“I used to feel depressed at work, hate my boss, and was
sometimes so bored that I actually fell asleep at my desk!” — career
test taker
If this sounds like you, then it’s probably time to
consider changing jobs or careers. But before you can make your career
change, you need to figure out what you want to do.
One of the
best ways to get clear is to complete a career assessment. Yet there are
literally hundreds of career tests out there. Is a career test the same
as an aptitude test? What about a career personality test? This article
clarifies the differences and presents 7 criteria for deciding which
career test is best for you.
#1 Career test vs. personality test
Is the assessment specifically designed to provide career guidance?
Personality
tests only tell you about your character traits whereas a career
assessment gives specific career advice. Of course, it helps to know
whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert and perceive by sensing or
intuition. Personality tests such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI) and the Enneagram are quite useful as background information.
Making the leap from simple awareness of your personality type to
specific career strategies is very difficult, however. If you want a new
job or career, it’s better to take an assessment that is specifically
geared to providing career guidance.
#2 Specific vs. general
Does
the career assessment give concrete recommendations that you can use
immediately rather than vague observations that are open to
interpretation and not actionable? Aside from the change itself, the
hardest part of changing careers is narrowing down your choices. But if
you don’t get specific, you won’t be able to take action. A good
assessment should not be general like the astrological horoscopes in the
newspaper.
#3 Motivation rules: why motivation is a better indicator than aptitude or personality
Does the career assessment measure motivation?
Motivation
is a far better career indicator than skill or personality because what
you like to do is what you WILL do and what you will get very good at
(if you aren’t already). Why force a square peg into a round hole?
When you base your decisions on what motivates you, you’ll probably feel much more fulfilled, and be much more successful, too.
#4 Where’s the beef?
Even if you’re a
vegetarian, you’ll want “meaty” results! A good career assessment should
include hard data, as well as sufficient detail and explanation to help
you interpret the results.
#5 Do you believe it?
Is the
career assessment scientifically valid? An effective career assessment
should have a high predictive reliability. Such things can be measured
statistically. Anything over 95% is quite good.
Statistical
validity is important for a number of reasons. Obviously, you want to
feel that the assessment provides an accurate picture of what motivates
you and you don’t want to be misled by grossly inaccurate results. But
another point is that when the results are believable this provides a
boost to your self-confidence. In my case, I was relieved and encouraged
to see from my results that I had chosen the correct career path. It
was a kind of confirmation or validation: “Whew! What a relief!”
Remember
that ultimately it’s up to you to decide whether a set of results makes
sense or not. However, it helps to use a highly reliable assessment.
#6 Can you get from A to Z?
Are additional tools available to help you take your results and develop a clear career roadmap for yourself?
Honestly,
a lot of people take career tests and get brilliant insights.
Unfortunately, many of these same people are never able to turn their
insights into results. What’s needed is a support infrastructure of
materials and people to help you apply your results over time.
#7 Is it fast?
Even
in the internet age, there still are a lot of tests that you can only
take on paper. It takes 30 minutes or even over an hour to take the
test. Then you have to wait while the test is scored and processed. You
may only get your results after several days or weeks.
Personally I prefer career tests that I can take online and that give me my results immediately.
Conclusion
A
career test is just a tool and just one step on your career change
journey. Nonetheless, it’s worth spending some time to understand what
types of tests are available and which is best for you. Just remember
that even the best career test is only a tool. It’s up to you to take
charge of your own career.