Self-inventory of career interests: FOCUS 2

Three of the 7 Compelling Reasons Why You Should Go to College include higher earnings, increased job security, and greater life satisfaction.  How will you get started on your goals?

This assignment will help you to start identifying your skills and interests NOW, so you have plenty of time to try out your career interests and gain experiences. In this assignment, you will use a resource offered through the University Career Center called FOCUS 2.

FOCUS 2 is a self-guided career, major, and education planning system designed to guide you through the steps of the career planning process. You can use FOCUS 2 at any stage of your education and career planning according to your personal needs. Start with any feature, repeat a feature if desired and use the system as an ongoing resource. All your results are saved and accessible in your FOCUS 2 Portfolio.

Directions:

1. Go to FOCUS 2 and click "REGISTER" to create an account, if you are a first time user. The access code is “goterps”. Don’t forget to write down your password. Contact the University Career Center at 301-314-7225 if you have an issue accessing FOCUS 2.
2. Visit the Main Menu (pictured below), and look under “Self-Assessment.” Complete the "Personality Assessment" and "Work Interest Assessment". Each assessment generally takes 5-10 minutes.

2. After you complete the assessments, review the "Your Results" summary. On that page, click "continue", located at the bottom of the page, and review the list of positions under “Occupations Matching Your Results”.  

Evaluation

Complete this quiz (note: you will need your FOCUS 2 results up while you complete the quiz). Points will be awarded for thoughtful answers, including evidence to back up statements for the essay questions. 

For more information and additional resources, visit: careers.umd.edu