Self-assessment should be the first step in any major career or life change, including the decision to apply to MBA programs.

But what is pre-MBA self-assessment? Before you commit to earning an MBA, you should take time to reflect on your work experience, your abilities, and your ambitions. You should ask, Am I where I want to be in my career and my life? And, What would it take to get there? Assuming an MBA will help you achieve your goals, think about what specifically you want to learn and gain in an MBA program.

Why should you self-assess, and how? With sufficient self-assessment, you will stand out in the MBA admissions process as someone who is prepared and motivated. These qualities can help give you a real edge over the competition.

If you self-assess well, you'll be better able to articulate your career and educational goals in relation to your strengths and experience; you'll also be able to say exactly how an MBA at a particular school will help you meet your goals, and how you will contribute to the program.

Good self-assessment will also help you answer the following important questions:

• Why am I sure an MBA is right for me?
• What do I have in common with MBAs and business professionals?
• What post-MBA careers fit my personal strengths, interests, abilities, and work-related values?
• What kinds of business schools, companies, and corporate cultures seem to suit me?

Perhaps the most widely used self-assessment for MBAs is CareerLeader, an online tool developed specifically to assess skills, interests, and abilities in relation to the requirements of business careers.

CareerLeader® is ideal for pre- and post-MBA use, you can use it to start the MBA search, and use it again during your MBA program or even after you graduate and pursue a career. CareerLeader® is often used to coach senior executives in times of transition; it's an ideal self-assessment tool to use whenever you plan to make a significant transition in your business career.

CareerLeader®, has helped thousands of people and can help you as you formulate your business career and educational goals. Through a sophisticated and scientifically sound methodology, CareerLeader® helps you explore your interests, abilities, work-related values and motivations, giving you a customized report of your unique profile.

In addition to telling you about you, the profile also benchmarks you against more than 14,000 other business professionals. It also provides valuable information on all the major business careers.

We recommend that you use CareerLeader® at all stages of the MBA process. You can use it to help you in your pre-MBA decision making, during the MBA to guide your career decisions, and post-MBA to help you stay on course to a successful and satisfying career. (See Define Your Career Path for more information.)

The truth is, you will be competing with other applicants who are very well prepared. Many of them will have done a thorough self-assessment and will have taken CareerLeader®. They may have networked with business professionals in one or more fields identified by CareerLeader® as a high match for them. They will apply to schools that specialize in preparing students for the particular fields they are interested in. They will be able to present a strong case for being admitted to the business school of their choice.

Shouldn't you?

CareerLeader® is a registered trademark of Peregrine Partners.