Assess What You Want

Before you can begin researching companies and searching for opportunities, you need to assess your career goals, your interests, and your values. This type of preparation will allow you to target your search, make the search process more manageable, as well as act as a guiding compass during your search to find the right opportunity. Use the ideas, worksheets, and prompts below to assist in your self-assessment.

BACK TO PREPARE FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH

Reflect Before You Search

Theres a lot to consider before you start searching for a job. What kind of job experience are you looking for? What’s the best work environment for you? Are you limited by geography? It’s also helpful to consider your passions, your values, your personality, and your artistic/design style when you start a job search. Use our worksheets below to shape your reflection and exploration.

 

Self-Reflection

Use the spaces on this linked worksheet to collect your thoughts about who you are, what you care about, the nature of what you create, and your dream job/employer. This sheet is designed to help you get a better understanding of the values you have and how they might interact with your job search.

Understand Your Priorities

We all have different priorities that will impact a job search. Use this linked pre-search questionnaire to identify your needs. preferences, and priorities in four categories: day-to-day work life, location, money and compensation, and type of employment/employer. This will help narrow your job search based on what is important to you.

Additional Reflection Questions

 

In addition to the reflection sheets above, consider the following questions to help you shape your job search and find the right next opportunity for you.

  1. Out of the classes I have taken at ArtCenter, which have been my favorite and why?

  2. What are my favorite skills that I have developed, and how are they applicable to an employer?

  3. How do I hope to grow as a professional, and how can my employer help to facilitate that growth?

  4. What are my long-term goals, and how does this position support my those goals?