Self-assessment for career exploration

Q: Is there a test to tell me what major or career I should choose?

Who am I?

A: There's help, but it's technially not a test (it's more fun than a test). It's called self-assessment.

Self-assessment is doing a realistic appraisal of yourself. It's not intended to "tell you what to be." It is intended to help you have a better understanding of yourself — your interests, skills, values, and personality —- so you can see the connections between aspects of yourself and aspects of particular career fields and occupations. Results will include career fields to consider that match aspects of you.

Self-assessment help:

• Appointment at Career Services for self-assessment
  You'll discuss your situation with an advisor and we'll determine what tools would be best to help you assess your interests, skills, personality, values and leisure activities. Results include occupations to research based on your self-assessment. Gives you details about each occupation for your research. We'll have you schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss results and help you with next steps.
  Career Services does not charge fees to students for use of our self-assessment tools.
• The Career Key
  (The Career Key, Inc., by Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D., NCC)
  Based on John Holland's theory of vocational choice and personality types. Relatively quick on-line self-assessment. Measures your skills, abilities, talents, values, interests, and personality. Results give you occupations to consider; links take you to the Occupational Outlook Handbook for details about each occupation.
  NOTE: PREVIOUSLY FREE OF CHARGE; AS OF SEPT. 2005, $7.95 FEE.
  Career Services does not endorse any particular fee-based services. Use your own judgment and make your own decision if you wish to use a fee-based service.
• The Career Interests Game
  (University of Missouri)
  Also based on John Holland's theory of vocational choice and personality types. Select your three choices from the six types, and view related occupations. Links take you to the Occupational Outlook Handbook for details about each occupation.
  No fee charged.
• Personality assessment
  (TypeFocus)
  Personality assessment is just one aspect of self-assessment.
  • What it doesn't do:
    Personality assessment doesn't tell you "what to be" and should NOT be viewed as a strict instruction that you must choose x or y occupation.
  • What it does do:
    Helps you better understand yourself and how you relate to people, process information, make decisions, and function. This helps you think about how potential occupations will or won't fit with your personality. Keep your personality type in mind as you research careers.
  • This personality assessment, like many, is based on Jung's concepts of personality type, as is the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (a.k.a. the MBTI), so you might be familiar with that name, and you might have completed an MBTI for some other purpose. Like the MBTI, this will give you a four-letter personality type. After completing, you can schedule an appointment with a Career Services advisor to help you understand how personality type connects to your decision-making style and to your career-related needs and preferences.
    TypeFocus Free Personality assessment at: www.typefocus.com/s_complimentary.html

  No fee charged for complimentary assessment. Be aware this site offers other services for a fee.