Making a major or career decision involves asking yourself a number of self-reflecting questions. Key and poignant questions can help determine what motivates you, where your skills or potential lay, and what you want out of life. This process is called a career- or self-assessment. The outcomes of these assessments can be quite enlightening and are designed to help you choose a career or major that best suits you as an individual.
There are two options for assessments. You can follow the links below to take some self-assessments online. Or you can have others help you. For help, come by the Tri-Valley One-Stop and have them administered and interpreted for you. The results of both are interesting but only work when you combine them with other information such as occupational data. The Tri-Valley One-Stop can work with you to determine career directions and related occupations that meet your skills and interest.
Knowing your personality type, as measured through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument, can help you both in your choosing a major or career but also once you’re on the job. By knowing what majors or careers match your personality type, you can choose a direction that you find interesting and makes you happy from the beginning. You can also understand those you work with and help create a collaborative working atmosphere for greater productivity. There is a long and a short version of this test. The Tri-Valley One-Stop can administer the shorter version free of charge to students and clients.
Years ago, psychologists determined that people who were happy and productive in certain occupations had common interests. They also discovered that one of the top reasons for career disengagement is a feeling of frustration and dissatisfaction. This can be avoided by choosing a major and career direction that matches your inherent interests. The complete Strong Interest Inventory should be given and interpreted by a career counselor. Contact the Tri-Valley One-Stop for an appointment. Alternatively, there is a shorter version for self-interpretation for a small fee.
The Self-Directed Search (SDS) asks questions about your aspirations, activities, competencies, and level of interest in different occupations. From the responses, the SDS generates a code used to help you find your educational and occupational matches. Contact the Tri-Valley One-Stop for an appointment. Alternatively, there is a shorter version for self-interpretation for a small fee.
These free, online assessments can help you determine your interests and how they relate to occupational choices. The results can then be used to compare them to a large, national database of occupational descriptions. The Tri-Valley One-Stop offers workshops on these and its relation to CalJOBS.
The Career Café is a robust website hosted by the California Community College Chancellor's office. It is a virtual career center with tools and insights to help you succeed. It can help you identify your strengths, talents, interest; discover career paths; and explore career opportunities. There are over 50 online lessons for you to discover your path and career direction. You can even take it "on-the-go" with the Career Café app available in the iTunes and Google Play stores.
The Department of Labor is sponsor and partner in the national network of One-Stop Job Centers, similar to the Tri-Valley One-Stop. Its site has a host of information for your career exploration, including self-assessments. It includes separate assessments for your interests, skills and work values.
