Some Things You Need to Know
For those readers who are interested in a more objective form of self-assessment, it often
makes sense to invest in vocational testing. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:
1. There is no perfect test that is right for everyone. The goal of vocational
testing is to help you understand yourself better in order to make better career decisions.
When choosing the right test for you, you need to find a comfortable format
as well as the right content.
2. Tests make more sense when interpreted by experts. Experts are familiar
with what the results mean and can help you figure out how to make the best career
decisions based on that information. If you aren’t familiar with the range of tests
available, seek out the services of a qualified career counselor to help you make that
determination and interpret the test results.
3. There is no perfect answer. A test will not provide you with the “perfect
answer” to your career choice questions. It can only provide guidelines to help you
discover the best answers for yourself. Although it’s understandable to want a test to
tell you who are and what you should do, the real value of tests is exploratory. A
good test can provide new insights and ideas.
4. If one is good, then two (or three or four) are better. Take a variety of
tests in order to get a more comprehensive picture of your skills, interests, preferences,
and personality style. When you take a whole series of tests, you are in a better
position to identify overlapping and complementary themes.
5. Tests are designed to facilitate self-knowledge, not replace it. No test
results should ever be treated as gospel if they don’t seem accurate to you. They
can’t provide easy answers to serve as a substitute for genuine soul-searching. Trust
your intuition. Always listen to your heart.
6. You are more complicated than your test results. While test results can
seem uncannily accurate, they are always, at best, approximations of who you are.
Rather than viewing them as a complete picture of yourself, use them as a basis for
further exploration.
