5 steps to mirror career success

Posted on 21 June 2024 • Career planning

“[Self-reflection is] the foundation that all other soft skills grow from.”           Bailey and Rehman (2022)

When we look in the mirror, we see a true reflection of ourselves and how others may perceive us. Self-reflection is not always easy, but it can help us to find a deeper understanding of our values, strengths and what skills or qualities we might want to develop. Undertake our career self-assessment to examine your mirror image, then follow our five steps to self-reflect your way to career success.

Step 1: Consider your skills and strengths

Self-reflection can be considered an essential, if not the most important, skill for career development. By undertaking our employability skills audit and analysing your existing skills and qualities you can align your career path with your authentic self, leading to greater satisfaction and purpose in your choice of work.

Step 2: Reflect on goals and where you are now

Use the 3-minute careers check-in to clarify your personal and career goals. You can return to this as many times as you like during your student journey, as your goals develop, clarify or change.

Step 3: Improve your decision-making skills

Honing your decision-making skills will empower your personal and professional growth. Harness the benefits of introspection to navigate your career path with clarity, resilience and purpose.

Step 4: Identify areas for improvement and development

Take proactive steps to enhance your skills, expand your knowledge, and pursue new opportunities. Volunteering and work experience can be great ways to learn new skills and to gain an insight into different sectors and job roles.

Step 5: Navigate change with confidence

Self-reflection holds the potential to unlock new opportunities for professional fulfilment and growth if you are flexible and open to change. Our career confidence pages can help you to recognise your skills and demonstrate what you have to offer as well as maximise your employability skills . You can also Develop your career resilience with our free OpenLearn course.

Whether you’re seeking career clarity, honing your transferable or career-specific skills, or looking to become more adaptable in the workplace, Careers and Employability Services has the self-reflection toolkit you need.

This blog post has been created using some of the article wording produced by the AI app Chatsonic. Such AI apps can be useful for generating ideas and as a starting point for helping to write anything from blog posts to CVs.

References

James R. Bailey and Scheherazade Rehman (2022) Don’t Underestimate the Power of Self-Reflection. Available at: https://hbr.org/2022/03/dont-underestimate-the-power-of-self-reflection (Accessed: 3 May 2024).

 

Annabel Bennett is a Development Coordinator in the OU’s Careers and Employability Services. She supports careers-related activity both within the service and across the University, helping students to achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential. Explore the rest of our blog for more articles from your careers team.