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Running head: CAREER PLANNING

Career Planning Assessment Report

Kirstin Rosner
Wilmington University

CAREER PLANNING
Career Planning Assessment Report
Ever since I was younger, I knew that I wanted to be a human service professional.
Growing up with my family was very difficult and there were a lot of challenges that we had to
overcome. My mother was diagnosed with severe depression when I was younger. It was
something that my family struggled with my entire life and still continues to be affected by it. I

didnt understand what was going on at the time, but I knew that I wanted to work with children
and families in some sort of capacity. While I was in college I decided to volunteer with an
agency called The Womens Center, Inc., which is organization that helps women and children
that are survivors of domestic violence. I volunteered at the shelter for two years and learned
quite a lot while I was there. Once I graduated college I entered into a graduate counseling
program, but I realized that it just wasnt a right fit for me. As a result I decided to focus on other
things for a while and then I decided that I still wanted to work in the human service profession,
but as an administrator and that is why I enrolled in the Administration of Human Services
program.
The strengths finder assessment revealed a lot of what I already knew about myself,
which was great because it validated what I have always thought were my strengths. The top five
themes that were revealed were harmony, adaptability, input, responsibility and empathy. The
assessment revealed that individuals who excel with harmony usually do not like conflict and
would rather seek areas of agreement. It specifically stated that I am straightforward and
objective and I lay out the facts so that the individuals who are involved can move in one
direction together. It also states that I deal with facts unemotionally and that my tough-minded
approach allows for me to cut through untruths, rumors or misinformation. The theme of
adaptability usually applies to individuals who have a go with the flow attitude and who take

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things as they come. It specifically states that I would rather respond to certain demands or
problems as they arise and I do not like being forced to follow someone elses plan of action. In
addition, processes that are inefficient cause me to be frustrated. I am also comfortable with
letting what happens during the day or peoples demands dictate what my attention is focused on.
The theme of input applies to individuals who crave to know more information. More
specifically, the assessment stated that by nature I easily dive into books, journals, files and
correspondence to prepare myself for new assignments. I want to absorb as much information as
I possible can. Individuals, who are talented in the theme of responsibility, pride themselves on
stable values like honesty and loyalty. People that know me understand that I go to great lengths
to do things the right way and to behave in an ethic manner. It becomes instinct to have the desire
for people to understand that I am an extremely reliable and dependable person. Lastly, the
theme of empathy applies to individuals that can sense the feelings of other people by putting
themselves in the shoes of other people. The assessment states that there are many times when I
am able to sense the moods of individuals without them having to tell me what their actual mood
is. Having the ability to sense emotions allows for people to feel more at ease (Gallup, Inc.,
2015). All of these themes are extremely accurate with the qualities that I would describe for
myself.
The MAPP assessment seemed very different from the Strengths Finder Assessment. The
MAPP assessment appears to focus on qualities that are more objective versus the Strengths
Finder Assessment, which seems a bit more subjective. All of the qualities that were measured
for the Strengths Finder could be left up to interpretation. The MAPP Assessment although there
are some subjective aspect to it, seem like it relates more to quantitative, measurable factors.
Some of the results were not as accurate as the Strengths Finder Assessment. The mathematical

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capacity that was listed stated that I am motivated and equipped to use and apply math while in a
management position (Assessment.com, 2015). Math was my worst subject in school and I still
continue to hate math and would not feel confident in my abilities to apply it while in a
management position. I also found that the Strengths Finder was much easier to relate to and
understand than the MAPPS Assessment was.
The search that was conducted on the United States Bureau of Labor statistics was for a
management position in the human service field and the results were for a social and community
service manager. A social and community service manager works with members in the
community to identify programs that are needed. They design and oversee programs that meet
the needs of the community and also supervise staff that provides services to clients. Additional
responsibilities include analyzing data to determine effectiveness of a program, suggest and
implement improvements to programs and plan and manage community outreach efforts. The
reason I chose this position was because of the placement I am in right now. Working with an
organization that seeks out resources and assists families with finding those appropriate
resources has made me notice the gaps that exist in the community. My ultimate career goal is to
be in a management position that supervises staff, but to also be able to create change and make
improvements in the community. This position aligns with the goals that I have set for myself
extremely well.
The leadership skills that I bring to this type of position include communication and
being intuitive. I have always been great at communicating and there have been times in the past
that I may have communicated too much with keeping coworkers in the loop with tasks that have
been completed. When in a leadership position, I believe it is always a good idea to communicate
with staff so they feel included instead of being blindsided by decisions or change that occurs. It

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also gives staff an opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions. There is not always a direct
path when trying to create change in the community and being intuitive allows for decisions to
be made based on what is currently occurring in the community. Personal strengths that I have
include having personal experience and working well in a team setting. I fully believe that in
order to make a difference, it takes a team of people. Being able to work in a team setting can
make or break the impact an organization is trying to make. In addition, since my career goals
involve working with the disability community, the fact that I have personal experience with this
population makes a difference. With anything, when a person has their own personal experience
it makes a difference. It helps to build relationships and trust with the community that the human
service professional is working in. Some of the major responsibilities with this specific job
description include evaluating the community and seeing what programs are available. With
having personal experience in the disability community, it would be a lot easier for me to
evaluate what resources are needed in the community. My personal weaknesses that I need to
address are the confidence I have in myself and my ability two lead a room. There are many
times when I have the experience and the knowledge, but I lack confidence in my abilities. This
is something that I need to build with time and experience. In addition, I need to work on my
ability to lead a room and my public speaking. I often admire people who can walk up to the
front of the room, crack a few jokes and with the snap of a finger has the attention of every
person in the room. I believe that this is something that comes with experience and confidence
and I will continue to work on these weaknesses to improve myself as a leader.

CAREER PLANNING
References
Assessment.com (2015). MAPP free sample career assessment. Retrieved from
http://www.assessment.com/memberCenter/OnlineOutput/RetrieveFCA.asp?ML=EN
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Social and community service managers. Retrieved from

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/social-and-community-service-managers.htm#tab-2
Gallup, Inc. (2015). Strengths finder 2.0 report. Retrieved from
https://gx.gallup.com/services/pdf?v=pdfGeneration.prince.7.0.binPath