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Holistic Career Assessment
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When helping an individual to make a career choice, there are several parts to the equation including their interests, abilities, aptitudes, values, and personality. Looking at any one or a number of these to the exclusion of any of the others is to have an incomplete picture of both the person and their career potential. Indeed, a person can be interested in something but not be good at it (abilities) - and vice versa. I've had clients tell me that they enjoy and are still interested in what they're doing, but that it doesn't hold any meaning for them anymore (values). Another example is the person who is interested in a math related career like engineering, who doesn't appear to have the math ability to succeed because of lack of training in math, but who may have the potential to do well in math (aptitudes). Lets' take a closer look at some of these important elements...
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Interests
Interests are the cornerstone of not only career counseling, but also much of the standardized vocational assessment done today. And for good reason. Whatever career you choose, you'll want to be "interested" in it. In other words, you'll want to find it engaging, you'll want it to hold your attention - to be exciting for you. The opposite of interesting in boring. And I don't know anyone who wants to do boring work for the rest of their lives. So, suffice it to say, we want a career to be "interesting."
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Abilities
This is another element that has been an important part of career assessment for years. What are you good at? How are your math skills, writing skills, spatial abilities, mechanical skills, etc.? It's true that you may be interested in something, but not very good at it. If we can assess what you're good at, we can begin to suggest certain careers that might be good matches. For instance, if you're good at math, we might begin to look at certain financial or science-based careers. If you're good at writing, we might look at things like journalism, teaching English, public relations, and a host of other things.
So, knowing what you're good at, and interested in, is a good start to a career choice, and most people are familiar with those two important aspects of a career decision. And yet, knowing what you're interested in and good at is only the start. The next three elements we're going to take a look at are at least equally important in any career decision you'll make.
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Aptitudes
Many psychologists and career counselors use the terms "abilities" and "aptitudes" interchangeably. I believe there is a dramatic distinction. While an ability is something you're good at, an aptitude is something you could be good at. Ability infers the present - aptitude refers to the future.
A good example is a client who does not do well in a math ability test, and backs that up by telling me that they are "no good" at math. Yet, we need to look at the reasons why. The client may have a had a bad experience with math, or a bad math teacher in grammar or high school, and given up on it completely. Often, girls are not encouraged to do well in math (just as boys may not be encouraged to do well in English). In fact, there may be many reasons why someone is not "good" at math. And yet, the person may still have the potential to be good at math. In other words, given the chance, that person might be quite good at math. This is what "aptitude" measures, and it is a crucial variable in determining the career a person ends up with. While a person's present ability gives us a good idea of where the person is now, their aptitude gives us a good look at their potential.
So, knowing what you're interested in, and good at, and have the potential to be good at, are all important things to know before making a career choice.
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Values
Values are often overlooked when assessing career direction. Sometimes they are thrown into the bin with interests and used interchangeably. If you enjoy your work, you find it interesting and valuable. Except... this isn't always true.
Something can be interesting but not valuable - and vice versa. Interests and values are two very different things. I will sometime have clients who come to counseling saying that although they are still interested in their work, and they do it well, there is "something missing." That "something" is often a feeling of fulfillment or purpose, and that feeling of fulfillment or purpose relates directly back to values. So what are some common values? Concern for the environment, wanting to help disadvantaged children, protecting animals - these are some popular values, but there are many more. A good example of a job that might be valuable but not interesting would be an assembly line worker who finds his/her job terribly boring, but likes the fact that s/he works for a company whose main goal is protecting the environment. Or a person could find their daily tasks very interesting, but finds that their job lacks purpose.
So, what you're interested in, good at or have the potential to be good at, and what you find valuable or fulfilling are all important things to know before making a career choice. But there is one more element that is crucial to consider.
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Personality
The measurement of personality could be considered the ugly stepchild of the career assessment world. Until relatively recently it was neglected as an important variable to measure. And yet, many now would consider it a star in the career planning process.
As a very basic example, let's consider someone who is interested in teaching, has good knowledge of the English language, has the potential to be a great communicator, and would find teaching a fulfilling and valuable job. The automatic thought is that this person would make a splendid teacher. And that would be a good thought. But, considering this individual's personality can shed some further light on the situation. If this person is more introverted in their approach to life, s/he might enjoy a teaching career that involves more one-on-one work (e.g. tutoring) or small classes. If this person is more extroverted in their approach to life, s/he might enjoy a career that involves large seminars (e.g. a Tony Robbins type event) or preaching to "the masses." And that's just looking at one personality trait. Indeed, there are many to consider, and all of them can help to determine what this teaching career might look like.
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Integrating All Of The Elements
When you combine a measurement of all of the above elements (interests, abilities, aptitudes, values, and personality) you have what we call "holistic career assessment", and it is what we strive to do well here at CAPS through the ACE Program. The CAPS method of integrating assessment results is a unique and highly effective means of helping individuals to understand themselves better in vocational terms, and applying this knowledge toward the goal of making a great career choice.
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John Scuto's
Career & Academic Planning Services
63 Deerfield Road
Nottingham, NH 03290
(603)734-2233
Located in Southern New Hampshire, just east of
Manchester & Concord, NH and just west of Portsmouth, NH
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John Scuto's