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Career Anchors Inventory

The items in this inventory are designed to help you think about what you want out of your career. This is not a standardized test but an inventory that will help identify what is essential for you to consider in determining next career steps. It should take 15-20 minutes to complete. 
Name:(Required.)
For each of the items that follow, rate how true each statement is for you (never, sometimes, often, or always).(Required.)
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
1. I want to be so good at what I do that others will always seeks my expert advice.
2. I am most fulfilled in my work when I have been able to integrate the efforts of others toward a common task.
3. I dream of having a career that will allow me the freedoms to do a job in my own way and on my own schedule.
4. I am always on the lookout for ideas that would permit me to start my own enterprise.
5. Security and stability are more important to me than freedom and autonomy.
6. I would rather leave my organization than be put into a job that would compromise my ability to pursue personal and family concerns.
7. I will feel successful in my career only if I have a feeling of having made a real contribution to the welfare of society.
8. I dream of a career in which I will always have the challenge of solving ever more difficult problems.
9. I will feel successful in my career only if I can develop my skills to an increasing level of competence.
10. I dream of being in charge of a whole organization.
For each of the items that follow, rate how true each statement is for you (never, sometimes, often, or always).(Required.)
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
11. I am most fulfilled in my work when I am completely free to define my own tasks, schedules, and procedures. 
12. I would not stay in an organization that would give me assignments that would jeopardize my job security. 
13. Building a business of my own is more important to me than being a high level manager in someone else's organization. 
14. I have felt most fulfilled in my career when I have been able to use my talents in the service of others. 
15. I will feel successful in my career only if I have met and overcome increasingly difficult challenges. 
16. I dream of a career that will permit me to integrate my personal, family, and work needs. 
17. Becoming a senior functional or technical manager in my area of expertise is more attractive to me than becoming a general manager.
18. I will feel successful in my career only if I achieve complete autonomy and freedom to define my work. 
19. I usually seek jobs in organizations that will give me a sense of stability and security. 
20. I feel most fulfilled when I have been able to build something that is primarily the result of my own skill and effort. 
For each of the items that follow, rate how true each statement is for you (never, sometimes, often, or always).(Required.)
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
21. I will feel successful only if I become a high level leader in some organization. 
22. Using my talents to make the world a better place to live is what drives my career decisions. 
23. I have been most fulfilled in my career when I have been able to solve seemingly unsolvable problems or won out over impossible odds. 
24. I feel successful in life only if I have been able to balance my personal, family, and career requirements. 
25. I dream of a career that will allow me to feel a sense of stability and security. 
26. I would rather leave my organization than to attempt a rotational assignment that would take me out of my area of expertise. 
27. Balance the demands of my personal and professional life is more important to me than a high level leadership position.
28. I dream of being in a career that makes a real contribution to humanity and society. 
29. I will feel successful in my career only if I have created an enterprise of my own based on my own ideas and skills. 
30. Becoming a general manager is more attractive to me than becoming a senior functional manager in my area of expertise. 
For each of the items that follow, rate how true each statement is for you (never, sometimes, often, or always).(Required.)
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
31. The chance to do a job in my own way, free of rules and constraints, is very important to me.
32. I prefer work opportunities that strongly challenge my problem-solving and competitive skills. 
33. I dream of starting up and building my own business. 
34. I would rather leave my organization than accept a position that would undermine my ability to be of service to others. 
35. I am most fulfilled in my work when I have been able to use my special skills and talents. 
36. I would rather leave my organization than accept a job that would take my away from the path to general management. 
37. I am most fulfilled in my work life when I feel that I have complete financial and employment security. 
38. I would rather leave my organization than accept a job that would reduce my autonomy and freedom. 
39. I have always sought out work opportunities that minimize interference with my personal and family life. 
40. Working on problems that are difficult to solve is more important to me than achieving a high level leadership role. 
Once you have finished rating each item, scan back over the statements and type below the 5 item numbers that are most clearly descriptive of how you feel (hint: items you chose "always" for are a good place to start).(Required.)
Source: Edgar H. Schein, Career Anchors, 3rd Edition