If you are thinking about changing careers you should think twice before using a career assessment test as a quick fix solution.
This move to resolve an important life decision with the seemingly instant solution of a test is part of a growing trend to use quick career tests to solve one of life’s most important decisions.
A British think tank study showed that a significant number of people are willing to use dubious means when making significant decisions in life.
The research showed that 22 percent of people believe in astrology and horoscopes and 15 percent believe in tarot cards as ways of giving them direction in life, including career change advice.
Part of the spiritual makeup of human beings wants to believe that these mystical solutions can be helpful.
Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that a career aptitude test and fortune-telling are in the same category, there are some obvious areas of crossover.
Please Tell Me What I Should Do
A need to have someone or something directly tell us what to do about our problems and to avoid the usual personal decision-making process is not usually conducive to personal growth.
Career Counselors often include a word of warning about a career assessment test before they are administered to let clients know the potential pitfalls.
But even if a good career counselor spends some time spelling out the potential pitfalls of a career placement test, it seems to often fall on deaf ears.
A client may even go to the extent of asking a career counselor directly, will a career test work for me?.
The career counselor who gives a negative response can often be met by a suspicious and unbelieving client.
Most clients see a career test as a type of magic wand and think that the test ‘must be right’ even if they nod their head in agreement with you while explaining about the limitations.
If you seek career change advice you should consider the long-term personal cost of opting for quick-fix solutions to your career selection decisions.
Even providers of the worlds most commonly used career aptitude test, the self-directed search makes it clear that no single career test can help you decide which career to choose and that other forms of career change advice should always be considered.
In the end, the more involved self-discovery process of finding your inborn job skills will always be the better option to help you understand what career you would be good at.
Other career development articles relating to career tests that you may be interested in include:
Career tests – Why they don’t work!
Career aptitude test – Poor career counseling results?
Career placement test – How they can limit career choices.
Career personality test – Is money the motive?
Career assessment – Uniqueness not highlighted!
Career testing – Why the experts are running.