Personal Analysis Assessment

How does one assess themselves? Is it based on our known strengths and wins, or the

opinions of others? While this is a deep and philosophical question, I will make my best attempt

at evaluating myself for my professional benefit. Based on resources used throughout the

semester and self-reflection, I will highlight my areas of strength and passion. I will also pave the

road for the future I hope to have, and describe what that future will look like, including the

potential bumps in the road. This assessment will include my strengths, plans, and future.

I hope this description doesn’t sound too self-righteous, but a friend of mine always tells

me to sell yourself in any interview, which is what I plan to do. I believe my most prominent

skill is my great ability with kids. Ever since I was a kid myself, I was told that I had a natural

gift for working with kids. Lucky for me, this gift is also a passion. As long as I can remember I

have wanted to work in childcare. I used to get so upset when I was told I wasn’t old enough to

babysit or work in the church nursery. If only I knew how much I would do that in the future!

Through my now five years working in my church’s nursery I have honed many more skills that

would benefit me in a childcare field. Children are unpredictable, and with the unpredictable can

come a lot of things. They might ask you a question about something you can’t quite answer. In

these situations, you have to think quickly and come up with creative ways to answer their

questions. They are also really good at getting themselves into situations, many of which can be

dangerous. This has also developed my ability to think on my feet and come up with creative

solutions to problems and situations on the fly. My brain is wired fight over flight- I thrive in

stressful situations, and I never shy away from a challenge. These skills are all a big part of my

professional skills.
 I contain a lot of passion. I’ve been told I have the energy of an energizer bunny, and I

believe it. My drive and dedication set me apart from the rest. I strive for excellence in

everything I do, which can include a wide variety of things. Because I am a quick learner, I am

incredibly well rounded and have had experience in plenty of different areas. I have maneuvered

my way around all different forms of technology, and all different kinds of kids. I have been a

planner, a servant, an assistant, and a manager. I have held all kinds of positions in jobs and

added its skills to my repertoire. This self-assessment of my strengths does not include

everything. Focusing on the personable side, I have an incredible sense of empathy. A skill that

needs to be honed and controlled, but still one that can benefit me in many ways. I can feel with

and for others with ease. This is incredibly beneficial in any job working with people, especially

kids. Young children often have big emotions and no idea how to process them. This, tied in with

my more sensing and feeling side determined by the TypeFocus assessment, gives me an

advantage when dealing with highly emotional situations with kids. I am very sensitive to my

environment and read situations with ease. To compliment that, I am also adaptable. Momentary

changes come easy to me, and I can adapt my attitude and mindset in a moment’s notice if need

be. I am empathetic, dedicated, and quick thinker, and I want to put all of that into my future

career.

To be honest, I am not a hundred percent sure what my future will look like. I have a

general idea, but the specific details are not set in stone quite yet. Short term, I plan to finish my

bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Sciences, with a concentration is Early

Childhood Development. After graduating from Auburn with this degree, I hope to attend

Highlands College and get my associate degree in Family Ministry. I am also considering getting

my master’s degree in HDFS as well. I would love to work in some sort of childcare facility,
such as a daycare or preschool. I would be glad to just be a caretaker or teacher but would like to

work my way towards holding a manager or director position. Obviously, this is unrealistic in a

five-year span, but it’s something to work towards. Moving forwards, I hope to be married

somewhere in the previous time frame and starting a family a few years after. Once I have

children of my own, I will definitely be cutting back on work. I enjoy work, so I won’t stop

completely, but I definitely want to take some serious time off to focus on them. From there, I

would like to work from home or work low hours when my kids start going to school. This way,

I can still be available if they need me and be able to take care of my home, but still have work in

my life. Tying together my personal goals with my career goals, I am very interested in the world

of foster care. I started college wanting to work in social work, specializing in foster care and

adoption. While I may not get a chance to have a career directly related to that, I would like to

foster children in my own family. But of course, none of this will happen overnight.

To achieve my goals, there is a series of practical steps and connections I can make that

will benefit me. By cultivating good relationships with my professors and advisors during my

time as an undergrad at Auburn, I will end up with lots of great resources for counsel on jobs and

internships. I also hope to gain lots of friends within my church. My ultimate goal is to be a

nursery/preschool director at my church. By staying planted there and giving them my best, and

proving that I am capable of the job, I build my credibility and get my name on the radar for that

position. I plan to do my internship in some kind of daycare or childcare facility. I also want to

spend some time working in a childcare facility or volunteering in something similar. I want to

spend lots of time researching options for my further education- I am not entirely sure what

option will be best for me yet. It depends on where I am in my personal life, and what career I

actually decide to do. I have already begun talking to many people who already work in fields
similar to mine, including those who currently hold the position I hope to have. Many of them

have completely different paths that got them where they want to be, but they each have little bits

of advice that are inching me closer to my goal. And I will always need advice. There will be

things that will stand in the way of me achieving my goals.

While I am hopeful of my future, I am not too naïve to know it will take a lot more than

just checking off the boxes. Any successful career in this day and age takes a lot of hard work,

and the ability to stand out. In order to achieve this, I need to learn to better manage my time.

While I always manage to get my tasks done, it is hard to give one hundred percent to a dozen

things at one time. This happens to me every semester- I say yes to everything and end up with

too much on my plate. It leaves me exhausted and causes me to stumble in other areas. I think

something that would best benefit my professional life would be to learn to prioritize. I want to

invest myself in the things that mean the most to me. My future family will always come first,

and the rest will follow. By building the habit of prioritizing and time managing in college, it

will carry over into my adult life and become second nature.

I am not for sure what my future will look like, but who really is? I am glad I have at

least a general outline of what I want my career to be. I have room to adjust and update as I learn

more about myself and about my options. My empathy, passion, and consistency will benefit me

greatly in the professional world. I hope to work in some kind of childcare field and have years

upon years of experience to set me apart from the rest. While I am excited for a future career, my

family will always come first and I cannot wait to invest in them. I know there will be many

bumps along the way, but I love and accept the challenge and can’t wait for what is to come.