Interest Assessment is done - where next ?
To continue working on the Interest Assessment you should make sure that you are logged into your profile and save it after doing the test. In this way you will be able to save the results for later review.
Interests are important because they show what you like to do. They also offer clues about your abilities and what you prefer from a career. When you work in a career that really interests you then you have more knowledge, you are satisfied and you become involved in your work.
Think about the pattern of your interests, for instance the categories that were highest and lowest. These show what work you may or may not like to do, what things you may or may not like to learn about and how you would or would not like to spend your time. Your interests say something about the sort of person that you are.
Some people say that interests lead to satisfaction in a career. Of course, there are many other factors to consider and you might want to ask for some advice from your guidance counsellor or employment officer. If two careers, however, are almost identical in the education or training that is needed and if they offer you the same things in life and if they have similar working conditions, then maybe you should choose the one that interests you the most.
If you are choosing a career or occupation then you might want to consider these steps. This may take some time so don’t be in a hurry.
- If you are planning to do a course before you look for a job, then you should use the option under the results section to use the results as a starting point to search for suitable courses in any of the various course types available. Once in the course search you can rank your areas in Alphabetical or Rank order.
- Arrange your list with highest ranking interest first of all, then your second and maybe your third highest interest. Check whether your current occupation or your planned career matches your highest interests.
- Be sure to check which other occupations match your interests. Make a list of the occupations that really interest you.
- Check out these occupations in literature or web sites. Make sure that you are able to cope with these occupations. Check that you have the aptitude or the ability to do this work. Now cross out from your list any occupations that are unsuitable for you.
- Do a list of what things you want from a career. Check whether these occupations offer you what you want. Cross out any occupations that appear unsuitable.
- Eventually you will have a short list of occupations that match your interests, your abilities and which offer you what you value.
- Finally, if you have more than one occupation in your list then you can compare all the occupations to see which ones you prefer most. Just compare the first with every other one and count the number of times you choose it. Then compare the second occupation with every other one and then count the number of times you chose the second occupation. Then do this for the third occupation and so on. See which occupation was chosen most of all. Make this your first choice.
If you are not sure what you have to do then just ask your guidance counsellor or employment officer for some help. They are trained to help you and can suggest other factors to consider.
Remember that your interests will change. They are only a small part of helping you decide about occupations. Abilities, opportunities and personal circumstances will also determine what you do.
Above all - take plenty time to make your decision.