Self-Assessments

"What do you want to do?"

This is one of the most common and important questions many college students are asked. While this is a valuable question, most students are not making a decision now that will be a "rest of their life" decision, but rather a choice about which opportunities can help lead them to a more satisfying academic plan.

Exploratory students are encouraged to work with exploratory advisors to complete different self-assessments that help you understand your strengths, interests, and possible major and career paths. This starts you down the road of actively exploring your options for programs of study and helps you to learn more about yourself! Developing a sense of who you are as a student - your interests, values, skills, personality traits and strengths - can all help in the exploration process and make connections to careers easier.

Figuring it out!

Through the Office of Academic Advising, there are a number of campus resources to assist students connect to career opportunities. Typically, students spread these activities over the fall and spring semesters.

Interests

Career Cruising is a free online career assessment with detailed career information and personal stories from current working professionals. Students can take the assessment and schedule a follow-up appointment with an advisor to review and interpret their results.
Strong Inventory (Holland Code) - this self-assessment is an interest inventory to help students understand their interests and identify possible career paths based on their personality. Students can take the official assessment for $16, which is charged to their U-bill and includes an individual meeting with an academic advisor to provide an in-depth interpretation of your results. Students should contact the Office of Academic Advising at 319-273-3406 or academic-advising@uni.edu for more information on how to take the Strong Inventory.

Values

Evaluate your Values - this worksheet provides students with a list of values and asks them to identify which values are important to them. After completing the worksheet, students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor to review their results.

Personality

Myers-Briggs (MBTI) - the MBTI is a personality assessment that provides students a four-letter personality type. Students can take a free version of the assessment to get their personality type, then schedule an appointment with an academic advisor to review their results and discuss how this relates to their major.

Looking for more resources?

Career Exploration Resources