By Peter Vogt

"If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you've reached your destination?"

A riddle you'd ponder in a philosophy class? Maybe. But it's also a key question you must ask yourself whenever you're thinking about changing jobs or, even more critically, careers. Restated in the context of work, the question might read:

"If you don't know who you are, what you're good at, what you enjoy, and what you want, how will you know what job or career will be a good 'fit' for you?"

Too many job and career changers, in their excitement to "get going" down a new path, neglect the most important guide they could have for their journey: the self-assessment results that give them a true understanding of who they are and where they want to go. As a result, they often find themselves "wandering" - perhaps even more "lost" than they were when they began the journey - and confused about which way to go next.

Self-assessment is a critical but often overlooked process of figuring out:

• What you enjoy doing in your work (i.e., your interests)

• What you're good at doing in your work (i.e., your skills and abilities/talents)

• What's important to you in your work (i.e., your work-related values)

• What makes you "tick" in your work and in your life (i.e., your personality).

Some job and career changers avoid self-assessment because they think it will take too long. Others skip past it because it seems to be overwhelming and difficult. And still others - including many who probably wouldn't want to admit it to others or themselves -- steer clear of it because it's simply too scary. Many people have grown used to "burying" their real interests, for example, or their true values in favor of taking a less risky, though less satisfying, approach to their jobs or careers.

But self-assessment is the most useful and potentially rewarding investment you can make in yourself when you're thinking about changing jobs or careers. Why? Because honest, thorough self-assessment will help you pinpoint - perhaps for the first time - what you really want and need in your job or career, as well as what you don't want and don't need.Self-assessment takes time and effort to be sure. Fortunately, though, there are lots of ways to go about it. See if one or more of the following approaches sounds like it will work for you:

• Career Counseling. Often, simply talking to an objective career counselor for a few hours will lead to a sort of "clearing of the decks" that helps you see what you want and need in your work more clearly. You can find career counselors in private-practice firms, local government and nonprofit organizations, and, often, colleges and universities (especially community colleges).

• Testing. Either on your own or with the help of a career counselor, you can take one or more of a variety of "tests" to get a sense of the types of jobs or careers you may want to explore. Popular assessment instruments include the Strong Interest Inventory, the Campbell Interests and Skills Survey, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

• Exercises and Activities. Often found in books or on the web, exercises and activities can help you examine your interests, skills, values, and personality from new perspectives. In the popular book What Color Is Your Parachute?, for example, you'll find exercises that help you build a "flower" whose petals represent such aspects as your key interests, your favorite skills, and your most cherished values, not to mention your preferred working conditions, your expected salary, and your desired work environment.

• Quiet Self-Reflection. If you're the contemplative type, you might benefit most from simply finding some solitude and giving yourself several hours or days to think carefully about what you want and need in your work. A solo drive in the country or a weekend retreat might be enough to do the trick.

Self-assessment isn't easy, nor is it generally quick or prone to giving you immediate "answers." But you ignore it at your own risk - for the difference between the job or career changer who has invested in the self-assessment process and the one who hasn't is usually the difference between someone who has found career happiness and someone who has chosen to take the easier, but ultimately dissatisfying, path of least resistance.