Career Assessment

Tools and tests used to help people understand how their interests, aptitudes, skills, personality and preferences influence their potential for success and satisfaction in a particular career, or line of work, are collectively known as career assessments. Over the last one hundred years, career assessments have greatly influenced career development in the United States and impacted the economy. Career and occupational assessments are typically employed by career counselors in high schools and universities, vocational rehabilitation counselors, executive coaches, work force service centers, and individuals just wanting to make the best career decision for themselves as possible.

Types of career assessments

While career assessments generally focus on identifying career options based on personal attributes, assessments come in various forms and vary along differing dimensions. Career assessments may also exhibit personal bias – as they are often based on criteria that one person, or group of people, believes to be the most important for selecting a career. The following are a few points of variability among popular career assessments:

Advantages

Career assessments can be instrumental in discovering an individuals interests, talents, values, aptitudes and skills. They're also useful for indentify areas of strength and weakness in a candidate. Ultimately, the results generated by career assessments can be used by candidates to make better, more informed career choices that are in line with their interests, talents, and goals. While career assessments vary in scope and validity, generally speaking assessments help individuals consider new career paths, increase career satisfaction and learn more about themselves.

One of the biggest benefits of career assessments is that they enable individuals to make career decisions that help them grow personally and professionally. This is especially true for career changers who find themselves in a career no longer viable or whose interests have evolved in a direction not compatible with their current career path. Career assessments used to support career change can be very beneficial as career changes typically have ample experience to draw upon in assessing their interests, skills, aptitudes and goals.

Psychoanalytically-informed career assessment is another form of assessment that cn be helpful for individuals struggling in their career or unhappy in their work. Psychological assessment aims at helping individuals dig deep to discover the underlying nature of their difficulties. Psychonanalytically-informed career assessment often brings clarity and understanding where career coaching or psychotherapy have failed. Unfortunately, most career coaches and counselors are not trained in this form of assessment.

Disadvantages

Career assessments can be particularly useful for individuals who are unfamiliar with, or uncertain about, their career possibilities. However, in certain situations, career assessments can have some big drawbacks. First, career assessments are only assessments. They're useful for self discovery and finding careers that fall within the scope of an individual's interests, aptitudes and values. But, when relied upon too heavily, career assessments can be limiting. Just because a career tests says you'd really enjoy being a police officer doesn't mean that being a police officer is the career for you.

Career assessments provide results that must be interpreted. Career assessments aren't that useful if you can't make sense of the results, or the results are interpreted incorrectly. In addition, many career assessments are quite subjective in that they're based on a person's view of herself or himself. Consequently, is an individual isn't self-aware, the results of their career assessment may not be accurate.

Career Assessment Tests, Tools & Resources

Trying to figure out which career is going to meet your unique skill set, aptitudes and personality can be a difficult endeavor – especially if you've never had a career. The career assessment websites listed below provide some very useful and reliable self-assessment tests that will help you develop a better "self understanding" as it relates to career choices that are going to be best for you.