What is important to me?

Two people engaging in a conversation at a cafe, with one handing a document to the other.

Your career journey is deeply personal and rooted in self-discovery. It's about aligning who you are with what you do. This page is your starting point for a career path that resonates with your values, leverages your skills, and fulfills your aspirations.

Knowing yourself is one of the most important steps in your career journey. To develop career ideas, you need to better understand your interests, values, strengths, and skills and how they relate to meaningful work.

You can engage in this process through three pathways:

  1. Self reflection
  2. Career self-assessment tools
  3. Talking to people

 

Want to dig a bit deeper? Try these activities:   

 Career Mapping Activity

 Thinking About Career-Life Choices

1. Self-Reflection

Reflecting on activities you have participated in, including school, work, volunteering and leisure, will help you gain insight into your interests.  Ask yourself the following questions and look for themes (e.g. a preference for activities that involve working with your hands or people):

  • What did I enjoy or not enjoy in the experience? 

  • What made the experience meaningful?

  • Which (if any) aspects of the activity would I like to do again?

To gain more insight into how this self-reflection can help you explore your future career directions, you can join one of our self-exploration programs. Dream Job Academy and workshops like Know Your Skills, Exploring Meaningful Work, Envisioning Your Future, and Career Purpose Statements. For more information, session dates, and registration - visit the Career Exploration & Education Events calendar on the Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network (CLNx)

Here are a couple of reflection exercises that might help you as you think of your interests:

  1. Imagine three vastly different careers
  2. Describe your dream job

2. Career Assessment Tools

No magic assessment can tell you which career is best for you. However, career assessments can be informative tools to learn more about how your personality, strengths, interests and values connect with potential careers and meaningful work.

Here are lists of career assessment tools that can help you think through your interests, values and what aligns with your personality.

  • Interests 
    • Career Cruising (in the Career Resource section of CLNx) is a website that offers multiple non-assessment tools for self-discovery, as well as an in-depth career information database.
    • Job Bank Canada's Career Interest quiz can help you identify where your interests lie, and explore what type of jobs would suit you well
    • O*NET Interest Profiler can help determine what your interests are and how they can be applied in a career.
  • Values 
    • Stanford's Meaningful Work Kit can help you reflect on “what matters to you” in your career and life to help set priorities. Your values can change depending on your life circumstances.
    • O*NET database on work values can also help you can also connect your values to potential career options through  
  • Personality -
    • 16 Personalities is a free online personality assessment focusing on mind, energy, nature, tactics and identity.
    • Job Bank Canada's personal tests can help you better understand how you think and learn, and what matters to you in a job.
    • Clifton Strengths - Finder helps you discover your top strengths and offers advice on how to focus and develop in those areas professionally. 

3. Talking to people

Talking to people is a great way to learn about diverse career paths, and to clarify what activities you are interested in, what matters to you and what skills you want to develop for future work. To start connecting with alumni and professionals, check out Ten Thousand Coffees or Career Navigator.

To learn more about strategies for effectively connecting with people, attend Career Exploration & Education's networking and LinkedIn workshops. You can register on the Career & Co-Curricular Learning Network (CLNx) 

 

Looking for more ways to explore?

  • What is out there?: Explore strategies and tools that will help you learn about career possibilities

  • What’s Next?: Ready to take action? Find resources on networking, resume building, and actionable steps toward your career goals.