Career Assessments Alison McLaughlinGiovanni Häertel

Assessment

Instruments

Test VS Inventories

Norms

Reliability

Validity

Holland CodeRealistic

Conventional

Enterprising

Investigative

Artistic

Social

Self-DirectedSearch

• Assess aspirations, activities,

competencies, interests, and other

self-estimates

• Roughly 20 minutes to complete

• Original Named Self-Directed Search R

• There is a Canadian, Spanish, and Chinese

version of this assessment.

Vocational Preference Inventory

• Psychological inventory

• Self Perceived Competencies

• 15-30 minutes

Other Relevant

Assessments

• Career Attitudes and Strategies inventory

• Position Classification inventory

• Environmental Identity Scale

• Five-Factor Model

Role of Assessment

• By comparing the counselors assessment of the client of the student’s Holland type with that of an object inventory, the

counselor can get confirmation or to

determine why there is a discrepancy if one exist.

• Occupational Information-Occupations themselves

are dived by the 6 Holland codes.

• It is the counselors duty to conceptualize client problems, classify

occupational informational, introducing inventories and

making sense of congruence and differentiation.

Goals of Career Assessments

and Counseling

Autonomy

Nonmaleficence

Beneficence

Justice

Fidelity

MBTI – What is it? Created by Isabel Briggs

Myers and Katharine C. Briggs (mother and daughter)

Based on Carl Jung’s theory of personality

Most popular psychological assessment in the world

It is an indicator, not a tests, so there are no right or wrong answers/better or worse types

Enhances self-awareness and self-management

Helps aid in communication by allowing us to appreciate similarities and differences

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

MBTI applicatio

ns

Interpersonal

relationships

Workplace dynamics

Career counseling

Learning preference

s

Leadership training

and developme

nt

MBTI does not:TEST INTELLIGENCE

DESCRIBE YOUR SKILLS AND ABILITIES

PREDICT WHO YOU WILL LIKE AND DISLIKE

DETERMINE HOW YOU WILL ACT

DETERMINE WHAT CAREER YOU SHOULD CHOOSE

THE CONCEPT OF PREFERENCE

“Natural”

“Easy”

“Quick”

“Comfortable”

“Effortless”

“Unnatural”

“Difficult”

“Slower”

“Awkward”

“Took more Energy”

REVIEW OF THE EIGHT PREFERENCES

Extraversion and IntroversionWhere you prefer to get and focus your

‘energy’ or attention

REVIEW OF THE EIGHT PREFERENCES

Sensing and iNtuitionWhat kind of information you prefer to

gather and trust

REVIEW OF THE EIGHT PREFERENCES

Thinking and FeelingWhat process you prefer to use in coming

to decisions

REVIEW OF THE EIGHT PREFERENCES

Judging and PerceivingHow you like to live your outer life

How the MBTI affects Major and Career

Choice…

MBTI type should not steer some toward or away

from a particular career or activity

It is only one “piece of the

puzzle.”

How the MBTI affects Major and Career Choice…

Outside Letters – E/I and J/P Preferences

These impact the PROCESSThe ways you

exploreThe ways you decide

E/I – work environment

J/P – style of working

How the MBTI affects Major and Career Choice…

Middle Two Letters – S/N and T/F

These impact the actual major or career choice

S/N – fields of work

T/F – tech/scientific OR communication/service

Strong and MBTI interpretation

COMBINING THE MBTI AND THE STRONG

MBTI – INBORN PREFERENCES

WHO am I and WHY I want to work

Based on Carl Jung’s theory of personality

STRONG – SOCIALIZED INTERESTS

WHAT I want to do and WHERE I want to do it

Based on John Holland’s theory

STRONG AND MBTI OVERLAP

General Occupational Theme and MBTI type overlap – word patterns appear in both

Basic Interest Scales and MBTI type overlap – job families/interest areas appear in both

Occupational Scales and MBTI type overlap – MBTI most popular careers found in Occupational Scales areas

Combining Type and RIASEC

INVESTIGATIVE NT, ST

REALISTIC NT, ST

ARTISTIC NF, NT

CONVENTIONAL ST, SF

ENTERPRISINGNo type correlation

SOCIAL NF, SF

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

1. The first step as a counselor is to examine Terri’s results for interpretability before she comes in for her session.

1. Turn to page 9 of her Strong report and look at the very bottom to see if she responded to all the questions.

2. Also note if the combination of item responses are consistent.

3. Next, turn to page 2 of her MBTI report and review Terri’s clarity of her preferences.

DO YOU THINK TERRI’S STRONG AND MBTI ARE ACCEPTABLE TO INTERPRET?

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

2. The next step is to select your interpretation strategy appropriate for Terri.

1. Note in her Strong where her Social theme is ranked.

2. Review her E-I dichotomy of the MBTI to see where she falls to determine if it would be more beneficial for Terri to spend time talking through her reports to gain more understanding or if two sessions would be better to allow Terri to reflect in between.

HOW WOULD YOU DESIGN YOUR INTERPRETATION SESSIONS WITH TERRI AND

WHAT APPROACH WOULD YOU TAKE?

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

3. Explain MBTI preferences1. Next you would explain to Terri what the different

MBTI preferences mean and discuss with her accurately she thinks they describe her. Spend a little time looking at page 2 of her MBTI report to understand what her ISFJ type means.

2. For areas that the client may disagree with or not understand, spend some more time discussing these areas integrating what you know about the client.

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

4. Explain Strong General Occupational Themes and Basic Interests Scales

1. Look on page 2 and 3 of her Strong to note these results.

2. How do her top five interests areas on page 3 fit with the careers she is exploring?

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

5. Summarize Strong Occupational Scales1. Note the results on page 4 and 5 of her Strong

report. What would you point out to Terri?

2. What do you notice about her top ten strong occupations on page 4?

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

6. Suggest a follow up appointment and combine the two assessments

1. A lot of information has been given to Terri at this point, so it makes sense to plan a second session to let Terri reflect on the combined report and what we have talked about in this session.

2. A useful suggestion is to have Terri review the combine report and highlight key points from each assessment that she feels are accurate between the two sessions.

3. In the next session we will bring the two reports together and develop an action plan. Review the combined report to prepare for your next session with Terri.

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE COMBINED REPORT? DO THE TWO ASSESSMENTS OVERLAP OR DO THEY

PROVIDE CONFLICTING INFORMATION?

Strong and MBTI Case Study In Interpretation

7. Develop an action plan1. Terri has confirmed through the assessment and

interpretation that both education and nursing are fields that she would likely find satisfying.

2. She is now considering a new occupation of special education teaching that incorporate her two interest areas.

3. A great next step would be to show Terri how to use the O*NET website to research special education and other areas she is interested in.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBERFocus on the practical implications of

assessment results, while referencing the assessment data for support

After interpretation a plan for working together should be presented, agreed upon, and carried out.

Written reports should be given to the client

This structured approach does not work for every counselor or client.

CounselingSkills

Helping Skills

Attending Skills

Questions

Statements & Reflections

Continuing Responses

Giving Information, not Opinion

Reinforcement

ReferencesHays, D. G. (2013). Assessment in counseling: A guide to

the use of psychological assessment procedures. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Holmes, C. (2007). Career development using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® tool. Presentation at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Hirsh, K. W., & Hirsh, E. (2007). Introduction to TYPE ® and decision making. Mountain View, CA: CPP.

DiTiberio, J. K., & Hammer, A. L. (1993). Introduction to TYPE

® in college. Mountain View, CA: CPP

Sharf, S. R. (2006). Applying Career Development Theory to Counseling. United States.