BellaOnline Forums Career Career Training career assessment vs. personality test

Hey D, I'm writing an article on assessments tests for finding your life purpose and was wondering if you could tell me the difference between a career assessment and a personality test.

I actually took a personality test when I was in college and then took the same test again recently. It was fun to read the results and look at the type of careers that are recommended for my personality type (one of them was entrepreneur so I guess I've been on the right track all along). I really have no desire to take career assessments so I'm wondering if you could tell me if they're similar or if there is a lot of overlap or if they are completely different types of tests.

Any input from you would be so helpful. Thanks in advance!

Monica I'd say doing "assessment tests" for finding your life purpose could be difficult... Life purpose could come up through career tests, but they could miss it completely.

Personality tests to me are things such as MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) which aim to understand the type of person you are, rather than the type of person you may want to be. MBTI establishes whether you are an Extrovert or an Introvert (E or I), whether you operate through Sensing or Intuition (S or I), Thinking or Feeling (T or F), and whether you operate through Jugement or Perception (J or P).

Such tests can lead to suggested career choices, but they also leave space for wider understanding of personality. As an INFP careers that might be suggested for me include teaching, counselling, social work, writing, music, psychology... I'd say all of these are possible pathways I could have taken.

Thanks for your input. I've been reading up on both and trying to figure out the differences so I can write about this subject more clearly but there's definitely a lot I don't understand. I actually broke down and took a silly career assessment (probaby taking another one tomorrow) and it suggested I should work in medicine which I find hilarious because I have so little respect for doctors and allopathic medicine and I could never work for anybody (I've tried a few times and felt suffocated).

I actually took the MBTI when I was getting my B.A. in Psych (20 years ago) and I'm an INTJ (the scientist). I got the same result when I took the short version last week and found the interpretation to be right on the money "With Introverted Intuition dominating their personality, INTJs focus their energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. Their mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it.

They are tremendously insightful and usually are very quick to understand new ideas. However, their primary interest is not understanding a concept, but rather applying that concept in a useful way. Unlike the INTP, they do not follow an idea as far as they possibly can, seeking only to understand it fully. INTJs are driven to come to conclusions about ideas. Their need for closure and organization usually requires that they take some action.

INTJs are ambitious, self-confident, deliberate, long-range thinkers. Many INTJs end up in engineering or scientific pursuits, although some find enough challenge within the business world in areas which involve organizing and strategic planning. They dislike messiness and inefficiency, and anything that is muddled or unclear. They value clarity and efficiency, and will put enormous amounts of energy and time into consolidating their insights into structured patterns."

It's almost scary how accurate this is about me especially the part about how I always come across the wrong way to others and how I tend to not care much about other people's opinions (those are big issues for me).

I didn't know what I wanted to do when I graduated from college and this test didn't help at all back then but I see now how much my personality influenced my choices over the past 20 years and why there was nothing else that I could do other than what I'm doing now.

If I had taken a career assessment in addition to a personality test 20 years ago, that probably would've added to the confusion for me so I guess I'm trying understand how a person can use these tools in a way that helps them take steps in the right direction so they don't waste a bunch of time or money doing something that is unsatisfying or unproductive like I did for such a long time.

Maybe it's about getting the right person to help you interpret the results. Will be researching this all week : )

Hey Ms. M.

I'm so sorry. I know I've been MIA for a bit. That is an excellent question, and although I'm lightyears behind in answering.

Here is my interpertation:
A career assessment - identifies your true interests, talents and motivations, and allows you to match yourself to different careers to see what fits you best.

Personality tests (like the Myers Briggs) really have nothing to do with the job - though many jobs use them. It measures personal characteristics. Jobs do use the results,however, for organizational and career development.

Hope that helps!

I figured it out two days after posting but thanks for confirming my findings. It helps to know I'm on the right track with this.