The Career Planning Process: Reflection (Part 2)

Part 2 – Making Career Reflection Practical: How Graduate Students Can Use Assessments to Help Organize Their Thoughts and Make Practical Decisions

Person sitting at desk with a notebook and phone on the table.

Navigating the transition from a Master’s or PhD program to a job in industry can feel overwhelming, especially when you are faced with countless career paths, job titles, and company cultures. While passion and instinct do play a role, they usually aren’t enough to guide clear, confident decisions. That’s where structured self-assessment comes in. By using values, skills, and interest assessments, students can bring clarity and direction to their career planning—transforming vague goals into actionable steps.

Why Use Assessment Tools?

Career reflection is not just about asking yourself, “What do I want to do?” It’s about systematically exploring who you are, what you’re good at, and what environments will help you thrive. This structured approach is especially useful for students aiming to break into industry, where job roles vary widely and academic experience doesn’t always translate directly.

Assessment tools provide a concrete framework to:

Identify personal and professional values
Clarify key strengths and transferable skills
Understand interests that drive long-term engagement
Match individual profiles with roles, sectors, and company cultures

Step 1: Start with Values Assessment

Values are your core principles. They shape your work style, priorities, and definition of success. If you’re seeking a career that will sustain you beyond just a paycheck, understanding your values is essential.

A few free assessment tools to get started:

Life Values Inventory
The VIA Character Strengths Survey
Work Values Matcher (by O*NET or CareerOneStop)

These tools ask questions about what matters to you most and provide a ranked list of values to help you prioritize and examples of environments that would best suit your priorities. For example, if “work-life balance” and “collaboration” rank high for you, you might be better suited for a mid-sized company with a strong team culture, rather than a high-pressure corporate consulting role.

Step 2: Assess Your Skills

Graduate students often underestimate the range of skills they possess, especially those gained outside the classroom. A clear understanding of both hard and soft skills is key to finding roles where you can succeed so you can market yourself effectively. Tools to try:

Skills Matcher (CareerOneStop)
StrengthsFinder (CliftonStrengths)
Meeting with a coach at your career center

These tools help you break down your competencies into categories like analytical thinking, communication, project management, technical proficiency, and leadership. If you discover you’re strong in synthesizing data and stakeholder communication, you might consider roles like business analyst, product manager, or UX researcher.

Also, compare your current skills with those listed in job descriptions for roles you’re interested in. This can highlight skill gaps to work on during the remainder of your program.

Step 3: Clarify Your Interests

Interests keep you motivated and engaged at work. They’re often linked to how you prefer to solve problems, the kinds of tasks you enjoy, and the sectors that inspire you. Tools to try:

Strong Interest Inventory
Holland Code (RIASEC) Assessments
O*NET Interest Profiler

These tools categorize interests into themes like investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. For instance, someone with investigative and enterprising interests may thrive in a strategic role at a tech company, blending curiosity with innovation.

Knowing your interest profile also helps you narrow down industries, such as biotech, clean energy, or fintech, that align with your natural curiosity and enthusiasm.

Putting It All Together

Once you’ve gathered insights from these three types of assessments, the next step is synthesis. Create a personal “career map” that outlines:

Top values to honor in your work
Core skills to leverage or develop
Interest areas to prioritize in your job search

Then, use these reflections to evaluate job postings, research company cultures, and prepare tailored application materials. You can also bring this with you to your next coaching appointment to share with your career coach. Your coach will be able to talk through your priorities and may even be able to suggest additional careers that would match your profile.

Final Thoughts

For graduate students aiming to break into industry, taking a practical, methodical approach to career reflection is not just helpful, it’s empowering. By using structured assessment tools, you move from guessing to knowing what kinds of jobs and companies are right for you. In a competitive job market, that clarity can make all the difference—not just in landing a role, but in finding one where you can thrive.