Computer-Assisted Career Counseling

Computerized Career Assessment

In an effort to help clients understand their educational and career interests, skills, and values, career counselors and psychologists will often administer one or more career assessment inventories. Results from these inventories can be used to help clients identify career paths, confirm existing choices, or narrow the number of career alternatives considered. Several benefits can be realized when administering career assessment via computer. Traditional paper and pencil inventories require that all items be administered in a fixed order. Computers can administer items dynamically based on individuals' responses (referred to as computer adaptive testing or CAT). Computers can also be programmed to provide a reliable interpretation of an individual's inventory results. When linked with other computer career assessment results, clients can be provided with interpretations and recommendations based on the integrated findings from multiple inventories. Finally, assessment interpretations themselves may be dynamic and interactive, requiring input from users or linking results and interpretations to sources of educational and occupational information.

Today, most computerized career assessment inventories are delivered via the Internet. Professionals and consumers should exercise caution when selecting online career inventories as many Internet-delivered inventories are of questionable origin. Inventories distributed by reputable testing companies or independently developed inventories that are supported by published research are preferred. Professionals should review the psychometric properties of any instrument prior to using it in practice. Three of the most widely administered online career interest inventories are the Strong Interest Inventory, the Self-Directed Search, and the Kuder Interest Inventory and Career Planning System. Other widely administered interest inventories include the UNIACT and the Occupational Information Network (0∗NET) Interest Profiler, which are embedded with comprehensive computer guidance systems. In addition to interest inventories, work values and skill confidence inventories can also be found online.

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