Values, Interests, and Skills

Before you can start choosing majors and careers, you need to focus on learning more about yourself. The questions, "Who am I? What’s important to me? and What do I want to do with my life?" are a start in the exploration of one’s interests, skills, values, and personality characteristics. What subject areas are you interested in testing out? It is also helpful to take a "look back." What classes did you enjoy and do well in during your high school years? What activities did you enjoy from summer jobs, part-time jobs, and volunteer and extra-curricular experiences? What skills have others complimented you on?

There are a variety of inventories and assessments that are available to help you explore and examine these questions. These inventories are "tools" to assist you; they can not "tell you what to do!" Once you’ve taken these inventories, they provide the opportunity to "see a summary of your possible interests/personality types on paper" to reflect and discuss with a counselor. You may also want to participate in "Choosing a Major" workshops offered at various times during the year.

Appointment with Career Counselors

Career counselors are available to help you clarify and develop ideas for possible majors and careers. It is important to examine your values (What’s important to me? What will give meaning to my life?), interests (What do I enjoy? What am I most interested in?), skills (What are my talents? What am I good at?), and personality characteristics (What kind of people do I like to be around? What kinds of tasks do I want to be involved in? What kind of environments fit me?). Call #5707 (CSB) or #3236 (SJU) to make an appointment to discuss resources and activities available to assist you in assessing and clarifying your values, interests, and skills.

Strong Interest Inventory (SII)

The recently revised Strong Interest Inventory (SII) reflects today’s constant pattern of change in the world of work. It provides a solid, dependable guide for career change and development. Whether you are exploring careers, considering job change, or interested in career development, the Strong Interest Inventory provides information that can help make informed decisions.  The Strong’s 317 items measure your interest in a broad range of occupations, work activities, leisure activities, and school subjects.   To utilize this paper-pencil instrument for career exploration, contact your Career Services Office to set-up an appointment.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument is the most widely used personality inventory in history. The form contains 126 items that examine "personality preferences" on four scales:

1. extroversion - introversion
2. sensing - intuition
3. thinking - feeling
4. judging - perceiving

The various combinations of these preferences result in 16 personality types. These personality types explore various preferences for communication styles, leadership styles, and work environments.  To utilize this instrument for career exploration, contact your Career Services Office to set-up an appointment.

Career Exploration Inventory (CEI)

The CEI is designed to help you explore and plan three major areas of your life - your work, leisure activities, and education/learning. It does this by asking you to respond to 120 items, and scoring your responses in relation to 15 major clusters of interest. This will help you identify which career, leisure, and educational goals best relate to your interests. The CEI will also help you locate additional sources of information on occupations, leisure activities and related educational programs that you may want to consider. Planning your career is a lifelong process. Over time you needs, skills, and interests change. The CEI will help you develop career planning skills as well as identify specific careers, leisure activities and educational options for you to explore in more detail. But, like other interest inventories, the CEI does not measure your ability (what you do well) nor your motivation (how hard you are willing to work to meet your goals).

A.T.L.A.S. (Achieving Through Learning and Searching)

A.T.L.A.S. is an educational and career planning guide which provides suggested activities and resources available to assist students in the decision-making process.  A.T.L.A.S. is distributed to students in their First-Year Symposium classes and includes an ATLAS planner to plan and document coursework and experiential activities such as student employment, volunteering, extra-curricular activities, summer jobs, and internships. http://www.csbsju.edu/academicadvising/atlas/atlas.htm

Tour the Career Resource Center

Visit the Career Resource Centers to become familiar with and use the multitude of print, video, and Internet resources available to help you explore majors and career options. The centers are staffed by trained student paraprofessionals, Career Assistants.   

Fall Initiative for First Year Students

During the initial weeks of school, first year students at St. Ben's and St. John's are contacted to participate in career exploration activities scheduled for their residence area.  These activities are aimed at introducing first year students to the career decision-making process and available campus resources.

Additional Information:

• Choosing a Major
• What can I do with a major in...?
• Who Am I?