Page Content
Selecting majors, identifying potential careers or exploring career changes can be stressful and confusing. When starting any exploration process it is important to start with interests, values, abilities, strengths, enjoyments, work-related environments and weaknesses. Simple lists can be created to yield a starting point when speaking with mentors, advisors and career professionals. After completing this process, a career advisor may advise taking a career assessment to clarify interests, abilities and values. These assessments don't "tell" users what to do with their lives! They are intended to give insight into how personality and values fit into the world of work. Career Services uses the following assessments.
FOCUS 2
Focus can help with developing an accurate picture of personal strengths, needs and preferences, and a sound career plan. It uses valid and reliable research-based career assessments and it is used exclusively by more than 1500 career services centers in colleges and businesses.
There is no cost to take the FOCUS assessment, but a follow-up appointment with Career Services is recommended once you complete it.
Remember to print and bring your results to this follow-up appointment, Career Services will not print your results before a follow-up appointment.
Strong Interest InventoryThis assessment measures interests related to a broad range of occupations, work and leisure activities, and school subjects. It provides a detailed report of interests and how they relate to six occupational themes: Realistic, Artistic; Investigative; Conventional; Social; and Enterprising.
After taking this assessment, a follow-up appointment with Career Services is mandatory. During this appointment, payment of $15.00 will be collected and the results (printed by our office) will be made available. Please tell the receptionist, when calling the office to schedule, that you are making an assessment follow-up appointment.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
This is the most widely used personality inventory in the world. It determines preference on four scales: Extraversion-Introversion; Sensing-Intuition; Thinking-Feeling and; Judging-Perceiving). The resulting four letter code gives insight to personality preference which can then be linked to career families associated with that type.
After taking this assessment, a follow-up appointment with Career Services is mandatory.
During this appointment, payment of $10.00 will be collected and the results (printed by our office) will be made available. Please tell the receptionist, when calling the office to schedule, that you are making an assessment follow-up appointment.
Other Options
What Color is your Parachute (by Richard Bolles) is widely-known as the "world's most popular job-hunting book". But, it also contains excellent information and exercises for personal and career-assessments. An accompany website, JobHuntersBible, was created to supplement the best-selling book and has links to career assessments. Most of the links are free and can offer users additional insight to the assessments listed above!