Four Important Rules In Taking Career Tests
A career test will measure your interests and abilities to see which careers are a good fit for you. However, there are certain rules that need to be followed when taking the test. You may not realize it, but choosing any answer can affect your future and the career you end up with.
In this post we talk about four important rules in taking career tests - following these will improve the accuracy of your results and provide you with a better understanding of what career is a good match.
II) Transitional Words:
There are many types of transitional words, however some of the most common ones are "also," "on top of that," "furthermore," "in addition to that," etc. We need to be very cautious about these because the use of these words can change our answers.
For example, if we are asked a question such as "What is your favorite TV program?" and we see the list of options on screen, our brain will automatically start processing "also" and "on top of that." As a result, we might end up with an answer like "also Dora the Explorer," which is not what they want to hear.
III) A Word In The Question:
Often the word in the question can change the answer that people give. For example, sometimes they ask you to give your opinion on an issue by writing your name on a card and putting it down in front of you. That word, "your name," can be enough to sway many people.
Likewise, other words like "you" and "your" can be very powerful in some questions. If you see such a word in a question it can often change the answer you're going to give. It's best to take down notes on the question right away and write down how each answer could affect your future or what career is better suited for you.
IV) Not All Words Are Created Equal:
The use of some words will not only make your answers less accurate but they may even change your decisions. For example, when you see the word "new," or "different," or "improvement," your brain may start processing it and make you think that you have to improve the current situation.
"It is better to be faithful in little things than powerful in big things."
This could even lead you to a career that is not a good fit for your abilities and interests, like if you really enjoyed music and then start hearing about an insurance job, you may end up considering it. Likewise, some words might give inaccurate results for some people. For example, the word "good" will often lead many people to say yes when they mean no.
For people who are in sales, you'll need to be very careful with words like "buy," "purchase," and "sell." Some of these words might trigger you to say yes if it doesn't match your interests or ability.
V) The Length Of The Answer:
This point is also very important when taking a career test because the length of your answer can affect your results. This is something that companies who create these tests often overlook because they don't realize its impact on the accuracy of their results. We've seen that many people will often change the answers when they see it's too long to answer. For example, if you are asked "How many times a week do you go out with friends?" and the options are "Every day," "Once or twice," and "Less than once a week," some people might choose to go with the shorter options even though they go out more than that.
We have found that when people see a long list of options they tend to agree with whichever is at the top of their head. This is because we don't want to take too much time thinking about our answers, so we just choose whatever comes first without giving it much thought.