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Everything You Need to Know About Job Placement Tests

Job placement tests are one of the few “pre-employment” assessments for which you do not need to spend hours preparing. These tests are intended to evaluate your skills and natural abilities in a way that helps you pinpoint the career paths that you will perform the best in.

Some people have taken job placement tests in school at both the secondary school and college level, but you can take a job placement test at any time. Today, we will take a look at these exams, some of the popular versions you may come across, and how they can be useful for you.

What is The Purpose of Job Placement Tests?

Job placement tests are intended for individuals that have never started on a career path or those looking for a career change. While many people know the things that they are passionate about, these tests are useful for those that cannot choose from a range of career paths or those with no knowledge of how their skills and hobbies fit into the workplace.

Some tests even incorporate previous education and work experience to help you find careers into which you can easily transition without the need for additional education.

How Do Career Placement Tests Work?

Career placement tests are a form of psychometric assessment.

Psychometric assessments utilize scientific approaches to assess personality and psychological characteristics and compare the results of the assessment based on the requirements laid out during the creation of the exam.

When it comes to job placement tests, the psychometric results are compared against the requirements of many careers to show you where your results fit in among them.

Your results will often show more than one career or specific job that matches your personality and cognitive skills. This list can give you a better idea of the career paths on which you should focus to ensure your career goals are sustainable and applicable to your natural skills.  

What Kind of Job Placement Tests are There?

There are hundreds of career placement tests, but colleges or recruiting companies tend to use the same few due to their high levels of accuracy. Here are five of the most common job/career placement tests:

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, also known as the MBTI, is a personality inventory that utilizes the psychological theories written by Dr. Carl Jung to look at the traits of an individual’s personality and behaviour and use that information to fit them into a specific personality type.

There are 16 types of personality results for takers of the MBTI. Each result comes with a detailed description of the skills and scenarios in which that personality type both excels and struggles. The results also layout the career paths that are the best options for someone with that particular result.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is similar to the MBTI in that it utilizes a personality questionnaire to discern the overall personality patterns of the test taker. However, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter focuses heavily on behaviour instead of just personality traits.

The results: however, tend to reflect the results of the MBTI, which speaks to its credibility. There are four types of temperament that correlate to job field and career types. Your test result will include information about your temperament type as well as information about your interaction type.

There are four interaction role result options – initiators, contenders, coworkers, and responders.

MAPP Test

The MAPP Test, also known as the Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential, is considered to be the first fully dedicated, comprehensive career assessment test. While many other career placement tests function as personality exams with career path info, the MAPP Test words its questions to only focus on characteristics that matter in regard to your future job.

The test is fairly short – typically taking only 21-minutes to complete – and offers an in-depth mapping of the test taker’s skills, attributes, and ability to thrive in 1000’s of fields.

The information is more than just a list of jobs, but dives deep into why the test taker fits into those categories and how they would thrive as well as the difficulties they may face.

Big Five Personality Test

Another popular personality-based assessment is the Big Five Personality Test. This exam displays a variety of hypothetical statements which you will be asked to rate with a score from 1-5. 1 means disagree and 5 means agree. Each point in between is a varying degree of those two options.

This exam is widely used in the academic world due to the use of a scientifically modeled, psychological approach.

The test results from the Big Five Personality Test show your place on 5 sliding scales:

  1. Close-Minded > Open-Minded
  2. Disorganised > Conscientious
  3. Introverted > Extraverted
  4. Disagreeable > Agreeable
  5. Calm/Relaxed > Nervous/High Strung

Your place on each of these scales will also translate into a series of job-types/ career options that fit your personality and behavioural tendencies.

Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator

The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) is one of the most commonly used Enneagram-based personality assessments in the world.

Enneagram typing refers to a system of using personality assessment to examine how someone interprets their interactions and manages their behaviour and emotions. This type of personality exam is exceptionally useful for career placement because it can help you learn which careers will prevent you from being forced outside your emotional boundaries and abilities.

Job Placement Test Quick Facts

  • You may be asked to take a job placement test by an academic advisor, recruiter, or manager, but it is also possible to take a free test online for your own means.
  • Many job placement tests are in-depth personality exams that utilize their results to recommend careers.
  • The MAPP test is one of the few placement tests that exclusively focus on job-matching.
  • Job placement tests are great for helping people learn about job options that fit their personality that they may not have known were an option.
  • While the results of job placement exams are hugely helpful, they should not be held as a limitation on the career opportunities you should pursue.
  • Some companies require you to take a job placement test to see if you are a good fit for a promotion or specific role in the company.

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