Free Career Assessment
"O*Net Interest Profiler-Career Assessment"
Why take a career assessment:Taking a career assessment that assesses one's personality and environmental proclivities is very helpful. For students desiring to attend doctoral studies in Psychology, it is helpful to take such an assessment to decipher which subfield (i.e., clinical, counseling, I/O, forensic, school, sport or performance, health, neuropsychology, etc.) and vocational setting (i.e., hospital, medical school, business firm, university as professor, private practice, non-profit organization, clinic, etc.) one would like to focus on in terms of graduate study. I used this assessment a few years ago to finalize my decision to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology vs. PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. While both routes have their benefits, I chose the path that I believe is best for me, Clinical Psychology (APA approved).
Are you Interested in taking a free online career assessment offered by the Department of Labor? The O*Net Interest Profiler "online test" gives test takers immediate feedback about career options. With the online test, follow the prompts to learn more about your personalized family of occupations, job zone preference, and RIASEC typology. If you are not familiar with occupation groups, job zone, and RIASEC typology, then read the next post (Holland's Theory of Career Choice) for a thorough discussion on these topics.
Difference between online and print test: The online and paper exam consists of 60 questions about career interest. The online version is automatically scored. However, the downloadable/print version, if you choose to take it, requires self-scoring.
Ready to take the assessment? Great! Choose either the online option (automatically scored) or downloadable print test (requires self-scoring).
Link for O*Net Interest Profiler (Online):
http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Link for O*Net Interest Profiler (Download version and printable):
http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html?p=3
**A screen shot of the online version. Click to enlarge:
"Holland's Theory of Career Choice:
The Significance of the Model/Test"
(To enlarge picture, press ctrl and + sign on keyboard-will magnify the screen size; press - sign until screen is normal size).
Preface: Before I explain about Holland Typology, I want to inform readers that I have a career assessment (O*Net Interest Profiler-Dept. of Labor) based on the information discussed on this post available for free at the bottom of the page. Please read this post to learn more about the nature of the career assessment and significance of the results; otherwise, the assessment will not have the intended impact on helping you narrow down a subfield or career in psychology.
Hexagon: This hexagon illustration is the Holland typology of personalities for career assessment purposes. Holland theorized that people have personality types that gear them towards particular vocational responsibilities, work settings, and problem solving strategies (Nauta, 2010). Holland suggested that people often have a combination of personality types, which will be discussed in more detail in the RIASEC section in the next paragraph. The seminal terminology used by Holland to explain personality theory with career development include: congruence (degree of fit with personality and environment), differentiation (work environment), consistency (internal coherence of individual score or environment score), and identity (clear picture of goals, interests, and talents) (Nauta, 2010).
Holland believed that pinpointing one's personality factors and desired work environment would create long range career satisfaction. Yet, research has shown that some factors could pose a different outcome in score, such as gender and nationality variables (Nauta, 2010). While many empirical studies do support Holland's personality theory, other ideologies like consistency have mixed reviews, as individuals sometimes change their minds about careers later in life or because of economic strain the their job sector (Nauta, 2010).
Upon building this personality based career theory, Holland developed career assessments to help individuals choose an appropriate career fit. Today, a popular assessment that features Holland's typology is the O*net Interest Profiler from the Department of Labor, which offers a paper and online version (free downloadable content available at the end of post). The O*net Interest Profiler adopts Holland's codes and Job Zones (see Job Zone section) to determine which personalities would fit with a particular class of jobs (Holland codes) and explore the amount of training required to obtain one's intended career (Job Zone). Let me explain that further. The score that a test taker receives gives them a personality code that the Department of Labor ties to a specific family of jobs. So, instead of seeing a few jobs that would match your interest, you will see a whole spectrum of job titles that fit your personality needs.
RIASEC: Let's discuss the RIASEC abbreviation. If you have not already guessed, RIASEC is R=Realistic, I=Investigative, A=Artistic, S=Social, E=Enterprising, C=Conventional (CareerKey.org, 2015). On a career assessment, test takers are asked questions about career interests that correspond to the RIASEC groupings. The highest three scores are given as your personality type. For instance, a student that scores I=12, E=9, S=7 will have IES or Investigative, Enterprising, and Social qualities according to Holland's typology.
Personally, I am ISA (Investigative, Social, and Artistic). I chose to write the letters in that order because my highest score (based off of O*net Interest Profiler) is Investigative followed by Social and then Artistic personality types. Based on this information, I can focus more on careers and work environments that suite my personality. Thus, working in a realistic category, let's say as a mechanic, will probably not work well for me. However, on the investigative side, I do like clinical psychology and working in science labs.
Furthermore, Holland not only developed the hexagon with personality type indicators but he also discusses descriptions of each category that highlight the interest area, key skills, occupations for the group, and subjects to develop the skills (Careers New Zealand, 2012).
I am providing a handout on the Holland typology hexagon and corresponding categories for your convenience:
(http://www.careers.govt.nz/assets/pages/docs/career-theory-model-holland.pdf ).
Job Zones: Now, I want every student to become familiar with Job Zones. A Job Zone is a category that describes the level of education and training you desire for a specified career bracket. It is not enough to know what industry you desire to pursue vocationally; rather, it is smart to narrow down the length and extension of training and education that you desire for your career.
The Job Zone categories range from 1-5. Here is an example of the job zones:
References
Why take a career assessment:Taking a career assessment that assesses one's personality and environmental proclivities is very helpful. For students desiring to attend doctoral studies in Psychology, it is helpful to take such an assessment to decipher which subfield (i.e., clinical, counseling, I/O, forensic, school, sport or performance, health, neuropsychology, etc.) and vocational setting (i.e., hospital, medical school, business firm, university as professor, private practice, non-profit organization, clinic, etc.) one would like to focus on in terms of graduate study. I used this assessment a few years ago to finalize my decision to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology vs. PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. While both routes have their benefits, I chose the path that I believe is best for me, Clinical Psychology (APA approved).
Are you Interested in taking a free online career assessment offered by the Department of Labor? The O*Net Interest Profiler "online test" gives test takers immediate feedback about career options. With the online test, follow the prompts to learn more about your personalized family of occupations, job zone preference, and RIASEC typology. If you are not familiar with occupation groups, job zone, and RIASEC typology, then read the next post (Holland's Theory of Career Choice) for a thorough discussion on these topics.
Difference between online and print test: The online and paper exam consists of 60 questions about career interest. The online version is automatically scored. However, the downloadable/print version, if you choose to take it, requires self-scoring.
Ready to take the assessment? Great! Choose either the online option (automatically scored) or downloadable print test (requires self-scoring).
Link for O*Net Interest Profiler (Online):
http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Link for O*Net Interest Profiler (Download version and printable):
http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html?p=3
**A screen shot of the online version. Click to enlarge:
"Holland's Theory of Career Choice:
The Significance of the Model/Test"
Preface: Before I explain about Holland Typology, I want to inform readers that I have a career assessment (O*Net Interest Profiler-Dept. of Labor) based on the information discussed on this post available for free at the bottom of the page. Please read this post to learn more about the nature of the career assessment and significance of the results; otherwise, the assessment will not have the intended impact on helping you narrow down a subfield or career in psychology.
Hexagon: This hexagon illustration is the Holland typology of personalities for career assessment purposes. Holland theorized that people have personality types that gear them towards particular vocational responsibilities, work settings, and problem solving strategies (Nauta, 2010). Holland suggested that people often have a combination of personality types, which will be discussed in more detail in the RIASEC section in the next paragraph. The seminal terminology used by Holland to explain personality theory with career development include: congruence (degree of fit with personality and environment), differentiation (work environment), consistency (internal coherence of individual score or environment score), and identity (clear picture of goals, interests, and talents) (Nauta, 2010).
Holland believed that pinpointing one's personality factors and desired work environment would create long range career satisfaction. Yet, research has shown that some factors could pose a different outcome in score, such as gender and nationality variables (Nauta, 2010). While many empirical studies do support Holland's personality theory, other ideologies like consistency have mixed reviews, as individuals sometimes change their minds about careers later in life or because of economic strain the their job sector (Nauta, 2010).
Upon building this personality based career theory, Holland developed career assessments to help individuals choose an appropriate career fit. Today, a popular assessment that features Holland's typology is the O*net Interest Profiler from the Department of Labor, which offers a paper and online version (free downloadable content available at the end of post). The O*net Interest Profiler adopts Holland's codes and Job Zones (see Job Zone section) to determine which personalities would fit with a particular class of jobs (Holland codes) and explore the amount of training required to obtain one's intended career (Job Zone). Let me explain that further. The score that a test taker receives gives them a personality code that the Department of Labor ties to a specific family of jobs. So, instead of seeing a few jobs that would match your interest, you will see a whole spectrum of job titles that fit your personality needs.
RIASEC: Let's discuss the RIASEC abbreviation. If you have not already guessed, RIASEC is R=Realistic, I=Investigative, A=Artistic, S=Social, E=Enterprising, C=Conventional (CareerKey.org, 2015). On a career assessment, test takers are asked questions about career interests that correspond to the RIASEC groupings. The highest three scores are given as your personality type. For instance, a student that scores I=12, E=9, S=7 will have IES or Investigative, Enterprising, and Social qualities according to Holland's typology.
Personally, I am ISA (Investigative, Social, and Artistic). I chose to write the letters in that order because my highest score (based off of O*net Interest Profiler) is Investigative followed by Social and then Artistic personality types. Based on this information, I can focus more on careers and work environments that suite my personality. Thus, working in a realistic category, let's say as a mechanic, will probably not work well for me. However, on the investigative side, I do like clinical psychology and working in science labs.
Furthermore, Holland not only developed the hexagon with personality type indicators but he also discusses descriptions of each category that highlight the interest area, key skills, occupations for the group, and subjects to develop the skills (Careers New Zealand, 2012).
I am providing a handout on the Holland typology hexagon and corresponding categories for your convenience:
(http://www.careers.govt.nz/assets/pages/docs/career-theory-model-holland.pdf ).
Job Zones: Now, I want every student to become familiar with Job Zones. A Job Zone is a category that describes the level of education and training you desire for a specified career bracket. It is not enough to know what industry you desire to pursue vocationally; rather, it is smart to narrow down the length and extension of training and education that you desire for your career.
The Job Zone categories range from 1-5. Here is an example of the job zones:
O*NET OnLine Help Job Zones (2015):
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"Overview"
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A Job Zone is a group of
occupations that are similar in:
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The five Job Zones are:
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Resources:
Link to O*net Interest Profiler (online version):
http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Link to O*net Interest Profiler (download and print):
http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html?p=3
*This is a lot of information to absorb, so I am including links to for more on these subjects:
Holland Theory of Career Choice:
http://www.careerkey.org/choose-a-career/hollands-theory-of-career-choice.html
http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Link to O*net Interest Profiler (download and print):
http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html?p=3
*This is a lot of information to absorb, so I am including links to for more on these subjects:
Holland Theory of Career Choice:
http://www.careerkey.org/choose-a-career/hollands-theory-of-career-choice.html
SOC (Standard Occupation Codes and Salary)
References
Careers New Zealand. (2012). Holland's theory of career choice. Retrieved
My Next Move. (2015). O*net interest
profiler: online. Retrieved from http://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Nauta, M. M. (2010). The development, evolution, a status of Holland's
theory of vocational personalities:Reflections and future
directions for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology,
57 (1), 11-22.
O*Net Online. (2015). O*net interest profiler: download.
Retrieved from http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html? p=3
Retrieved from http://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html? p=3
O*Net Online. (2015). O*net online help: Job zones
Retrieved from http://www.onetonline.org/help/online/zones
