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Emma Massick

Assignment #4 Thematic Analysis Self-Assessment

Arizona State University

ASSIGNMENT #4 – SELF-ASSESSMENT PAPER – THEMATIC ANALYSIS 1

Introduction

Going back and looking through my self assessment data to find out the themes that

define who I am has been such an eye opening process. I never realized how much insight I

have gotten from the various assessments I have taken while attending ASU. I think that the

most challenging part of this analysis was just gathering all of the information that I needed to

look through. There was so much and knowing the amount of data I had to look at was very

daunting, but at the same time I was glad to have it! I started out by gathering all of the

assessment data that I have gotten over the years, and organizing it into pdf documents. I then

highlighted the main parts that I wanted to take away from each assessment and organized

them in a way that made sense to me. The assessments I used are listed here:

Assessments:

Name Assigned Label

AzCIS Assessments

Interest Profiler IP

Skills Assessment SA

Work Importance Locator WIL

Career Anchors CA

Other Assessments

Three Questions (week 1 discussion) 3Q

Identities Exercise (week 1 discussion) IE

Values Desires Purpose Vision (week 2 disc) VDPV


Life story personal narrative PN

Personality Characteristics (week 3 disc) PC

Ten years out questions (week 3 disc) 10YO

Interviews with significant others IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4

Ideal Organization exercise (week 4) IO

16 Personalities Type Indicator 16P

Holland Personality Types HP

Occupational Clusters OC

Workplace Employability Skills WES

Learning Styles Survey LSS

Entrepreneurial Career Assessment ECA

Me 3 Assessment ME3

Talent Today Personality Radar PR

Vocational Personality Radar VPR

Personal Experience/Lifestory PE/LS

After identifying these assessments and the key things that I took from them, I was able

to break them down into the ten themes that I would explore for this analysis. This was a lot

easier to do that I originally thought it would be, because when I had all of the assessments out

in front of me, certain things really shone through and seemed to speak for themselves. I chose

to use a good old fashioned pen and paper to help me out with this, and I listed the main points I

had gotten from each assessment and then grouped them in my notebook. Once I had identified

ten main themes, I wrote them down and started to flesh them out into bigger points. I feel like I

work better by just starting to write something and figuring it out more as I go along, so that I

what I did after I had the bare bones of my assessments laid out before me. I prepared each

section by making a page with a heading and several subsections to help me go deeper into the

meaning of each theme in my life. When I had each of these, I went back through the data I had


gathered earlier and filled in the sections that I had prepped. I felt like this was the best course

of action because it allowed me to consistently have the same data for all of my themes, and let

me comb through the resources I had gathered in the most effective way.

My themes, in order, are:

1. I value the personal connections I make with others

2. I value creativity

3. I prefer to make it up as I go, rather than making a meticulous plan

4. I value feedback from others

5. I am motivated by recognition and appreciation

6. I value my relationships with friends and family

7. I like to serve as a mentor and leader in subjects I know well

8. I value the importance of continuing to learn

9. I think having good communication is key

10. I like being independent and can have trouble asking for help

Theme 1: I value the personal connections I make with others

Supporting Data:● My top score on the Holland Personality types test was 44 in the social category. This

shows that my personality type leans toward social behaviors and wanting to create

connections with others. (HP)


● My top score on the interest profiler was a 15 in both the social category and the

investigative category. This show that not only do I value social connections, but I also

like to dig deeper and investigate the connections I make with people. (IP)

● In my interviews with significant others, several of the people I interviewed made

comments about the way I am able to connect with others in a meaningful way. This is a

theme that shows outwardly and not just inwardly, and I think it is one of my most

prominent leadership abilities. (IN1, IN2, IN3)

● On my occupational clusters survey, my second highest score was 30 in human

services, followed by 27 in hospitality and tourism. Both of these cluster groups require a

high level of human connection. (OC)

● My 16Personalities type indicator test result was ENFP-T, otherwise known as the

campaigner. I am both extroverted and intuitive, which are both traits that help to

identify and connect with aspects of other people’s personalities.

● In my life story personal narrative, the stories that I told all dealt with the way that I view

those around me and the interactions I have had with them. (PN)

Contradicting Data:● On previous personality tests, I have gotten a score of 50% extroversion and 50%

introversion. This isn’t necessarily a contradiction but I think that at one point it was. The

test that I have in mind is one that I took in a middle school science class, when I was

much more introverted than I am now. This is one of the biggest changes in my

personality in the time between that test and today, and it shows a lot of growth and

improvement.

Analysis:I think that the majority of my data points to this being an accurate description of my

personality. This was one of the easier themes to come up with because human connection is

one of the most important things for me in both my personal and professional life. I am in awe of

how many different people there are in the world, and I often think about how each person has

their own life and history and dreams and goals, and the thought of that really inspires me. I

think about how I can connect with and inspire each person I meet and it really gives me a

sense of purpose and belonging. This is my first theme for a reason. The rest aren’t necessarily

in any specific order, but this one is something that I hold very close to me and strive to develop.

I think that building a genuine human connection is the first step towards any type of successful

interaction and this is going to continue to be something that I try to build and develop in my

personal and professional life.


Theme 2: I value creativity

Supporting Data:● On the Holland Personality types test, I scored 33 in the artistic category. This shows

that creativity is a major thing that guides the way I approach my life. (HP)

● The learning styles survey results told me that I am a tactile learner, with a score of 30,

with visual following close behind at 28. Both of these learning style adhere to a creative

learning outlook, as I like to make things with my hands and view them with my eyes. I


think that I learn and teach others in similar ways, and the results of this test show it.

(LSS)

● On the Personality Radar, my score for creativity was a 6, which is one of the higher

scores that I got, and the highest score in the Dare category. The feedback for the

creativity said I show originality but without questioning established procedures. (PR)

● In my ten years out questions, I specified that I would like to have an art studio or a

space where I could be creative. This is something that is important to me that I would

like to make a priority in my life. I have an easel in my room and made my art supplies

more accessible when organizing and setting up my room in order to foster this creativity

that I strive to build up in the future. (10YO, PE/LS)

● The me3 survey listed my top profession as art professor. I think that this shows the

importance of creativity in my life and how my personality would fit into this profession.

(ME3)

Contradicting Data:● In the occupational cluster data, arts was the category second from the bottom, and

education and human services were at the top.

● In my interest profiler, my top score was social and my fourth score was artistic, at 6,

which is low compared to the 15 score for social. (IP)

Analysis:Creativity is something that I have had a complicated relationship with in the past. I have

always felt drawn towards creativity but I have had some instances where I was told that

creativity was not important or not the best course of action, so I tried to lessen my creativity for

a while. It is only recently that I have begun to value the concept of being creative again.

Theme 3: I prefer to make it up as I go, rather than make a meticulous plan

Supporting Data:● My 16personality types indicator score was ENFP. The N stands for intuition, meaning I

am more likely to go with what I am feeling like rather than planning and thinking

logically about a situation. (16P)

● In my interviews several people noted that I am much more likely to go with the flow than

to create a specific plan for the future. (IN2, IN3)


● While writing my ten years out activity, it was hard to come up with specific goals and a

timeline because I don’t feel like I can make a concrete plan that far in the future. I really

struggled with that assignment and it took me several days and a lot of meditation to

come up with what I came up with. I think my experiences have set me up to feel afraid

to plan because I have learned that I have little to no control of my own life. I don’t like

feeling that way and it is something I am working on. (10YO).

● In my three questions discussion, I talked about the different directions my life has gone

in due to the fact that I haven’t really made a concrete plan or goal for my life yet. (3Q)

● In my ideal organization I will have a flexible schedule and a job that changes day to

day. I prefer this type of environment because it does not require me to have a set plan

to follow and I can change it up without much of a consequence. (IO)

Contradicting Data:● On the personality radar I scored 7/10 in organization. It says “you like to plan and

methodically organize your time. You want to have total control over your timetable.” I

feel like this is true for me. (PR)

Analysis:I have experienced myself thinking in this way a lot in my life. I feel like for the most part,

it works, but there are times in my life when it has not worked well for me. I think that for the

most part, successful results can be had without planning first but that doesn’t mean that

planning is useless or meaningless. I can see the value in planning, but for me personally, I feel

like if I have a very strict plan it makes me feel trapped more than anything else. I think in order

for a lack of planning to work out the best in my life, I need to plan just enough so that I have a

buffer to help when things are not going right. I do not want to feel like I am caged in, but at the

same time I do not want to invite stress into my life by not being prepared. I think there is a

difference between not feeling prepared and not planning. I want to organize my life and time so

that I can feel prepared but also go with the flow and not have a set plan. I just feel like life can

change so drastically sometimes that it’s better just to go along and fix it along the way. I feel

like as much as I dislike the idea of being caged into a box by a plan, I also like having my own

control over the plans that I do make, like the personality radar said in the above statements.


Theme 4: I value feedback from others

Supporting Data:● On the work importance locator, I scored 27 on achievement and 18 on recognition. Both

of these things correlate with achievement and feedback. I take a lot of value from these

things and because people are so important to me, I listen and take feedback very

seriously. (WIL)

● My interviews with significant others was very influential and useful for me. I really

appreciated hearing the good and bad things that the people who care about me and

have worked with me have had to say about me. Because personal relationships are


important to me, I take a lot of stock in what people have to say about me and how I can

improve myself based on the feedback I received. (IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4).

● I think that I have gained a lot of value from all of the assessments I have taken. I have

talked to people who do not feel like assessments are that helpful and do not take a lot

from them. Just collecting and categorizing all of the data I have gotten has showed me

how important good feedback is in my life. (all assessments)

● One of my Me3 career suggestions was corporate trainer. I think that this job would

involve a lot of feedback both given to me and given to others. I feel like this would be

good for me because I am good at extracting valuable data from the sources available to

me. (Me3)

Contradicting Data:● I think the only real contradictory data would be in my actions. I value feedback and try

to seek it from people in my life but I don’t have a history of really following the feedback

and advice I’ve gotten in the past. I have learned that this does not work though and I

am confident that I will follow suggestions from feedback in the future. (PE/LS).

Analysis:I definitely value feedback from others, maybe even sometimes more than I should. In

the past, I have been accused of caring too much about what other people think of me. I think

that this is not a bad thing, as long as I am taking the feedback that I receive from others and

actually applying it to make my own life and self better than I was before. If I just listen and

ignore the feedback, then it has no value for me and is just empty words. This is something that

I learned in the various classes that have involved a lot of assessments. Receiving results from

assessments is a potentially very helpful thing, but if there is nothing done about the results,

then they are utterly useless and a waste of time. This reminds me of a situation that happened

at one of my friend’s workplaces. The CFO received feedback from the team about his

leadership style and their leadership needs and after they had come together and explained

their feelings and findings, he said that the feedback was useless and that he would not be

using it. This really frustrated my friend because the feedback was given so that their leader

could improve his leadership and helped the team out, but instead he just ignored them and let

them know that he would not listen, while subtextually telling them that their opinions did not

matter as a team, which also hurt the morale of the team.


Theme 5: I am motivated by recognition and appreciation

Supporting Data:● Based on the human connection results in most of my data, and the fact that I really

depend on other’s opinions and feedback to tell me about myself, it would make sense

that recognition and appreciation would propel me toward success. (WES, PR, 16P, HP)

● On the identities exercise, it occurred to me that I surround myself with roles where I can

feel a lot of recognition from those around me. (IE).

● In my personal leadership narrative, i focused on life events that make me seem like the

hero of the story, and the way that I wrote it would make someone think that I am a really

successful and accomplished person, for the most part. I think that this shows that I am

motivated when others externally recognize me and my accomplishments. (PN).


● In the ideal organization exercise, I set it up so that my ideal organization would make

me feel like a valued and important part of the organization. I would get a fair amount of

recognition and would be appreciated for the work that I do and the value I provide for

the organization. (IO).

Contradicting Data:● As much as I like recognition, I don’t like a lot of fanfare. At a job I had in the past, at the

end of the week they would call out each of the people that made the most and highest

sales each week and everyone would cheer and high five the person. It always made me

uncomfortable and it even made me not want to do well so I could avoid that recognition.

I think that from this interaction I learned that I prefer one to one recognition rather than

group recognition or a big hullabaloo. (PE/LS)

Analysis:Like I said in a previous theme, I care a lot about what other people think about me.

Because of this, I care a lot about how I am perceived and recognized by the people around me.

I try to be seen as helpful and hardworking and on top of things in my workplace and I feel good

when someone recognizes how hard I work. I know however, that I should not always rely on

others to make me feel good about myself and this is something that I am working on in my

personal life. I think it as just as important to feel validated and important all by yourself. I am

working on how to make myself feel that way without the help of others and it is a slow process,

but a valuable one nonetheless.

Theme 6: I value my relationships with friends and family

Supporting Data:● As a part of my ENFP designation from the 16 Personalities assessment, the

relationships with the people I interact with is very important to me and this includes my

friends and family, (16P).

● In my occupational clusters, human services and hospitality were my second and third

top traits. Both of these include the way I interact with my family and close friends. This

shows how important this is to my fundamental traits and the way that I rank the

importance of my relationships. (OC).

● In my ten years out assignment, I had made many sacrifices and planned my career in a

way that would support a family. I hope to have a family one day and this is something

that I keep in mind when I am thinking about my future. It scares me but I know that it is


something I want in the future and am willing to make sacrifices in order to have that in

my life. (10YO, PE/LS).

● On my Workplace Employability Skills assessment, my top score was in complex

communications, which is something that you have to be strong in to have deep

relationships with people who will be in your life for an extended amount of time, such as

a close friend or family member. (WES).

Contradicting Data:● As much as I value my family and friends, I do not value them so much that I am willing

to put my career goals on hold for them. I moved 300 miles away from everyone I knew

in order to pursue my personal goals and dreams and although it was hard to be away

from them, I feel like that was the best decision I could have made for myself. (PE/LS).

Analysis:I was raised in a very strong family-centered space and that has carried on with me to

my adult life. I think that the personal connections one has with friends and family should come

first no matter what. I realize that others may not think this way, but for me it is a driving factor

towards my success. I have a moderately big family and we are all pretty close as far as families

go. I also like having a large group of friends I can go to when I am not feeling great as well as

when I am feeling awesome. I think that this shows in my outgoing personality and my hard

working drive because I feel a responsibility to be successful in order to better the lives of these

people.

Theme 7: I like to serve as a mentor and teacher in subjects I know a lot about

Supporting Data:● My top score in occupational clusters was teaching and training, with a score of 38. This

was far and away the top score that I got and I think that says a lot about the type of job

that I would both enjoy and be good at. (OC).

● Both of my parents are in training manager positions in their work and I feel like I have

taken a lot from them and learned from them and mimicked their way of leadership and

made it into my own. (PE/LS).

● On my skills assessment, several of the top ‘very satisfying’ skills that I listed as the top

skills were related to mentoring and teaching, such as instructing, teamwork,

directing/leading, and using knowledge. (SA).

● My top me3 result was art teacher, which is a teaching and training position. (ME3).


● In one of the jobs I had in the past, the only time I felt fulfilled was when I was able to

teach and train new employees about the fundamentals of the business. I look back on

that as a huge pointer that I am meant to be in a teaching and training position or at least

a position where i have the opportunity to do this for others. (PE/LS).

Contradicting Data:● Teaching takes a lot of self direction and professionalism and future planning, none of

which are my top traits according to my occupational cluster results. (OC).

● In the personality radar, I got a score of 5/10 in the respect for authority category. It said

“You don't like organizations that are too authoritative. You like to benefit from a certain

freedom of action, sometimes to the detriment of applicable rules”. Serving as a mentor

requires a deal of following rules and teaching what the authority wants you to teach,

and I believe that many rules exist in order to be bent. (PR, PE/LS).

AnalysisLike I mentioned above, I have always been driven to teach and train people. I think that

I have a gift for this because my personality is made up of patience, understanding, and the

ability to create meaningful connections with people, and these are all key factors in being a

mentor or a teacher. I feel most confident and capable when I am teaching someone a subject

that I know about and can pass on a good amount of knowledge for. I like teaching because it

feels like I am making a difference in a person’s life. I have had many good teachers in the past

whose words have stayed with me much longer than they might have expected them to. I

remember this and it makes me value the times I am able to teach others even more.


Theme 8: I value the importance of learning

Supporting Data:● Using knowledge is one of my top skills on my skills assessment. In order to use

knowledge, you need to learn things first so it makes sense that I would value learning

and the acquiring of knowledge. (SA).

● In my personal narrative I took lessons and learned from each of the experiences that I

have been through in my life. I find key learning opportunities in every experience I have

because I value learning in my life. (PN, PE/LS).

● Education was at the top of my occupational cluster. I feel like the best leaders are also

the best learners and that effective leadership has to be based on the learning that

occurs during a person’s leadership. (OC).

● In my 3 questions, one of the things that makes me feel fulfilled the most is continuing to

learn and expand my horizons and the knowledge I have of the topics that exist in the

world. (3Q).


● In my Holland personality types test, I scored 23 in investigative. This shows how much I

value learning and exploring the world around me. (HP).

Contradicting Data:● I am really eager to be done with college and my formal learning! (PE/LS).

Analysis:I believe that there is never any reason to stop learning. There is so much to learn in this

world that it doesn’t make any sense to ever be done. Especially living in silicon valley, I feel like

I am surrounded by brilliant minds that know so much more than I do and I take it as an

opportunity to soak up some of that knowledge for myself. After I graduate in a few weeks I am

planning on learning spanish better and I have already started learning and refreshing myself. I

know that after I have reached a comfortable level in that subject, I will find something else that I

want to build my knowledge of. I am excited for a life of learning and I don’t agree with those

who feel like they are done learning once they have reached a certain level of life or career

success. I think it is important to always be in the mindset that we are never done learning.

Theme 9: I think having good communication is a key for success

Supporting Data:● My top holland personality type test result was 44 for in the social category. To have a

heavy social concentration requires a lot of communication. (HP).

● My top workplace employability skill was complex communication with a score of 11.

Communication is something that I value in the workplace. I also scored a 10 in

collaboration which is an important part of communication. (WES).

● My 16 personalities test result also shows that communication is an important part of

who I am. ENFP is the campaigner and the promoter. They are able to connect and

contribute to personal connections that people have with the world. (16P).

● On the personality radar I scored 10/10 on responsiveness and in order to have clear

communication you have to be responsive to the needs of those you are communicating

with. (PR).


● In my values, desires, purpose and vision section, I illuminated the value of

communication in the various roles in my life. It is one of my main values and I feel like

my purpose in life revolves around communicating with those in my life. (VDPV).

Contradicting Data:Analysis:

When it comes down to it, communication can be blamed for most arguments and

problems in any different relationship type. Both at work and in personal life, when things are

going wrong it is often due to a lack of communication or a problem with the way that

communication is working (or rather, not working). From my results of the various assessments

and the way I reply to discussion posts, it is obvious that I value communication as one of the

major points in any situation.

Theme 10: I like being independent and can have trouble asking for help

Supporting Data:● My personal leadership narrative was built on a lot of experiences that built up and

involved my independence. (PN).

● My 3 questions highlight how I value independence in the things I choose to participate

in in my life. (3Q).

● In my workplace employability skills I scored the second highest, with a score of 10, in

initiative & self direction. I really like when I am able to have control over something for

myself and not rely on others to help bring me to success. (WES).

● In my ideal organization activity, I said that I would like to work in an organization that

allows me to work independently and set my own schedule. (IO).

● My management style is very independent and allows those who I am leading to do their

own thing with little top management. I feel more comfortable leading a group who I can

trust will do a good job with minimal direction and I like being managed in a similar way. I


do not like to be micromanaged and do not get good work done when I have a manager

who tends to micromanage. (CA).

Contradicting Data:● I value community and communication as much as I like to make my own choices and

be independent. I feel like a lot of the assessments and analyses from this paper

contradict my data, but at the same time one assessment and even 100 assessments

cannot fully incorporate every facet of who a person is. (PE/LS).

Analysis:This is something that I am working on in my life. My themes have included things that I

value and am good at, but they also include concepts that I know I need to work on in order to

make my life better. I think that there is a good balance because there is always going to be

room for improvement. I have had problems asking others for help in the past because as much

as I value the relationships I am able to build with others, I also feel like I am going to burden

those I love if I ask them for help too much so I tend to try to handle everything myself. Asking

for help is not a bad thing, but that does not mean it is going to be easy all the time. I have had

to really step out of my comfort zone and ask for some major help this year and it has really

humbled me and made me realize some of my biggest flaws that I need to work on. I think that

for me, independence does not necessarily mean being alone. I feel like it is possible to work

independently while also being a part of a meaningful community and having deep personal

relationships.

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