When considering a psychometric career assessment test, it is worth noting that many psychometric tests can be utilized to steer someone towards choosing, or enhancing, their career options and related capabilities.
It is also worth reiterating that a psychometric career assessment test, when specifically defined as such, does not have right or wrong answers to it, so a participant doing the psychometric career assessment test just needs to relax and be honest with their opinions, and therefore, trust the answers that the psychometric career assessment test gives them. Many psychometric career assessment tests are easy to follow, with pictorial representations which assist, without much language skill being required, hence as many people as possible can complete them adequately, which means, getting a result that is relevant to their earnest preferences.
It is always a consideration that the self-assessor (which is, fundamentally, what the psychometric career assessment test participant is) can choose what is relevant to them, so, as desired, get an answer which will assist them profoundly. Hence, in that sense, often an easy test to do, which is sufficiently probing, will give the deepest and most acutely relevant result, one which resonates with the participant and truly guides them towards starting a career that is satisfying and challenging for them.
Psychometric Career Assessment test based on research.
Any psychometric career assessment test which is based on research and psychological theory will clearly and notably reassure the participant that the results will have some credibility, or, what in scientific terms is called ‘validity’. It will give results which measure what the test designer wants to measure and, along with what Is termed ‘reliability’, the psychometric career assessment test will give consistent results many times, so, in laymen terms, be consistently repeatable.
What does a psychometric career assessment test take into consideration?
Many of the psychometric career assessment tests take the work of the psychologist John L. Holland as a basis for their analysis. Holland was a professor at John Hopkins University, his focus being on the capacities and preferences of people when choosing a career path, plus the work environments that they prefer. He found that people were fundamentally doers, thinkers, creators, helpers, persuaders, or organizers, though these traits were, of course, measurable in varying degrees within each person. The resultant RIASEC mnemonic stands for his fundamental factors for career analysis, based on the afore-mentioned traits. They are those traits, in order, and with the original trait names alongside them: Realistic (doers), Investigative (thinkers), Artistic (creators), Social (helpers), Enterprising (persuaders) and Conventional (organizers).
So, when taking a psychometric career assessment test, it may come clear which of the personality traits is being probed, and the kind of environment that is preferred, be it one which promotes creativity, or one whereby good organization or attention to logical progression is required – for example. As such, these assessments promote what is called metacognition. This is the kind of thinking which questions and illuminates our own thinking processes and conclusions. Metacognition is a higher form of thinking in that it assists each of us to analyze and pay more attention to our biases and particular perspectives on the world, perspectives that, much of the time, may be taken for granted.
Self-knowledge
This self-knowledge, analysis, and the relayed results, make psychometrics an exciting subject matter and a psychometric career assessment test can be an equally exhilarating thing to do and to appreciate. They can be the rudder which helps steer the ship of life along the best route towards fulfilment and self-actualization, or ‘transcendence’, as the modern parlance has it. In that way, the other meaning of ‘career’ can be reduced, that is, ‘to move swiftly without a sense of direction, or one that is uncontrolled, so likely to be wayward’.
As said at the top of this article, many psychometric assessments can be utilized to help guide people towards self-actualization and to steer a rewarding and satisfying journey in life. Our careers occupy a large percentage of our lives, time being a resource that Is finite for everyone. In that way, doing a psychometric career assessment test is something that has a worth beyond money: it can save us that invaluable commodity of time. Per se, it is an investment which is well worth the effort.
The work of Academics.
In a formal sense, it leads to the work of academics like Meredith Jane Shears, who is the Senior Transformation Officer at the Department for Education and Training in Victoria, Australia. The Chief Transformation Officer role is one that can develop and assist others in flourishing during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is now upon us, and which will continue to accompany the Knowledge Society, plus the transformation enforced by economic change and the uncertainties of a post-pandemic world. With the evolution of AI, The Internet of Things and a world managed by humans and non-humans, many new aspects, and adjuncts, to society, especially in a new work environment created evermore rapidly, will make innovation and transformation extremely important aspects to working lives.
This puts into perspective the seven primary roles of the Transformation Officer, namely as Consumer Advocate, Collaborator, Corporate Architect, Innovator, Bookkeeper, Storyteller and Role Model. Perhaps the occasional psychometric career assessment test, and all the rest of the battery of psychometric assessments, can help us confront a rapidly changing world and assist us to embrace it, not merely fear it. To be petrified is to be, literally, like stone, static, inflexible – so the converse of what innovation is about. That is to be avoided, or our journey in life will be stormy.
So, what psychometric assessments can we utilize for career and transformation guidance?
The short answer is “Any of them.” It is akin to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Max Weber’s notion of Elective Affinity, whereby we are awakened to ideas and the realization of the new because we are already looking for opportunities to explore those aspects of life. Elective Affinity, like innovation, comes to those who feel comfortable about exploring possibilities. Personality assessments can give us insights about who we are and what preferences appeal to us – or that challenge us. Both, in a career sense, can spur us towards innovation, though the context of innovation will be best when we are in the right environment. As a case in point, Albert Einstein stated that:
“… if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”
Aside from personality assessments, many tests that are pitched towards identifying our potential can be useful, especially if we are already comfortable about our fundamental career choice. What potential we possess, and the ways in which we can improve our potential, will clearly assist us grow and appreciate that growth. Look out for this kind of assessment and try to see the uses of them in a career context.
Other assessments analyze our values and the things that motivate us.
Again, such a test can be a psychometric career assessment test in another guise. Look at the work of universities, such as Cambridge University, England, for tests of personality which also assist people identify qualities which are especially allied to health sector workers – for example.
Additionally, there are assessments that analyze our roles in teams, or give feedback on the teams that have either been brought together or are planned. The classic team role research done by Belbin and others helps us identify the role we play the most when placed in a team, and the effectiveness of each team can be optimized by including the right choice of role players, as identified by psychometric analysis. Interestingly, the nine roles that Meredith Belbin identified, to a certain extent, reflect the work by John L. Holland (that was mentioned earlier) the Belbin roles being The Monitor Evaluator (thought-oriented), The Implementer (action-oriented), The Shaper (action-oriented), The Completer/Finisher (action-oriented), The Coordinator (people-oriented), The Specialist (thought-oriented), The Plant (thought-oriented), and The Team Worker (people-oriented).
Another branch of psychometric assessment.
covers the Emotional Quotient of participants, which gives higher validity to the analysis of people’s emotional responses and the degree to which they understand the emotions of others. These results can also help guide us towards a career choice, high empathy, for example, opening avenues for any profession that fundamentally requires that. High Social Awareness, as a further example, can awaken people to careers where such an ability is especially useful. Many EQ assessments also give a broad, 360-degree picture of participants and how they interact at work. This is team analysis by another means, and all the information that evolves is useful for interpreting which career suits best, and with whom.
Final Category.
A final category, and one that is different from the others, is the cognitive abilities category. Cognitive abilities tests, which includes IQ tests, of course, have right and wrong answers to them. It is also worth noting that a fundamental difference between an IQ test and a cognitive abilities assessment is that an IQ test may seek a definitive level of intelligence that is relatively static, whereas a cognitive abilities assessment is most often pitched towards identifying levels of ability within areas of cognitive function that can be improved. Again, a little self-knowledge can assist us in making career choices.
In conclusion, then, a psychometric career assessment test can assist us over a long period of time, even though such an assessment usually takes a short amount of time to complete. All psychometric assessments can be useful for increasing our ability to make good career choices. They can also be enjoyable to do and open our minds to further possibilities, which, in the modern, rapidly evolving world of work, can be an immensely positive aspect to our lives.
