An individuals skills are made up of their interests and their abilities.

Taking a closer look at your interests and abilities can help you make better choices regarding your career and any other decisions in your life. Before setting your goals, it is important to think about what you enjoy doing most, what you are good at, and how to make the best use of your interests and abilities.

So, what are interests and abilities?

Interests are things that are attractive or interesting; they are related to people’s emotions, feelings or thoughts:

“I like designing and sewing costumes” or “I think baseball is interesting”.

The choices people make about work are predetermined and influenced by their interests. It is important to understand what you like and what you dislike in your life because your interests are important part of career decision making.

Abilities are natural or acquired skills or talents; they are related to an action or state of being:

“I read quickly” or “I am able to bench press 75 pounds”

Consider the following questions:

• Why do you think it’s important to be interested in your work?
• What could happen if your work doesn’t match your interests?
• Are you interested in things you don’t have abilities in?
• Do you have abilities in things you don’t have any interest in?
• Why is it important to understand the roles that interests and abilities play in choosing a job?
  

By working through the following sections and completing “Interests vs. Abilities” assessment you will identify the four main combinations of your interests and abilities shown in the diagram below.

Download the assessment tool to help you to identify your Strengths, Development Areas, Activities to avoid and potential stressors. The next 4 pages will help you to explore each of these areas futher.