[thechat] critical self assessment ?

[Luther, Ron]

Hi Ashok,

Think of it as a candid assessment of strengths and weaknesses.

... but not tooooooo candid  ;-)

She wouldn't want to say something like "I have a strong
interest and wonderful aptitude for biochemistry, but I'm
easily bored by detail work in slide preparation which
causes me to often do sloppy work."  Even though that's
pretty much exactly the kind of thing they are looking for.

Interest in current schools of thought in her field and
testing or examing various subaspects of those theories
under specific conditions would probably be 'pluses'.

Choose weaknesses carefully.  In a technical field you
can "confess" a distaste for administrative paperwork and
budget proceedings without incurring too much prejudice -
since this is a fairly 'acceptable' weakness for folks in
those areas.

On the other hand, if she were wanting to do post-grad work
in education for extremely young children then "confessing"
impatience and noting that you aren't a 'people-person' would
possibly be a red flag that could be taken negatively and
prevent her from getting the post.

Basically, it's another hoop to jump through.


HTH some,

RonL.


-----Original Message-----
From: Ashok at MagicalKenya.com [mailto:Ashok at MagicalKenya.com]

a friend of mine is applying for a post graduate course in the US.
along with the application formher college has asked her to submit a
"critical self assessment" essay.
what exactly is she supposed to write about in this ?