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.
Remember that our learning group works in a full value environment: We treat our colleagues with respect and professionalism. Our comments should reflect this culture.
Even though it was not highlighted in the reading material. I like the COPS interest inventory. It is time consuming, but is easy to administer in groups or individually. The results are a graph and easy to visualize for our participants.
During the time I shadowed you, I would agree it is easy to administer and the visuals included make it easy for the participants.
I like COPS as well for it is identifying a clients strengths into job categories and can be done individually or as a group with little cost or pressure for customers.
I like the COPS interest inventory because it identifies how interests are related to career choices
I also really enjoy COPS interest inventory. I agree that it is very lengthy and a bit tricky to score but I’ve never had an individual disagree with the results like I’ve had with other assessments.
I also like the Card Sorts assessment as well. I like the idea of giving the clients their own set of cards and letting the clients place their cards from most important to least important, then having the career provider score the cards. Questions should be asked of the career provider in order to get a better understanding and continue to build rapport.
I heard this was a good assessment . I have no training in any of these assessments and would not want to practice outside of my scope of practice
I like COPS interest inventory too. You are right, it takes time but it helps you to define the kinds of work you are interested.
I really enjoy the Colors card sort personality inventory activity. Many participants are very open to participate, interactive, easy to explain, no test anxiety and provides requires no special qualifications to facilitate and can be done independently or in a group setting.
Yes the Colors card is a great non stressful way to find out someones personality traits indeed!
I like Colors as well, it can be a personality inventory activity that can be useful for many aspects of someone’s life, not just work.
I agree with you, I like the Color assessment too. I like to see people’s faces when they see the results and how much they are like that color. It is a very interesting assessment.
I agree 100% with you Tiffani, COLORS Card Sort is useful in many ways….
Tiffani,
I also like the Colors inventory.
I agree that Colors Card Sort is a great assessment tool. I enjoyed it when I took the assessment. I also found the results to be pretty accurate. I like how it was fun and I didn’t suffer from any anxiety while going through the assessment. I like how this assessment does not rely on a computer or digital access.
I agree that True Colors is non evasive for our participants and starts them off with a simple to tool to build on as they learn about themselves.
In 20 years I have never had a client dislike True Colors. It is quick, easy, and can be done by paper or online.
I agree that True Colors is non evasive for our participants and starts them off with a simple to tool to build on as they learn about themselves.
I totally agree with everyone about the True colors.
I work with mostly youth, and when I ask them what career they would like to go into, the usual response is something that makes lots of money or they have no idea. I like to start them off with an interest profiler assessment on CAcareerzone that uses the Holland Code to match them with jobs with a similar interest based on their results. Once they get the results they reflect on if the jobs that were matched are of an interest to them. If the job matches it is encouraged for them to research more information about the career, like is training needed, what skills do they need, or what that person might be doing on a daily basis on that job. This hopefully gets them thinking about whether it is something they would enjoy to do but also the results can offer an insight about if the job is in high demand in their area.
Thank you for the example Aaron.
Aaron,
I also like the Holland Codes. I think it helps them to eliminate the make a lot of money and no idea answer. I agree that the results allow them to be more focused on the job that they can get, not just what they want.
After reading the material, I think I may be interested in using the Forced Choice. The fact that it can help clients begin to understand their decision making style and help with clarification of their value is helpful. I also like the fact that this assessment can be used as an ice breaker. I think ice breakers are important in a group setting, so clients can feel more at ease and begin to conversate with each other. And the best part is no special equipment, no written test and it can be facilitated without any special credentials.
Being that I work with a population that mostly hasn’t worked in a long time or has never worked, I would use the O*Net Interest Profiler assessment for clients. Although not an exact assessment of their interests it gives people basic ideas of the type of work interests they have for a job they would fit into right now. They can also use it to determine how much education they would like to achieve and the future career that would fit best for their general interests.
Aaron,
I have never used careerzone. Sounds like I need to check it out!
I agree with you Michelle as I work with the same population. I also find the O*Net Interest Profiler assessment to better determine what is needed for career opportunities, choices and education.
I would use the Skillscan test for my clients to find out skills they never knew they had, as well as the sixteen personality factor (16PF) to find out what their preferences are in a work setting.
I haven’t use the Skillscan test, but it sounds like a tool I would use. Sometimes newly discovered skill sets can help our clients sort in interest and motivate them to expand their career choices.
Both of these sound like good starters to help clients gain insight into their strengths and increase self-awareness and confidence in career decision-making.
I just completed the Personality Mosaic and found my score very interesting I am a CSRIAE. This was a fun, short, and an easy scoring assessment. This is an assessment I can give to others and together we can learn about personality traits. I have little experience in assessments so I would not want to go above my scope of practice.
Carolyn, I love the idea that you can do this assessment without training and learn with the client as well as learn about the client’s personality traits. I think a fun, short, and easy assessment is important, especially since we’re just getting to know the client and just building a relationship. It will help build trust when you review everything with them. Good choice!
I like the card sort assessment. It can be done with both individuals or in groups. I like that it is kinesthetic, as that is my learning style. It also is an easy way to sort out work values.
I have little experience in career assessment, but I have tried the Colors card sort personality inventory and found it simple and enjoyable. It wasn’t as in-depth, but still accurate and provided a good overview of one’s personality traits. I would start with this assessment tool to help alleviate any stress that clients may already have due to loss of a job or anxiety about career exploration.
I agree! I think it would be a good easy ice-breaker type of assessment. Kinesthetic assessments are very beneficial when working with clients with learning disabilities as well. Completing a fun and short activity together with the client would build rapport and trust which aids in developing a helping relationship.
Chong, I also support this assessment. I think it is really fun to learn about individual personalities and why they have different interactions. It is also simple because it can be done in a group setting and there does not have to be a computer. I agree with you, that this assessment can help relieve anxiety and allow a group to get more comfortable with each other. It can also be done on an individual basis and on Zoom
In the position I am in currently, I do not do assessments nor have I in the past. But I would choose the informal card sorts because it is a quick assessment that can be self-administered or administered by a career service provider. The clients that come into the employment center are not in with us for long and most of the clients that come for assistance or that I serve are not computer literate. Some do not even know how to read or write, including the clients that do not speak English. For the non-speaking English clients, I would also use the Quality Impact Assessment (QIA—ORAL) to get a better understanding of how much.
Thank you for brining up Assessments for Non-English speakers! I think it’s important to never assume someone’s understanding and having a tool that can help people no matter what language they speak or what reading/writing level they have. Great point Lourdes!
Yes, I remember the QIA-assessment… It was a very quick and easy assessment to administer and it gave me a good idea of the English-proficiency of the individual taking the assessment. The hurdle that I found with this one was getting my participants to feel comfortable with taking it. Participants often felt embarrassed at not being able to remember or pronounce words correctly in English, and it was my job to help them feel at ease so that I could get an accurate assessment.
Nelly, agree with you. When I administered the QIA as well, I could see the participants feeling uncofortatable and even
embarrassed at times.
In my current position I don’t do assessments either. I like that you mentioned clients that are computer literate, don’t know how to read, and/or do not speak English. I often to have to help my current clients with translation and/or completing paperwork, which if they had the ability to complete things orally they might be able to participate on their own without my assistance.
I am a welfare-to-work case manager and I work with adults who are either unemployed or underemployed. Most of the adults that I work with have real world work experience and, more often than not, know what they like and don’t like in terms of work. As most of my client-centered meetings are conducted in an environment where there is a computer, I plan to use the O*NET Interest Profiler as a career assessment tool for my clients. I like the O*NET Interest Profiler because I have used it and I find it pretty accurate in terms of identifying my interests. The best thing about the O*NET Interest Profiler is that it will help my clients identify and explore careers that might be right for them. I like the five O*NET job zones, which are groups of careers that need the same level of experience, education, and training. My clients all have different levels of work experience, education, and training and the O*NET Interest Profiler allows them to choose the job zones that match the kind of experience, education, and training they have now or plan to get later in the future.
During the past year I have discovered the O-Net interest profiler/MyNextMove. O-Net offers a lot of fun an interesting tools in general, but the Interest Profiler is the most applicable to a wider array audience. For example it can serve people who have less than a High School Diploma all the way through baccalaureate. I enjoy using assessments we already use like Colors, Hollands, and COPS and they have also become client favorites as well. However, I also like the idea behind the GPS LifePlan. Apart of the new workshop curriculum is a Life Plan portion where clients are encouraged to exercise executive functioning skills and think more in depth about their future. I think the GPS LifePlan would be a unique thing to incorporate.
During my time as a WTW Case Manger, when assessments were needed, I often referred my participants to other Case Managers who were subject-matter-experts in those areas – that is how we have structured our provision of assessments in Yolo County. Still, I had the opportunity to learn how to administer assessments from these Case Managers, and found that I preferred informal assessments, such as the O*Net. It’s an assessment that is widely known and although it’s not as fun as other types of assessments, it provided a good platform to quickly explore the skills, knowledge, education, tasks, etc. that someone would need for any specific type of job. This helped me guide conversations with my participants about potential areas that we would need to focus on.
I like Interest Inventories Assessment because it can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to work.The questions designed to help people to match their interests with potential careers. It helps clients to assess and to explore their skills with possible career choices. I like Self Directed Search because it is widely use around the world and easy to use. It is self-administered test( 35-45 minutes to complete) that help individuals find the occupations that best suit their interests.
I like the card sort assessment. It can be done with both individuals or in groups. I like that it is visual. It also is an easy way to sort out work values. I never had a done assessment in the position I am as a supervisor. But my staff are doing both card and COPS interest inventory.
I have never administered or taken formal or informal assessments. The Job Survival and Success Scale would be a great assessment in career development because after working in a job for years, it can become boring. You can get tired of doing the same thing over and over. This assessment would make their job as satisfying and productive as possible
I also like the card sort assessment Braham. I feel this is a great way to learn about ourselves and also gives us a better understanding of others.
In my current position I do not administer formal or informal assessments but I consider Super’s Life Career Rainbow to be a good informal assessment that works well with both individuals and groups. By having clients develop current and future rainbows within their life role(s), this is a useful tool that may be used to identify barriers and challenges and encourage clients to begin to think about their future roles in relation to career planning.
Erica I also believe this would be a great informal assessment to do with clients.
When I was a Job Developer at PRIDE Industries, we often used O*Net Interest Profiler as a self-assessment tool for career exploration. This is a platform that I am not only comfortable with using but gives a lot of information to participants about what careers they would like to do and which ones they might want to explore. The website gave in depth reports on educational criteria for each job, skills and abilities required for the job and job descriptions and job growth trends for different careers. They were easy to read reports that gave us Job Developers a good place to open dialogue with our participants and learn more about them.
Working at Yolo County HHSA for the last 20 years, our career assessments have not changed very much. Instruments we utilize for customers are: Wrat -3, Nelson-Deny, CASAS, True Colors, Holland Party Mosaic, COPS, Onet Profiler, and Reality Check. Most assessments our AJCC offers are standardized, formal assessments where administration time, level of difficulty (8th grade), cost, and interpreting results are taken fairly seriously. When we staff a client for our services we are required to present the results of their assessments and at times if they rate below eighth grade level, we at time have questioned their career choice or may encourage ESL prior to a higher education. As a WIOA case manager where we focus on placing eligible student into approved occupational skills training, it is important to determine reading level. This is where the tried and true Nelson Deny or CASAS is a good tool where after interpreting the result we are able to gain a clients reading and vocabulary levels.
Looking at all the assessments reviewed in Chapter 4, I was very interested in the MyGPS Lifeplan assessment. This site utilizes SMART goal planning in your career, education, financial, leadership, and personal priorities. It further takes your goal into action steps by focusing on setting calendar time frames, identifying your support network, managing potential obstacles, as well as identifying resources and plans for adjustment to your goals to keep moving forward. Very useful direct online tool that I would recommend.
Hey Karen, I have always been intrigued by the CASAS test. I understand that community colleges will often administer it. I would love to, if it’s okay sometime, to participate in an interview with either you, Edith, Lupe or Manjeet when you are administering it to see what it is like.
I was really interested in MyGPS Lifeplan too, Karen! I thought it was very thorough and I think would really benefit someone who is looking for next steps to take to get them on track with their career.
In my current position I do not administer career assessments. In reading chapter 4 I found The Life Career Rainbow interesting. I like the idea that the rainbow is visual and seems easy for participants to view and understand. It is interesting to me that present and future rainbows are utilized with participants showing them where they are and where they might be going. The Life Career Rainbow accounts for all the life roles a participant might be playing or have played in the past, this helps the participant create a plan that allows them to express their core interests, abilities, and values.
I also found The Life Career Rainbow interesting. The part of it being visual and easy to understand for clients definitely makes it less intimidating for those who may not be interested in assessments.
I agree that The Life Career Rainbow is a good visual tool. It allows participants to actually see their choices and the direction they are headed.
In working for HHSA under the WIOA program, I have administered formal testing assessments. I have tried to interpret the results of the testing. I do like the testing of the COPS as it gave you a good idea of your likes and dislikes. It guided you to the careers you would like the most.
In reading Chapter 4 and completing all the tasks, I really enjoyed O*Net interest profiler. I completed the assessment myself and was realized that even though it was a little lengthy and required a lot of reading and thinking, in the end it provided great valuable information. I like that after completing the assessment you can explore relevant careers and informs you the skills and education needed for that career. For clients that are not computer literate and/or do not have access to a computer the card sorts could be useful for in office use. What I like about card sorts is that it can be done individually, group setting, and/or guided by a career specialist.
I would agree with you Ana, I felt the O*NET assessment tool provided tons of information. Exploring these with clients I believe could create a great opportunity to discuss career options with clients.
I would agree with you Ana, I did find that, for me at least, the O*Net assessment tool was pretty accurate. Additionally, the amount of job recommendations provided at the end would set up great conversations with clients on areas of interest which in turn could help lead to conversations about paths to achieve that career with clients.
In working as WTW Program, I never completed the Assessment But I agree formal testing assessments. I do like the testing of the COPS as it gave you a good idea of your likes and dislikes.I plan to use the O*NET Interest Pro filer as a career assessment tool for my clients. I like the O*NET Interest Profiler because I have used it and I find it pretty accurate in terms of identifying my interests. The best thing about the O*NET Interest Profiler is that it will help my clients identify and explore careers that might be right for them. My clients all have different levels of work experience, education, and training and the O*NET Interest Profiler allows them to choose the job zones that match the kind of experience, education, and training they have now or plan to get later in the future.
Excellent work to this point all who have posted!
When I started in the Welfare to Work program- lo these many, many years ago- my team at that time had an off site meeting in which we did Colors and I think Holland. I was quite taken with Colors and felt it was very accurate for me. I would take it periodically over ensuing years and find that some of those colors would get stronger-like my gold and sometimes it made me grumpy and other times I had to accept that it changed because of how long I had been working in WTW. The program evolved and changed and I had changed with it. I do like Holland as well the party image appeals to me. I also feel like it is a good informal assessment tool. And like Colors its results can change, perhaps more rapidly than Colors
In my role, I do not administer assessments. However, if I had to choose one I would choose the Colors Card assessment because it is easy, fun, and informal which provides the opportunity to develop rapport with the participant.
I was really interested in MyGPS Lifeplan too, Karen! I thought it was very thorough and I think would really benefit someone who is looking for next steps to take to get them on track with their career.
I like that Cathy mentioned COPS interest inventory and several people found out that COPS are useful and not too difficult to administer. In addition to that I would like to mention that we also use The Career Occupational Preference System-Picture Inventory of Careers (COPS-PIC). COPS-PIC is a nonverbal assessment of occupational interest. The COPS-PIC illustrates a variety of occupational activities, using realistic pictures of people in non-stereotyped roles. This form of COPS is designed to help assess participants with reading or language difficulties and individuals with low academic or career motivation, as well as non-English-speaking adults or people with learning disability. There are 168 pictures to look at. This 30-minutes survey is used to explore career interests based on likes and dislikes.
I really like the statement form the book: ‘Avoid occupational techniques the are harmful to clients. Credential holders and applicants are responsible for ensuring that the techniques used are consistent with client’s emotional, intellectual and physical needs.’ That is why when it is necessary, we are using COPS-PIC instead COPS and Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE) instead of Nelson-Denny.
Although I don’t use assessments in my current role, I found the Onet assessment to be interesting and one that I would lean towards using. I also can appreciate the ease of the Life Career Rainbow assessment, I like that its visual and highlights the importance of life roles and how they tie in with achieving future goals.
In working for WIOA program, I have administered formal testing assessments. I have tried to interpret the results of the testing.I like the Colors card sort personality inventory activity. Most of the clients are very open to participate, interactive, and this is easy to explain, no pressure of taking the test and no special qualifications to facilitate this test, and can be done independently or in a group setting.
The COLORS Card Sort is a great assessment tool for our participants. It does not involve technology and can be completed at your own pace. I enjoyed this assessment the best, due to the fact that it’s fun and interesting on how much you find out about yourself.
I would use the Colors assessment. This is my favorite assessment because it allows the participants to visually look at the pictures on the cards and describe what they see. It helps with conversation. It is also fun. This is an assessment that you can relate to the work environment and talk about why each color is important: Blue, Gold, Orange, and Green. It also helps individuals to realize why their personality is directed towards a color and helps them to understand why people interact they way they do.
I agree and Colors is so easy to use and sometimes its a good way to engage and get others in on discussion.
I liked administering the Colors assessment to bilingual participants as it was in my opinion and easy assessment to administer and the participants found it easy to complete. The participants were also able to understand the assessment results.
I would use the Colors assessment. It is very easy to use, low stress and can be done individually or in groups and is a nice way to visually see personality traits.
As as WIOA case manager, I really enjoy the Colors card personality inventory activity. It’s very easy, and there is no time clock is running to finish the assessment. It’s easy to explain, no test anxiety on participant’s and no special qualifications to facilitate.
I have alway like True Colors. Knowing and understanding you personality drives home the what you were built for. Going around and saying “Well, I’ just a people person.” doesn’t help. But to know why your a people person give me greater understanding of why I gravitate certain things and why I feel the need to help other. Known who I am made difference when i entered my new career with the county.
I find the COPS interest inventory useful in directing participants towards career goals. This really helps narrows down the careers and helps guides the participant to meeting those career goals.
I have never administered or taken formal or informal assessments. The Job Survival and Success Scale would be a great assessment in career development because after working in a job for years, it can become boring. You can get tired of doing the same thing over and over. This assessment would make their job as satisfying and productive as possible
An assessment that I enjoy is True Colors. I was given this assessment and I assumed that I would be high blue. I was shocked to learn at the end of the assessment that I am tied Blue/Gold. After reading up on the colors and what they mean, I gained a better understanding of myself and how my colors are brighter than others depending on the situation I am in. for example, at work, my gold seems to be brightest. In my role at work, I need to be organized, responsible, punctual, and rule oriented. However, in my personal life, my blue tends to be brighter. In my personal life, I am more emotionally driven, a care taker, and more emotionally sensitive. Since I learned a lot about my self using True Colors, I would recommend it for the participants we work with.
I found that the O*NET assessment tool to be very interesting. I thought the idea of multiple career fields at the end of the assessment was a great idea and would be a phenomenal opportunity to have in depth conversation with clients about their fields of interest and which path they feel would be best for them.