The dos and don’ts of career assessments

If you’re having trouble determining what you want to do in life, then taking a career assessment may give you some idea of where to begin.

These assessments, which can be found online, are designed to help students, jobseekers and career changers to have a better understanding of themselves by identifying personal attributes and their suitability for certain career choices, be it through their personality, interests, skills, or work values.

They can also provide different and perhaps new perspectives on qualities and talents that you might not realise before, giving you the opportunity for more self-discovery.

However, results from these assessments shouldn’t be seen as the ultimate answer to your entire life and career.

Some that are available online and free of charge, in particular, may not be as reliable as a consultation with qualified career counsellors, who can assist you in making more informed career decisions.

Instead, look at them as part of your guide in exploring your future career, in addition to other assessment activities such as the aforementioned professional consultation and self-reflection.

Here are some other dos and don’ts to keep in mind when you take these assessments:

DO:

• Take legitimate career tests, such as the Strong Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the Jung personality test; instead of those that claim to determine your dream career through your zodiac sign or your favourite TV show.
• Take more than one assessment, and then compare them to see which give the most reliable results and find similar patterns to narrow down your career options.
• Differentiate results, especially free online tests, and disregard those that clearly don’t reflect you as an individual.
• Have an open mind when doing these assessments, because results can only be as accurate as the person who is willing to acknowledge his/her own strengths and limitations.

DON’T:

• Brush off results that suggest career ideas you’ve never considered that should be given time for exploration.
• Rely too heavily on career assessments; instead treat them as supplementary materials when seeking expert advice from career counsellors, who can also help you in interpreting your results.
• Expect too much from these assessments from the start. If you find yourself disinterested in a career chosen based on your first assessment, go for another round to evaluate your personal attributes that have undergone changes over the past years.
• Give up; even if you can’t pinpoint a career you have an interest in and enjoy doing, you can try a job that matches your skill sets. Who knows, you might come to love it.

This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.