One of the most important steps in the job search process, particularly when a person is looking for a long-term career, is getting a career assessment. This aspect of a job search is often overlooked for other important parts of the process, such as searching for jobs themselves or polishing a resume to use in an application. While each of these things is incredibly important, if someone is looking for a long-term career, they can be the most successful in taking a variety of career assessments. As the field of career assessments is broad, and there are more than 900 different occupations that can be explored using a variety of career assessments, it is always useful to have the assistance of a career counselor to help work through the results.
What are career assessments and why are they important?
A career assessment is a test that includes questions about an individual’s likes and dislikes, in a way that will ultimately offer suggestions for a type of career that would be best. While there are many areas that a career assessment looks at, including interests, skills, and personality type, they all serve the same purpose. Career assessments are a way to learn more about how a career or variety of careers can be a good fit for an individual. In turn, having a job that is a good fit can lead to an individual being happier overall where they are working, and being more successful at what they do.
What are the types of career assessments?
Overall, the categories of career assessments fall into five different fields: interests, personality, aptitudes and skills, values, and strengths. Each of these things is aspects of an individual that when combined create a fuller picture of the individual as a worker.
Interests involve the things that people enjoy doing in life and what careers or tasks they may enjoy. If an individual is working in a field that interests them, there is a higher probability that they will be more attentive and satisfied in their workplace.
Personality involves an individual’s behaviors and traits that drive them. Knowing this can help a person determine which jobs suit their personality the best. For example, if a person was not empathetic and compassionate towards others, they would not do as well in the field of being a teacher or medical worker.
Aptitudes and skills involve things that have been learned either on the job or through life experiences, they can involve one’s knowledge base of a subject or physical capability to do a task.
Values can determine how people interact with the world around them and handle any situations that may arise. If person values having a work-life balance that involves having a distinct amount of time away from the pressures of work, a demanding career such as a lawyer or therapist may not be appropriate.
Strengths showcase a person’s ability to excel in something naturally, such as putting drawing or painting.
Why use Shultz Career Consulting for your career assessment needs?
The staff at Shultz Career Consulting has a wide variety of knowledge and expertise in the field of career assessments and career counseling, providing services in an empathic and compassionate way.
Additionally, Shultz Career Consulting specializes in the following:
- We have a huge library of tests available, covering a multitude of areas in a career assessment to provide the most complete picture of the client.
- We frequently customize assessments to meet our clients’ needs.
- We use job market data to provide a clear picture of potential job growth and availability.
Get in touch to learn how we can craft a unique approach to your situation and your goals.
