Career Assessment for the 21st Century

Interest assessment typically consists of a person indicating whether he or she likes, dislikes, or is indifferent to a task. A more appropriate technology for career interest assessment is needed and one such program is presented. Interest assessment in career counseling has been based on the concept of the "discriminant bridge " developed by Strong in the 1920s, which requires assumptions regarding the homogeneity and stability of occupations. This concept, still employed in the premier interest inventories, is in danger of obsolescence. Whereas vocational psychology has been interested in job satisfaction, industrial psychology has employed a parallel concept of the "predictive bridge " to assess potential success in a field. However, occupations today have become more diverse, have more complex conceptualizations, and workers are clearly not as homogeneous as they were when earlier instruments were developed. A test outcome providing the title of an occupation (e.g., "engineers") may not provide much useful information to a client. Persons should be matched either to organizations or to persons in specific organizations, rather than to occupations. Some test case data are offered here, along with suggestions for further research on the concept of person-to-person match. Contains 30 references. (EMK) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * Person-Matching