Sociology

Career assessment are types of tests that are done with the  intention of helping people to identify which career best matches their ability, IQ, personality and interests. They are the first stages that many people engage in while planning for their career. These tests therefore help people in identifying the ability, the experiences, training and education that may be required for a certain career (Dennis, 2002, p.34). The  assessments are not limited to evaluating people  for  their suitability to certain professions but also extends into assessing some aspects of career like salary and wage information, and job satisfaction as well (Brown, 2002, p.21). These makes career assessments valuable tools that aid people in making important career choices at different stages in their lives.

Career assessments identify the ability, education and training that may be required for each career. The clients who take these tests are therefore able to evaluate whether their interests ability and personality matches the requirements of the field they are interested in. Career tests are administered and used by career coaches and counselors, development institutions, job placement companies, human resource firms and employers in evaluating suitability of potential member for specific careers that match their profile (Samuel, Bruce, 1996, p.12).

There are many types of career assessment and some of the categories include satisfaction tests which measure the level of employees satisfaction with their job. Another category are resume tests which evaluates one ability to draft resumes.  IQ tests are tests used to evaluate the level of ones intelligence and ability to reason. Entrepreneurship tests are used in evaluating the suitability of one to run their own businesses (Guerriero, Allen, 1998, p.28). The other category are the  aptitude test which evaluates ones ability to perform specific duties and  education tests  which evaluate  the options of whether one is more likely to enroll for full time or online courses. Another type of test is the test called the salary survey that assesses the salaries and wages of a wide range of jobs which provides valuable information on career choice (Pickman, 1997, p.17).

The qualitative approach relies on psychological tests that evaluate individual differences in psychological aspects like personality and interests. Career assessment through the qualitative approach assesses psychological factors such as ability, personality and interests and the way they relate to the requirements of traits required by the career. The method is the one that has been used traditionally since the 1900 and it gained impetus during the two world wars when the soldiers were being integrated back into local employment (Patton, Peter, 2009, p.7). The use of psychometric differences in individuals such as by the use of psychological test and inventories was critical in development of the qualitative approach that is called trial and factor theory (Patton, Peter, 2009, p.17)
 
The term trait and factor implies the characteristics of the person and the profession respectively. These traits are the individual distinctiveness that can be assessed through various tests while factors are the abilities and personalities required by the career field. This qualitative method of trial and factor method encompass matching of ones traits, personality and ability to the requirements of the career. This method recommends that one is suitable for a certain career only when the traits personality and ability, matches the requirements of the career (Stebleton, 2007, p.89). This qualitative method has the limitation of giving the career guiders the role of an expert who knows everything suitable for the job and cancels the notion of people having the ability to adjust to new situations. The qualitative approaches used today have appreciated this notion and offers great flexibility in their methodology since they are based on theoretical principles rather than statistical principles like the quantitative ones (Stebleton, 2007, 96).

Quantitive career assessment techniques emphasize on the use of statically standard assessments that gauge an individual abilities, personality, aptitude and interests which are then used in the selection of appropriate career. Examples of these tests include developmental tests, personal environmental tests, personality and self assessment tests. The data that is obtained from the qualitative assessments is however not in most of times adequate for career assessment due to the rigid nature of the statistical principles that are followed. This makes it sometimes to be supplemented by data from qualitative measurements (Watkins, Campbell, 2000, p.34). Examples of quantitive methods used in assessment are metrics. In contrast, qualitative assessments are informal, flexible and holistic. Qualitative approaches emphasizes on the client telling the story of their career rather than scores as in the quantative approach. Qualitative approach enhances the counseling relationship because the assessment is founded on the clients experiences (Lowman, 1991, p.25). Quantitative approaches have the limitation of making the career guider to act as a diagnostician or an expert unlike in qualitative assessments where the career guider acts as a listener, inquirer and acts as a respectful observer of the clients career profile rather than the dictator.

Qualitative assessments allow the clients to reconstruct the career related experiences that allow for some of the concerns of the career to be evaluated by the career guiders and the hiring firms. A qualitative approach utilizes mainly the processes of cards, sorts lifelines and genigrams while qualitative assessments rely on metrics and statistical software recently in the assessment process (Gurriero, Allen, 1998, p.45). The process of qualitative assessment is more laborious than quantitative because the career adviser or the employer must be involved directly in the assessment process which leads to more creativity and flexibility in the assessment process unlike in qualitative measurements.

Quantitative approaches employs a  propositional and trial based approach in the assessment process while  qualitative approach utilizes a story telling approach and life experiences  approach in the assessment process. Another major difference in the two approaches is that quanntative approach utilizes statistically based methods to evaluate whether one fits into a specific job while qualitative approach utilizes thematic methods that evaluate whether one is fit into the job out of their life experiences (Young, Bourgen, 1999, p.65). Qualitative measurements are often applied in making assessments where there is diversity in clients because of their flexible nature unlike the qualitative methods which are rigid. Qualitative assessments are based on the subjects of constructivism. This theory proposes that human beings exhibit uniqueness and idiosyncrasy in thought and experience as well as the great versatility that humans exhibit in creating and adapting to new circumstances (Grinell, Unray, 2005, p.41). These characteristics that enable them to exhibit such versatility are difficult to include in some quantative assessment methods.

Qualitative and quantative approaches are used in broadening a clients comprehension and understanding of their career and enable career guiders and employers to handle the requirements of their jobs effectively. They are also used for employment as well in determining the capacity for more development in their clients careers and also predict future job efficiency of their clients (Patton, Peter, 2009, p.13). Although they are valuable resources in career assessment, they do have limitations.

The major limitation of these approaches is their limited and wide varied interpretations of the results of the assessment. There are no widely accepted assessment techniques for each career counselor or hiring firms utilizes their own criteria and scope in the measurements which can confuse potential clients (Dennis, 2002, p.20). Career assessments can also mislead one into careers that do not suit them because they can suggest one is suited for certain careers which may not be the case because there is great variability in the scope of the assessments that are set by different career advisers (Shearer, Luzzo, 2009, p.66). Another limitation for career assessment in both quantative and qualitative approach is the time and investment it takes to develop an ideal and valid test that can be applied in a career guidance setting. Most of the careers assessments techniques both for quantative and qualitative appropriations are developed at a high cost and research that extends to several years in order to accommodate the changing nature of the work place (Samuel, Bruce, 1996, p.98). This also causes some of the assessment techniques to be available at expensive costs.

Another limitation in the career assessment techniques especially the internet based ones is the problem of validation. The internet has thousands of these tests where most of them are not validated by standard career assessments bodies. These tests are available at a cost or free in the internet and due to problem of validation, they may mislead people into wrong careers especially the invalidated ones (Watkins, Campbell, 2000, p.51). There is no one ideal career assessment technique or test and that career counselors and employers must utilize all the methods of both quantative and qualitative techniques in order to develop a career test that best suits the needs of the job requirements and their clients (Bright, Pryor, 2007, p.6). They must combine the finest features of the quantative methods and the best of quantitive techniques in order to evaluate the worth of a client for a specific career.