Question
“Where can I get career testing that helps me find a job that suits me best?” – Maurice from Charleston, SC
Answer
These days it seems people are making a living in more and more creative ways. Ivy-league college drop-outs strike it rich thanks to some caffeine-fueled website idea. Some people make careers out of posting videos periodically on YouTube to inform or entertain the masses.
So what about the rest of us, who don’t excel at comedic timing, aren’t incredible at video games or can’t speak the language of the computers?
If you don’t know what you want to do, you’re not the only one; the fact is, a lot of us have no idea what jobs best suit our skills. Unfortunately, in today’s economy the good ol’ trial-and-error method of trying different jobs over the span of many years could be career suicide.
Lucky for those who don’t have a clear career vision, there are many free resources online for clearing up this vision. While these sites are by no means all that’s out there, the following two sites are ones I’ve had personal experience with and can confidently preach the legitimacy of.
- First is mynextmove.org. This is a fantastic resource that starts out strong by asking the question, “What do you want to do for a living?” If you already know, you can search for specific careers using keywords. If you have a general idea, you can browse by industry. And if you have no idea, you can take a short assessment where you answer questions about what you like to do.The website will use these answers to suggest different types of careers, as well as tell you whether those careers have a bright outlook, are environmentally friendly jobs or require a registered apprenticeship.
- The next website is careeronestop.org. Under the job seeker section there is an area called “assess yourself” where you can chose from multiple options designed to lead you onto a suitable career path.
So if you’re lost and need a little guidance try those resources, or look around for yourself until you find something you’re comfortable with. You can also check in with your local Goodwill headquarters to find out about career assessment and preparation options available in your area.
You never know, if you take an assessment on a website it might just tell you that YouTube Star is the perfect career choice. We can dream can’t we?
