How Will a Career Counselling Test Help Me?

People often view career counselling tests as the "be all and end all" of career counselling. Such a view however is incorrect. Career counselling tests are not meant to replace the role of a career counsellor. Rather, career counselling tests are actually one of many tools used by counsellor's to help start clients on the path to career exploration.

Although not always a necessary or essential part of the process, career counsellors can find use of a career test useful when they encounter a client that is very "stuck" and who is unable to bring out career ideas or interests. Perhaps for example the client has a hobby which could potentially translate into paid employment or a career, but because they are so stuck in their position they are unable to see this possibility. The role of a counsellor however I often not to provide the answers and tell people what is right for them, but rather to empower them through the process to arrive at their own decisions.

A good quality career test would flesh out and bring to the surface such interests hobbies and factor these into career options to find the persons ideal career path. It's not necessary to see a career counsellor to start this process however. People can take a career test on the internet, and this can be extremely useful if they focus on taking quality career counselling tests rather than any of the many often free and poorly constructed assessments available.

Look for a career test for which you are able to see the reliability and validity data provided by the test developer. Although understanding reliability and validity issues for psychological tests can be quite difficult and complex it's important that any test you are taking is able to back up their claims with solid research, and unfortunately you'll find that for free career quizzes this will usually not be available.

Only not the only tests, two of the more popular career counselling tests that do make their reliability and validity data available are the Strong Interest Inventory and Myers Briggs (MBTI) Career Report. Also available for these tests are sample reports so you can see the level of detail in the assessment and report prior to making a purchase.

If there is one piece of advice I would like to pass on it is this. A career counselling test is often a good way to start the process of career exploration, but don't takes risks with cheap career quizzes and make sure you use only quality career counselling tests such as those listed above.

William Smith holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource and psychology and has extensive experience in the field of recruitment and testing. take a career counselling test such as the Strong Interest Inventory or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MTBI) at CareerSense.com.au

Career tests – making it easier for counseling parents of career

All parents want the best for their children, and finding the perfect career is no exception. Provide career advice however is a challenging task for many parents. Many parents may have an understanding of their personality but also necessary, childs and what can be more difficult to provide, is current work and labour market information. This can be difficult given the landscape of our labour market has changed so significantly over the years and from previous generations. For example, many older parents tend to stick with one or perhaps two employers through their career. Nowadays, however, statistics show that those entering nowadays the workforce can expect to work in many different roles, with many different employers, through the course of their careers.

It is also a common trend for parents to focus on the experience in one area only and this can become a potential problem when trying to provide career counselling to their children. Not only that, even though we know what we are talking about, all parents know that sometimes our children do not listen to us just because we are their parents! I've known a lot of parents who are able to provide good career advice, but find themselves talking to a brick wall. Less than ideal situations also arise when chose to children or chose not to, select the same career as their parents, for no other reason than is what you learn through their parents and who have grown up with this expectation. This is obviously not the best career option for a child and it would be preferable to make an important decision based on sound career advice and information, rather than just following or not following their parents.

These are just some of the problems, but what is the answer? The answer in my opinion is for your child to do a quality career tests and receive professional career advice on the basis of their results. With very strong emphasis has been put there on the word "Quality"! As a parent I certainly don't want the baby to an important decision based on the outcome of a career quiz one career on the internet. However, those in the know are aware there are some quality career tests that rely on search to make them valid and reliable. One such tool is the strong interest inventory (SII). The SII is probably the most popular tool used by career worldwide career counselors. It will give you a thorough assessment of the personality test and buyer's preferences. Nowadays the test can also be taken online through some online in the comfort of your provider and your childs home.

Such a supplier of SII is CareerSense.com.au, which not only provide evidence, but also provide a complete and detailed report, examined by a registered psychologist and a follow-up telephone consultation to examine the results in detail. This is an excellent choice for many parents as it ensures career decisions of their children are based on objective and reliable evaluation measures used throughout the world. So if you or your child is at an age when they need to take the important steps in the career best for them, I recommend you buy a gift voucher and have them take the strong interest inventory (SII) in CareerSense.com.au or another supplier today. This will provide piece of mind that does not allow future career and happiness of your child. Nathan Jones is the Director of CareerSense.com.au. He is a registered psychologist with extensive experience of work in the field of career counseling and support. In 2009 he founded CareerSense.com.au that offers quality and affordable online career and personality test. CareerSense use only the most respected and scientifically validated testing tools and consulting services of professional career. Visit CareerSense today for a career or personality test at CareerSense.com.au.

Career Counselling - Stay a Competitive Practitioner by Practising What You Preach!

Stay a competitive career counsellor by being passionate and proactive about your own professional growth. Optimise your ability to empower others by implementing strategies to advance your own career development. By committing to this you will naturally become more motivating for your clients and help them conquer greater goals than they ever thought possible. Nourish yourself with career counselling resources and practice what you preach starting from...NOW!

The key attribute for staying competitive in career counselling is to be resourceful and you need to do this both for your clients and you! Get your hands on as many appropriate career counselling tools and resources you can find.

Despite your experience, career counselling techniques, career tools, theory, career assessments and tests, job types and roles, recruitment companies and their processes, company and business culture, talent management and succession planning strategies are becoming more sophisticated. It is important you familiarise yourself with these, especially if you want to maintain a solid client base. Signing up to more professional associations will keep up to date with the important changes in the career counselling industry and inform you of what's available and what's new.

The need for career counselling today is hitting record highs due to the changing and increasing demands of people in the workforce. People of all ages and generations are moving through more job roles and career industries more than ever before. On average an individual will change their career 5 times and change jobs 12 times throughout their working life! The career counselling and coaching industry is ferociously evolving to meet these career planning demands.

To stay competitive, you need to be resourceful and enhance your own career. By practicing what you preach, you will gain greater insight into the challenges that people face when it comes to career growth and direction.

The next step is simple and can be done NOW ... get your career counselling resources!

Tips for staying competitive

o Get your hands on different career resources such as books, manuals, DVDs, toolkits and journals - this will enhance your knowledge and skills to broaden your client base

o Keep up to date with the career counselling industry and initiatives

o Join as many career counselling associations as you can to build your network

o Attend conferences, workshops, seminars and training on career counselling

o Continue to develop your own career through various courses (e.g. university or colleges), reading materials, training and accreditation seminars

o Get familiar with industry standards and ensure you are competitive with these

o Continue to build your career resource base

o Make your own toolkits for different types of clients (e.g. motivational techniques, personality tests, value definers and goal setting activities)

o Know who your competitors are

o Find your own niche market/ client base

o Get a mentor or supervisor

o Have your own role model/s

o Enhance your self awareness - this improves your counselling skills

Stay competitive in career counselling....it starts with you!

Get your career counselling resources at [http://www.career-counsellor.com]

My name is Danielle Connelly and I am a passionate career counsellor! After years of study in psychology & counselling and working in Human Resources, I have developed a fascination for career counselling . Empowering others to define and create their career goals is highly rewarding and inspiring. I am intrigued by various styles of career counselling and enjoy learning about different techniques and resources available. I am committed to improving my own self awareness and capability as a career counsellor not only for my own benefit but for my current and future clients. By living and breathing my passion, I can inspire and motivate others more than ever before. I want to find others who share this passion.

Career Counselling - Finding a Career Suited to Your Personality

The most important aspect of finding your dream job is to look for the job or career that is matched and compatible with your personality. This may sound relatively simple, however often we often don't have a clue about what different careers really involve and too often people find themselves "ending up" in a career without ever having made a conscious choice to do so. Resources for career counseling, including career tests, can be a great help in giving people the power to make a career decisions. So what are some of the resources available to people and how can they be most effectively used to achieve outcomes?

Job Search Websites and Databases

The Internet is an exhaustive information source that allows us to select from an ever growing list of options. Most online resources help job seekers find a job based on their personal preference and skill. Unfortunately, as often happens candidates are forced to search for and take jobs that meet their requirements at that point in time based on factors such as salary, location, and often simply what jobs are on offer at the time. If not careful however, once a job seeker takes a job or role based on such factors however, they have often unknowingly move further from achieving their true career goal. Job seekers using this methods to decide on a career may eventually feel they have found themselves ultimately unhappy and in a job or career that is not suited to their personality or to them.

Identifying What Is "Really" Important To You

A critical aspect of finding a career well matched to your personality is to understand what is important to you. It sounds simple but surprisingly few job seekers actually do this. There are a few ways one can do this. You could make a list of all the things you think are important to you in a job and then place them in order from most important to least important. You could then access a jobs database and review the many thousands of jobs and careers in order to locate those that suitably match your list of priorities. While this process could potentially be successful, it would be extremely time consuming and fortunately there are more effective and time efficient ways of going about this process. One such method is for job seekers to take a career test, which when completed will review all their job preferences and personality traits before providing them with a list of all the jobs suited to their personality. Most quality tests, such as the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) also go a step further and provide a good list of detailed action steps to guide the person in taking the necessary steps to move toward achieving their desired career.

Ensure you use a quality Career Test only

Career tests aren't career tests, just as "oils ain't oils". What is meant by this is that there are many career tests or "Quizzes" on the internet today which, while fun to play around with, are along way from quality career advice and are often very unreliable. In order to use a career test to help you find a job suited to your personality you need to find a test you can rely on. This is easier said than done but the only reliable or trusted way of doing this is to select a career test or questionnaire which is backed by solid research data and one which hasn't just been created by the webmaster of the site you are visiting. For example, as mentioned above the Strong Interest Inventory is a career test which has been used by professional career counselors around the world for many years, and has had many revisions and updates. It is based on years of research and its developers publish its reliability and validity data which is publically available. Free career tests and quizzes on the internet may make many claims, but when was the last time you saw one that actually provided you with concrete reliability and validity figures and measures?

You can take the Strong Interest Inventory online at at CareerSense.com.au for a very affordable price. They will provide you with a comprehensive report reviewed by a registered psychologist and careers counselor. You can also have a one on one phone interview with a psychologist or careers counselor to discuss your results. Benefits - By taking a quality career test such as the at The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) you will be taking the first step on the path to finding your dream job. The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) report will give you a clear list of action step you can follow to move you towards being able to get your dream job. It will also give you some great insight into your personality and what is important to you in a job. Nathan Jones is the Director of CareerSense.com.au. He is a registered psychologist with extensive experience working in the field of career counselling and support. In 2009 he founded CareerSense.com.au which provides quality and affordable online career and personality testing. CareerSense use only the most respected and scientifically validated testing instruments and professional career counselling services. Visit CareerSense today for a career or personality test at CareerSense.com.au.