Career Advice & Development Test - CareeringAhead

Talent Management > Develop > Career Development Advice

Description

This career advice test is a psychometrically-developed tool designed to assess key attributes related to jobs and the workplace. It provides career advice based on a comparison of the individual’s preferred interests, values and skills benchmarked to the general population.

The career advice and preferred job list are given based on measuring the following components:

Interests

Individuals’ interests are measured based on an extension of the Holland Codes, one of the most widely used job classification systems. This career advice test provides a robust assessment of interest in seven different job role orientations.

Values

With seven work value orientations, derived from 27 separate subscales, this career advice test is well-equipped to provide a comprehensive assessment of the desired conditions that individual strives for in the workplace.

Skills

Using a quartet of work skill areas, this career advice test identifies which of these areas are considered strong and weak by the individual, in order to add additional information for career advice and job choices.

Job recommendations

This career advice test uses information collected from the individual, in conjunction with powerful statistical analyses, to provide a spread of suitable jobs, and job descriptions, in which those employed in the area have similar preferences and orientations.

This career advice test provides a stepping stone for further investigation of job detail, as well as allowing for inspiration into previously unconsidered areas of a job search.

Applications

The main application of this career advice test is to provide detailed information about jobs which can be suitable for individuals based on their interests, values and skills. This test can be used by career counselors, outplacement consultants and individuals who wish to identify new job opportunities and careers.

This test can be used by individuals to assist them in identifying potential new jobs or a career change, or simply to learn more about themselves.

Other applications may include use by career counselors and outplacement consultants, either privately or part of an organisation, as part of a larger assessment and in conjunction with more personalised suggestions and career advice.

Key Benefits

Unlike many other career advice tools, CareeringAhead combines measurements of multiple variables within the one career test (Interests, Values and Skills), providing a thorough and rounded assessment of job preferences. Item development was based on rigorous testing and psychometric analyses, following stringent statistical standards to determine the best content. Normative data from a demographically broad sample allows comparisons to be drawn between the individual and the overall population, providing further relevant career advice. Job data is drawn from leading national and international sources with thousands of data points derived from years of occupational research, to provide a comprehensive review of jobs and career pathways.

Technical Information

Statistical Validation

Response data for the CareeringAhead vocational interest questionnaire was obtained from a sample of representatives ranging both in age (16-59 years, average age 31) and educational background (none to post-graduate). Good scores for internal reliability were obtained, with average Cronbach’s alpha of .83 across the questionnaire (average for Interests section, .87; for Values section, .76; for Skills section, .85). Acceptable levels of validity were found when comparing existing measures of career interest, with correlations ranging from .44 to .60.

Career Advice Reports

The tailored reports provide individuals and counselors the following outcomes:

1. The individual’s level of interest in seven work areas measured against the general population.
2. The individual’s work values measured against the general population.
3. The individual’s skill areas to which he or she is most suited.
4. A list of suitable jobs, including job descriptions, to assist the individual with fully understanding the job requirements and responsibilities.
5. Links to other sources of job information.