Can a Career Advice Test Help You?

Often the myriad of career options available today can actually work to confuse or even create a sense of fear avoidance in people, causing them to ignore the need for a proper process of career exploration. The consequences of avoiding career exploration however is that people can, often years down the track, find themselves working in occupations which provide little or no job satisfaction.

When this occurs people often find it difficult to understand how and why their career journey has taken them to where they are. It’s easy to miss the sign posts on the road of career exploration, and in deciding not to take a path toward career satisfaction people can find themselves reaching a career deadend and needing a career change.

Taking a career advice test, or assessment while useful at any stage of the career exploration process can be particularly beneficial in those early stages of career exploration process in order to help people actively think about the type of jobs they may be interested in. This may sound simple, and in some respects it is, however you would be surprised how many people work unhappily in a job or career for many years without every having really thought about the types of careers that may be best suited to them.

Career advice tests are often used by career counsellors because although they are unlikely to be the only answer in finding your ideal career, they are often an excellent starting point to help flesh out ideas and provide options that can be narrowed in on and explored in greater detail. From a career counsellors perspective a career advice test can provide a client with an opportunity to explore career interests in a well structured and productive manner.

One cautionary word before you rush out and take a career advice test, or assessment however. While any process that gets people to actively think and explore themselves and career options can be a good thing from a career counselling perspective, it’s important to recognize that many career advice tests or quizzes on the internet are not designed to be valid or reliable tests, but rather just fun tools to explore interests or career options. If such career quizzes are taken with this understanding and with this knowledge then there is no harm in taking a career quiz for a bit of fun, however unfortunately many of these test purport to be something they are not and this can have negative consequences. Although no career advice test is likely to provide “the answer” (as there is never just one answer), there are certainly some career advice tests that are better than others.

One of the ways people can spot a good quality career advice test from an unreliable quiz is to see if the test developer is prepared to make their research data available. Two of the better tests available on the internet that do always for uses to review their research reliability and validity data are the Strong Interest Inventory and Myers Briggs career advice test. These are very popular tests and importantly their validity and reliability data is freely available on the internet and can be access using a quick search engine search. Readers will find that, unlike the career quizzes, these better quality career advice tests are not free but when one considers the importance of making good career choice then perhaps spending a small amount of money on a proper career advice test is a wise more!

William Smith holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource and psychology and

Top Career Advice

Why it is important to take career advice from experts?

Choosing a career is a nerve racking decision in life because it is going to have a big impact. If you take decision in hurry you will regret after few years. But if you make great analysis on your interests and upcoming opportunities then one day you will be able to enjoy satisfaction along with paychecks. Careful career planning is always essential and you need a guide to make your ideas clear at initial phase. An expert can help you to know your hidden potential and will let you progress with those skills. It is really a great idea to spend some time with experts to take a career advice before you take a decision to step ahead into corporate world.

How you want to spend your life?

We spend most of our life in our job, approximately 40 hours in every week. And just imagine if you are not satisfied with your profile then how difficult those hours will appear to you. Even if you have lost your interest in certain career line after working in it for many years then also a career advice can help you to take right decision ahead.

How good it is to shift your career in the middle of life?

We are living in a world where we can face increasing job rotation. May be, because of down turns in economy or sometimes in search of satisfaction. Good career advice can help an unemployed person to find the best occupation for his life. Many people have fear of changing their occupation in mid of life and mostly it is a threat caused by income. If you are not sure about your career shift then it is good to contact experts as they can help you to take a knowledgeable decision.

How to identify great career choices?

If you are going to choose a new career field then career planning and career advice are important factors for you. When entering into a new career you need to focus on your previous work experience as well as education. And the most important among all are your skills. You must think about the skills that you have gained with life experiences and make some plan about how beneficial they could be in your career shift. Although there are so many opportunities available ahead but first of all at least you must be ready.

Take a career test?

It is good to take a valuable career test as it helps to identify suitable options for job. These tests include management, motivation, leadership skills and personality profiling etc. The results obtained from these tests can bring best options for you ahead and they will match your interest perfectly. The best thing to know is that you can take such tests

Where Career Advice Might Live in Our Life

Most of us have tripped into our careers. Even those who went into professions like law and accountancy tell of taking up the training as nothing else had happened for them.

Why is it that most of us have not experienced career advice? In schools it is usual that the careers teacher is doing that job as one part of a wider portfolio. And that role is often administrative as the expectation is that there is a library of information that students can access. In universities it is not much better. One of the UK’s top universities requires students to pre-book a session where the student then has 15 minutes help with their cv. It is probably useful advice. How useful is it in the context of career advising as we might want it?

In business schools the students invest significantly for their programmes. The full-time MBA is paid for by the student who has also the opportunity cost of not working. The benefit and risk issues is significant to them. The part-time MBAs at business schools are over 2 years and are usually sponsored by the employer of the student. There is less risk to the student; they continue to be paid and their job continues after their MBA has been completed.

In these business schools, careers advice and support is critical to the full-time student. The student needs to understand fully the level of support that they will get throughout their course as the course budget gets squeezed by the costs of all the other components of the programmes. On the part-time MBA, the employers are skeptical (scared?) of any career advice lest the students walk away after the MBA is completed.

The stages above are just 3 examples of where career advice is useful. Some people are fortunate that they have access to good advice. They may have a parent or parents who take an interest and who are able to encourage their offspring down an appropriate channel. Sometimes there is a teacher or a mentor who has specific experience that is helpful. For most, though, the career issue is not prevalent until it lurches into view at key moments – when one leaves school or university or when when has finished that Masters.

These examples are obvious as they are at “rite of passage” points in our lives or where we may have taken a key decision to invest in our career. What would happen if careers were more central to our learning experiences at these key stages?

The best careers advice is achieved by understanding the capabilities of an individual. In a school context this is often well understood by the teaching community as they are working with the students regularly in an academic, pastoral and ex curricula way. They are also measuring regularly to feedback to students and parents and also to relevant external bodies. The wherewithal to undertake good career advice is there. Most schools are not resourced to provide it.

The main issue seems to be that, as a society, we do not value careers as an important subject. Whether it is in schools or with people in work who are careering (rather than controlling) in their careers, the lack of value pertains. Some people do take proactive action and they broadly fall into 2 camps – they are in pain and distress because they have lost their jobs or they are bored and frustrated and know that they have to move out of what they are doing.

Taking care of your career is a lifelong responsibility. The earlier that we can value that notion and learn how to take care of it, the better it will be for the whole of one’s working life.

Should You Be Taking Career Advice From Career Counselors?

Let’s say you are facing a career related confusion; say perhaps you are not sure which career you should get into, or perhaps you are unclear of what course you should take up in college, or for that matter, what subjects you should study in school or college; what would you do if stuck in this kind of situation?

More often than not, people take career advice from either their friends, or family or teachers. They feel that the family and teachers have best knowledge about the courses and the subjects and job market and therefore, they would be able to easily give them the best guidance when it comes to career decisions. And sometimes, people think that the emotional connect they have with their friends is what is needed to really understand their dilemma and confusion and guide them out of their career confusion.

Finding The Right Approach Towards Making Career Decisions

However, this is where people mostly make mistakes when it comes to career decisions. No doubt that friends have an emotional understanding of the personality that one has, and that family and teachers have good knowledge of what is happening in the market and what is an upcoming career and which is high paying job, but, what we tend to forget is that career decisions should not be based on just an emotional understanding of one’s personality or just on the knowledge of our senior about the industry and the market. It is high time that people awaken to the reality that career decisions should be based on what matches one’s aptitude, personality and or interests, or, in simple terms, one’s inherent strengths or talents.

There are many who feel that they do not have any talent or that if they choose a career based on their passion and interests then it won’t pay too well. What one must understand and always remember that each person is born with a unique talent. Each person’s talent is made up of their own personality, aptitude and interests. A combination of these 3 can only be unique in each individual.

Another factor that one must understand is that if one chooses a career based on just interests, then the chances of not performing well in that career are high. This is because interests are fleeting in nature. What one has an interest in today, might not have the same interest in tomorrow. A classic example for this is how when a child is growing up, his/her desire for an ideal career keeps on changing every year – from being a doctor to a pilot to the prime minister to teacher and so many other careers.

That is precisely why; every individual must make the conscious effort of understanding their own aptitude, personality and interests. Once one knows what they are and who they are and what comprises them, then they’d be able to better identify the career that they should get into. And precisely because this course or this career decision is based on ones on inherent strengths, that is why, the chances of performing well and succeeding in that career are high.

How To Identify What Is Your Aptitude, Personality And Interest?

Now the question arises that how does one identify what is ones aptitude, personality and interests? This is where the role of a career counselor comes in. They measures the aptitude, personality and interests of the individual through scientific methods and psychometric tools, the results of which are then carefully analyzed. After that, a detailed report about the inherent strengths of the person is shared. Careful and appropriate advice is given to the individual on what will be the best suited career for them, what course they must take up, what subjects they should study, and if there is a certain gap between the best suited career and the personality of the individual, then advice is given on what corrective measure can be taken to overcome that gap.

Role Of A Career Counselor

This is why the role of a career counselor is beneficial in making career decisions over the role of friends, family and teachers. A career counselor offers advice not on emotional grounds or based on industry norms, or what is the general trend of the time, rather, a career counselor offers advice based on what is the best option for the person, depending on their own unique talent and inherent strengths.

So next time you are confused about making a career decision, do yourself a fav

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