Google the term “career assessment,” and you will discover more than 1 million hits! No doubt about it – career tests are big business with billions of dollars being spent annually on assessments in career transition, employee selection, training and development, team building, outplacement, managerial and executive development, and succession planning, among many others.
With millions of consumers, companies, government agencies, non-profits, and educational institutions relying on career assessments to aid them in meeting their goals, it is ironic how little about career assessments is actually understood. Chosen and used improperly, career assessments yield results that are no better than an educated guess.
So what are some basic principles about career assessments that you should know?
Misconception: One career assessment is just as good (effective) as another.
When you do a search of career assessments online, you will be inundated with so many possibilities that you may just be tempted to stop dead in your tracks and go no further. Or you may decide to go with the cheapest one (as in free) or one that has the fastest turnaround time (such as those available online). But beware: the vast majority of online assessments that are free or low-cost are that way for a reason. They are often authored without any concern for validity or reliability, or differences in cultures or abilities.
In fact, you could even produce an assessment yourself! If you go online to www.assessmentgenerator.com, you can create an assessment test. These self-scoring tests and quizzes can be fun. They could even prompt some soul-searching and insight. But they should not be confused with highly trusted and respected career assessments like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, which have research-based test norms and construction methods, as well as in-depth validity and reliability studies to underpin their reputation.
Validity
Why is validity important? It addresses the question, “Does this assessment measure what it says it measures? Does it accurately predict what it claims to measure?” The degree of validity is expressed as a validity coefficient ranging from 0 (no validity) to 1.00 (100% validity). A validity coefficient above 0.50 means that you can put a reasonable level of trust in the usefulness of the results.
Reliability
Reliability coefficients, on the other hand, describe the consistency of test results over time for the same person, such as in test-retest reliability. If you as a test-taker were misreading the career assessment instructions or context of a question, for example, then taking the assessment a second time would likely alter the results obtained. Usually reliability and validity coefficients are published in the user manual for a career assessment. Sometimes these user manuals are available for download online, and other times you need to request them directly from the vendor or publisher.
Caution: Red Flag
If you cannot find a user manual for a career assessment online or cannot obtain one from the publisher / vendor, red flags should be flying in your head. This lack of transparency about how the assessment was designed and tested and on what specific normative populations, along with minimal or non-existent validity or reliability statistics, is serious. Ask yourself: if the career assessment is as good as the publisher claims, why are these important pieces of information concerning test design, normative populations, validity, and reliability missing?
Bottom Line:
If you are a minority or person with disabilities, the content and phrasing of questions asked in an assessment may not be relevant to your culture or experiences. You simply may not be able to relate to the questions well enough to make an informed answer. That would affect both the validity and reliability of the career assessment for you. Check to be sure that the career tests you use have been researched, written, and formulated based on populations of people similar to you. Those “normative populations” are defined in the user manual.
© Copyright, 2010, Susan Guarneri. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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About the Author
Job-Hunt's Career Assessments Expert, Susan Guarneri, known as the Career Assessment Goddess, specializes in using personal branding and career assessments to empower professionals, executives, and budding entrepreneurs with career insight and action. Author of the Career Goddess Blog and co-author of Job Search Bloopers, Susan holds 16 career certifications, including National Certified Career Counselor, Master Career Counselor, Certified Master Branding Strategist, and Certified Online Identity Management Strategist. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling from The Johns Hopkins University and 24 years of experience.
