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Additional Career Assessment Procedures

When given a choice of career exploration tests, you should always pick the test with the best record of research behind it. The seven test options on the main VCC menu represent four different methods of career assessment, and are among the most well established devices in the professional literature.

Nevertheless, no test has perfect reliability and validity; matching the characteristics of people and jobs is not an exact science. Our work interests, values, and skills may change over time, and sometimes people report that the occupations suggested by a given career test seem odd or not at all like them. The purpose of career testing is to bring possibilities to your attention for careful consideration, not to channel you into an unsuitable job. Thus, there is no reason for restricting access to viable career testing alternatives.

Links to the career-interest assessment procedures listed below will open a new browser window and take you to a website away from the VCC:

  • Holland (RIASEC) codes produced by the following methods may be entered manually into the Automated Advisor.

    • The (O*NET) Interest Profiler Short Form was developed by Dr. James Rounds at the University of Illinois who collaborated with the U.S. Department of Labor in producing the traditional longer version of this test.

    • The Work Interest Quiz is related to the Armed Forces Vocational Assessment Battery commonly known as the ASVAB. The ASVAB is primarily used for qualification and placement in military careers. However since the ASVAB is also applicable to civilian careers, it is frequently administered in secondary schools. Military recruiters like the exposure, and school administrators appreciate that the testing is free. When used in secondary schools, the ASVAB is part of a Career Exploration Program that includes an "Interest-Finder Quiz." The Work Interest Quiz is reportedly a sample edition of the ASVAB Interest-Finder.

    • The Career Development eManual was developed at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Materials on this award winning site will ask you to identify "pride" experiences in your life which are then converted into Holland codes. Much of the subsequent career development programming is also useful.

    • Neither the Quick Interest Assessment (Arizona State University) or the Career Interests Game (University of Missouri) are substitutes for formal interest testing, however they do provide lightening-fast introductions to how Holland's six personality types (RIASEC) match up to academic majors and occupations.

  • The O*Net Ability Profiler is not constructed for on-line administration; certain subtests require the presence of a live examiner. This test may, however, may be downloaded for use in professional settings.

  • Countdown is the intellectual property of IntoCareers associated with the highly regarded University of Oregon's Carrer Information System (CIS) licensed in many states. The Illinois Career Resource Network has placed Countdown on line for public consumption; it produces cluster scores that lead to information on occupations. Be forewarned that the 14 occupational clusters in Countdown are not compatible with the 16 federal Clusters addressed by the Career Clusters Interest Survey and represented in the VCC's Automated Advisor; however, you may search manually in the Automated Advisor for information on specific occupations identified by Countdown.