A career assessment provides professional support to clarify your own professional situation and is also the first step in career advice and career planning. It provides space and time to answer important questions such as: "Who am I?", "What can I do?" and "What do I really want?". Positioning means determining where you stand professionally in order to develop, confirm and ultimately make important professional decisions through self-reflection. This is done by taking stock of the professional qualifications and skills already achieved, personality (self-image and image of others as well as formative socializing influences), wishes, interests and inclinations of the persons concerned. This review of satisfaction with the current professional situation is an important phase in positively influencing the professional future. Making progress in the professional world requires a change through continuing education, further training or openness to mastering new challenges. And only clarity about one's own abilities, desires and preferences will bring professional satisfaction in the world of work.

Being aware of your current position is important in order to steer your career in the desired direction. Documents such as your CV, school and work references are important as a basis for a consultant. During personal coaching, you will be guided on the best way to proceed with professional self-reflection. Nevertheless, you can prepare yourself for a personal assessment. You may then come to the realization that you can manage without outside help and are satisfied with your profile and career to date. The following are useful for preparing a personal assessment:

• Assessing the current situation by taking a close look at previous jobs and the current job in terms of position, function, tasks and reasons for change
• Questioning your own employability based on qualifications (training, continuing education, further training, experience and knowledge gained), internal and external network and flexibility
• Set career goals through self-orientation by determining motives, values and what role the career plays in personal life, through questions about the job, industry, corporate culture, colleagues, workplace, development opportunities, income, fringe benefits and general conditions

Determine your skills profile including strengths and weaknesses, your motivations, your professional goals and your personal wishes. Preparing for the personal location assessment also means thinking about your expectations of the consultation. The more precisely these can be formulated, the better you will be able to achieve your goals with professional help.

"Job location determination" means determining where you stand in your job. This requires a job analysis. This as-is analysis includes an intensive examination of the last and current job. This creates clarity about the job situation and also serves as preparation for upcoming job interviews for professional reorientation. Analyze the following job aspects:

• Organizational structure
• Job target
• Tasks
• Decision-making authority
• Information and advice
• Workflow when carrying out my tasks
• Company in general
• Satisfaction and development potential

An assessment of your current job situation can help you determine whether it makes sense to change jobs. You will also find out what a new job would have to offer to ensure greater satisfaction. You will have clarity as to whether continuing education, further training is necessary to land your dream job.

It is not easy to define classic situations as an "example of determining your current position". Actually, the trigger for this reflection is the desire to clarify the current status in professional life. In other words, uncertainty as to whether you are still on the right path for a successful career. There are, of course, external influences that make you pause and raise the question of where you are in your career. These are, for example

• To find the first position
• At the end of your studies
• Before changing jobs
• If you are looking for reorientation and change
• After the termination of a job
• In the event of unemployment
• For re-entry
• If you would like continuing education, further training
• After completing initial or continuing education, further training
• For the realization of a new professional goal
• For longer-term planning of professional goals
• In the event of physical or health restrictions for the professional activity
• All about retirement

As you can see, there are various times when the desire for a professional assessment can arise.

This is how a location assessment works for jobseekers - skilled or unskilled:

• Recognizing opportunities and possibilities on the job market
• Recognize your own strengths and weaknesses and put yourself in the right light
• Tips for possible training and further education
• Where can I find suitable vacancies?
• Help and support in setting up the application dossier
• Optimize your letter of application
• Tailor your letter of motivation to the relevant job advertisement
• Job interview preparation and tips

The following facts are checked and the following assistance is provided when determining the status of an application:

• Revise your application dossier to meet current standards
• Check for completeness
• Site assessment report with action plan that can be implemented
• Knowledge about preparation and behavior during a job interview

A career assessment for adults is recommended for people who feel that they are stuck or overwhelmed in their career. Those who are unable to make a decision and commit to their professional development. It is therefore a self-reflection exercise for people who want to check whether they are on the "right" path with their current profession. A career assessment for adults is always useful if you want to clarify where you stand in your professional life. This could be at the following times, for example:

• In case of job dissatisfaction
• Desire for further development or change
• For re-entry
• In the event of unemployment

This means that a career assessment for adults can be a one-off exercise or can be repeated several times, because several situations in life require such a career assessment.

The solution- and goal-oriented process of career assessment is accompanied by a professional consultant or coach in personal discussions. In an initial meeting, the motives, goals and procedure for the "career assessment" are discussed. A career assessment firstly involves taking stock of your career to date, interests and personality traits based on a realistic self-assessment. The second step is to discover the person's resources and potential with regard to possible new professional goals. The location is determined on the basis of existing training, skills, knowledge, interests, strengths and weaknesses, values, life situation, professional and non-professional experience. If you are not satisfied with your own profile, you can seek further career advice or career planning to identify your professional development opportunities and the necessary further training requirements. The basis for such further counseling was created by the "career assessment".