The right questions to ask about skills assessment
Management publishes a dossier to advise people who are hésiting à to have a skills assessment réalized. Today, this practice is no longer aimed solely at employees who are « reversing an air gap » in their careers. The skills assessment (or professional or career assessment) is aimed at à all those who wish to bring their professional career éinto line with their personal aspirations. First question à to answer: « when is the right time to start? ». Ités a good idea to anticipate career turning pointsèrather than wait until your back is against the wall. Three main étapes can êbe identifiedées : after five years' experience, when you're wondering whether you're on the right track; à approaching forty, when you need to draw up a list of your strengths; à fifty, when you've still got ten years left in your career, which you can êuse to pursue more personal projects. Then there's the question of choosing the right organization. If you donèt mind going public, you can ask for a list of references à from your HR manager. Otherwise, care should be taken to choose the établissement from the list of centers accreditedédités by the Fongécif. It is then advisable to meet with two or three consultants before selecting the one who inspires the most confidence. The question of price is also éraised. Practical éwith sérieux, a competency assessment is billed é2,500 à 5,000 euros, but the bill can rise é15,000 euros for top executives. Funding can êbe obtained from your company or from the Fongécif, à provided for the latter that the center has été chosen from the list of établissements agréés. The assessment lasts an average of twenty hours, with several phases: analysis of the candidate's personality, édetailed study of his or her career path, highlighting of strengths and weaknesses, and finally the évidence of the candidate's motivations. In the end, the consultant provides a general framework, but the decision whether or not to reorientate one's career remains éminently individual. Once the new professional project has been drawn up, the consultant can then établish a plan of action over a few months to achieve éits realization.
(Management, p108-111, Marie Peroneau, 01/11/07)
