CAREER ASSESSMENT

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 Introduction

• Assessment is the use of any

formal or informal technique to
collect data about a client.

• It is a tool of the trait-and-factor

approach, which had its beginning
with the three-step career choice
process introduced by Frank Parsons.
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Guidelines for Use of Trait-and-Factor Approach
in 21st Century
• Test data
– are only one piece of a much larger puzzle.
– should be used less for prediction and more for
identifying new options.
• The client should be more involved in making
the decision about whether to use assessment
and for what purposes.
• The changing demographics of the United
States necessitate the need for even more
preparation when selecting and using
assessments in counseling
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 Assessment and the Career Planning
Process

• Step 1 - may use an instrument to

measure career maturity, career
beliefs or decision-making style

• Step 2 - may use inventories to

measure interests, abilities, skills,
work values, or personality type

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 Assessment and the Career Planning
Process
• Step 3 - Score report from inventories
given in Step 2 will suggest occupations.

• Step 4 - Assessment not likely to be

used.

• Step 5 - Inventories of work-related

values may be used to reduce number of
options.
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 Assessment and the Career Planning
Process

• Step 6 - Tests that predict success in

college or measure achievement in
specific subject matter may be used.

• Step 7 - Instruments that measure

work skills or personality type may
be used.
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 Purposes of Assessment

• Counselors can learn more about the

needs of students or clients.
• Counselors can learn more about the
characteristics of clients (interests,
abilities, skills, values), and clients
can learn more about themselves.
• Counselors can measure the
progress of an individual or a group
in matters related to career planning.
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 Counselor Responsibilities
• Follow ethical guidelines provided by
professional associations
• Possess knowledge
– basic principles of assessment
– details of specific instruments to be used
– how to prepare clients/students
– how to administer properly
– how to interpret properly
– follow through with clients appropriately
after the assessment
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 Clients’ Rights in Assessments
• Old model of the trait-and-factor approach (often called
the “test-‘em and tell-‘em” approach) should be
replaced with a view of assessment that:
• a) respects assessment is just one of the tools available
to assist clients,
• b) should be administered with the person’s full
understanding of its purpose,
• c) prepares the client, administers the instrument
corrects,
• d) treats the results in the confidential manner, and
• e) interprets the results in a knowledgeable way

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Characteristics of Informal Assessment

• Instruments not subjected to

scientific study
• Results for one person cannot be
compared with those of others
• No standard linkage between results
and occupational choices
• No standard way to interpret results
• Low cost or free materials
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 Types of Informal Assessment

• Checklists
• Games
• Career fantasies
• Forced-choice activities
• Card sorts
• Structured interviews

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 Characteristics of Formal Assessment
• May be timed, standardized tests or non-timed,
standardized inventories.
• Standardized way to administer and interpret the
instrument
• Known validity (instrument measures what it claims to
measure)
• Known reliability (results of a later administration will
be highly similar to those of first administration)
• Test-retest reliability (defined as the correlation
between two measurements obtained in the same
manner)

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 Characteristics of Formal Assessment

• Fairness related to diversity

(instrument adequately researched
with kinds of individuals who will
later take the instrument)
• Measures of comparison
(compares the scores of one
individual with those of others)

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 QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENTS
• Assessment plays an important role in data gathering,
accurate client self assessment, problem identification,
intervention and outcome evaluation in career
counseling. (Zunker, 2006).
• Quantitative assessment are normally standardized test,
which have been tested for validity and reliability.
• All quantitative assessment relies on specific scoring
norms to understand the traits of clients
• The APA cautions on using assessment which techniques,
contents and norms are not applicable “because of an
individual’s gender, age, race ethnicity, national origin,
religion, sexual orientation, disability, language or
socioeconomic status (APA, 1992, pp.1601).
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 Common Interest Inventories

• Career Assessment Inventory (CAI)

• Career Occupational Preference
Survey (COPS)
• Career Quest
• Harrington-O’Shea Career Decision-
Making System (CDMS)

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 Common Interest Inventories
continued

• Interest Determination, Exploration,

and Assessment System (IDEAS)
• Interest Explorer
• Jackson Vocational Interest Survey
(JVIS)
• Kuder Career Search with Person
Match
• O*Net Interest Profiler
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 Common Interest Inventories
continued

• Self-Directed Search (SDS)

• Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
• Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest
Inventory (UNIACT)
• Vocational Interest Inventory

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 Common Instruments to Measure Skills
and Abilities
• Campbell Interest and Skill Survey
(CISS)
• SkillScan
• WorkKeys
• Passion Revealer
• The Armed Services Vocational
Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
• Career Planning Survey
• O*Net Ability Profiler
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 Sub-Title

Qualitative Assessment

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 Career Genogram
• The Career Genogram is a qualitative assessment procedure that
can be used to gather information about adult clients’ histories,
backgrounds, and life experiences. It is based in the basic genogram
adapted from Bowen’s family therapy (Bowen, 1980) but
emphasizes on the career elements of the family.
• The Career Genogram, focuses on adult clients’ socialization
allowing them to tell about the factors that may have shaped their
identities such as growing up male or female, their
race/ethnicity/culture, their socio-economic status, and their sexual
orientation and the impact of family on their career choice.
• A genogram oriented toward, but not limited to, career patterns is
an assessment process that would be most useful to the counsellor
and would help clients to begin to understand their reactions and
the choices they are accepting or rejecting. (Alderfer, 2004, p. 574).

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• The administration of Career Genogram involves the following steps:
•
• Step One : Sharing the Purpose of Career Genogram
• The first step in the administration of Career Genograms is to share with
adult clients the purpose of Career Genograms. This can be done by
explaining that it will provide them with insights into such issues as the
career work, gender, and cultural socialization they experienced while
growing up, environmental barriers if any, and how they have integrated
and dealt with various life roles.
•
• Step 2: Explaining the Construction of Career Genogram
• The counsellor explains to the adult clients on how to draw a diagram of
three generations of their families (see Fig. 10.2). Clients are instructed to
use relevant symbols and fill in the necessary details including dates of
birth and death as well as the title of occupations of various family
members.

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• Step 3: Analyse and Understand
the Career Genogram

• Once Career Genograms have

been constructed and
information (birth dates, deaths,
divorces, occupations, and the
like) about family members
(brothers and sisters, parents and
grandparents) has been noted,
the next step is to use the
structures to explore with the
adult clients what growing up
was like for them in their origin
family. (Gysbers, Heppner and
Johnston, 2003).
• Counselor will analyse the
information shared by the client
to form relevant themes to
initiate further understanding of
the clients’ situation
•

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• Counselor is also recommended to closely observe the phase of how
adult clients construct their Career Genograms and amount of
information the client is able to provide regarding their family.
• From the discussion and self-disclosure of the client, counsellor will
be able to understand the relevance of client’s family towards the
career choice and development of client
• Although Career Genogram is an interesting and personal way to
explore client’s self-understanding on the influence of family in his
career, it is also necessary to remember that some clients may not
be comfortable in constructing and discussing the Genogram.
• Career genogram deals with family information which may be
regarded as confidential by the client, and request to disclose such
information is viewed as invasion of privacy.
• Time factor is also a limitation in constructing Career Genogram,
where some clients may prefer the process of career counselling to
be quick and brief.
• Therefore, counsellors need to appropriately determine the
suitability of using this qualitative methods with different clients to
reap the maximum benefit from the process.

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 Card Sort
• Card sort is a semi structured method of helping
client to prioritize the interest, skills, needs,
values or any predetermined array of ideas. Card
sort is a subjective but more structured way
compared to the genogram
• The counseling process involves clients sorting
the cards with occupational titles on it according
to certain themes, ideas, values or feelings.
• Card sort do not produce any scores but depends
mostly on the communication with and
interpretation made by the counselor.

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• Missouri Occupational Card Sort (MOCS) : Consists of 90 cards with
occupational titles which normally takes 30 minutes to sort out. The front of
the card consists of the occupational title, while the back of the card
consists of Holland three letter code, Dictionary of Occupational Title’s
reference number and the main activities and responsibilities of the
occupation. The process of MOCS involves client sorting the cards into three
main piles; Like, Dislike & Neutral/Undecided. Counselor will then choose
each pile of cards starting with the Dislike pile and discuss why the client
have chosen the occupational titles to be under each pile. Each pile may be
further shorted until certain theme emerge and increase clients’
understanding of their choice.
• For futher explanation on MOCS, please refer to Gysbers, Heppner and
Johnston (2003), pp216-235

• Knowdell Occupational Card Sort (Knowdell, 2010): Consists of 110 cards

with occupational titles. Occupational Interest Summary Sheet provided
clients are required to sort the cards into five piles ; Definitely interested,
Probably interested, Indifferent, Probably not interest, Definitely interested
Clients should then take approximately 20 cards from the Definitely and
Probably Interested catagories and deal them into “naturally occuring”
clusters and give a name to each cluster. These are Interest Themes. The
next step is to refer to the Occupational Interests Administration Manual for
planning exercises. Counselor will discuss with the emerged themes with
the client to enhance client’s understanding
• For futher information on Knowdell Occupational Card Sort , please refer to
http://www.careernetwork.org/Career_Assessments.cfm
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 Benefits of Card Sort method
• Benefit 1 : Provide structure
• Card sort provide structure and comfort in dealing with difficult or complex task. Clients find it fun
and easy to deal the cards and the excitement buils when seeing the puzzle becomes a clearer
picture. Card sort enables client to approach the situation in step to step manner.

• Benefit 2: Provide bonding

• Card sort helps to build rapport between counselor and client earlier than any other assessment
method. Quantitative assessment using paper and pencil method and online assessment method
may not contribute to the bonding process. Card sort enables the counselor to be engage in the
process and be more familiar with client needs, motivations, preferred was and others.

• Benefit 3 : Authenticate choices

• In the process of sorting cards, counselor encourages client to express opinions and reasons for
piling cards and receive cues about strenghts and logic or client’s choices.Counselor will listen to
client’s way of thinking whenever client dismiss any particular choice. This assist with the process of
authenticating choices.

• Benefit 4: Promote feedback

• Feedback can be immediate and ongoing during the process of card sorting. Counselor continually
incorporate new datas as it is obtain from the client and tested it against previously gained data.

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• Benefit 5: Provide understanding in communication
• Direct communication confirms what is being said and heard. Through client’s verbalization,
counselor will confirm what is happening in the client’s mind.

• Benefit 6: Minimize dependency

• Card sort method minimizes the risk of client’s dependency on the counselor. Counselor recognizes
client’s most important perceptions through what is being told by the client rather than focusing on
counselor’s own perceptions.
•
• Benefit 7: Promote inclusivity
• Card sort provide a suitable alternative to help clients from different ethnicity, because
interpretations are not dependent on standardized norms. Counselor learns to appreciate clients
differences and uniqueness, perceptions and prior experiences rather that generalize the findings
of the assessment process. The card sort assist enables both counselor and client to explore and
learn anew.
•
• Benefit 8: Easily tailored to clients needs
• Counselor can easily tailor the experience of the client during the card sorting process. A reluctant
or sceptical client can be coach to explore more, while verbal client can be coached to be more
focused. Client who prefer structure can be asked to make listings while client who can explore
without structure can be encourage to talk more.

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 Other Inventories

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) -

measures personality type
• O*Net Work Importance Profiler -
measures the importance of six work
values
• Super’s Work Values Inventory -
measures the importance of 12 work
values
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 Steps of the Assessment Process

• Prepare students/clients for

assessment
• Administer instrument(s) properly
• Interpret instrument(s) properly
• Follow through to assist
students/clients to use results for
action planning
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 Ways to Administer and Interpret
Assessment
• Print form - manual or optical
scoring; counselor interpretation
• Computer (standalone or
networked) - administration and
scoring; counselor or computer
interpretation
• Internet - administration, scoring,
and interpretation
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 Advantages of Internet Delivery

• Can be taken from anywhere 24/7

• Immediate scoring and feedback
• Standard interpretation, though
customized
• Capability to share report with others
electronically

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 No-Fee Assessment Websites
• University of Waterloo Career Services -
www.cdm.uwaterloo.ca/steps.asp
• CareerKey - www.ncsu.edu/careerkey
• University of Missouri Career Center -
http://career.missouri.edu (Select Career
Interests Game)
• Motivational Assessment of Personal
Potential - www.assessment.com

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 For-Fee Assessment Websites

• DISCOVER – www.act.org

• Kuder Career Planning System -

www.kuder.com

• Self-Directed Search - www.self-

directed-search.com
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 Assessment Results
• Results typically come in print form from the website or
computer from which the assessment was taken
• Raw scores - provide a tally of responses in a specific
category; examinee cannot compare personal scores
with those of others
• Percentile scores - compare the scores of one person
with those of a selected norm group
• Stanines – a way to divide percentiles into 9 ranges
• Standard score – a way to indicate how far (in
standard deviations) an individual’s score is from the
middle (50th percentile) of a distribution of scores
• Band of confidence – a range within which an
individual score fall
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 Steps in Selection of Instruments

• Determine purpose of assessment.

• Consider characteristics of those to
be assessed.
• Determine if norm group for
instrument includes characteristics of
persons to be tested.
• Investigate the reliability and validity
of the instrument.
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 Steps in Selection of Instruments

• Read critical reviews and talk to

other professionals.
• Acquire a sample copy, take it, and
read publisher’s materials.
• Administer instrument to a few
individuals and practice
interpretation.
• Determine cost and options for
administration and scoring.
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