Who am I? Self-assessment for career exploration

There is help, but it’s not a test.  It’s self-assessment: a reflective way to think about yourself, what you enjoy doing, and what’s most important to you.

Self-assessment doesn't "tell you what to be." It does help you have a better understanding of your interests, personality, skills, and values. This helps you see the connections between aspects of yourself and aspects of particular career fields and occupations. Results include occupational information for you to consider and research further. Results do not provide a final answer; they do provide an important step in your decision-making process and career planning journey, which will extend over time as you explore, exercise your curiosity, grow and develop, learn more about the external world, and develop increasing understanding of yourself.

Keep in mind that all self-assessments are all based on self-report by you, and require you to have self-awareness. For all of us, our self-awareness develops throughout our lives. Truly understanding and knowing yourself is a journey in and of itself. If you get results and think the results are "wrong," remember the results are based on what you said about yourself. It can be helpful to revisit self-assessments over time.

• In Career and Professional Development we do not charge fees to students for use of our self-assessment tools.
• Be aware: Some websites with free services might also offer services for a fee. Career and Professional Development does NOT endorse any fee-based services.

Allow about 45 to 60 minutes to complete this self-assessment. You CAN stop and start the process; you don't need to complete the assessment all in one sitting.

• TypeFocus access is located in Handshake under Career Center > Resources. You'll use your Virginia Tech PID and password to login to your Handshake student account to see TypeFocus.
• Follow instructions to register or login to TypeFocus.
• In TypeFocus, begin with Step 1 and complete the Personality, Interests, Skills, and Values assessments.
  • When you submit your responses for each of the assessments, you will immediately receive feedback. Take time to reflect on the information provided.
• Continue to Step 2 to see a list of careers that might be a good fit for you based on your assessment results.
  • Remember to select your desired education level to get the best results.
  • Click on the W to see related Virginia Tech majors.
  • If you do not see any results that appeal to you, schedule an advising apointment to speak with a career advisor to discuss your results and other options.
• Continue to Step 3 to evaluate your options.

Allow about 10-minutes to use this self-assessment.

• Create an account on Traitify (vt.traitify.com) using your VT email address (choose "General Studies" if you are a University Studies student).
• Begin the assessment by selecting “me” or “not me” for every picture.
• View results; first you will see your “Personality Blend” and “Personality Breakdown.”
• View Career Matches using the button on the top right of the screen which will match your personality to different careers. You can filter the results by educational level and click on each career to learn more.

• Schedule an advising appointment; your advisor will give you an Access Key to use TruTalent (humanesources.com).
• Select Log In and then Register a New Account where you will enter your Access Key.
• Complete the TruTalent Personality assessment.
• Schedule a follow-up advising apointment; your results will be made available to you when you speak with your career advisor.  

• At Virginia Tech, students are encouraged to focus on your gifts and talents, honing them into true strengths. The Division of Student Affairs offers CliftonStrengths (also called StrengthsQuest) to provide you with the knowledge and vocabulary to describe your talents and the areas in which you excel. See complete information through Virginia Tech Student Affairs about CliftonStrengths.
• If you have experience with StrengthsQuest you may be familiar with your top talents. While StrengthsQuest has broader purposes than career decision-making, your understanding of your strengths can also help you in the process of exploring career options.
• You are welcome to schedule a career advising appointment to include discussion of Strengths.

Be aware some sites might offer services for a fee. Career and Professional Development does not endorse any fee-based services.

There are many self-assessment tools out there — some for free and others for a fee. It is important to keep in mind that not all assessments are valid and/or reliable. The assessments listed above have been tested for validity and reliability. However, we recognize that you may enjoy taking assessments and want additional options and/or information. The free assessment links provided below are solely for informational purposes and are not endorsed by Career and Professional Development:

• Career Interests Game
• Humanmetrics: Jung Typology
• O*Net Interest Profiler
• NERIS free personality test

After using any self-assessment tool, Virginia Tech students can schedule an advising appointment to help you understand how personality, interests, skills, and/or values connect to your decision-making style and career-related needs and preferences.

Again, be aware some sites might offer services for a fee.
Career and Professional Development does not endorse any fee-based services.

• We offer advising appointments to discuss self-assessments. We can help you decide which tools to use, and discuss your results after you use tools. Self-assessment is a process, often involving two advising appointments, with activity on your part between. You may want to do additional exploration and research, depending on the decisions you are in the process of making.
• In a first appointment, usually 30 minutes, you'll discuss your situation with an advisor and we'll work together to determine what self-assessment tools and other activities would best serve your goals.
• Between appointments you'll do assessment activities and review your results. Results include occupational information to research based on your self-assessment.
• In a follow-up appointment, usually 60 minutes, we'll process and discuss your results and determine best next-steps for you to take.
• When you schedule in Handshake:
  - Choose category: Appointments with career advisor;
  - For first appointment choose type: explore career options.
  - For follow-up, choose type: career exploration follow-up.
  If you don't see an appointment type or availability in Handshake, see schedule an advising appointment by phone.