Career Exploration Through Assessments
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ssessments are tools that can be used to explore, evaluate and measure various attributes. Self-assessment tools help you gain an understanding of yourself and your goals by defining your core interests, values, personality, and skills. Self-assessments are not designed to resolve all of your questions, rather should be used as tools as part of your career development. They can help you target occupations and fields you might not have considered before, clarify what you want to do next, and find a career path that would be truly interesting and satisfying. You can maximize the use of an assessment by discussing your results with a Career Coach once it has been completed. Once you complete an assessment, contact the Career Center to schedule a meeting with your Career Coach to discuss and interpret the results of your assessment. Your Career Coach will be able to help you figure out what to do “next” after you have completed an assessment as well as share other helpful resources.
Interest Assessments O*NET Interest Profiler:
http://onetcenter.org/IP.html This instrument is a self-assessment career exploration tool that can help clients discover the type of work activities and occupations that they would like and find exciting. Clients identify and learn about broad interest areas most relevant to themselves. They can use their interest results to explore the world of work.
Career Interest Test:
http://www.livecareer.com/career-interest-inventory-test This 100-question assessment from LiveCareer identifies your career interests and then tells you what jobs are out there for you. You should carefully explore each occupation that you consider. Read about the occupation, talk to people who work in that occupation, and discuss your career interests with your teachers, counselors, and family. In addition, try to learn more about the occupation by experience through job shadowing, volunteer work, internship, and part-time work.
ways to finish 36 statements. The results can help you define your personality preferences—and possibly direct you to various career paths.
Values Assessments O*NET Work Importance Profiler:
http://www.onetcenter.org/WIP.html The Work Importance Profiler is an assessment to help individuals learn more about their work values and what they think is important in a job. Understanding work values helps people better decide which jobs and careers to explore. Free software must be downloaded.
Life Work Transitions:
http://www.lifeworktransitions.com/exercises/exercs.html Scroll down to Chapter 3, “Redefining Your Self: Passions, Preferences, Purpose,” to access online worksheets corresponding to the book. The worksheets help users to determine what motivates them at work, their ideal job specification and what career goals will lead them to fulfillment.
Skills Assessments O*NET Skills Search:
http://online.onetcenter.org/skills The O*NET Skills Search helps individuals identify occupations for exploration by the types of skills used. Skills are selected from six broad groups to create a customized set, including: Basic Skills, Social Skills, Complex Problem Solving Skills, Technical Skills, System Skills and Resource Management Skills.
Career Infonet Skills Profiler:
http://www.careerinfonet.org/skills/default.aspx This interactive assessment allows users of all skill levels to choose prospective occupations, see the skill sets required, rate their own skills and compare them to what’s in demand.
Industry Explorations
Personality Assessments HumanMetrics:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp After completing this questionnaire, you will obtain a description of your personality type according to Carl Jung and Isabel Myers-Briggs typology along with the strengths and preferences of this personality type. You will also a list of occupations and educational institutions where you can get relevant degree or training, most suitable for your personality type.
True Colors Personality Assessment:
http://www.truecolorscareer.com/quiz.asp A personality system that is modeled as a graphical presentation of both Keirsey’s Temperament and the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. The assessment asks you to choose one of two
Career GPS:
http://www.ecu.edu/e3careers/gps/CareerGPS.html Career GPS is an interactive career assessment program designed to help you identify the fields or industries that interest you the most. Identifying the ideal workplace setting is critical to career success.
Occupational Outlook Handbook:
http://www.bls.gov/OCO/ For hundreds of different types of jobs the Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you the training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job, working conditions, and other valuable information. In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more.
www.ecu.edu/career • East Carolina University 5