Test helps students select careers

   A career-interest assessment test can provide undecided students with a foundation to build future careers upon, three counselors told students on NE Campus last week.
   Students received information and insights through testing methods during an interactive workshop last Wednesday.
   The workshop was presented by three NE counselors: Dan Mason, Dave Brownlie and Luz Villareal-Zeagler.
   “A lot of us get in a job that we aren’t satisfied with, and the skills involved are very important with career decision-making,” Mason said.
   One of the tasks of adulthood is choosing a career choice or possibly just changing a previous career decision, he said.
   Mason said the Strong Interest Inventory may help with this undertaking. This survey was named after a Stanford University psychologist, Dr. Edward Strong, who was a pioneer in career interest.
   “This test is the best inventory for people who have career interests,” Brownlie said.
   The small group of participants for this interactive workshop discussed personal interests, goals, skills and work values involved in career decisions.
   “Career decision-making is a process that takes time, investigation, and learning,” Villareal-Zeagler said.
   Some factors involved in job selection include work salary, location, benefits, job satisfaction and safety, she said.
   According to the Self-Directed Search (SDS) Assessment Booklet, occupations are divided into six categories: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional.
   The counselors suggested using these brief accounts of occupations to determine which field of occupation is best for the individual.
   Brownie said Dr. John Holland, who spent time at the University of Michigan, developed and advised the Self-Directed Search during a period of self-development search.
   “This self-development search is a pretty beneficial thing to milk-out the value from,” he said.
   According to these three presenters, the Strong Interest Inventory is a more extensive way of finding likes and dislikes and receiving personal feedback.
   Students interested in this assessment test should first take a referral form to the NE Campus Testing Center, take the actual test (performed on computers online) and then make an appointment with a counselor to see the test results (about a week later).
   The free testing takes approximately 40 minutes to one hour to complete.
   For further information on testing procedures, contact the NE Campus counseling center at 817-515-6661.