In our experience, people who seek out a career test generally fit into one of two camps: those just beginning their careers and those looking to make the jump from one career to another. For the latter, career tests can help identify new career options by comparing and contrasting them to your work history, potentially opening the door to new, more fulfilling roles. For people in the former group—like college students—the results of a good career test can have even more profound benefits.
If you're anything like us, you probably grew up being told that college was the most important factor for obtaining a good career and building a successful life. And, to a certain extent, this is true: individuals with at least a bachelor's degree earn 66% more on average than those without, are 24% more likely to be employed, and may even enjoy better health.
Still, a college degree works best when earned as a part of a plan for life after graduation. Without such a plan, it can be difficult to translate academic success into professional success; so difficult, in fact, that more than half of recent college graduates admit to not working in their field of study. This statistic—especially when paired with the fact that tuition rates have risen nearly 800% since 1963—means that most students cannot afford to graduate college without an idea of what they want to do afterward.
While some may see these statistics as doom and gloom, we saw it as an opportunity to provide a service with real, long-term benefits. With our career test for college students, you can start building your plan for the future. Whether you're a freshman deciding what major to pursue or a senior on the cusp of career hunting, we can empower you with the information and resources you need to step confidently into the next chapter of your life.
In this article, we'll give you in-depth insights into how we built our test, how each of its features can benefit you as a college student, and why you should take advantage of it to chart your career path forward.
How JobTest.org Is Changing the Industry
The job market is changing, and we believe the job testing industry should change with it. Rather than sitting back and offering the same features as every other company on the market, we make it a point to never stop evolving and adapting our services to better suit your needs. By choosing JobTest.org, you gain unique benefits such as:
What Is a Career Test?
Historically, career tests have been offered by academic, government, and private organizations to help individuals find the right career. First created in the early 1900s, these types of tests were even used by the U.S. military to help determine what type of military service a person was best suited for.
Luckily, the modern career testing industry is a far cry from rigid, one-size-fits-all testing. As a college student, it's possible you may have encountered a more modern take on career testing through your university, some of which offer the service to help students better plan for the future. Even those, however, fall short of the complexity and resources of a true 21st-century career test.
Today, the right career test can drastically improve confidence, inform your choices, and reduce the stress surrounding a post-graduation job hunt. Even while in school, test results like those offered by our process can help you choose courses or design a major that best aligns with your goals.
When going into the process, however, most tests will offer a combination of testing "types," each of which examines a different aspect of who you are.
Personality Test
If you've ever taken a Myers Briggs type indicator quiz, you already know what personality tests look like. Generally, these tests examine your dominant personality traits to sort you into a range of personality types. In our test, we take this process one step further by using your unique personality archetype to determine the type of job responsibilities or work environment you might enjoy most.
Aptitude Test
Much like you'd find in a personality test, a job-based aptitude test will employ testing methods rooted in proven psychological studies. Often, many tests of this sort are at least loosely based on what is known as the Holland Codes, which were outlined in 1970 to gauge a person's interests.
By applying these codes to the career exploration process, a good career quiz can identify career matches or roles in which you might excel. If, for instance, you're naturally detail-oriented and enjoy finding creative solutions to complex problems, you might do well as a consultant or analyst.
Skills Test
Closely related to aptitude tests are skills tests, which evaluate your current skills to build a profile and then offer career suggestions. Typically, skills tests are used by employers or the military to determine whether a person is a good fit for a certain role.
On an individual level, these tests can be used to identify strengths and potential weaknesses so that you can focus your skill-building efforts on the right areas. In our career tests, for example, we use certain skills-related questions to provide specific certifications, degrees, or experience you may need to excel in your dream job.
Values Test
When it comes to professional life, most people discover their values the hard way: working jobs they don't enjoy. For some, this means pulling back-to-back 60-hour weeks until you realize you value work-life balance more than a bigger paycheck. For others, a twice-daily commute can drive home just how much you want work-from-home flexibility. A values test, however, can save you the headache by establishing these things ahead of time.
Unlike the other subcategories, a values test assesses personal qualities such as your beliefs, morals, and ideal work-life balance, then compares those qualities to career satisfaction data. By doing so, tests of this type can set you up for greater fulfillment in any career you choose. And even more significantly, combining a values test with a skills or aptitude assessment gives even greater value by offering a well-rounded view of your professional future.
JobTest.org’s Career Test for College Students: Key Features
Most companies look at a career test as a relatively basic assessment of a person's skills, potential, and personality—the answers to which are then used to determine career paths that might work for that person. For us, however, that approach seemed...incomplete. Any good career test should include a well-built exam, of course, but the best career test needs something more.
To find that "something more," we started with a simple idea: success happens where passion meets opportunity. In order to make that more than just a philosophy, however, we knew that we needed to improve on the tests currently on the market
Multi-Faceted Solutions
Trying to determine the best possible career for you can sometimes feel like trying to see into the future. And while the process isn't quite that difficult, it often requires more than a one-dimensional solution. That's why, instead of limiting ourselves to any one kind of test, we built our career test with the best components of each.
By incorporating questions about your personality type, current skills, aptitudes, values, ideals, and more, our test succeeds in painting a picture of you as a complete person rather than a single facet of that person. Then, we reference all of that information to real-world data about the job market to find the best match.
Modern Tools for Modern Problems
Pen-and-paper testing may have worked for our parents or our parents' parents, but the digital age evolves faster and faster with every hour that goes by—and job testing should evolve with it. To meet these accelerating demands, the best career tests now use advanced machine learning and AI to fuel their services.
This is where JobTest.org shines.
Born from the combined efforts of tech experts seeking answers for themselves and their customers, the JobTest.org method uses cutting-edge technology to provide razor-sharp insights and the most accurate results possible. And, because our algorithm uses machine learning to constantly update and refresh itself, our information will never be out of date or behind the times—so you can move just as fast as the world around you.
Post-Test Resources
We work hard to ensure that every aspect of our career tests meets or exceeds anything on the market. That said, we're especially proud of our post-test resources and believe that they, more than anything, set us apart.
Unlike other career tests that give you your results and send you on your way, we believe that test results should only be step one of the process. That's why, at the end of our test, we compile an extensive list of resources like degree matches, relevant skills and how to learn them, and open positions in your ideal fields.
Benefits of Career Testing for College Students
High-quality job testing can provide countless quality-of-life improvements to a wide variety of people, but what does it mean for you, specifically, as a college student?
Find a Career in Your Field
We mentioned earlier that less than half of all recent college graduates work in their field of study, and we know that's an intimidating statistic. By finishing school with a crystal-clear vision, however, you can dramatically improve your chances of putting your degree to work.
The good news? Clarity is our business, and our test results will help you nail down the steps you need to take to ensure that your academic efforts translate into professional success.
Plan Your Academic Path
Somewhere between 50 and 75% of all undergraduate students change their majors at least once during their college careers. Often, these changes come after semesters or years spent pursuing academic subjects with little or no relevance to a student's eventual career.
And, with tuition rates at an all-time high—and rising by about 5% each year—most students would prefer to maximize their return on investment when it comes to college. Fortunately, our career tests can also give you insights into the classes and majors most relevant to your ideal career, so you can start making moves now rather than waiting for graduation.
Even more than with other students, career tests for teens can have profound benefits. By getting your answers early on, you can go into your first semester of college knowing exactly what you need to do.
Improve Negotiations
All good negotiation comes from a place of strength, and nothing provides more strength than a clear set of facts about who you are and what you can do. When going into a new career, it's inevitable that you'll need to negotiate salary, benefits, and countless other details about your work life.
Our post-assessment support gives you information about average salary ranges in your field, clear breakdowns of skills and strengths you can leverage for a better deal, and the confidence you need to face even the most challenging of interviews.
Reduce Stress
Between exams, social life, and any part-time jobs or internships, the last thing you need is the added stress of planning for the right career after graduation. And, unlike some other testing companies, we aren't going to promise to magically remove all of the stress from your life.
Even so, what we can promise is a drastic reduction in that anxiety by removing much of the guesswork and confusion surrounding the professional world. More than anything, our process arms you with the information and tools you need to make decisions based on facts rather than what you think might be right.
That way, you can go into each day knowing that you're on the right path—and also that your path is leading somewhere you want to be.
Making the Most of Your JobTest.org Experience
Despite its complexity and the advanced technology that went into its development, the JobTest.org career test is relatively straightforward: you answer about 10-15 minutes of carefully-curated questions about your personality, interests, and goals, and then we give you results.
Even so, there are ways to maximize the experience, and we want to ensure you get the most from what we have to offer. As you go into your test, consider doing things such as:
Remove Distractions
If you're at home (or especially in a dorm), it's likely that you're surrounded by more than a few distractions. Whether it's siblings, friends, loud music, or anything else, try to find a quiet, calm space where you can spend fifteen minutes focusing on your test.
Because our test operates completely online, that means you can take it wherever you're most comfortable, like a quiet cafe or your favorite corner of the library.
Use Radical Honesty
Your results are yours to keep and aren't shared with anyone else, so you have no reason to be anything less than perfectly honest. While most of us experience pressure from our peers, family, or society as a whole to do a certain thing or be a certain way, that pressure shouldn't exist for the fifteen minutes you spend taking your test.
Instead, answer each question as honestly as possible. That way, you can be sure that your results match what you truly desire, not just what the world tells you to want.
Take Time
Just because our test only takes fifteen minutes, that doesn't mean you need to rush to digest the results. Instead, take as much time as you need to explore every section of the information we offer. Sometimes, that means stepping away to do something else, then coming back to look at your test results with fresh eyes.
For those who want a second opinion, consider sharing your results with a close friend, academic advisor, or family member to help gain perspective. Regardless of how you choose to process your test, remember that this information serves only to help you make decisions, not to pressure you into any path you don't want.
Seek Community
Our focus on post-assessment support means real-world job listings, actionable information about skill building or certifications, and the income potential for different careers. One of the most valuable features of this support, however, is the opportunity to seek out the communities surrounding your potential career.
Once you have a clearer idea of what you want to do, consider using our suggestions to find companies or online communities in your potential field. Then, either reach out for an informational interview or try to connect with established professionals in that field. That way, you can get real answers from real people to further refine your plan.
The Finals
More than most, we understand how daunting the jump can be from the academic to the professional world, which is why we work so hard to provide the best testing possible.
But, just like a college education is an investment in your future, so too is career testing. By setting aside twenty minutes to outline your goals, values, and skills, you give yourself the necessary tools to make better decisions for years to come. You can take your career journey a step further by scheduling a session with one of our professional career coaches. They are here and ready to provided personalized guidance and help you build a future-proof career path.
So, if you're ready to do away with the confusion and start setting clear, achievable goals to find where you belong, sign up today and set your future in motion.
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