Career Planning -- Self-Assessments
Self-assessment is the process of "knowing oneself" by taking an inventory of one's likes, dislikes, skills, abilities, personal characteristics, values, wants, and needs. Self-assessment is the first part of the career planning process. Before students can determine what they would like to do in their career, they first need to discover who they are. People change, grow, and develop. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to re-assess themselves periodically in relation to their career goals.
Self-assessment includes evaluating one's:
- interests
- personality
- lifestyle
- skills/abilities
- values
(NC SOICC NC's Career Resource Network)
Multi-Assessments
Multi-Assessments are assessments that cover multiple areas such as your interests, skills, personality, and work values.
- People, Data, Things, Ideas Activity (PDF 96 KB) organizes students' interests, skills, work values, and personality into similar categories of people, data, things, or ideas. The Self-Assessment Summary bridges the self-assessment to career exploration.
- Career Assessment Guide Activity (PDF 116 KB) is a self-assessment activity based on the Guide for Occupational Exploration (GOE). It offers students a link from the career clusters in the GOE to the occupational brief clusters in Career Choices in NC.
- The Career Key (TM) Activity is a formal assessment developed by Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D. It is based on Dr. John Holland's theory of six personality types and the corresponding six work environments. Copies of "The Career Key (TM)" may be used for non-profit public use, provided that notice of copyright is affixed to each copy. Following "The Career Key (TM)" are possible handouts that relate personality, work environments, sample occupations, and college majors to Holland RIASEC Codes.
- Holland Occupational Themes helps you discover the work environments suited to your interests, abilities, and personality.
- O*NET Career Exploration Tools
Personality Assessments
Personality Assessments help you evaluate your personality.
- Keirsey Temperament Sorter: Personality Instrument (free)
- RoBards Personality inventory (free)
- Discover your Learning Styles (free)
- CITE Learning Styles Inventory (Word 104 KB)
- Personal Learning Styles Inventory (free)
Interest Assessments
Interest Assessments measure your interst in various areas, which can relate to interest in specific careers.
- Career Clusters Interest Survey (PDF 1.1 MB) assesses students' interests and relates that to the 16 career clusters.
- Lifestyle Considerations Activity (PDF 56 KB) assesses students' hobbies, work and non-work past times, and how they can affect one's career decisions.
- Futures For Kids - Contains a free on-line career-interest assessment. All WCPSS schools have access to Futures For Kids.
- The Princeton Review Career Quiz (free)
- Career Occupational Preference System (COPS)
- Kuder Career Planning System - Career Search with Person Match
- Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
- O*NET Interest Profiler
Skills Assessments
Skills Assessments help you to discover skills that you already have, which can relate to a career.
- Career Ability Placement Survey (CAPS)
- Kuder Career Planning System - Skills Assessment
- Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
- O*NET Ability Profiler
Work Values Assessments
Work Values Assessments indicate working conditions that you value.
- Career Values Auction Activity (PDF 60 KB) assesses a student's work values by allowing them to rank them using an auction activity.
- Kuder Career Planning System - Super's Work Values Inventory
- O*NET Work Importance Locator
- O*NET Work Importance Profiler
Career Knowledge Assessments
Career Knowledge Assessments show how much you know about careers.
- Career Awareness Activity (PDF 60 KB) assesses student's knowledge of career titles by allowing them to write career titles for each letter of the alphabet.
- Family Job Tree Activity (PDF 188 KB) assesses student's awareness of careers that their family members hold or have held. Family career traditions can influence a career choice.
- Picture This Activity (PDF 80 KB) assesses student's knowledge of how careers connect to others.
Educational Assessments
Educational Assessments indicate where you are in basic educational achievement and aptitude.
- Report Cards
- GPA/Class Rank
- PSAT/NMSQT - The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT Reasoning Test. It also gives you a chance to enter National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) scholarship programs.
- SAT Reasoning Test is a measure of the critical thinking skills you'll need for academic success in college.
Career Planning Assessments
Career Planning Assessments assess where you are in your career planning process.
- Career Planning To Do List Activity (PDF 64 KB) is a check list of career planning activities.
- Career Planning Pyramid Activity (PDF 128 KB) is a three dimensional career planning tool.
Wake County Public School System programs are staffed and offered without regard to race, gender, age, color, religion, national origin, citizenship status, political affiliation, or disability.