Instructions: You have been asked to help design a career assessment program for your customers. What are one or two assessments [formal or informal] you would use with your customers? Make one original post and then respond to one classmate’s post. You will make a total of two posts.
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Within our youth programs, we would use multiple different formal assessments to analyze the youth participant and where they’re at when they enter our program. Specifically, when we start working with the client we use the Interest Inventory from the O*Net Interest Profiler. This interest profiler is the best way to understand what types of interest youth participants have because they usually don’t know what types of careers they want to have, so this helps them see a wide variety of different careers that they might be good at! Plus, since it’s a formal assessment they are able to get data-driven results.
I worked with at-risk adolescents previously and O’Net was a valued assessment in helping our students to understand the career possibilities available to them based on their interests. I think these assessments should be completed by students in junior high and again in high school. A majority of students I worked with typically had children of their own and playing the parent role to younger siblings in the home.
The students I served at time were not thinking about college. Most were interested in moving straight into the workforce in order to help support the household. Our career counseling sessions with student, gave students hope that they may be the first generation to finish high school and attend college. Most of the formal assessments these students completed guided and helped them gain understanding of the job market and offered multiple options in various fields.
My experience is also with at-risk youth. While many high school students have limited awareness of the job market, this population generally has less awareness. Several years ago, we made the mistake of investing heavily in training youth in a specific technology with only passing consideration given to their actual career interests. Our primary concern had to be safety and security. While learning basic welding skills was a legitimate career exploration activity and there were opportunities to use these skills in their home communities, none of the student actually went on to be employed as a welder. We redoubled our efforts in career exploration as it seemed more developmentally appropriate and cost effective.
I work with the adults and dislocated workers as a Workforce Specialist in my current role and the O’Net Interest Profiler is required for every participant to take once they are enrolled. It has been very beneficial as it is a great starting point to discuss current career paths and shows their interest. I have had numerous participants have a job show up on the Interest Profiler that they might not have initially thought of. I personally took the O’Net Interest Profiler when I was in transition and looking for a new career path. It helped me tremendously and gave me direction to my current role now.
I also work with the adult and dislocated workers in my position. Although in our office, the ONET Interest Profiler is not a requirement for our participants to get enrolled, I do think that it is very helpful for some. Many of the participants I work with are reaching out because they already know which direction they want to go in for a career and are interested in a training. I use the ONET Interest Profiler when participants don’t know which direction they want to go in, to get a baseline of what their interests are. I think it allows participants to really take a second and stop and think about what they might enjoy, aside from just looking at the pay of a position that they seen that was appealing to them.
I can see how using O*NET with youth would be helpful! I only have experience working with adults and although the O*NET Interest Profiler can be beneficial, I can also imagine where there might be some resistance in adults as they already have an idea of what they want to do. However, if a youth participant doesn’t already have a preconceived idea of what they should be doing, then they might be more receptive to their results. Regardless, I think it’s a great idea to include an assessment like this that helps people explore their interests while also providing data to review.
That’s very insightful about adults potentially being resistant to a discrepancy between a client’s results and the industry that they are hoping to get into. I have definitely come across that with clients that are pursuing training funding but show results that indicate that they would not be a good fit for the training that they are pursuing. For example, a client that scores highly in Social and Artistic in the ONET assessment would probably not be happy in the real day to day work environment of an over the road truck driver. Clients do seem to appreciate seeing results that confirm their career goal choices.
I do agree that sometimes results of either Onet or CareerScope , may not show the career path that a client has chosen. The conversations I need to have with my client when I am going over his/her results and maybe an alternate career path can be challenging. It has helped to provide the results via email so client can review first and come with some other career choices he/she may want to consider.
I like the comment about adults having resistance to taking the assessment who have an idea of what they want to do. They’re probably thinking that they don’t want some online assessment telling them something that they don’t want to hear. But my thought is that it’s good to have a different perspective on things. I know there was a time where I thought I knew what I wanted to do and was told something different by taking a test. It turns out that the thing mentioned in the test actually ended up being a better fit for me anyways.
For my business in career coaching, both for individuals and for the hiring process by a company, we are Kolbe™ Certified Consultants. The Kolbe A™ Index is unique. “It does not measure intelligence, personality or social style. It measures the instinctive ways you take action when you strive.” “It is the only validated assessment that measures a person’s Conative strengths. Unlike any other any other assessments or quizzes you’ve taken, Kolbe gets directly at how people execute (not their IQ or personality).” The result is called your MO (method of operation).
With the Kolbe A™, we can look at how an individual takes action in 4 areas: Fact Finder; Follow Through; Quick Start and Implementor. We do not disregard the Cognitive (skills and knowledge -as companies we work with use Strength Finders or ASVAB) or the Affective (personality, interests, values- as companies we work with use the DISK or ONet). It is all part of the puzzle for coaching an individual to find the “Right Fit” for them.
The Kolbe A™ is the backbone. Within our program, we have a Kolbe B™ (this is an individual taking the index on their position based on how they perceive their duties/responsibilities). From this, we can do an A™ to B™ comparison to look for alignment, where there is conflict and adjustments or redirection needed. Also, there is the Kolbe C™ which is an index completed by CEO’s, Directors of HR, Presidents and/or Supervisor on positions for which they are hiring. With this, we can do an A™ to C™ comparison for the “Right Fit” for hire (again still taking into account the Cognitive and Affective). Going a step further, our program can support restructuring withing a company with the various comparisons for job creation, alignment, best movement of personnel, new hires, etc.
In then end, we meet our goal of alignment for placement and hire with engagement, productivity, job satisfaction and an overall feeling of success.
Wow – this sounds like a really great assessment for folks who have a bit more mature in their career and have lived experiences. It sounds like rather than finding the right role for the person, it’s about how someone could do their best work at the organization. I wonder how a client could use these results if they chose to leave the organize they are with and use it to evaluate future roles/companies.
Wow, this sounds like a really great assessment for folks who have a bit more mature in their career and have lived experiences. It sounds like rather than finding the right role for the person, it’s about how someone could do their best work at the organization. I wonder how a client could use these results if they chose to leave the organization they are with and use it to evaluate future roles/companies.
Fascinating assessment tool! I think it would work well with dislocated adults. Do you have any data on use with young adults? Can you share links to find out more about Kolbe A?
I have taken the Kolbe Assessment and I liked reading the results because they went beyond many standard answers and gave great insight as to skills and we use these results as a team. For example, I am a fast starter, so I often get tasks going, but my coworker needs time to plan so we often bounce ideas off of each other to find the right fit for a new process for our team.
This assessment tool has really sparked my interest. I willl be looking into seeing how I maybe able to use this with my senior communities. Thank You for sharing.
In my experience, formal assessments such as skills and personality inventories work best in assisting the student population I serve. This is true whether choosing the right educational program and/or career path. Skills inventories help students identify their technical and soft skills; experiences, educational qualifications as well as career goals. Many individuals have strengths in areas they may not have recognized in themselves. It is important for students to be aware of their strengths; talents, skills, and interests which helps me as Student Facilitator guide students and choose a program or career path that best suits their future needs.
The ever-changing job market is competitive and having a general idea of which line of work and type of work or educational environment students learn and/or work-in best allows. A good personality test commonly used is the Myers-Briggs and our college uses what we call a “Focus2” assessment which connects students with the several career and/or educational options. Options are vital in order for my students to not feel limited. I enjoy reviewing the results of the assessments to then work together to develop a plan of action as well as short and long-term achievable goals.
Vivian, it’s not often that I see personality tests used outside of school classrooms. Using them as a component of your work with youth actually makes sense. In addition to using the skills inventoried you mentioned, they would help give you and the participant a clearer understanding of the careers that would be a good fit for them based on their complete being instead of just a few isolated factors.
thank you for sharing Vivian. i think that some of that assessment could be greatly helpful in trying to help the customer figure out what they are interested in.
My organization works with justice-involved youth. Career exploration is the primary career development need of this population. We use the PA Career Zone Interest Profiler which is identical to the O*Net Interest Profiler. This assessment is administered and interpreted near the beginning of the youths’ program. The person who administers the assessment attempts to make connections between core academic subjects, on-site vocational programs and the results of the interest profiler. Later in their program, the results of the interest profiler are considered while they develop a Career Plan that identify the immediate steps that must take in order to move toward their identified career. Our goal is to provide a safe place to explore career options and the Interest Profiler is part of that process.
rgoshorn, I like this method. Providing a safe space for clients to explore career options is what it’s all about. We often forget that some of our clients have no one else to talk to about career choices.
When thinking about a career assessment that would be beneficial to use with the participants we serve, it would be best if it were formal, free or cost effective, and produce valid results. The assessment would also be a combination of an online instrument and one on one interviews. The online portion of the assessment would be designed to ask questions related to abilities, skills and interests. Completing the formal online assessment would help produce official results, and the interview with the participant would give you additional clarity and detail about the participants interests and goals. It would be imperative that the combined assessments provide information to assist with providing information about any and/or all of the following; career exploration, career decision-making, educational planning, and career adjustment. This will provide you with the necessary information to help guide you in your support of and work with the participant.
I find that my one on one interviews usually lead to discovering interests and strengths as much as online instruments. We are a non-profit organization and usually only use free assessments to help direct students to find opportunities. I used Career Scope assessments in the past and I found that they were not cost-efficient or as useful as free resources such as ONET.
Absolutely agree that formal, free/cost effective, and valid results are very important. Most organizations don’t having funding earmarked for expensive assessment tools that can be used with clients. I also agree that an interview with the client is important to clarify their goals/needs.
I work with adult GED and ESL students as a support specialist. I first complete an informal assessment to determine current interests; we discuss student’s family life and past employment history to determine their strengths. We then use the ONET interest profiler to begin forming a career path. We research the results with a bright outlook and investigate job openings and local trainings that are available.
Bev, I like your response to using the O*NET Interest Profiler as a way to take a “bright outlook” to investigating job openings and trainings that may be available to the participants you work with. I do think a log of individuals coming your way probably have had a lot of help and direction in determining what they would like to do as a career. I think the O*NET Interest Profiler is an excellent way to ease them into the process of thinking about their career path.
When I was in the position of a Case Manager, I used the MBTI for 3 of our programs. I got the MBTI certification. The MBTI is a Psychometric formal tool. It is not a test but an indicator of personality type and/or preferences. Since, the reliability is about 75%, I used to give an explanation to each of our clients for them to understand the difference and to own their type/strengths. I could tell when they got it when a smile was on their faces confirming the pros and cons of their strengths when they were reading a short description of their type.
We all encounter different assessments thru school, applying for a job or working with clients. Different assessments are available in the market, and these keep getting improve for a better outcome for a specific situation. Or new ones also come in the market. I think it’s good to experience different types of assessments to provide a service to clients. Only trial and error can tell us the one that will work best for staff and clients.
learning about different assessment that works best for staff and clients.
Exploring different assessments formal or informal helps not only the client learn more about their interest, values and skills, also the career advisor to help guide the client in their career development.
To design a career assessment program, I would use an informal assessment with customers first. Unlike an informal assessment, using a formal assessment will make people feel uncomfortable and nervous like going back to school. Informal assessments create more welcoming environments so customers will be open-minded and be willing to share their experiences. The informal assessment is useful with diversity groups/cultures too. There are so many free online tools that we could provide to customers, I would pick O*Net Interest Profiler to begin forming a career path for them.
At the individual intake, we can use informal assessments to help ourselves help customers understand their career development in a one-on-one setting. We could help customers choose the right path from the beginning either education or career by having the structured interview questions.
In the larger group, they could do Forced Choice or Card Sorts activities. We could break them into smaller groups and customers could have a group discussion. This way they can learn from each other too because there is no right or wrong answer. It is based on each individual experiences.
After that, we could provide formal assessments for those who need them. For example, if they prefer to take more education or advancement in career they could take TABE test.
I like your idea of using an informal assessment to begin with to ease the client into the assessment process. I think this could go a long way with building trust as well, which could in turn make it an easier transition and willingness to take a more formal assessment.
I would start with a formal assessment, preferably free or low-cost. These types of assessments give you scores and structure. Most clients like to see the areas that they need to work on, hence the reason they come to us. Once we determine what is needed, they can take an informal assessment to ease the anxiety. Something fun such as a strengths finder or an activity that can be discussed in a one-on-one setting. People love to know their strengths.
I work entirely with students who tend to be juniors and seniors in high school, these students are a bit more receptive to informal assessment to begin with, conversations about where they are headed after graduation and how I can be of assistance helping them achieve their goals. With any students that are unsure of their future trajectory I use more formal assessment like a skills and interest assessment, or the school districts provided Xello assessment. These can help give us a picture of the things a student is good at or might be interested in, which can help them shape their thoughts about their future.
While you work with juniors and seniors is the high school started sooner in the freshman or sophomore year with Xello? I know in PA the districts are “following” PDE’s College and Career Readiness program with the collection of artifacts to job shadowing/employment in a position of interest for a career. From what I have been able to gather, it really depends on the district or high school for how well they are implementing this program to the supplemental assessments out there like, ASVAB or ONet. The other piece of the puzzle is how serious or what level of attention any student gives to any assessment. I am sure you come across a variety of needs and experiences with the students.
In my current role as a Workforce Specialist, I use the formal assessments and informal assessments. Before a participant is enrolled in my program, they are required to take a Family Needs Assessment. There are numerous questions on this document in reference to the participants housing, employment, food, transportation, and child care needs. This helps new participants enrolling in our program to see where their current needs are not just for finding employment but for their personal needs. Based on their answers we can then refer them to other resources and other programs that we work with. After the Family Needs Assessment is done, we then make all new participants complete the O’Net Interest Profiler. Like with the Family Needs Assessment, this helps define the participants’ interest and helps with finding new employment opportunities for them. I believe that both are very beneficial for new participants and helps set the parameters for ongoing meetings.
We use a family assessment as well as part of our intake. Identifying potential barriers such as housing, transportation, and child care are critical to seeing the client as a whole. We could be setting a client up for failure if we don’t consider these. I didn’t put those in my original post and I am glad that you reminded me of the importance of remembering to include this.
I like the family needs assessments also. It is important for workforce development to help the client holistically. When the clients’ needs are addressed and remedied, then employment can be retained and the family can thrive.
One assessment I would use is the O*NET Interest Profiler. It is a formal assessment tool that can help enlighten participants about job fields that could align with activities they would enjoy doing. This falls into the “interest inventory” category of assessment tools. At one time, our program utilized this evaluation for our participants and had success with using the results to guide individuals towards satisfying careers.
This assessment is relatively straight-forward and easy to complete. The fact that it’s not intimidating but still provides insight into different careers and fields is a beneficial characteristic. It also has helpful, practical information about training/education needed for various jobs, salaries, and potential job opportunities. I think focusing on interests first and then evaluating realistic components is a great strategy for making job search approachable.
I agree with Emma’s points for using the O’Net Interest Profiler. It’s been applicable to almost all participants I’ve worked with in my 10+ years in workforce development.
We currently use Career scope assessment to help guide and provide career recommendation base on high interest and aptitude, it produces recommendations for their development. There is a new version that came out with resourceful resources to help both the client and career navigator to better understand their career goals. It’s good to experience different types of assessment informal and formal as this will allow both the career advisor and the client to know more about all the different types that are out and how these assessments can be utilize as a tool to prepare for a career pathway.
I like how you speak to the value of delivering a variety of assessments to get to know our clients better. Different assessments do capture different types of information, and it’s nice to get a more comprehensive understanding of the individuals that we work with, and how that relates to career development. It is nice having a variety of assessments to chose from in addition to the ones that we complete as part of enrollment, so that we can tailor to the needs of our clients and truly deliver personalized services.
I am a Career Navigator serving Adult and Dislocated Workers and have been delivering a few assessments including the O*NET and Traitify assessments used to determine a client’s perception of their own employment preferences. We use these assessments not only to support a client in furthering their understanding of themselves and help in clarifying career interests to specific career goals, but also in assessing potential funding for training. A client’s O*NET scores are reviewed during training committees and discussed as part of the approval process. This is done under the assumption that there is a science to matching a person’s personality and the work environment that would best suit them. A good match of both work environment and type of employment with a person’s personality should result in a person’s sustained employment in that industry. This should result in both a client’s satisfaction in job placement as well as positive training outcomes for the program. Our program just adopted CareerScope as a new tool and I recently completed it myself to see how it would be for my clients. I really like how this tool assesses aptitude at a greater level than what we’ve used before, and feel that it will result in more accurate assessment of next steps for employment/training goals.
I think your method to use the assessment to clarify career interest and goals is very effective to help participants find their Career Path.
In our office, we work with students that are Out of School Youth, and our students are often trying to figure out what jobs and careers they are wanting to pursue. I would use Career Scope to assess our participants skills and interest. In my experience with Working with Career Scope, because through a series of questions, it reviews their knowledge and what they are interested in doing, and it provides them with results that merge the skills they already have, and matches it to what jobs they can do. This helps the students connect both aspects of looking for a job, and helps guide them on Careers that they might not have thought of before.
I have a lot of participants that also find careers that they are interested in that they never thought of before also. It is pretty neat when they light up and say wow! that sounds like something I’d really like to do!
Throughout my career of 30 plus years in workforce development, I have had many roles, EARN caseworker, Instructor, Job Developer, Career Advisor, WIOA Career Navigator to name a few. I have used many assessments throughout my career, such as Onet, CareerScope, WorkKeys, TABE, etc. I have found that I must first decide what testing would be the best fit for the clients in the role I am in. When I worked with SNAP participants, a simple Onet Profiler Assessment would probably be the best option since many of SNAP or just looking for a job to move on and get off of assistance. However, when working with a WIOA client who is trying to make a choice of either a career change and what training he/she should take that I feel using the CareerScope would give the client a more comprehensive look at career interests and choices.
I agree with you that different groups of participants have different needs and career paths. Due to these differences, we should tailor the assessments specific to the audience we are working with.
Like some of my other colleagues, I would use the onet interest profiler assessment. I’ve been using this for years and feel that it’s a fairly quick and easy way to give client’s a starting point for occupations they could consider and or pursue based on their interests and education level. I think having access to the job matches easily allows people to then look at some of the highlights of the occupations and either eliminate them based on the specifications of the occupation or will allow them to look into the occupation further. I think it’s a good assessment for all levels even if digital literacy is not the best.
Wow – this sounds like a really great assessment for folks who have a bit more mature in their career and have lived experiences. It sounds like rather than finding the right role for the person, it’s about how someone could do their best work at the organization. I wonder how a client could use these results if they chose to leave the organization they are with and use it to evaluate future roles/companies.
When working with students, the two assessments that I think are the most useful are Focus 2 and the Strong Interest Inventory. I think they are the best to use with students because they serve as a great starting point and conversation starter. So many students will come into an appointment with “tell me what to be.” Using these two assessments can be a great starting place to show that they already have some of the options within; we are going to use their (developed or undeveloped) knowledge, interest, and skills to shape what is possible. We then can use those two assessment results to have a conversation on if they think it fits and how to explore what’s next in a way that matches their learning style. I find that after assessment results incorporating a small win, like looking at job descriptions or finding how they may already be using these skills, can be really affirming to their career development.
I work with students and hadn’t heard of these assessments, and they seem like great tools, Ill have to try them out for myself.
As a Career Specialist my role in guiding clients with career paths has been on a broader scale. However, I have promoted the use of both O*Net as well as TORQ from their online CareerLink account, particularly when a client shares they would like to think about a change in their career path. I have also found that an informal assessment can prove fruitful when critiquing resumes where we are discussing their work history as well as passions and interests. This can often spur discussion that will encourage them to pursue the use of a more formal assessment that may help them think outside the box.
In my work at the community college, I have used the O’Net interest profiler and I do find value in it. I then show students how to translate the results into potential job titles that fit their needs. The nice thing about the O’Net profiler is that is takes so little time and we get quick results. The college offers a free assessment to students called the Focus 2. It takes Holland’s concepts and provides a deeper look at potential career paths for students. I would probably continue to use the O’Net as a tool for a “quick assessment” to get a student’s mind thinking about what interests them. I don’t think that it is a tool that supports a deep dive into career assessment.
While reviewing this chapter, I signed up for the California Careerzone. I signed in and started playing around with the website. I found this to be a potentially strong tool for in depth assessment for students. I would really like to spend some time with this tool and see how it could work in my line of work. I think there is great potential there.
I have worked in workforce development for quite a few years and out of all the assessments I have seen so far, I like the O’Net Profiler and the Careerscope the best. The O’Net Profiler is a quick and easy way to get a snapchat of clients’ interests. Based upon the clients’ score reports and identified job zones, career navigation can be completed to lead the client in the best direction suitable.
For a more in-depth look at clients’ interests as well as aptitudes, the Careerscope is a good assessment tool. With the Careerscope, things like visual perception, spatial ability, mathematical, and language skills are evaluated. Coupling the aptitude scores with the clients’ areas of interests produces recommendations of occupations that clients could explore as career options.
I know that our office switched to using CareerScope. I would love to learn more about it. It sounds very useful. I would also love to take it myself.
I’m also interested in learning more about CareerScope and your experience with it. We use O*NET since we mostly work with adults, but our school district is using Xello (https://xello.world/en/) for middle and high schools.
I work with dislocated adults and have recently started working with out of school youth. We were previously using ONet but, rfecently have transitioned over to CareerScope. All program participants complete this assessment upon enrollment. So far it been a great tool to assist individuals into identifying areas of interest and it works in combination with ONEYTto make recommendations
In working with TANF and Adult/Dislocated Workers I feel that the O*NET interest profiler, designed using the Holland Code is a simple, and easy-to-understand informal assessment. It is relatively easy to access and provides comprehensive assessments that assist clients in learning about careers in their areas of interest. An added bonus is that it does not take much time to complete.
For a formal assessment, our office utilizes the TABE test to determine if someone has a high enough reading, writing, and math level to succeed in a training program. While not foolproof it does help Career Navigator identify a potential barrier a client may face if they enter training with inadequate reading, writing, or arithmetic skills.
Thank you for sharing information about the CASAS test! At MRS I have not been required to administer any pre-requisite test to measure a customer’s ability to be successful in collegiate or trade school endeavors, but your comment has sparked an interest in me finding out how our department handles this to ensure that we a being financially responsible.
In my position as a Career Coach working with Adults and Dislocated Workers, the career assessment that I use the most for Career Development is the ONET Interest Profiler. The ONET Interest Profiler is an informal assessment, is easy to use and provides an array of results to assist the participant in what they may want to pursue. It has been a great tool with my participants that come in and are ready for something new and aren’t sure which direction they want to go in. The ONET Interest Profiler can be done quickly and participants usually enjoy doing it because it focuses solely on their interests and doesn’t feel like an actual test.
In terms of a formal test, we administer CASAS tests. This test is a requirement for anyone that would like to do training. This assessment is a reading and math test that shows at what grade level a participant is scoring. It determines if an individual is Basic Skills Deficient. The main reason for us using this test is to see if an individual is scoring at a level showing they could be successful in a training program.
At our service centers we use the CASAS as our formal assessment and have started to move away from the ONET Interest Profiler and into another assessment that provides a RIASEC score and additional measurables with personality and thinking skills. I do like the interest profilers quick results and direction to occupations. For those who want something quick it is easy to administrate. As for the CASAS I never got to into the weeds about why that was the new standard for Cognitive assessments with Adult and Dislocated workers.
Our office works with all clients from various backgrounds, so our assessments need to be versatile and inexpensive. My plan would be to use the TABE for formal assessments, and the Life Rainbow for informal assessment. Some of our clients have literacy challenges, so I would have talent specialists well-trained in how to deliver these to those clients. I would also spend time reviewing the assessments with talent to ensure they know about the inventories, how they work and how to use the results with the clients. I would want to have continuing discussion with staff to ensure these were delivered ethically and address any challenges they might be having with administrating these assessments. I would also ask for money to be added to our budget so we could be finding the most cost-effective way to continue helping guide clients successfully.
I like that you are thinking about the client demographic. That is extemely important, especially in rural areas. I’m still new to my postion so I feel the value of the extra training in assesment knowledge. Questioning for the sole purpose of knowledge, I’m curious as to why the TABE is your prefered formal assesment?
I am a Career Advisor that works with PATH participants and individuals interested in help with Tuition Assistance through WIOA and MiREACH funding. For the PATH participants, we use the O*NET profiler because it breaks down what they enjoy doing so it can give the participants more focus on not just getting a job but finding one they enjoy as well. It does not take a really long time to complete either and that helps the participants remain focused. Also allowing them to see their results at the end of the assessment without having to wait for the career advisor to score it is an additional benefit. It allows them to explore their interests on their own time as well as it lets them click on job zones and career suggestions.
We also use the TABE Locator 11/12 for Reading and Mathematics assessment for all of our participants for PATH and WIOA Tuition Assistance. As a Career Advisor, I review the TABE results with the participant in order for them to understand their scores. I also use it to help determine suitability for our tuition assistance program. If they score very low on reading and math, I explore more of their other strengths to help determine if they indeed would be able to pass any trainings they enroll in. TABE does not help with career exploration, however, so it is very limited in scope.
If I was working with a customer to design a career assessment program I would provide them with the two following formal assessments: Onet Interest profile and the Strengths finder by Gallup. I believe that if the customer is able to become more cognizant of their strengths, they will be more likely to correlate them to their interests and ultimately be more successful in facing challenges the new position may bring. The Informal assessment that I would use is guided imagery. I enjoyed these exercises and it was a good opportunity to imagine what I wanted my life to look and feel like. Similarly, I believe that a customer would benefit from getting in tune with what they ultimately have planned for their lives and the way they would like to navigate the world.
As a Youth Career Coach, I use the Onet interest profiler. A lot of my participants do not know what they want to do for a career so this is a good tool to show them what they may like to do based on their interests. We also use the CASAS testing. This shows were they are at in math and reading, if they are basic skills deficient this may be a barrier and something we can work on in the program. CASAS also helps us determine if they are ready for the GED testing and/or training or if they need a little extra help.
Upon initial contact I feel an informal assesment is best. Just ask questions as part of a conversation. An informal inventory of work experience and interests. Allow the client to reach a natural comfort. I feel that formal assesments are only as good as the person taking them. If a person is being honest with the answers they can be very useful. Ive seen times where the questions are answered in a manner that will result in favor of a pre concieved notion.
The “informal” conversation between a client and staff can be the most useful assesment there is. Ask the questions, inturpet the answers given. Are they honest? Are they productive? From that point decide if a formal assesment will be benificial.
I think that’s a great idea to use an informal assessment first. Administering formal assessments first might overwhelm the customer and it does not give you time to make a personal connection. Starting off with an interview or some get to know you time is important because you can learn a lot about someone by having respectful back and forth conversation. Creating a professional bond with your customer makes them feel more comfortable to share. That’s also a good point about formal assessments and the validity of them based on the realness and honesty a customer is. That can skew your information and cause you to travel down a career path that might not be best fit for the customer.
I mostly work with adult refugees and immigrants. During my informal assessment, I try to get the full picture. even if the customer comes in for work (for example) I ask questions to figure out all the possible barriers that can stop them from being successful. I ask questions in regard to language, transportation, family situation, and any mental or physical barriers. After figuring out the barriers, I try to figure out their skill set. it is important for me to let them know that I am not trying to erase their history, and that some of their skills could be transferred to a new country.
Is it difficult when someone from a different country has a lot of education that is not recognize here? While attending job fairs, I have met people that have been nurses and teachers, but because of the different education systems their credentials are not recognized in the US.
In your experience, has it ever been beneficial to tag team with an employer or organization that also understands the barriers that these people face and coordinate training, support, employment, etc so that the person feels they have a support system in place?
I work with Seniors, ages 55 and older. We use a hand written informal assessment. It is a Self Assessment that covers personality traits and preferences, skills and achievements, and values. It also covers job interests, barriers to employment, past employment and any education or specialized trainings they may have aquired. I feel this form of assessment works best for Seniors, most can’t operate a computer to utilize O*NET or like websites. Formal assessments can be overwhelming for them. After filling out the self assessment we sit down together to discuss options and where to go moving forward. They also apprecite the one-on-one human interaction vs. technology.
How great that you consider barriers to participation in assessments, and how taking an assessment with impact the people that you serve. You’re meeting people’s needs in a way that works for both of you, helps them develop insight, and hopefully gets them excited to prepare for new work experiences.
Like many others the only assessment I have been exposed to is the ONET Assessment. Being with the JVSG program it does do a good job at helping explore interest related to veterans’ military careers. If I were to pick an assessment that I just found in the chapter, it would have to be the Career Beliefs Inventory and the Job Search Attitude Inventory. They are describe as helping with internal barriers and help clients learn about unrealistic expectations. Most of the clients I see believe their work value is higher than what LMI indicates, and these assessments seem to target that area. It would be good to have another tool that helps bring a client’s expectations into a realistic view.
I’m employed as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at Michigan Rehabilitation Services. MRS serves people with disabilities to help them prepare for, obtain and retain employment. I often purchase psychological evaluations to assess individuals’ IQ scores, academic grade level equivalencies, and other abilities and capabilities. The psychologist administers the Career Assessment Inventory, which asks individuals their preferences and interests in a variety of work activities. It’s a formal standardized assessment. At the end of the assessment, the psychologist uses these results to recommend potential jobs and rehabilitation needs of the individual. I also purchase vocational assessments from vendors. They often use CareerOneStop’s Career Interest Assessment and Skills Matcher, which provides scores similar to Holland’s Personality types. It includes Conventional, Enterprising, Realistic.
If I was asked to help design a career assessment program, I would provide them with the following assessments: O*NET Interest Profile and card sorts. The O*NET Interest Profile is good to use when finding careers that match their personality and interest. The card sorts are good for the other person to rank careers based on their interest, skills, and values. It also gives them the opportunity to have the assessment tailored to their learning style. There are other types of assessment that would be good to include as well.
Most of my work centers around working with young adults to early fifties. Due to the type of work I am in, they have chosen the skilled trade of construction, but have a wide variety of options of work tasks to move about in with different employers. Because they may not like the type of construction they originally started in or are getting older and do not want to do as much physical work as they did when they were younger, they come to me seeking guidance on what their options are and if they need other training to work in a different area of construction. When I do informal assessments, I may try card sorts. Many of my clients are kinesthetic learners so card sorts work well in their favor. If I can identify what my client’s highest work values are and the type of work/employer offers that type of value, I can coordinate the training needed or determine if the person already has the training to work for that company.
I would use an assessment called JOFI. The JOFI assessment apply test for Career Interest, Personality Traits, and Thinking Skills which are later measured against compensatory job analysis of 71 job families. The assessment give a nice report to job seekers along with a customized link to explore careers based on their fit score of these 3 measurables combined. It also links to onet and other labor market websites to make exploration a breeze.
Thinking skills! I love that your tool assesses thinking skills because in order to meet individuals where they are, knowing what level of thinking skills and how developed their critical thinking skills are would be so important in deciding on a realistic career pathway. Interesting. I will have to look into this and other areas to assess thinking skills and if that area has a lot of room to be developed, that would be an important thing to identify.
My role is different than most of the folks taking this course, as I don’t directly interact with participants/clients, but work directly with businesses. I am a fan of the O*Net platform and feel that it is a good assessment. Especially if I would encounter a client who give the typical “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up” answer. The thing that I like about the assessment is that it provides the user with a wide variety of options. I took an assessment myself a few years ago, and while I thought I knew what I wanted to do and would do well at, the assessment told me something completely different that I wouldn’t have thought of previously.
I agree, the assessment provides the participants with a wide vary of careers they can pursue now. A list of careers with a shorter training coupled with their transferable skills. Finally, it provides a list of careers that need more extensive training. Overall, an excellent resource for a boost in confidence with participants. I have noticed they get excited when they realize how the transferable skills, they have can be so useful.
Designing a career assessment program for our customers is a very important step. I would use the formal assessments interest inventories and ability tests. An informal assessment I would use are interviews. Knowing customers’ interests can help guide us to career paths that would be enjoyable. When a person enjoys their job they often stay in the same position for a longer period of time. They also tend to have a better work ethic when they enjoy their job. Ability tests are important because it gives the customer and counselor a baseline of their strengths and weaknesses. Pairing interest inventories and ability tests allows a counselor to weigh the balance between interests and abilities. It’s important to find a job that the customer enjoys but also that they have the abilities for. If a customer does not have the abilities to perform in their job effectively, they will become frustrated and that leads to a negative workplace environment. Lastly, I would use interviews to get to know my customer. Having a conversation where you ask good questions and make the customer feel heard, respected, and understood can give you more realistic knowledge of that customer and what their wants and needs are.
When formally assessing a new Youth Participant’s ideal Career Path, I prefer to use CareerScope. Careerscope is a user-friendly program that the participant can take either in the MiWorks office or from home, whichever they prefer. It gives a thorough, easy-to-read assessment report of what field would be the best fit for the Youth.
Until reading this, I have only known O*Net as the “go-to” place to go for career code numbers when enrolling youth in WIOA! I will definitely be looking into the O*Net Interest Profiler as another optional tool when doing a formal assessment on future Youth participants.
Our college uses the Focus2 Career Assessment tool for our students and this is based on the Holland’s Theory of Career Choice, so this would (and is) my go to first step with students in the assessment stage of the career development process. I really like how Focus2 assesses multiple areas including, Work Interest, Personality, Leisure, Values and Skills. The multiple assessment layers can provide some validation of consistency and help identify common themes that we may see throughout the assessments with students as I always try to keep in mind that these assessments are self-reporting so the level of the student’s self-awareness can impact the results. The Focus2 also will directly link you to both Occupational Outlook Handbook information through O’net and also directly then tie it to majors and programs at Reading Area Community College.
We hope to connect our student results to the local community college offerings’ too. It’s nice to be able to tie in the training options and what is avaible locally.
We are beginning to incorporate oNet assessments into our student experience. It is a short assessment, while formal, and not intimidating as some of the longer panels. Since students feel comfortable at different training levels/intensity it is nice that they are given so many options. They can quickly see careers that might be quickly entered into and what they could use if they are willing to invest more time. It’s nice that the students gets to decide which level they are at, instead of having to narrow down the list and possibly get disappointed after they are interested in a career that is beyond their immediate goals.
I work with Adults & Dislocated Workers ADW. My current position is a Career Specialist/ Outreach. I also teach the Intro to PA CareerLink Services workshop. Answering questions at the end of the workshop, I have realized that clients are looking to change careers / better jobs. O’Net gives three lists of Careers they can choice from. I have had numerous participants have a job show up on the Interest Profiler that they might not have initially thought of. Making them excited to moving forward, starting over.