Pro: Inside Knowledge

• No one can truly know another person's thoughts. For this reason, the person conducting a self assessment has more knowledge about the person being evaluated -- himself -- than anyone else. While outside observers can see things about a person that he is not conscious of, an individual is often the best positioned to answer questions about his own thoughts and drives. Self assessments can, for this reason, be enormously revealing documents.
  
  

Con: Cognitive Bias

• Everyone, to a greater or lesser degree, suffers from some form of cognitive bias -- an imperfect thought process that leads to incorrect interpretations of data. These biases can be particularly acute in relationship to a person's interpretation of himself. People are often liable to be overly generous with themselves -- attributing qualities and skills to themselves that they do not possess -- or overly critical -- underestimating their own abilities and giving undue weight to their negative qualities.
  
  

Pro: Promotes Reflection

• Self assessments are thinking exercises. Although some people are in the habit of assessing themselves on a regular basis, for others this kind of inner examination is unusual. Doing so, however, can give an individual a more lucid understanding of himself. This can be particularly useful when the individual is preparing to make an important decision. For example, a person trying to decide on a career might benefit from using the information she's gleaned about herself to identify the job that is right for her.
  
  

Con: Can Be Misleading

• Self assessments are only as useful as the people charged with interpreting them. Often, an employer will use self assessments to make management decisions, such as assigning tasks and filling vacant positions. However, the employer can place too much stock in the document. Unaware of the omissions, prevarications and misplaced emphases common to these documents, an employer can easily believe them to be far more accurate than is the case, leading to poor decisions on his part.