The first step of the career planning process is the self-assessment. This step involves having your child gather information that will help him make a decision about a future career. A self-assessment should include an examination of your child's values, interests, personality, and skills. Below is an overview of the various assessment tools your child can use to learn more about himself.

Value Inventories
Value inventories measure how important certain values are to your child. There are two types of values: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic values are related to the work itself and what it contributes to society. Extrinsic values are related to external features, such as physical setting and earning potential. Value inventories will ask your child to answer questions like:

• Is a high salary important to you?
• Is it important for your work to involve interacting with people?
• Is it important for you to have a flexible work schedule?
• Is having a prestigious job important for you?
• Do you like to work independently or as a part of a group?

Interest Inventories
The questions in an interest inventory ask your child about his likes and dislikes regarding various activities. The premise of this tool is that people who share similar interests will also enjoy similar types of occupations. Once your child completes the interest inventory, his results will be compared with the results of people in various occupations. Will his interests be similar to those of a stunt car driver or an accountant?

Personality Inventories
Personality inventories looks at your child's individual traits, motivational drives, needs, and attitudes. Many personality inventories divide people into eight personality types - extroverts, introverts, thinking, feeling, sensing, intuitive, judging, and perceptive. The premise of this inventory is that certain personality types are better suited for certain careers. For example, someone who is an introvert would not do well in a career that requires public speaking. However, personality type alone shouldn't be used to determine whether a person would succeed in a particular career. A personality inventory should be used in conjunction with other inventories, such as those that look at interests and values.

Skills Assessment
A skills assessment will help your child determine what skills he currently possesses, in addition to what he is good at doing and what he enjoys doing. The skills a person uses in his career should combine both characteristics. The results of the skills assessment can also be used to make a decision about whether or not your child is willing to spend extra time and money on acquiring the skills needed for a particular career.

When your child is going through the self-assessment process, it's important to keep in mind that just because your child's self- assessment indicates that a particular occupation matches his interests, skills, and values; it doesn't mean it should be his choice. Similarly, just because his self-assessment doesn't indicate that a particular occupation is appropriate, doesn't mean he should discount it entirely.