Find a Career That Fits

Career assessment tools use a set of questions to help you identify what you like to do and what you value in work and life. Most focus on just one or two of these things (skills, interests, and/or values) so it pays to take more than one to learn about the kind of career you will enjoy most. Some will help you understand yourself better and identify the attributes you may want to look for in a career. Others may connect you directly with specific careers that would be a good fit for your interests, skills, or values.

Is enjoyment important? Career development professionals (and probably anyone who has worked) will tell you that finding a career that blends your interests, what are good at, and what you can do and get paid for is the ultimate goal in selecting a career. If you are satisfied at work, you’ll be more productive and motivated and these factors may help you advance in your career.

If you are going to use these tools, remember:

• No computer application can tell you what to do. While the results you get from credible sources should provide some interesting food for thought, none is perfect and they are each highly dependent on algorithms that can’t recognize every factor in your life and ability or desire to pursue any one path. So take those results with a grain of salt.
• If you want to use the results to take the next step in your career, answer the questions seriously and honestly. Your results will only be as thoughtful as the answers you provide upfront.
• Don’t use these tools in a vacuum – consider talking to mentors, advisors, colleagues, and friends about your results and how you might use them to pursue a new or different career.