Career Inventory Test

What is this Test?

It is rare for an individual to take a career inventory test. But really, why should you take it? In our world today where information is as crucial as it has never been, more and more employers ask applicants to undergo this kind of testing. Why wait for that day when you can take it now and take charge of your career?

Ask yourself: What career is right for me? To get a reliable answer, you need to have a career inventory test. Perhaps you already have plans for your future and all that but if you want your decision to be at least based on science, then this test is just right for you. What it does is to give you an idea of who you are and the types of careers that you are highly likely to be successful.

A career inventory test can be comprised of many types of test. It can be a career test or a personality test. In the many years since the history of psychology, there had been a several internationally recognized tests that produce reliable results as far as data accuracy is concerned. Below we will be discussing several types of these tests and help you understand what they measure.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Also called the MBTI, the Myers-Briggs personality test is heavily based on the studies and psychological principles of Carl Jung, one of the so-called fathers of modern psychology. It is comprised of a set of questionnaire that measures a person’s preferences about his environment. In career inventory tests, your answers will be interpreted for the employer to implement a theory of who you are and what type of work best suits you.

Essentially, you will be categorized under four dichotomies or groupings based on extroversion, judgment, thinking, and sensing. There are opposite sides to these and this gives a total of 16 possible categories or combinations that you may fit into.

• Extroversion refers to a person who takes action.

• An introvert, on the other hand, is a person who uses thoughts more than action.

• Sensing is a perception characteristic and its opposite is intuition.

• Thinking is a decision making attribute and its opposite is feeling.

• People who have a high judging score tend to use logic in solving problems while those who have higher scores in the perception tests are likely seeing their own world only on their eyes and not through logic.

The Big Five Personality Test

This is also a popular personality test or exercise used in a career inventory test. This is somewhat different from the MBTI because it identifies a person’s key strengths rather than his characteristics alone. In this test, there are five things that are measured:

• Openness is a trait measured to check how interested you are in new ideas and adventures. It also indicates your level of creativity.

• Conscientiousness measures your discipline and how you are likely to fulfill your obligations.

• Extroversion relates to the amount of energy and zest you have for your job and how you relate to other people as well.

• Agreeableness is the part of the test that lets you or the employer know how cooperative you are. It is an indication of your passion for team work and if you have the ability to get things done in a practical way or manner.

• Neuroticism is the last item that is checked and this is related to your being emotional or logical and calm.

The Test Questions

Before we provide you some examples of questions that you are likely to answer in a career inventory test, you need to know that there is no standard passing score for this. If you did not make the cut in your application because you failed the test, it is simply an indication that your personality, skills, and interests do not match what the employer is looking for. Below are sample test questions that you need to answer with a degree of agreement.

• I am talkative.

• I like finding fault with others.

• I do my job thoroughly.

• I am never late.

• I am sometimes late.

• I am careless.

• I am calm and relaxed.

• I am curious about a lot of things.

• I have a forgiving attitude.

• I persevere until the job is done.

• I have the tendency to be lazy.

• I am interested in art.

• Sometimes I am shy and exhibit aloofness.

These sample questions for a career inventory test are only a few of the many hundreds that you are likely to answer. Keep in mind that there is no passing or failing answer. What really matters is you answer these questions honestly because if you don’t, there is a strong chance you may be put in a career that is not your choice or you may be placed in an environment that you do not like.