What Career is Right For Me?
Asking "what career is right for me?" is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. If you find the right career, you will have success, happiness and prosperity for many years to come.
There are many things to take into account when choosing a career, such as your personality, skills, values and ambitions. The most important question is whether you will enjoy it, which is where a careers test can help.
Our careers test is based on unique research to discover the most enjoyable jobs. It uses an advanced methodology to match your personality with 112 careers.
The test provides a free online report of your personality type, which can help you career search. There is the option for a further 300 pages of reports, for more in-depth career research, to develop your leadership potential, and to develop skills to perform better in job interviews.
Career Tests
There are many career tests, though the quality of them varies. The worst are based on opinions derived from stereotypes - e.g. "an 'ESFJ' personality type will enjoy nursing". Research shows that such a simplistic approach does not lead you to the best career. The best career tests:
| Are based on research with people already in careers | Use themes, such as personality type | Use your unique personality profile |
| Match your individual personality to careers | Take account of the demands of the job | Are statistically valid and robust |
Our careers test meets all these criteria. It provides a free online report, with your personality type and leadership style, and explains some of the issues you need to take into account when choosing a career. There is also the option of a more extensive, low-cost report that shows which careers are best suited to your personality.
Career Choice factors
The factors to take into account, when trying to find the right career for you, include:
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Skills |
Your skills are based on your natural aptitudes and developed through training/education. |
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Values |
You may wish to consider factors such as the type of lifestyle you want, your beliefs, and the ethical nature of company or industry you want to work in. |
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Constraints |
Your choice of career might be constrained by financial or geographical limitations, family responsibilities, physical disability or your qualifications/education |
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Ambitions |
You may want to consider if and when you want to start a family and "settle down", whether you want a single job for the rest of your life or have the option to change career, and potential ambitions for setting up your own business. You should also consider what your retirement strategy will be. |
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Opportunities |
Deciding what you want to do is of no use unless there are opportunities for you to pursue. You can find opportunities through various ways, e.g.: responding to advertisements for jobs or vocational training/sponsorship; making unsolicited approaches to organisations to see if there are any vacancies; networking through people you know to get referrals to potential employers; and creating your own business. |
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Personality |
Your personality is a very important factor - comprising things your know about your self, your personality preferences, and other unconscious motivations. |
