MISHAWAKA—Almost all incoming freshman are advised to take the Career Direct career assessment test. This test is beneficial to find out exactly what career choices best suits each student’s abilities. However, the test is open to any student and useful in determining what one’s strengths and weaknesses are, and how personality is key in determining what type of job to pursue.
“Career Direct is a career assessment which helps students to get a baseline of who they are. When you know yourself better, you can go out in the job world and present yourself better to employers. The test talks about personality, interests, skills and abilities, and values.” Said Joy Drake, Academic and Retention Specialist.
There are two different assessments that could be given to a student after the test has been completed, the only difference is one of the assessments is longer than the other. The first assessment is generally for students who have an idea of what career field they want to pursue, and the assessment is around eleven pages long. This assessment is also provided immediately after the test is finished.
The second assessment is more directed towards undeclared majors and is a much more detailed report of ideas for career fields that a student might think about pursuing. It also provides more information about the student’s personality and how that factors into choosing a career. The second report tends to be around 30 to 40 pages long. The results from the more detailed assessment are not provided immediately after the test is completed.
Along with the more detailed report, most students will also be asked to meet with Joy Drake for an interview discussing possible directions into a specific career path. On average, this meeting takes about an hour. Though this meeting is not technically required, it is highly recommended. The students will have the opportunity for results of the test to be explained and any questions that students may have will be answered. It is also beneficial as the student will be given the chance to sit down with Drake and talk about personal interests and skills and how to channel that into choosing a career.
The Career Direct test and career assessments are provided by Crown Financial Ministries, and were originally founded to help people recognize their strengths and weaknesses and to become good stewards of their abilities and how it applies to their jobs.
The test is free to students at Bethel and any are welcome to take the test to gain more insight into their abilities and personal skills. To anyone interested in taking the test, contact Joy Drake directly through her Bethel email joy.drake@bethelcollege.edu.