October 2001
Self-Assessment Tests Online
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
October 2001
Self-Assessment Tests Online
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
What is your nature? Knowing your strengths as well as your weaknesses can avoid making wrong decisions now and throughout your career. So, if you're in a career transition or feel that a pink slip is headed your way, now is a good time to use the Internet to see where your interests lie. If you haven't taken a self-assessment test ever, you may be surprised to find out what your values are. If you haven't taken a test in quite awhile, you may also be surprised to note that earlier interests and talents have melded into new combinations. The great thing about these tests is that there are no right or wrong answers and because you're taken them online, you'll get results to start your next career search with more confidence.
The world of online assessment tools is very broad. Practically every university career resource center has information for its students to use in starting their careers. I have reviewed many of the links that these centers offer and have come up with a "hit" list of free resources for you to consider:
My favorite is the one from the University of Waterloo in the Province of Ontario, our northern neighbor. University of Waterlool Career Development Manual offers a series of forms to organize your interests, values and skills. Print out the career development manual pages, fill them in and review them regularly. Think of this as your career portfolio.
Waterloo has been a leader in technology for a long time. Witness Waterloo Basic and the popularity of Blackberry - both of which are produced in this small Amish influenced town. Be prepared to spend literally hours doing a careful self-search and analysis of your strengths, values, interests, and experiences. The one downfall of the Waterloo site is that its offline resources, such as books, are quite dated. You have to remember that it is designed for 20-25 year olds so planning one's curriculum throughout undergraduate school is pretty meaningless. However, the strengths of the Waterloo process is that it is very comprehensive. It covers self-assessment through five major steps, that is, personality and attitudes; skills and achievements; knowledge and preferred learning style; values; interests; and entrepreneurism. As you go through the process of writing these down, you'll be well on your way to defining what Waterloo calls your "Personal Career Profile." Once you have defined your Personal Career Profile, you're ready to go through the Occupational Research that we've covered in previous articles.
What I particularly liked about the Waterloo approach is that it helps you develop a complete picture of who you are and how to get the newly discovered you to jobs or opportunities that you'll be happy with. It also covers necessary steps to keep updating your skills through a continuous learning path so that your skills won't become rusty or out of step with where they should be. And finally, there are concrete ideas for job shadowing and mentoring that we all need at every stage of our careers, not just when we are 16 - 24 year olds.
My second favorite site is called Career Vectors. This site integrates three major career characteristics: interests, skills, and personality into one assessment package. It provides extensive career definitions, industry descriptions, and career related resources. Career Vectors also links to job listings sites and other resources, including the latest trends in the job market. Some folks don't like it because it takes 3 - 4 hours to take but I consider that a plus because the questions probe for the depth of your interests, which takes awhile to ferret out. Unlike many tests, Career Vectors is much more focused on adults in career transition so you'll find good career and industry descriptions as well as job and market trend sites to check out. The usual price for this package is $69.95 but you'll find that they're willing to let you take most of the test for free.
Still other online assessment tests that have great value include:
The Princeton Review Career Quiz is based on The Birkman Method©, which is a much more detailed questionnaire that plots four behavioral types to find careers that could be a good match.
Careers Interest Quiz
This site provides possible career options based on quiz results.Jackson Vocational Interest Survey
This website is an on-line version of the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey. This test helps to define an individual's interests in terms of actual career possibilities as well as providing additional career exploration resources. There is a fee for this service.Keirsey Temperament Sorter
This is the official Keirsey site with information on the test, types and an on-line personality temperament test. Probably the most useful, job oriented version of Myers Briggs for career changers.Locus of Control Test
This test assesses your locus of control orientation and your attribution style. There are 33 questions.The Career Interests Game
This site provides an on-line career game based on Dr. John Holland's Self-Directed Search codes.Work Out Your Myers Briggs Type
This site provides information on working out your personality type based on the Myers Briggs Model.November is National Career Month and we'll talk about how to make the decision to telecommute or work in a virtual office. Learn the pros and cons of working from home and how to succeed as a telecommuter. And in December, to round out the end of this tumultuous year, we'll talk about the value of mentoring and being mentored.
Contact me re questions or comments at jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com All the best.
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