Lesson 1: Who am I?

Identify your skill set

Knowing who you are and what you want comes naturally to some people. While others struggle to identify goals or where they’re going in life.

Skills you will learn:

• Help you “map” your identity

• Identify your skill set

• Give you pointers on maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Who am I?

This might sound obvious, but it is very helpful to get an idea of the kind of person you are before entering the job market. Identifying your strengths and weaknesses, your passions and your dreams, will help you to identify goals more effectively.

Do you like to work with your hands? Or are you more of a thinker?

Do you love being around people, or do you tend to like spending time alone?

Jot down a couple of characteristics that you think define you.

You may find it useful to use these subheadings:

• Strengths

• Limitations

• Interests

• Goals

This list is not set in stone. Feel free to add your own subheadings. Writing things out like this, so that you can see them, is a good way to get a general “overview” of yourself from the perspective of a potential employer.

Work in Progress

This is important to remember:
This “map of you” is not a final product.
If you feel you’re weak with numbers, this is something that can be improved with training.
Scared of speaking in front of people? There’s a course for that.
You are a work in progress, and you are awesome just the way you are in this moment.

Visualise

Many people find it helpful to make a map or diagram of where they want to get to in life.

We call this “visualising.”

It serves as a daily reminder of who you are, what you want, and how you plan to achieve it.

Often, people will actually draw this diagram out for themselves, to motivate and remind them of what they want and how to get there.

Where would you like to be in 1 year?

What about 3?

What about in 10 years? It seems far in the future, but if you can see it, you can achieve it.

You need to remember that achieving what you want in life isn’t easy.

Unless you’re born into a royal family, you’re going to have to work super hard to get what you want!

There will be many steps and pit stops along the way to your goal, as well as obstacles.

But if you remain focused, remember your vision, and keep checking back with yourself for progress, you’re already better positioned to find work than those who don’t plan.