Client: I’m here to take a career test.
Career Counselor: Tell me why do you want to take a career assessment/test?
Client (sounding frustrated): I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I need the test to tell me what to do!
If the last sentence in the above dialogue sounds familiar, you are not alone. There are a number of people who walk into a career counselor’s office using those same words.
Here are a few things you should know about taking career assessment/test.
1. Career assessments are expensive!! There are fees to take it, get a written report, and have it interpreted.
2. The results of a career assessment are influenced by your mood during the test. So the results may not be applicable two days or even two hours after you take it.
3. A single career assessment/test does not tell you whether you will be satisfied in the work you could do.
So why do career counselors use them? Career assessments/test help us to identify, clarify or confirm personal characteristics in relation to professional interests. Below are descriptions how I use career assessment/test when counseling clients.
| Identify | To connect personal characteristics with career fields. Particularly useful for individuals with no work experience. Follow up may include experiences with job shadowing/volunteering or conducting informational interviews. |
| Clarify | To narrow your career choices to select fields or environments. Particularly useful when the career field or work environment does not fit with personal characteristics. Follow up may include exploration of job announcements in parallel fields and non-traditional work environments. |
| Confirm | To verify and/or support your career decision. Particularly useful when considering a career change or pursuing advance education. Follow up may include reviewing occupational informational and identifying barriers to the career path. |
Whether you take a career assessment/test to identify, clarify or confirm your choices, consult with a career counselor about the results and develop a plan for your success.
Feel free to send me career questions at career_planning at hotmail dot com.
Tristana
