Catherine's Career Corner
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December 7th, 2008
Free Skills Assessment Tool

 

 skills

What are skills and why are they important?

A skill is something you’ve learned how to do. You’ve probably got lots of skills you’re not aware of. Identifying your skills can help you think about the right job for you.

How do I find out which skills I’ve got?

During the assessment, you’ll be asked to agree with statements such as I like fixing and repairing things or I like exploring new ideas.

Based on your answers, you’ll get a list of jobs that could be suitable for you. When you’ve finished you can print out your personal profile and discuss it with a careers coach.

How long does it take to do the assessment?

It takes around 10 minutes but you can work at your own pace and take as long as you want.

Will my details be confidential?

The information you enter and your personal profile can only be seen by you.

What else do I need to know?

You’ll need Adobe Flash Player to do the assessment. If it’s not installed on your computer you can download Flash here.

Assess your skills and interests HERE 

 

Courtesy of Careers Advice

 

 

Other Assessment Tools from Quintessential with ratings –

 

Quintessential Ratings— a guide to free or inexpensive ($40 or under) career assessments on the Web (ratings are based strictly on our own experiences and those of our clients and students):

 

Q = marginally useful
QQ = somewhat useful
QQQ = very useful
QQQQ = extremely useful

All listed assessments are interactive.

 

Assessment

Measures

Ease of Use

Detail of Results

Rating

Big Five Personality TestFormerly called All About You, this test measures personality aspects that can be applied to careers.Cost: Free Five fundamental dimensions of personality Easy to use; takes 5-10 minutes Fairly bare-bones chart assessing Openness to New Experiences, Extraversion, Nervousness, and others.

Q

(interesting personality assessment, but only marginally applicable to careers)

Career Interest Profiler from testingroom.comThis 180-question assessment is a measure of occupational and career interests.Cost: Free Six fundamental categories of interests that capture most characteristics of people. Very easy interface. Takes about 15 minutes. Registration required. Three-paragraph report; more complete results available for $14.95. Free sample of full results available.

QQ for free report; QQQQ for paid report

Career Interest Test from LiveCareerThis 100-question assessment identifies your career interests and then tells you what jobs are out there for you.Free for basic results.Site also offers Career Satisfaction Test, Resume Test, and Start a Business Test. Interests, personality, values, knowledge, skills, and abilities. Easy. Takes 25 minutes. You can stop and go back to the test later. You also have the opportunity to review your answers before submitting them. Free 14-page overview report shows interestsm personality, and workplace fit.Deluxe Report available for $15.Free samples of both regular and deluxe reports are available.

QQ

Careerlink InventoryA 36-question assessment based on the premise that your self-estimates are a valid basis for career decision-making.Cost: Free Interests, aptitudes, temperaments, physical capacities, preferred working conditions, and desired length of time preparing for employment. Easy Tells which career clusters fit you and provides details about each cluster.

QQQ

Career Values Scale from testingroom.comThis 88-question assessment looks at values to see how they relate to the test-taker’s world of work and help to identify areas of career satisfaction and dissatisfaction.Cost: Free Ten work values: service orientation, team orientation, influence, creativity, independence, excitement, personal development, financial rewards, security, and prestige. Very easy interface; questions seem somewhat repetitious. Takes about 10-20 mins. Registration required. Two-paragraph report; more complete results available for $14.95. Free sample of full results available.

QQ for free report; QQQQ for paid report

Career ZoneAn extremely bare-bones, 3-question assessment.Cost: Free Combinations of six broad interest areas known as RIASEC codes. Ultra fast and easy Very bare bones, but gives lists of occupations for each type. Test-takers will need to do more research on the RIASEC types.

QQ

Carolyn Kalil’s Personality Assessment (True Colors)True Colors is a personality system that has been around since 1979 and is modeled as a graphical presentation of both Keirsey’s Temperament and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The assessment asks you to choose one of two ways to finish 36 statements. The results can help you define your skills and talents — and possibly direct you to various career paths.Cost: Free Personality Easy. Takes just a few minutes. Gives Web-based results in terms of one of four colors, explained with a one-paragraph description of your type. (You can also read about your other colors.) More detailed results are supplied on the next Web page after entering your email address, and ebooks ($4.95) and other publications are available for sale to offer even more insight.

QQ1/2

CoachCompass® AssessmentCost: Free Defines an appropriate starting point for career services and coaching delivery, thereby allowing for the targeted development of effective client strategies to ensure career success. Easy. Choose 1 appropriate statement among 6 for 16 sets of statements. A short report appears on-screen, and a very detailed report with graphs attached is e-mailed.

QQQ1/2

The Insight GameQuick, fun visual take on the Myers-Briggs.Free for basic report. Myers-Briggs Type Very easy, fast, and fun, with the ability to flip and place “cards” that result in revealing one’s type. Takes less than 10 mins. About one page about your Myers-Briggs type. More in-depth career information and extensive loving relationship profiles are available for only $6.95, or $12.95 for the Comprehensive Personality Profile.Not useful for those who already know their Myers-Briggs type since letter codes are revealed on the “cards.”

QQ

(fun, but basic results are not comprehensive about career)

ISEEK Skills AssessmentLets you rate yourself on 35 skills and then see which occupations are a match for the skills that are important to you.Cost: Free Basic Skills, Management Skills, People Skills, System Skills, Technical Skills Easy but time-consuming; takes 30-40 minutes. Easy. Takes 5-10 minutes. List of occupations that match your preferred skills and your educational goal. Shows media salary for occupations. Shows exactly how your assessment of each of the 35 skills matches each occupation and gives a career profile of each occupation.

QQ1/2

Keirsey Temperament SorterThis 70-question assessment is related to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.Cost: Free for mini-report Personality Easy to use, but a little time consuming. Registration required. Results, in the form of partial Myers-Briggs Types, give descriptions of the types. Several levels of more detailed report available: Career Temperament Report, $19.95; Classic Temperament Report, $14.95; Learning Styles Temperament Report, $14.95; Temperament Discovery Report, $4.95.

QQQQ

MazemasterThis 6-part assessment is geared to high-school and college students.Cost: Free Interests, Skills, and Values. Fairly easy; takes about 30 minutes. Registration required. Registration is set up for Canadians, but others can use it. Rather than interpretive results, the report is a compilation of the Interests, Skills, and Values, the test-taker has chosen, along with Goals, Next Steps, and Action Plan. Links provide additional information on careers suggested by the Interest results.

QQQ

Personality Index from testingroom.comThis 90-question assessment examines key personality features that influence your approach to tasks, interaction with people, and the activities you enjoy.Cost: Free 17 traits: ambition, initiative, flexibility, energy, leadership, concern for others, teamwork, outgoing, democratic, innovation, analytic thinking, persistence, dependability, attention to detail, rule-following, self-control, and stress tolerance. Very easy interface; questions seem somewhat repetitious. Takes about 10-20 mins. Registration required. Two-paragraph report describes two key features of your personal style; full report with an additional 20 traits available for $14.95. Free sample of full results available.

QQ for free report; QQQQ for paid report

Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) SAMPLEThis 38-question assessment, a sample of the full RHETI which has 144 questions, looks at personality types.Cost: FreeSite also offers the 44-question “The New Enneagram Test.” Personality Easy to use. Takes 5-10 minutes. Fairly good description of 1 of 9 types

Q

(interesting personality assessment, but only marginally applicable to careers)

StrengthsFinder 2.0This well-researched instrument asks you to choose to what degree either of a set of paired statements applies to you.Cost: “Free” with the purchase of book, Strengths Finder 2.0, which provides an access code and cost varies, depending on bookseller. Areas in which you have the greatest potential for strength. Easy. Takes about 25 minutes. Warning! There’s a 20-second limit for answering each question before it vanishes from the screen. Online results consist of a good sized paragraph describing your five most dominant themes of talent, your signature themes. Accompanying book provides more detail on each theme.

QQQ1/2

The Insight GameQuick, fun visual take on the Myers-Briggs.Free for basic report. Myers-Briggs Type Very easy, fast, and fun, with the ability to flip and place “cards” that result in revealing one’s type. Takes less than 10 mins. About one page about your Myers-Briggs type. More in-depth career information and extensive loving relationship profiles are available for only $6.95, or $12.95 for the Comprehensive Personality Profile.Not useful for those who already know their Myers-Briggs type since letter codes are revealed on the “cards.”

QQ

(fun, but basic results are not comprehensive about career)

Work Preference InventoryThis 24-question forced-choice assessment that tells your work style. Based on the premise that the process of values clarification is very important in career planning.Cost: Free Values Quick and easy; interactivity depends on having a JavaScript-enabled browser Results are in a chart with very brief descriptions of work style; tests with more detailed results available for a fee.

QQ

         

 

The Career Interests Game

From the University of Missouri Career Center, this game is based on Dr. John Holland’s theory that people and work environment can be loosely classified into six groups.

The Princeton Review Career Quiz

After you complete this 24 question quiz which asks you questions about yourself, your answers will be analyzed. You will be given details about your interests and work style and then, after you register for free, a list of careers that match.

Queendom.com: The Land of Tests

This site has a variety of free tests, including some career tests. While you can use the site without registering, you can also set up a free user profile which will allow you to save your test results. You may only take each test once per month.

What Is Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type?

Take this informal personality test to find out what your Myers-Briggs personality type is. From there go on to find out what careers may be most suitable for you based on this information. The formal version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can only be administered by a qualified professional and is much more comprehensive. This one is quite good though and definitely worth your time.

 

More Business & Career Assessment Tools

Find out good career paths and business abilities with the help of these assessment tools.

Small Business Administration: The SBA offers an assessment tool that will help you determine whether or not you’re ready to start a small business.

Career Vision Job Satisfaction Survey: Answer these 37 questions to learn your level of satisfaction with your job.

ColorCareerCounselor: Use this fun evaluation to learn about successful career paths based on your color preference.

True Colors Career Assessment: This career personality assessment will help you learn your true colors and pursue the career that’s right for you.

Management Skills & Styles Assessment: Find out if you’re management material with the help of this test.

Career Explorer: Identify careers that match your personality, find potential career fields, and more using this test.

Career Planner Quiz: Make use of this quiz to get help planning your career or making a job switch.

Sales Hunter-Farmer Test: Learn about your skills potential for sales in this test.

Sales Personality Test: By taking this test, you’ll find out if you have the right personality to be a sales person.

Work Importance Profiler: Use this profiler to find out what is important to you in a job.

Catherine Adenle
Founder, Catherine's Career Corner. The career site empowering and inspiring ambitious candidates of all ages and professions to thrive and work smarter on their careers. Gladly helping all career-minded people worldwide to explore their career, manage change and understand how new technologies are changing and enhancing the future of work.
Catherine Adenle
Catherine Adenle

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