As noted in our previous article on Self-Awareness In Career Development, building self-awareness involves collecting data on your values, skills, talents and other personal qualities. Because environments are continually changing and issues may be complex, self-assessments may be inaccurate if certain problems exist. Here are some categories of problems that should be considered in every self-assessment.
- Too Much, or Too Little Data. Too much or too little information leads to a distorted self-awareness. This is especially true when data is collected during a time of transition.
- The Threat of Anxiety. Because we are collecting information on ourselves, an anxious person may perceive the results as a threat to self-esteem. When this happens, an individual will focus on their anxious feelings, rather than the data itself.
- Self-esteem. Individuals with low self-esteem tend to interpret data that is consistent with their low self-esteem. When thinking more about their own self-image rather than an accurate assessment of self, inaccuracies are bound to happen.
Because self-assessments can serves as guides for career actions, if one of the barriers exist above, individuals may make hasty career decisions or neglect to change their behaviors as needed. In that case, an outside observer should be consulted before determining the accuracy of the self-assessment.
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