Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Jim Larkin

In continuation of my 2-part post, I discuss more instructions to give students when taking assessments - specifically for the Strong Interest Inventory® assessment assessment. For the Strong, the confusion is often around the student thinking that they are indicating whether they think they could actually do the job well or be successful in a class about a particular subject. The Strong does not measure skills and abilities, only INTERESTS. You might tell them to imagine getting on a cross-country flight. When the person sits down next to them and they go through the typical introductions and find out that the person is a Broadcast Journalist, Pharmacist, or a Recreational Therapist, does that pique their interest to make them ask some questions (showing some interest or that they LIKE that occupation) or do they want to just say, “Oh, that’s interesting” and turn to pick up the airline magazine and do the crossword puzzle (showing indifference) or make them think inside, “Ugh, who would be interested in that?” (indicating they DISLIKE that occupation). Remember to emphasize that their interests are being compared with the interests of 1,000s of people who have completed the Strong, who are successful in their jobs, have been in their careers for at least 3 years AND are satisfied in their jobs. The theory states that people with common interests will have a high likelihood of achieving high job satisfaction and success in the same jobs.


I hope you found this helpful. If you have any tips or insights of your own to share, please post as a comment!