Assignment: Personal Identity

Assess Your Personal Identity and Values

In the following activity, you will sample several self-assessment surveys to gain insights about your personal identity, values, educational goals, and career goals. By better understanding the interconnections, you are in a better position to make solid college and career choices.

Objectives

  • Examine several surveys that help you self-assess personal identity, values, and interests.
  • Explore educational goals and/or career paths that match your personal identity, values, and interests, using a self-assessment survey.
  • Analyze survey results and draw personal conclusions in the context of your educational goals.

Directions

  1. Spend a few moments thinking about questions or feelings you may have about your personal identity, your values, and your educational goals.
  2. Review the self-assessment survey instruments listed below, and select one that represents your interests in examining your values.
  3. Complete the survey you’ve selected, maintaining an objective, honest, and open stance. Listen to your inner voice and to what is uniquely important to you.
  4. When you complete the survey, reflect on the parallels you see between educational goals and career goals.
  5. Write a few paragraphs about what you discover. What surprises you the most? What excites you the most? Are your educational goals in sync with your personal identity and values?
SURVEY INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION
1 ISEEK Career Cluster Interest Survey

ISEEK Careers / Minnesota Colleges and Universities

 This online survey lets you rate activities you enjoy, your personal qualities, and school subjects you like. Then you can see which career clusters are a match for your interests.
2 Life Values Assessment

Career Test for the Soul

 This online survey provides a master list of twenty typical life values, which you arrange in order of importance. You may add values of your own definition. You interpret your results based on provided reflection questions.
3 Values Clarification Questionnaire

InSite / Electric Eggplant

 This online survey, in two parts, looks at the specific values of ambition, appearance, family, friendship, independence, wealth, education, freedom, happiness, privacy, security, honesty. A scorecard and interpretation are generated.
4 Career Interest Survey

CheckOutACollege.com / Community and Technical Colleges of Washington State

 This online survey allows you to select activities you like to do, personality traits that describe you, and subjects that interest you. Auto results suggest one or more of sixteen career clusters that match your selections.