Choosing a major, exploring career paths, or deciding what's next after graduation can feel overwhelming — but you don't have to figure it out alone. Career assessments are powerful tools that can help you learn more about yourself and how your unique traits align with potential career options.

1. Understand Yourself Before You Decide

Self-assessment is the first step in making confident career choices. By identifying your interests, values, personality, and skills, you can better understand what motivates you and what kind of work environment fits you best. Knowing yourself helps you focus your energy on career paths that feel both exciting and sustainable.

2. Take the FOCUS 2 Career Assessment

The FOCUS 2 assessment is a great starting point for exploring majors and careers that align with your interests and strengths. It provides personalized results and connects them to real-world occupations, giving you a clearer picture of what might be a good fit. After completing it, you can set up a 60-minute Review Assessments: FOCUS 2 Results appointment with a career advisor to discuss next steps.

3. Discover Your Personality with the MBTI

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) helps you better understand your personality preferences — how you process information, make decisions, and interact with others. This insight can be incredibly helpful when choosing a career or navigating work environments. Many students find that the MBTI helps them understand not only what they want to do, but how they want to do it. In order to see your MBTI results, booking a 60-minute Review Assessments: MBTI Results appointment with a career advisor is required.

4. Use Assessments as a Starting Point

While assessments can offer valuable guidance, they're just one part of the process. Use your results as a foundation for further exploration — research career fields, talk to professionals, and consider internships that align with your interests. Pairing insight with action is the key to building a fulfilling path forward.

Start Exploring Today

Ready to learn more about yourself and discover the possibilities ahead? Take the FOCUS 2 or MBTI assessments through the UMBC Career Center. You'll gain a deeper understanding of your strengths, interests, and career options — helping you move forward with clarity and confidence.

According to the Oxford Dictionary imposter syndrome is “the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills.” 

When you are suffering from imposter syndrome the following signs may occur:

• Fear of failure
• Fear of success
• Burnout
• Perfectionism
• Lack of confidence
• Comparison to others.

All of these signs can be experienced in the workplace. For example, you may procrastinate on a project because you’re suffering from fear of failure. Or, you may spend your days comparing yourself to others in your office, hindering you from making connections with your co-workers. Finally, you may be in a state of perfectionism to show your value, which can result in burnout. Imposter syndrome can cause these scenarios and more, leading to less-than-ideal outcomes.

So how do you overcome it? Try one of these methods:

• Keep track of reminders. Keep a folder in your inbox where you can drop in positive notes (“kudos”) from colleagues and supervisors. Every once in a while, look back at those emails.
• Reframe your thinking. Tell yourself that you’re not the only one who has felt this way. Turn around negative sentiments into more positive ones.
• Practice self-empathy.  Know that you’re not alone, and that you are worthy of the job position you’re in. Give yourself grace and credit for how much you’ve already accomplished.
• Commiserate with others. Find colleagues or mentors who know what it’s like to suffer from imposter syndrome. Perhaps there is even an affinity group you can join. Remember that we all go through it at one point or another!
• Take a broader view. Try to look at your situation from a wider lens. You may get a more realistic picture of how you’re performing vs. zooming in under the microscope.

Need help taking the broader view when it comes to your career? Take the FOCUS 2 Assessment to see how you can best apply your strengths, which can help you avoid imposter syndrome.