The document discusses focusing on one's strengths rather than weaknesses when it comes to careers. It cites research showing employees are more engaged and satisfied when they use their strengths at work. It provides assessments and exercises individuals can complete to identify their natural strengths and talents in order to pursue careers aligned with these strengths.

1. Go With Your Strengths Workshop Pathfinder

2. What does it mean to “go with your strengths”???? Too often in our careers, we are told to address our “areas for improvement”, “our developmental needs”, or “our weaknesses” Today, more and more organizations want to help employees build on their natural strengths Forget “weaknesses” focus more on your strengths!!!

3. ROI of a Strengths-Focus Gallup research has proven that the best way to develop people -- and net the greatest return on investment -- is to identify the ways in which they most naturally think, feel, and behave Then build upon those talents to create strength, the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance in a specific task Gallup studies also indicate that employees who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.

4. My Baseball Analogy Imagine Red Sox GM, Theo Epstein, conducting a performance evaluation with Red Sox slugger, David Ortiz What do you think the content of Epstein’s feedback might be?

5. So, how do we identify your strengths???? Natural Orientations & Passions What are your hobbies? What are your interests? What would you do even if you weren’t paid? KSAPs What are is your inventory of knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics? StengthFinder Assessment What are your top 5 strengths from among the top 34 strengths human beings possess?

6. What are your natural orientations & passions???? What type of work are you naturally drawn to? What are your hobbies? What are your interests? What would you do even if you weren’t paid to do it?

7. The Career Interest Game The Career Interests Game is designed to help you match career possibilities with your interests and skills. The Career Interests Game will also help you consider how your personality will “fit” with specific work environments and career paths. This exercise is based on Dr. John Holland's theory that people and work environments can be loosely classified into six different groups: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional - RIASEC 6 Holland Themes 30 Occupational Groupings—5 for each Holland Theme 100’s of Career Fields within the 30 Occupational Groupings Holland, J. (1997). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments . Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. (ISBN: 0-911-90727-0)

8. Holland Theory of Careers The RIASEC Themes & Their 30 Occupational Groupings Holland, J. (1997). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments . Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. (ISBN: 0-911-90727-0) Realistic Protective Services Skilled/Mechanical/Technical Production Services Farm/Environmental Transportation Investigative Physical Sciences Biological Sciences Medical Sciences Behavioral Sciences Information Technology Artistic Performing Arts Visual Arts Crafts Creative Arts Computer Graphics Design Social Personal Caring Services Counseling Education Spiritual Customer Service Enterprising Sales Politics Hospitality Business Entrepreneurship Legal Conventional Business Administration Retail Sales Government Services Administrative Support Services Banking & Finance

9. The Career Interest Game Let’s play!!!! http://career.missouri.edu/students/explore/thecareerinterestsgame.php Holland, J. (1997). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments . Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc. (ISBN: 0-911-90727-0)

10. What are your personal strengths? In 1998, The Gallup Organization designed an assessment based on “strengths psychology” They called their assessment StrengthsFinder We each have a top five strengths from among the 34 most common strengths possessed by human beings

11. “ You can be anything you want to be.” vs. “You cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”

12. Where do I find StrengthsFinder? In 1998, the Father of Strengths Psychology, Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. (1924-2003), along with Tom Rath and a team of scientists at The Gallup Organization, created the online StrengthsFinder assessment. Rooted in more than 40 years of research, this assessment has helped millions discover and develop their natural talents. Cost: $19.95 – book and assessment Retailers: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble Borders Other quality bookstores [Source: Rath, T. (2007) StrengthsFinder 2.0 . New York: Gallup Press. (ISBN: 978-1-59562-015-6)]

13. What Do You Get? Once you have completed the online assessment, you will receive a comprehensive Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide that is based on your StrengthsFinder 2.0 results. This guide includes: Your top five theme report, built around the new Strengths Insight descriptions 50 Ideas for Action (10 for each of your top five themes) based on thousands of best-practice suggestions we reviewed A Strengths Discovery Activity that helps you think about how your talents, investment, experience, skills, and knowledge work together to build strengths A Strength-Based Action Plan for setting specific goals for building and applying your strengths in the next week, month, and year Pass around my book and assessment results.

14. What are your KSAPs? Knowledge Information or understanding acquired through experience or training; organized sets of principles and facts. Skills The ability to use and apply one’s knowledge effectively and readily; to do something well; developed capacities that facilitate learning or the rapid acquisition of knowledge. Abilities Competence in an activity or occupation because of enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance; natural aptitude or acquired proficiency; physical, mental or emotional.

15. What are your KSAPs? (cont) Personal Characteristics Natural Orientations & Passions (RIASEC) Your top 5 strengths from the StrengthsFinder assessment Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Results Other personal characteristics either self-identified or discovered through another assessment or experience Consider how you would use this info during an Interview.

16. KSAPs Exercise You can begin the process of identifying your own KSAPs by completing the supplied exercise: Pathfinder’s Identifying My KSAs Resource Pathfinder’s KSAs Exercise Pass around KSA Resource & Exercise documents.

17. NEXT STEPS Explore your passions Document your KSAPs Take the StrengthFinder assessment Then, focus your job search and/or “work for pay” (“free agency”) initiatives on these strengths you already possess Chances are, you will have a more satisfying and rewarding career!!!!