With many opportunities coming up as a result of globalisation, the recognition of one’s skills and talents is important in choosing the right career. Self assessment is the process wherein a self analysis is conducted by an individual to pin point his strengths and weaknesses which helps in making productive decisions.

Self assessment tools can be ‘self-directed assessment tools’ that helps in the self analysis by oneself, and ‘tools requiring professional assistance’ in the proper interpretation of who you are. Self directed assessment tools include conducting a SWOT analysis to know the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that influence one’s life. Determining one’s skills and interests help in taking wise career choices. For example, interpersonal skills and a sunny attitude can make an individual a motivating leader capable of driving the team to success. However, pinpointing weaknesses and taking measures to overcome them requires a high level of mental courage. Opportunities that match with the personal skills can be exploited by taking up training and developmental activities. But as threats are external and are beyond the control of the individual, he has to use his strengths to overcome them.

Personality tests like MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) require the interpretation of the professionals to make a self assessment. Myer-Briggs Type Indicator or MBTI is a tool developed by the mother-daughter team of Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers to determine the traits in an individual to understand how he performs in a situation. It can be used to identify the traits that control our decisions. Recognition of these traits can help in the manipulation of them for the accomplishment of the individual in his professional and personal life. The positive traits can be further enhanced and steps can be taken to negate or overcome the influence of the negative traits.

Self assessment tools also reveal the priority of values in life. For example while some aim at making more money, job satisfaction can be the driving force in another. Preference of outdoor or in-door work can be used to decide one’s career. Prestige added to the work can be the motivating factor to another. The attributes that can drive the individual to contribute significantly to the productivity of the company must be analysed by the company from time to time in a world where the employees play a vital role in company’s survival.

Self assessment is an ongoing process which must be made at frequent intervals to understand where one stands after the inclusion of various skills and talents and overcoming the weaknesses. The highly volatile market requires the individual to move with the flow of the tide if he is to succeed in life. A constant self analysis alone can help him to identify the skills that he needs to gain with the changes happening around him.