You've probably taken a career or personal assessment at some point in your life. However, most people don't realize that taking either a personal or career assessment can help them in their job search. Before you start looking for work, take one of the following tests and use it to guide your search.
Career Assessments
All of the following assessments are career assessments. Although they might ask you about your personal preferences, these assessments have the intention of matching you up with a career.
1. iSeek "Clusters"
With this survey, you can rate your qualities, favorite activities, and most enjoyed school subjects. Based on your answers, the assessment gives you career clusters that align best with your interests. Because this survey only takes five to ten minutes, it's one worth completing.
2. Holland Code Career Test
If you opt for this assessment, you can learn how suitable you are for certain careers. The assessment looks at six different themes of careers, including all of the following:
Realistic
Artistic
Investigative
Social
Conventional
Enterprising
Similar to other assessments, the Holland Code considers your interests and how they could translate to a career. It takes about 20 minutes to finish the test.
3. MyPlan.com
If you want to find the perfect job, you need to know what motivates you and what matters to you. This assessment helps you discover just that. It suggests industries that may give you more satisfaction than your current industry.
If you're considering a career change, this assessment can nudge you in the right direction. After taking the test, you receive a list of 739 jobs, all ranked from best to worst. This particular test is free, but the website also has other assessments available for a fee.
4. MyNextMove
Offered by O*Net, this tool is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. It helps you figure out your professional interests through a rating system. The survey asks you to rate how much you would enjoy certain work-related tasks. For instance, it asks you to rate how you would like to build cabinets or buy stocks. Unlike some of the other assessments on this list, this one takes some time. It consists of 60 questions.
5. MAPP Test
This is one of the more popular assessments, as over 8 million people have taken it. The test tells you what you enjoy doing and what you dislike doing. Then, using the O*Net job list, the tool explains which jobs align with your interests. Despite being so popular, this assessment isn't free unless you do a trial. The free trial only gives you five career options.
For a more detailed analysis, the assessment costs $90. After completion, you receive your top 20 careers. If you want even more from the assessment, you can pay $149.95 for a 30-page analysis as well as a ranking of 900 careers.
Personality Assessments
While these assessments don't match you with a career, they give you insight into yourself. As you search for jobs, you can be more self-aware and figure out ways to put your strengths to good use.
6. Big Five
This assessment divides you into these five personality traits:
Openness
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Extraversion
Neuroticism
When you finish the test, you find out which one of the five you prefer. With this knowledge, you can determine your work preferences and your learning style.
7. Keirsey Temperament Sorter
Based on the Keirsey Temperament Theory, this assessment divides you into one of four temperaments. You could be a guardian, idealist, rational, or artisan. To determine your temperament, the assessment measures how you communicate. It's 71 questions long, so you should give yourself about 45 minutes to finish it.
8. Enneagram of Personality
One interesting way to look at personality is to consider the Enneagram model. An enneagram is a design made up of multiple triangles in a circle. With the enneagram assessment, there are nine unique but interwoven types of personalities. After you take the test, you can find out if you're any one of the following:
Loyalist
Individualist
Reformer
Helper
Achiever
Challenger
Enthusiast
Peacemaker
Investigator
Although the Enneagram Institute charges $12 for you to take the test, you can search online to find free versions. Typically, all of the enneagram assessments use the same criteria.
9. Myers-Briggs
Currently, the Myers-Briggs assessment is very popular. Despite its recent surge in popularity, this test has been around for decades. It's one of the best ways to learn about your personality. After you answer a long list of questions, the assessment tells you a four-letter personality type. For instance, you could be an INFP or an ESFJ. You can read several paragraphs about your personality type and use that information to find a career.
10. 16personalities
This assessment partially relies on the Myers-Briggs test and also uses Jungian theory and the Big Five. To put it simply, the test tells you whether you're an introvert or an extrovert. Additionally, it gives you one of 16 personality types. You might be a mediator, a defender, or an architect. If you're looking for a quick test, this one is ideal. It only takes 12 minutes to finish it.
11. PI Behavioral Assessment
Although this is a personality assessment, it tells you about your workplace behaviors. It predicts, explains, and even describes the way you act. When you take this test, it gives you preferences for four characteristics and describes 16 different personality types. The assessment costs $50 but is valuable because it tells you about your management styles and your strongest behaviors.
Should You Take an Assessment?
Whether or not you're looking to change careers, you could benefit from knowing more about your personality and your ideal job. Self-awareness can help you succeed in the workplace. And if you are looking for a new job, self-awareness could be the key to acing your interview. Most employers seek out employees who know their own strengths and weaknesses. So, start trying out assessments and learning more about yourself.