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March 8, 2016
There is great power in knowing where you are most likely to succeed. Perhaps more importantly, having enough self-awareness to find the right career early on allows you to save the most precious resource you have – your time. Personality and career assessments are an excellent place to start narrowing down your options and gain the insight to evaluate potential work environments.
1. Mapp Career Assessment
Cost: Starter package ($89,95), Career Seeker Package (119.95), Executive package (149.95)
The paid versions of the Mapp assessement can provide two valuable pieces of information: an understanding for your personality profile and a list of possible careers. However, the real benefits are found in the two most expensive packages. Both give you the top 20 career matches from a total of 900 and in the case of the executive package, the matches are ranked.
2. O*Net Computerized Interest Profiler
Cost: Free
The O*Net Computerized Interest Profiler (CIP) is provided by the U.S. government and available to everyone. The CIP is a “self assessment career exploration tool” composed of 180 items that is offered online or in pencil and paper format*. It measures an individual across six broad occupational interests to help identify what work activities and occupations are the best fit.
*If 180 questions seems daunting, you can use the short version of O*Net’s CIP that contains 60 items but is only available online.
3. Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator
Cost: Variable
The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely used personality test based on the theories of famous psychologist Carl Jung. The test assigns one preference for each set of four dichotomous pairs:
- Favorite World: Introversion(I) or Extroversion(E)
- Information: Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
- Decisions: Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
- Structure: Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
The combination of these preferences represent one of the 16 possible personality types often shown as a series of 4 letters (e.g. ISTJ). Although the MBTI does not directly offer career choices, it helps you understand what occupation and work environment is best suited for your personality.
4. Big Five Personality Assessment
Cost: Free
The big five personality assessment assumes that a personality profile can be represented as the interaction between varying levels of 5 super traits:
- Openness to new experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
The big five is a dimensional model that profiles personalities through evaluating the degree in which traits are expressed and it has primarily gained traction as a result of the growing dissatisfaction with categorical models’ ability to fully capture an individual’s personality.
This assessment is available online for free through a number of organizations. Its approach is likely best used in conjunction with other tests but just like the MBTI, it helps you determine the work environment and occupation that fits your personality.
Final Remarks…
A great career is found through self-awareness. For many, the source of this information is derived purely from trial and error or in other words, a lot of wasted resources. These assessments, among other reputable ones, can help you avoid bad career choices. However, there is not one that succeeds in all areas and has perfect accuracy. This means that you, the career seeker, must critically evaluate the information provided and make the final decision on how it should be applied to your path.
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