Making a career decision requires planfulness. Individuals combine their self-knowledge with an understanding of the world of work. A simple way to gain self-knowledge is to clarify one’s trait elements (i.e., strengths and interests). On this page, there are several traditional assessments and occupational information sources. You can use the tools provided to build more self-awareness and see how your elements fit into the world of work.

Values (Desires) 

Interests

Personality

Skills

Emotional Intelligence

An emotional intelligence assessment measures an ability to recognize emotions in yourself and others; understand their meaning and significance in relationships; and reason and problem-solve on the basis of them.

Occupational Information

You can gain new insights into how you fit into a career path by comparing two or more occupations together. Seek answers to the following questions. Learn the facts, see job outlooks, and hear the stories of working professionals. Factor this information into career decisions.

  • What is the employment outlook?
  • What level of education is typical?
  • What are the tasks in this role?
  • What are the skills needed?
  • What is a typical entry level salary?
  • What other occupations are related?

Primary Occupational & Labor Market Information

Other Occupational & Labor Market Information

Loyola-Notre Dame Library Resources

Bringing Self and Society Together

Use the insights you gained from the assessments and combine them with the occupational information you learned. Use the Decision-Making Grid to see how many of your trait elements are represented by the occupations you are interested in. This approach to career planning is imperfect, but it is a first step to deeper thinking about career management. Individuals are more complex than career and personality assessments can capture. More thorough career planning can be initiated by using the Career Center advisors.

Career Decision Making Grid (PDF)