Assessing the Whole Person

In order to provide rich information about students' and job seekers' suitability for various occupations, we provide a number of assessments for clients to complete. The goal is to provide a comprehensive assessment of a person's fit with different occupations.

Further, organizations may access our database, which provides summary information on the extent to which candidates match a position. The section below describes each of the measures that we use in the career exploration and candidate-position matching processes for organizations. The core of our approach is based on extensive research on the O*NET system.


List of Assessments

The following is a description of each assessment that job seekers are requested complete as part of the assessment process.

The Self-Rated Abilities Proficiency Inventory

This assessment is used to measure a person's level of proficiency on 52 work-related abilities (e.g., mathematical reasoning). Participants respond to items with behaviorally-anchored examples to guide the rating process.

The Self-Rated Skills Proficiency Inventory

This assessment is used to measure a person's level of proficiency on 35 work-related skills (e.g., critical thinking). Participants respond to items with behaviorally-anchored examples to guide the rating process.

The Work Styles Inventory

This assessment is based upon O*NET's comprehensive Work Styles Taxonomy. This measure is used to gain insight into an individual's work styles, or personal characteristics that affect how someone may perform a job. The inventory assesses six dimensions of work styles:

Work Values - The O*NET Work Importance Locator**

This measure is based on the Minnesota Job Description Questionnare and has applicants sort a set of cards into different categories. This assessment helps people determine the type of job they would find most satisfying based upon the extent to which their work values are similar to various occupations. The measure assesses six types of work values:

The O*NET Interest Profiler**

Based on Holland's (1985) RIASEC model, this instrument measures six types of occupational interests that help inform job seekers of the types of work activities and occupations they would enjoy and find most engaging. The six types of occupational interests measured by the Interest Profiler are:

 

The O*NET Work Importance Locator and Interest Profiler are career exploration tools in the VWAN assessment process that were developed and funded as part of the O*NET project. They are reproduced with permission from the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.

O*NET Trademarked Assessment