Psychometric Assessments are a key part of career counseling. Before a session is conducted, clients undergo various scales so that the career counselor can understand them better.
So what are psychometric assessments?
Best Career Counseling in India defines Psychometric assessments as standardized tools and scales developed by researchers and psychologists. The assessment contains a set of questions (which are also known as items) that test a person’s:
1) Skills
We have various skills like Communication, Interpersonal, Empathy, Adaptability, Time management, Teamwork, Creativity, and Leadership. These psychometric assessments help identify an individual’s strengths and provide methods to enhance their skills and the areas to improvise.
2) Personality
There are various personality assessments like OCEAN (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) and MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) that analyze a person’s character traits and help career counselors match the personality to a suitable profession.
3) Aptitude
Aptitudes are certain qualities and skills that can be acquired through training and practice. Best Career Counseling in Bangalore include a total of are eight tests that examine the different aptitudes of an individual:
A) Numerical abilities
Comprises of mathematical knowledge
B) Verbal abilities
Comprises of linguistic knowledge and communication
C) Spatial abilities
Comprises of ability to create and remember visual images/diagrams
D) Psychomotor coordination
Refers to coordination of various body parts and reflexes of an individual – cognitive processes and physical movement
E) Mechanical reasoning
Solving problems through application of mathematical concepts
F) Abstract reasoning
Solving problems and deriving connections by abstract thinking/hypothetical scenarios and ideas
G) Logical reasoning
Solving problems and arriving at conclusions through deduction of various facts and data that are already present
4) Interests and passions
An individual can have many different interests and passions; psychometric assessments can rank these interests from most to most minor preferences and list possible career options and pathways for each. For example, people with a passion for art and design can become fashion designers, graphic designers, or interior designers.
5) Intelligence
Intelligence is defined as an innate and acquired global capacity of a person to perform tasks, remember/store information, adapt to the environment, solve problems and make decisions.
Best Career Counseling in Lucknow considers 9 Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences to be a vital part of a psychometric assessment:
- Naturalistic Intelligence
- Musical Intelligence
- Linguistic Intelligence
- Numerical Intelligence
- Interpersonal Intelligence
- Intrapersonal Intelligence
- Visual/Spatial Intelligence
- Kinesthetic Intelligence
- Existential Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is also an essential component that many organizations look for in their candidates for job selection. Emotional intelligence refers to understanding and managing emotions, displaying empathy, and recognizing other people’s feelings.
6) Core and Professional values
Values are mental frameworks that influence individuals to behave in a particular way and contain the various subjective morals and priorities. It is essential to understand and analyze an individual’s values to choose a particular suitable job.
7) Job satisfaction scale
When a working professional wants to switch jobs or their entire career field, different assessments are present which measure their current job satisfaction, workplace environment, income & reward factors, work stress and other aspects. Their future expectations of the new career field is also taken into account during the career counseling session.
The advantages of Psychometric Assessments
● Breaking the Herd Mentality
Social conformity is a huge factor that influences a lot of students to select a common/popular course that is chosen by everyone else irrespective of their aptitudes and interests. i.e, choosing a particular stream because your friends and peers are selecting them.
Every individual is unique with their own set of skills, values, potential, and interests. Psychometric assessments aid in identifying these traits and suggest occupations that are the best fit for the person.
● Protecting Mental well being
Choosing an incompatible course or a career creates a lot of emotional strain and stress causing poor mental health. It affects motivation, creativity, and productivity. Employees can often feel confused, lost, and overwhelmed. Through psychometric assessments, these negative outcomes can be prevented.
● Identification of Influences
External circumstance can affect our decisions majorly and unconsciously i.e, our parents’s occupations, a role model, a movie (seeing an inspiring film about police officers and desiring to become one)
Not all influences are necessarily negative, however, they might be unsuited and misguide people to pick an ill-suited occupation. Psychometric assessments can identify these factors and help individuals understand their true interests and passions.
● Information about Academic Programs
Engineering and medicine in India is given far more value compared to the other courses. And 93% of the students are only aware of less than 10 career options.
But there are over 200+ career paths available for individuals but knowledge about the different academic programs is limited.
Through psychometric assessments and Career Counseling in India, more awareness of these courses is spread to people.
● Self-knowledge
By being aware of one’s own intelligence, skills, aptitude, interests, values, and passion, individuals have enhanced self knowledge which is extremely helpful to pick a suitable career path and attain career growth in the right direction.
● Strengths and Limitations
Psychometric assessments contain SWOT analysis, that analyzes a person’s strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats. This aids in personal development and growth.
● Eliminate Confusions
When there are a lot of interests and passions and availability of career options, individuals can feel overwhelmed and confused on what path to choose. Psychometric assessments help in ranking the suitable professions and preferences so the client can make an informed decision.
● Creating an executive plan
With all the necessary assessments and equipped knowledge, individuals can create a clear career plan that they can follow and attain their occupational goals and dreams in the upcoming years.
Conclusion
Psychometric assessments are an advantageous tool that can be used by people of any age group and level/position in their career. They shape occupational choices and guide individuals to have positive growth and a healthy work-life balance. Career counselors highly recommend their clients to undergo these assessments to obtain a holistic picture of themselves and a strong career plan to follow.
