Overview
Career choice/selection is one of many crucial choices students
make in determining prospects. The decision regarding career selection impacts
throughout their lives. Past researches indicated that exploring, committing
and selecting to a career choice is a key developmental task of adolescents.
Career choice e often involves dynamic connections between work values, abilities, occupational stereotypes, areas of
interest, expectations, personality, and diversity of additional aspect,
including the willingness to imagine risks, status, ambition, educational
achievements, talents, chance, family influences, and opportunities. Early
adulthood is the suitable turning point one must begin to make career-oriented
decisions, choices, and plans. The failure or inability to make career-related
decisions is a widespread occurrence for young adults and adolescents which not
merely cause the failure in career life rather it leads to many psychological
problems such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-pitying, and
significant impairment. Therefore it is a pervasive and enduring phenomenon
needed to be under consideration by many researchers, counselor, and
psychologists to overcome the negative consequences.
Holistic
career assessment/ Factors influence career choice
Many factors affect their decision-making process, e.g.,
biological, psychological and social traits.
Biological
Aspects
The biological trait like temperament/personality, and heredity,
plays a vital role in career choice and successful career achievements as well.
Temperament.
Temperament refers to the predisposed attributes of the individual that
determine the perceptual sensitivity, pleasure sensitivity, aggression,
frustration, aggression, fear, and mood. Researchers suggest that strong
relationship between temperament and career choice in terms or of satisfaction
and success. Literature suggested that temperament defines the natural
capability or capacity to think strategically in particular carrier. It
determines the inherent ability for organizing, coordinating, and leading
things. It also refers to the natural capability to make things efficient,
improve systems and to solve very complex problems. It also focuses on the
naturally ingenious and ability to invent, research and create technology and
science without supervision. Therefore it is an essential aspect of career
choice or decision-making process.
Sample Question.
1. You are mora e comfortable (a) after a decision (b) before a
decision
2. At work, it is more natural for you to (a) point out mistakes
(b) try to please others
3. Do you think of yourself (a) outgoing person (b) a private
person?
Above items show the natural abilities of decision making and
vigilance of the individual.
Heredity. Heredity also plays a
vital role in professional choice and achievements. Harold Carter (1932)
reported that whether students want to become, merchandise traders, doctors,
ranchers, automobile salespeople, firefighters, or interested in other
occupations, has a genetic component for the suitability. A study has been conducted on twins to
determine the relationship between genetics and job choice and the results
indicated that identical twins are attracted to more similar jobs than
fraternal twins, even than same-sex fraternal twins. The genes affect
work-life, e.g., the myriad influences genes for job choice, job satisfaction
and willingness to change the job. For instance, Tom Bouchard psychologist
(2010) at the University of Minnesota conducted a study which indicated that 21
percent of the difference among people interest in law enforcement is genetic.
According to Bouchard the aspects of work we prefer, our level of job
satisfaction, our willingness to change jobs, and even our tendency to start
our businesses are all influenced by our genes. The most apparent way genes
affect us is our physical abilities.
Scott Shane reported: Generally, people usually believe that being tall
is primarily associated with becoming a professional basketball player, and short
heighted people cannot play basketball.
Sample Question.
1. Would you like to be a
basketball player (a) yes (b) no
2. Can you solve the maze
(a) yes (b) no
3. Can you concentrate on
this puzzle to solve it? (a) yes (b) no
The above items show the biological aspect of individual choice. In
the first item height is important to become a basketball player, but if the
person doesn’t have the appropriate height, he will not select this profession
for him. In the same way, concentration and intelligence also have genetic
compositions.
Social
Aspects
The social traits like family influence, peer influence,
opportunities, media, socioeconomic status, gender, culture, and societal norms
affect the decision-making process of the students.
Family influence.
Career selection is a process which starts in early childhood in which the
family plays a predominantly central role. Variables such as family structure,
psychosocial support, career support, moral support, relationships between the
members, parent-child relationship, mutual parental relationship, roles assumed
by each member, number of siblings, the system of values and attitudes
influence career choice and development of the child.
1. Did the family help you
generate different possibilities and new experiences?
2. What alternatives did
the family suggest regarding schools, training, or careers? How did these
affect you?
3. What was the family’s
impression of gender roles? How did these affect you?
4. Was there any forced
guidance, a tendency to push you in a direction more reflective of the family’s
interests than yours?
5. The above item
indicates the family influence on child decision-making process.
Literature shows that in Asian family carrier is decided by the
parents rather than the individual.
Peer influence.
Peer group refers to a group of people who share similarities such as,
background, age, and socioeconomic status. The peer group is likely to
manipulate the person’s beliefs, opinion and behaviors. The choice of the
subjects is exceptionally significant as it affects the rest of the student’s
life either positively or negatively. Frequently students make the impractical
decision; based on peer group influence, encouragement, prestige, sex and
occupational value. A study was conducted to assess the impact of friends on
career decision-making process, and the results indicated that a thumping
majority, i.e., 70% agrees that peer and friends help in career decision making
to a greater extent. Sometimes the peer influence or support bring about
positive changes in their decision-making process, but it has some negative
aspects as well, e.g., sometimes student select the major opposition to their
interest or skills that create the problem in later life.
Sample questions.
1. For some people, it’s
pretty easy for their friends to get them to change their mind.
2. Some people think it’s
better to go along with the crowd than to make people angry at you.
3. My friend takes a wise
decision than me. Therefore, I follow him.
Opportunities.
Opportunities in career selection include technical schools, entry-level job
openings, job shadowing, academic settings, job placement, career guidance and
industry contacts. Some students get more opportunities in their career life as
compared to others. The student must brainstorm, investigate and tried
alternate methods, instead of accepting the first opportunity available. They
should explore the suitable match between their career and aptitude. Sometimes
the opportunity doesn’t match their skill, interest, aptitude, and temperament.
Sometimes the lacks of opportunities also create problems for those students
who have skills and potential to work. A study shows the strong relationship
between career choices as opportunities. The study provides the evidence where
students intellectually qualified for a particular area but economically short
of the money needed to complete the training. In both cases, there is a need to
help the students for right paths.
Sample question.
1. I have the potential to
serve the nation, but I need to run my father business.
2. I am not physically fit
for this job, but I don’t have another option to support my family.
Media. In the current
modern civilization, media plays a vital role in career choice. Career is
valued by most adolescents, for its contribution to self-esteem, financial
independence, and social maturity. Mass media is considered an imperative
source of innovation. The media influence a person's career choice. It is the
influential force in shaping young people perception about the world. Media is
beneficial to portray a comprehensible picture of professions for adolescents,
which they want to opt. The problem is that the adolescent’s trust media even
more, and think, feel or behave accordingly. Their decisions regarding future
depend on the picture media portrays. Studies indicated that there is a
negative relationship between media and appropriate career choice.
Sample question.
1. Does a movie character
influence your decision-making process?
2. Has media overtaken our
brains?
3. Is media working for
our welfare?
The new generation follows the hero and heroines of the movies.
Their choices vary with the new movie; they start to idealize each new
character they watch.
Socioeconomic status.
Researchers/psychologists are calling for the heightened emphasis on the
population belongs to low socioeconomic status. Literature provides a framework
for understanding both the importance and complexity of unemployment and
poverty for communities, nations, and individuals. The career choices are
highly linked with the SES.
Sample question.
1. Is the bribe the
essential part for a good job?
2. Does education have the
least advantage for a poor person?
The above items indicated the self-esteem, self-concept and metal
estate of low SES person. These are also a key hindrance to good career choice.
Gender. Men and women
hold diverse sort of jobs, as abundant data demonstrate the discrepancy in an
occupational allocation of women and men elucidate the majority of the gender
gap in wages. People’s career selection is fraught with bias, market
conditions, lack of information and sadly discrimination. The past studies
intended to investigate the mix of women and men within a career. The trouble
is that it ignores the fact that women and men don’t share the same interests.
According to the literature, women have a higher interest in style and beauty,
and men are interested in engineering.
Sample question.
1. I am a man my perfect
career is a male-dominated field.
2. I am a woman, and my
ideal job is in the female-dominated field.
3. I am a man, and my
perfect career is female dominated field.
4. I am a female, and my
ideal career is men dominated the field.
Culture. Culture has
the extremely different impact on the career path an individual prefer to
follow. Diverse cultures have different thoughts about the connotation of a
career, regarding the value and the type of person who is suitable for the job.
It is commonly said, the mean people discover their career path differ
considerably from culture to culture. In some countries, finding a job can be
incredibly prescribed and ritualistic way. Depending on a state, career choice
is purely communal; the family will be the decision maker for that matter.
Sample question.
1. For good moral decision
making, you must be aware of your own beliefs, motives, and inclinations? (a) true (b) false
2. Being respectful and
understanding the power of your actions is not required for cultural
competency? (a) true (b) false
3. An attitude that is
different from yours is a bad attitude? (a) true (b) false
Psychological
Aspects.
The psychological factor, e.g., motivation, self-determination,
self-efficacy, aptitude, emotional intelligence, low self-esteem, inferiority
complex, cognitions, critical thinking, adaptability, decision making are
crucial to career choice.
Motivation. Excitement
to do something, due to personal interest or hobby we tend to perform better in
such activities. Our work performance increases, and we can show creativity in
a job if the motivation is high. The level of Intrinsic and Extrinsic
Motivation enhances the focus towards particular for achieving the associated
targets. For example, financial success is an extrinsic motivation to perform
better in a job while enjoyment while accomplishing the task is known as is
known as “intrinsic” motivation. Both are very important for career success but
in different ways. Extrinsic motivation leads to better performance, while the
intrinsic motivation to a more profound, more thorough way of learning.
Sample question.
1. The most rewarding part
of my work is the satisfaction of having accomplished something despite the
challenges I faced along the way.
2. I chose/will choose my
career based on whether I will be able to help people or make the world a
better place.
3. I care deeply about
making customers happy.
4. My work gives me a
sense of purpose.
Personality. Personality refers to a motivational drive,
individual traits, attitudes, and needs. A career choice that is well-matched
with one’s personality type is supposed to be durable and reinforced by
academic background. According to Holland’s (1997) theory, people search for
environments that are associated with their personality types and engage in
actions compatible with their abilities. People with low compatibility are more
likely to make inappropriate career choices. Holland affirmed that people
resemble a mixture of six personality types: Social, Enterprising,
Investigative, Artistic, Realistic, and Conventional. The literature suggests
that there is a significant relationship between career choice and personality
type. Therefore, the current study recommends that personality type put into
consideration aspects of career choice.
Sample questions.
1. I am easily distracted.
2. I can concentrate the
matter in hands
3. I am not easily worked
up.
Aptitude. Aptitude is
innate, acquired or learned the ability of an individual to execute specific
tasks. Aptitude tests inculcate many factors like Numerical reasoning, abstract
reasoning, accuracy, verbal reasoning, speed, and other such abilities.
Assessment of an aptitude can help in career guidance.
1. I want to work in an
office.
2. I would like to work in
a big factory or plant
3. I would like to work in
a hospital
Emotional Intelligence. For making important life decisions, the latest theories and
researches of emotional intelligence point to the interdependence of cognition
and emotion. According to Mayer and
Salovey EI comprised of four unified abilities: (a) understanding emotions (b)
using emotions to facilitate thoughts, (c), perceiving emotions, and (d)
managing emotions to improve personal growth. Literature suggests that such
capabilities facilitate the career decision-making process and lead to
decisions that satisfy career-related values, aspirations, and interests.
Emotions experienced during decision making may cause risk associated with
particular career options. The results of the meta-analytic review of 59
studies found that Emotional intelligence can be useful for predicting
performance.
Sample Question.
1. I adjust my behavior
depending on who I am interacting with (e.g., calm and friendly with a child,
serious and professional with my boss, etc.).
2. If asked to list my top
three strengths, I would have a hard time coming up with them.
3. I like learning new
things.
Self-Esteem.
Do you believe in yourself? Do you give yourself the credit you deserve?
Self-esteem is the fundamental aspect of personal happiness, achievements, and
fulfilling relationships. The student with high self-esteem found to be more
motivated and confident in their career choice as compared to low esteem
students.
Sample question
1. I think that overall,
people find me boring.
2. I feel devastated when
someone criticizes me.
3. If someone ever falls
in love with me, I better do my best to prove myself worthy, because it may
never happen again
Interest. Career choice
has recently become a very problematical phenomenon, taking into consideration
that the decision-making process is influenced by several factors. For making
the accurate career choice, it is crucial that individuals are aware of their
interest. Conceivably, the importance of career choice can be underscored by
the influence of careers such as individual’s income, status in society, a
standard of living, social contacts. Sometimes the luxuries of life develop the
high level of interest for particular career oppose to their abilities.
Sample question.
1. I greatly enjoy reading
2. I would like to work
outdoors
3. I enjoy crossword
puzzles and word games
IQ/ Cognitions. (Critical
thinking) Intelligence refers to a general mental capability, including an
ability to reason, solve problems, comprehend complex ideas plan, think
abstractly, learn from experience and learn quickly. It doesn’t consist on
merely book learning, or limit academic skill; instead, it reveals broader and
deeper abilities for comprehending the scenarios and surroundings by making
sense, or ‘figuring out’ solutions”. Literature indicates that there is the
positive correlation between IQ and career choice. A student should make career
choice according to their cognitive capacities for high performance. If a
student’s IQ level is below average and he chooses a higher order mental task,
he will not only fail to complete the work instead he starts suffering from low
self-esteem and self-respect. Therefore it is essential to assess IQ level
before selecting particular subjects.
Sample questions.
1. Which answer expresses
the meaning opposite of that of the specified word best? Antonym
2. Which word(s) can
logically replace the question mark? Analogy
3. Which of the below
figures can be composed of the loose parts? Composed figure
Self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy refers to a person’s values and beliefs regarding an ability to
profitably complete a given behavior or task. The perceived self-efficacy could
be mathematics, using a computer software program, initiating social
interactions, or teaching children to read oriented. Self-efficacy is assumed
to have at least three vital behavioral consequences: (1) quality of performance
of behaviors in the target domain, (2) approach versus avoidance behavior, and
(3) persistence in the face of obstacles or disconfirming experiences.
Furthermore, low self-efficacy expectations lead to poorer performance,
avoidance and a tendency to give up. It is an essential component of student
career choice because the beliefs and values motivate a person o to complete a
task even if is a difficult one.
Sample question.
1. I can always manage to
solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.
2. It is easy for me to
stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.
3. I am confident that I
could deal efficiently with unexpected events.
Background
Literature provides extensive work on career decisiveness and
indecisiveness or career decision making difficulty. There is the number of
scales used to assess the challenges of students in their decision-making
process. Tuinstra (2000) developed a self-reported measure. The scale includes
22 items that refer to how people usually make decisions. It measures the
following domains of, i.e., self-confidence, adjusted style, and three
unadjusted styles (panic and impulsive, avoidance). It was a four-point rating
scale, where one = never true for me, 2 = sometimes true for me, three =Often
true for me and 4 = always true for me. Gati, & Osipow, (2004) developed
career decision making difficulty questionnaire to assess the potential
difficulty in career decision making. The scale consists of two parts; the
positive answers indicate the decisive student potentials or negative answer
shows their indecisiveness potential in career choice. It is a nine-point
rating scale (1 – not at all true for me; 9 – completely true for me). Jhon
(1990) invented the big five F inventory measure the five personality domain
extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, Openness and emotional
stability. The questionnaire consists of 44 items and indicates the extent they
agreed with the item (1 – do not agree at all; 2 – mostly do not agree; 3 –
partly agree, partly disagree; 4 – mostly agree; 5 – completely agree).
Theoretical frame
In the process of scale development, the following theoretical
framework will be followed.
• Social cognitive theory
• Expectancy-value theory
• Spur Career Development
theory
• Self-determination
theory
Current Trends
in Assessment of Career Choice/Selection
Current Online
System for the Assessment of Career Choice
Sr.No
|
Test
|
Population
|
Domains
|
Number Of Item/Scoring Keys
|
Time Limit
|
Website/ Location
|
1
|
Sokanu Career Test
|
Young Adults
|
Interest, Personality, Workplace, History And Goals. Architecture,
Accountant, Ambulence Dispatcher, Butcher, Froster, Indusrial Echologist,
Paramedic, Economist, Water Engineer, Land Escape Architecture, Security
Guard, Epidemiologist, Barista, Opthamelic Medical Technologist, Switchboard
Operator, Bus Driver, Atmosphere Scientist, Police Officer, Medical
Secretary,
|
Hate It, Dislike It, Neutral, Love It, Like It.
|
20 Min
|
Canada
|
2
|
Weebox Employment Ability Test
|
Business, Cognitive, Employability, Employability, Engineering,
Information Technology, Engineering, Language, Psychometric, Science Skills
|
India
|
|||
3
|
Yourfreecareertest
|
For College Students Or Adults
|
Interest (Health And Medical, Education, Trade Vocation, Business
And Finance, Arts And Culinary, Social Sciences, Law And Public Service,
Technology And Media, Science And Engineering, Communication.
|
Very Interested, Interested, Slightly Interested, Not Interested
|
Less Than 3 Minutes
|
U.S
|
4
|
Personaliy Based Career Quiz
|
For College Students
|
Interest (Teacher, Doctor, System Analyst, Lawyer, Judge,
Accountant, Financial Analyst, Loan Officer, Chemist, Pharmacist,
Environmental Scientist, Engineering Scientist, Database Administrator,
Computer Software Engineer, Computer Hardware Engineer, Librarian,
Electrician, Automotive Machine, Agriculture And Food Scientist, Webmaster,
Computer Support Specialist.
|
Always,
Mostly,
Average, Sometimes, Never
|
A Few Minutes
|
|
5
|
Skill Based Career Test
|
For All Ages
|
Interest, Motivation
|
Diverse Scoring Key
|
Not Mentioned
|
|
6
|
Ideal Career Test
|
For All Ages
|
Motivation (Money, Respect, Creativity, Challenge,
Recognition, Freedom, Stability, Variety, Leisure, Leadership Or Challenge), Aptitude
(Verbal, Numerical, Spatial, Critical Dissection And Acuteness Aptitude), Interest,
Personality (Assertive, Factual, Deliberate, Gregarious, Spontaneous,
Imaginative, Passive Or Solitary)
|
Diverse Scoring Key
|
Not Mentioned
|
|
7
|
Career Choice Test
|
15 - 55
|
Interest
|
Strongly Like, Like Indifferent, Dislike, Strongly Dislike
|
Not Mentioned
|
|
8
|
The Advanced Personality Test And Career Report
|
13-21
|
16 Personality Type
|
Diversity In Options
|
Not Specified
|
|
9
|
Keiser Temperament Sorter
(David Kieser)
|
Not Specified
|
Guardian, Idealist, Rational, Artisan
|
71/ Diversity In Options
|
Not Specified
|
|
10
|
Myplan.Com
|
School Children
|
739 Occupation Ranked According To The Need, Motivation, Vales
And Interest
|
20/ Columns
|
12 Minutes
|
Http://Www.Myplan.Com/Assess/Values.Php California, 2004
|
11
|
Career Cluster Test
|
Not Specified
|
Good Match Of Career And Interest
|
Tick The Activities You Like
|
5-10 Minutes
|
Minnesota Estate/2017
|
12
|
O Net Interest Profiler
|
For Labor
|
Interest Regarding Buying And Selling Stocks, Laying Bricks, And
Building Kitchen Boxes
|
60/ Strongly Dislike, Dislike, Unsure, Like, Strongly Like
|
Not Specified
|
|
13
|
Holland Career Code Test
|
Not Specified
|
Interest And Suitability For Six Different Career E.G. Realistic,
Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising And Conventional.
|
87/Dislike, Neutral, Like
|
20 Minutes
|
|
14
|
MAPP Test
|
Not Specified
|
Suitable Career Among 900 Professions
|
71/Likes, Dislikes,
|
22 Minutes
|
Https://Www.Assessment.Com/Takemapp ,
Minnesota
|
15
|
Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment
|
Not Specifies
|
Natural Management And Influencing Style At Workplace
|
----
|
6 Minutes
|
|
16
|
Career Motivation Test
|
Not Specified
|
Motivation About Fame, Money, Power, Social Interaction,
|
102/ Completely True, Mostly True, Somewhat True/False,
Completely False, Mostly False
|
20 Minutes
|
|
17
|
Eduvision Career Planning Test
|
Not Specified
|
Interest Or Aptitude In 39 Fields
|
3 Phrases
|
Few Minutes
|
|
18
|
Career Onestep
|
Not Specified
|
Interest
|
30/ Strongly Dislike, Dislike, Unsure, Strongly Like, Like
|
5 Minutes
|
|
19
|
Skills Profiler Test
|
Not Specified
|
Basic Skill, Social Skill, Complex Problem Solving Skill,
Technical Skill, System Skill, Resource Management Skill, Desktop Computer
Management Skill.
|
7 Point Rating Scale From High To Low
|
20 Minutes
|
|
20
|
Value Assessment
|
Not Specified
|
Values Regarding Dissatisfaction, Discouragements And Confusion.
|
20 Card Reading, Rating In 5 Point Column From Least To Most
|
Not Specified
|