What are the Major Types of Career Assessment Tests?

<p>Career assessment tests can help students choose a career to pursue, and they can help mid-career professionals determine the direction of their current careers. Popular career assessment tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II) and the Strong Interest Inventory. </p> <h3 id="section---ImportantFactsAboutCareerAssessmentTests">Important Facts About Career Assessment Tests</h3> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><td> <b>Format </b></td><td> Online or on paper</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Cost of Assessment and Reports</b></td><td> MBTI: Free <br /> KTS-II: Fee required; different reports available based on user needs <br /> Strong Interest Inventory: Fee required; different reports available based on user needs</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Report Analysis</b></td><td> All three offer report analysis by a professional for a fee</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Alternative Uses for High School Students</b></td><td> Choosing classes, choosing a college or university, choosing extracurricular activities, writing a resume</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Alternative Uses for College Students</b></td><td> Choosing a major, choosing classes, choosing extracurricular activities, writing a resume</td></tr> <tr><td> <b>Alternative Uses for Professionals</b> </td><td> Intra-organizational team analysis in order to maximize productivity, writing a resume</td></tr> </table><h3 id="section---MyersBriggsTypeIndicator">Myers-Briggs Type Indicator</h3> <p>For more than 50 years, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has helped individuals find career opportunities through in-depth personality analyses. The test was created by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, who used the personality research of Carl Jung. According to CPP, the publishers of the MBTI, more than 2 million people take the test annually. By evaluating personality and psychological characteristics, the test can provide users with broad career interests, specific professional paths and potential college majors or concentrations. </p> <p>The test determines professional strengths and areas of weakness or disinterest, which allows users to find compatible careers that highlight personal strong points. The test provides a career type based on several characteristics, including extroversion, introversion, sensing, intuition, feeling, perceiving, thinking and judging. The test combines the results and allows users to see what work environments and conditions are similar to their specific type. With the test results, users can compare possible careers and determine which opportunities offer the best personal and psychological fit. </p> <h3 id="section---KeirseyTemperamentSorter">Keirsey Temperament Sorter</h3> <p>Created by David Keirsey, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter is similar to the MBTI, but it assesses different psychological and personality results. The test organizes users into four different temperaments: idealists, guardians, artisans and rationals. Within the four temperaments are eight role types and even more role type variants. By analyzing temperaments, role types and behaviors, the KTS-II can determine well-matched career paths that foster success and personal growth. Unlike the MBTI, which monitors how a user thinks, the KTS-II relies on observable behaviors, making it highly reliable. The test can also determine how work satisfaction and productivity is affected by work environments and conditions. </p> <h3 id="section---StrongInterestInventory">Strong Interest Inventory</h3> <p>Created by E.K. Strong, Jr. in 1927, the Strong Interest Inventory is a commonly used psychological career assessment test. The inventory is composed of 291 questions that determine professional and personality interests. It may be taken by high school students, college students, and working adults at any point in their careers. The test places individuals at a point on a hexagon based on six personality traits: conventional, realistic, investigative, artistic, social, and enterprising. Career advice is offered based on the individual's position on the hexagon.</p>