuals performing career introspection. I will describe some of these tests next week in Part 2.

Wishing you career success,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

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