Which would you prefer . . .
� a job/career that fills you with enthusiasm for your work or
� one that leaves you watching the clock and wishing the hour hand would move more quickly?
If you chose the first option, you're not alone. Most people hope to enjoy and feel passionate about their work. So how can you find career options that will excite and inspire you? You'll need to begin by taking a closer look at yourself. Specifically, you'll want to examine four key areas: your skills, interests, work values, and personality preferences. To start this process of exploration and discovery, take some time to respond to the following questions:
- What skills would you like to use at work?
- What fields of work (e.g., medicine, law, business, etc.) are most interesting to you?
- What subjects do you enjoy studying in school? In which ones do you excel?
- While at work, would you prefer to spend the bulk of your time at working with lots of people, or would you prefer to spend that time working one-on-one or alone?
- What hours are you willing to work? Only from 9:00 to 5:00 on weekdays? Are nights and weekends okay?
Write down your answers. In doing this, you are starting to develop a picture of what it will take for a career to suit you. These questions are just the beginning of the self-exploration process, though. To complete a more thorough self-evaluation, you may want to consider taking a career assessment.
Career Assessments
The Office of Counseling Services offers various assessments to help you identify your career-related interests, skills, values, and personality preferences. Students interested in career testing should call (225) 675-8270 to schedule an appointment with a counselor. During this initial meeting, the counselor and student will explore the student's career concerns and determine if assessments might be useful. In the case that an assessment(s) is taken, students will schedule a second appointment with the counselor to have their results interpreted, discuss those results, and develop an action plan. Please keep in mind that students must meet with a counselor to receive assessment results. The American Counseling Association ethical standards prohibit the release of this information without an interpretation.
The following is a list of assessments offered by the Office of Counseling Services to currently enrolled students:
This assessment is designed to measure your interests in a broad range of occupations, work activities, leisure activities, and school subjects. RPCC currently offers this assessment online. After meeting with a counselor, students will be given a web address, logon, and password and may take this assessment at their convenience.
The MBTI is a widely-used personality instrument that can help you understand yourself and your natural preferences and how these can play a role in career choice. RPCC currently offers this assessment online. After meeting with a counselor, students taking this assessment will be given a web address, logon, and password and may take this assessment at their convenience.
Using a deck of cards, you will identify those skills that you most enjoy using and would like to use in your career. This assessment is administered during an appointment with a counselor or in a workshop setting.
Through this card sort, students can identify the work values that are of the greatest importance to them. Finding a career that is consistent with your work values is important to job satisfaction. This assessment is administered during an appointment with a counselor.
There are also a number of free assessments that can be found on the Internet. Below is a list of some of the more commonly used ones.
Career Solutions-Louisiana Department of Labor
Click on the "Career Services" link to identify careers for which you are well suited.
Career Focus 2000 Interest Inventory
Use this assessment to identify your work interests and discover related occupations. To access this assessment, look for the heading "confused about a career direction." On the
line below, find and click on the "interest inventory" link on the main page. This will bring you to the Career Focus 2000 Interest Inventory. After completing the interest inventory, be sure to take advantage of the section entitled "How to Select a Career Direction."
Assessment Worksheets
Complete these printable assessments to identify work settings, personality preferences, skills, and work values.
Type Focus
Complete this free personality profile, and then go to the Personality Page to learn more about your personality and career choices. To view career information, click on the pathways icon.