7 Steps to Success | Career Assessment to Job You Love

You start out thinking you are going to be an attorney because your mom is an attorney and your grandfather was an attorney and it sounds noble.

Your grades even got you into Harvard Law. However, your sophomore year and $75,000 of school debt later you quickly realize your energy is depleted by the mere thought of law.

Or, some people spend years in a career only to question if they made the correct choice. 62% of graduates do not go into the career of their degree. Don’t panic. Most jobs don’t check the degree you have. They are mostly concerned about your level of education. Or, if it is a job that does not require a degree, what is your experience?

Step 1: Choose the best career assessment

Choosing the career assessment that is backed by science and research. It should also be an assessment this is specifically focussing on your personality when you are working.

Do not just go with a job quiz you found online on Instagram or Facebook or a career test recommended by some person on Reddit. This has to be something that is used by universities and colleges and companies and uses science and research to create the questions, answers, and generated career personality reports.

If this is confusing, you are not alone. It is important to learn the difference in Career Tests vr. Aptitude tests, IQ tests, Desires Tests, etc.

Step 2. Assess the Assessment

A deeper dive into your career assessment results. Typically there are no wrong answers in a career assessment. Since you are the only one answering questions about yourself, you are the only person that can compare your results to the truth of who you believe you are.

Take some time and absorb what the reports say about you. It should ring true. If something doesn’t feel right about what that report is saying you are, perhaps your self-awareness is lacking or your work experience is not great enough for you to understand your behavior in a working environment.

Good career tests will evaluate multiple areas of your personality and use research to examine how these characteristics combine to make up the core of who YOU ARE.

If the results are not quite a total match, retake it. The best career tests offer a free version that allows you to see if that one works. And guarantee or a retake option for a Premium Report.

Step 3. Compare to your desires

A deeper look at Your Desires compared to Your career assessment results

Your life experiences guide personal preferences. Your career test report may tell you to be a veterinarian but when you were 8 years old you were bit by a German Shepard and you do not love animals. That is ok!

Or, maybe it is suggested you become a Surgeon but you somehow developed a skill to pass out at the sight of blood. Speak up now. No one wants to wake up on the floor of the surgery room after seeing blood with a concussion and the mistake of $300K in medical school debt.

Print your suggested career list and next to each career write down (if any) things that would make you not want to pursue a job in that area of expertise.

This is narrowing your career matches with your desires.

Step 4. A deeper look at the career

A deeper dive into the day and the life of the careers that fit you best are available within the results of the quality career assessments. The name of the career that matches you should link directly to more details about that career including a video showing you “a day in the life” of that career.

Use this information to decide: Does this career fit who I want to be?

Does the income potential match my lifestyle goals?

Am I willing to commit (both financially and in time) to the required education?

MOST important: Is there a growing demand for this job in the future?

I can not emphasize this enough. A school will not stop you from getting a degree in a field that is not growing in demand. Do your own research about careers and jobs that are expected to grow.

Step 5. Your education or experience

Find the right college or university that fits your life.  Consider your location, affordability, and the accreditation of that school specifically for the degree you desire. 

For example - some colleges are accredited for a degree that would only allow you to practice in the state you received your degree.  What if you want to leave the state?  

Are scholarships or grants available?  Many schools now have sections that point you to a list of scholarships.  However, many scholarships are so overrun with applicants it will be like winning the lottery.  The more specific you can narrow your demographic to a scholarship, the better your chances are for that scholarship.  For example - some scholarships are based on income, race, and sex.

If no education is required for the career that fits you best, find a job training or mentorship program. For example, you can make a lot of money working as a plumber and maybe one day owning your own company.  Start within an existing company that has an apprentice program and on-the-job training.

Step 6. Who is hiring

The best career tests will link your narrowed list of career choices to a platform that shows companies hiring near you.  This data needs to be updated daily for accuracy.  You will find a mix of local companies hiring and national companies searching nationwide.  The larger companies that pay more will be the ones doing a national search.  Often they will pay for relocation or allow you to work from home.

You need the option to search by the radius of the location you are living in now or willing to move to.  The best job search tools allow you to search by specified salary, education, and keywords.  

We now live in a world of freelance work and work from home.  You might consider websites that allow you to bid on jobs and work for yourself or an agency.  However, there is an entire methodology to being successful on freelance sites.  Don't expect to land your first reply to a job opening.  Sometimes youtube videos will even guide you to tips on being successful.

Step 7. Live your life

Choose the best career for you so you can enjoy your life - you will spend a large part of your life working and it won’t feel like work if you love it.

Conclusion

Now you have everything at your fingertips; from learning about your work personality and best-fitting jobs all the way through finding who is hiring in that career near you.

This process can take some time as you move through all seven steps. So, choose a career assessment that does not continue to cost you anything and gives you time to use all of your resources.

Online career assessments like CareerFitter.com have been around for over 20 years and they give you unlimited access for two years with no recurring charges.