Vocations · Career Exploration

What are you good at
that also gives you energy?

A strength is more than something you do well: it is something you do well that leaves you with more energy, not less. List activities from school, work, home and your free time and rate each one three ways. The inventory sorts them into strengths you already use, strengths hiding in your week, skills that drain you and edges worth growing.

Start an inventoryWhat you get
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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 45 items.

Inventories

The worked example is made up: a student aiming at nursing, a retail supervisor thinking about training roles and a career changer with two hidden strengths. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Career ExplorationAlso for Vocations · Professional Development$5

What you finish with
A strengths map: every activity you list sorted into strengths in use, hidden strengths, draining skills, growing edges or not a focus, with your top activity named, the strengths to lead with in a resume or interview, a best-moment story and a printable map.
Who it is for
High school and college students exploring careers, adults planning a next step, and the teachers, school counselors and workforce staff helping them.
Format
Browser inventory with saved entries. Prints the inventory, a strengths map by category, every inventory in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Career Exploration space in Caveat Vocations; also listed in the Professional Development space (the same inventory for adults planning their next step).
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List eight or more activities.
  2. Rate each on skill, energy and use.
  3. Read your four groups.
  4. Write your best-moment story.
  5. Print the map for a resume or interview.

Start an inventory

Skill, energy and use

Where each activity landsDo it wellEnergizes youUsed oftenNameWhat to do4 or 54 or 54 or 5Strength in useLead with it4 or 54 or 51 to 3Hidden strengthUse it more4 or 51 to 3anyDraining skillKeep it in its place1 to 34 or 5anyGrowing edgePractice it1 to 31 to 3anyNot a focusLet it goWhere each activity lands4 or 5Energizes you: 4 or 5Used often: 4 or 5Name: Strength in useWhat to do: Lead with it4 or 5Energizes you: 4 or 5Used often: 1 to 3Name: Hidden strengthWhat to do: Use it more4 or 5Energizes you: 1 to 3Used often: anyName: Draining skillWhat to do: Keep it in its place1 to 3Energizes you: 4 or 5Used often: anyName: Growing edgeWhat to do: Practice it1 to 3Energizes you: 1 to 3Used often: anyName: Not a focusWhat to do: Let it go
Skill alone is not a strength: what you do well and enjoy is what lasts through a working week.

Where the idea comes from

Strengths research separates performance from energy. Something you do well and enjoy is a strength; something you do well but find draining is a learned behavior, useful but costly if it fills your week. Strengths you rarely get to use are often the best place to grow, because the skill and the motivation are already there.

Turning it into a career step

Look up two or three occupations on O*NET and read their work activities: if your strengths in use show up there daily, that is a good sign. Your best-moment story, told as situation, action and result, is ready-made for an interview. Rerun the inventory each year or after a new job; strengths shift as you try new things.

Sources

  1. Linley, P. A., Willars, J., and Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The Strengths Book. CAPP Press: realised strengths, unrealised strengths, learned behaviours and weaknesses.
  2. Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Kashdan, T. B., and Hurling, R. (2011). Using personal and psychological strengths leads to increases in well-being over time. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(1), 15 to 19.
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET OnLine: work activities by occupation (onetonline.org).
  4. National Career Development Association. Career development and self-assessment resources (ncda.org).

The worked example is made up. The inventory is a self-reflection tool, not a validated psychological test; the sorting rule is stated on the page. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.