Letting a career test plan your future …
The majority of us have taken a career assessment at least once- most likely in high school before deciding what program to apply to for university. Career tests can easily be found for free online but to understand where the results are coming from, one should first ask: “How is this test measuring what career would be best for me?” and “How valid is this test?”.
To answer the first question- There are three types of career tests:
(1)Career tests that are centred around personality tests. These would give you career options based on what kind of person you are and how your brain is wired.
(2) Interest-based career tests. An interest inventory determines your interests and a list of occupational choices based on an assumption that you will have a satisfying job if you’re doing something that interests you
(3) Aptitude tests. This type of test will tell you what skills you have, what you’re good at and what type of occupations require those skills.
So when reviewing your career test report and seeing a list of occupations that would be ‘right’ for you, it’s important to view it in terms of what that particular career test was using to measure and generate results. You could use the results to gain a better idea of what your skills can be applied to, what field could potentially interest you or what type of work best fits your personality.
However, it’s important to remember to not view the results as absolute. The internet is loaded with career tests and for the majority of them, there is no way we can trust the validity of their outcomes. Blindly believing the results of a career test could be harming and so we shouldn’t rely on them to plan our career path .
It is always interesting to take a career test, but it is important to be critical of the results and not rely 100% on this test to plan out your future. The assessment’s results can be used as a starting point when exploring career choices or can be used as a cue for gaining insight about what kind of work environment or working conditions you would enjoy.
Take a test and see for yourself!
Personality: https://www.careerfitter.com/free_test/careerbuilder
Aptitude: http://www.whatcareerisrightforme.com/career-aptitude-test.php
Interest: https://www.vawizard.org/vccs/CareerAssess.action
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