Career Assessments
Alison McLaughlin
Giovanni Häertel
Assessment
Instruments
 Test VS Inventories
 Norms
 Reliability
 Validity
Holland Code
Realistic
Investigative
Convention
al
Enterprising
Artistic
Social
SelfDirected
Search
• Assess aspirations,
activities, competencies,
interests, and other selfestimates
• Roughly 20 minutes to
complete
• Original Named SelfDirected 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 InformationOccupations 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
Interpersonal
relationships
Leadership
training and
development
Workplace
dynamics
MBTI
applications
Learning
preferences
Career
counseling
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
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”
“Unnatural”
“Easy”
“Difficult”
“Quick”
“Slower”
“Comfortable”
“Effortless”
“Awkward”
“Took more Energy”
REVIEW OF THE EIGHT
PREFERENCES
Extraversion and Introversion
Where you prefer to get and focus your
‘energy’ or attention
REVIEW OF THE EIGHT
PREFERENCES
Sensing and iNtuition
What kind of information you prefer to gather
and trust
REVIEW OF THE EIGHT
PREFERENCES
Thinking and Feeling
What process you prefer to use in coming to
decisions
REVIEW OF THE EIGHT
PREFERENCES
Judging and Perceiving
How 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
PROCESS
 The ways you explore
 The 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
REALISTIC
NT, ST
CONVENTIONAL
ST, SF
INVESTIGATIVE
NT, ST
ENTERPRISING
No type correlation
ARTISTIC
NF, NT
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 preferences
1. 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 Scales
1. 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 plan
1. 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 REMEMBER
 Focus 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.
Counseling
Skills
 Helping Skills
 Attending Skills
 Questions
 Statements & Reflections
 Continuing Responses
 Giving Information, not Opinion
 Reinforcement
References
 Hays, 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 MyersBriggs 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.