What are the best career aptitude and personality tests for you?

We know that career aptitude and personality tests are significant for career planning because both tools help map your character, strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes and competencies. People easily confuse themselves with career aptitude and personality tests, so let's understand the difference. A career aptitude test provides insights on which careers and industries suit you best based on your aptitude and reasoning, while a personality test analyses your behavior and character traits. However, both tests provide more information about yourself. By taking these tests, you can make more informed decisions about your career choices. In fact, employers even use these types of tests to decide if you're the best candidate for the job.

 

You can take a personality or career aptitude test at any time, but if you are facing any career dilemmas or have any career-related questions then we recommend that you take these tests as soon as possible. A career aptitude test would tell you where you should work based on your personality, reasoning and aptitude. For personality tests, we recommend that you take it if you want to know what triggers your motivations, to understand why you work the way you do with others, and to discover how you can improve.

 

How do you tell which career aptitude and personality tests are best for you?

 

Since there are so many of these tests available online, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. Plus, some career aptitude and personality tests are free and others are not. In order to help you decide which ones work best for you, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How much of time do you have to take these tests?
• How much money are you willing to invest in these tests?
• Are you looking to better understand your character traits and to know where you should work based on your skillsets? If your answer is yes, then make sure to take a combination of both tests.

 

To kick-start your journey, here are our top 6 career aptitude and personality tests, which you can access online. We also provide suggestions that highlight why you should take each test, how long the test takes, the test structure, what each test will reveal, and the test cost.

 

You should keep in mind that you can take any of these recommended tests at any time and in any order. You can take them as many times as you want because neither of them are interrelated. Results can change from time to time depending on how you feel and on how focussed you are. Try not to deliberate on questions and go with your first instinct. You should take them at least every year because as you grow, you change, and your experiences continue to shape you.

 

Our top 6 career aptitude and personality tests

 

1. 123 Career Test

The Test Structure: 

This is a simple, free, 15-minute, interactive career aptitude and personality test combined. All the test questions are visual-based, which means you just have to look at pictures of people doing work-related tasks and pick "yes" or "no" depending on whether you enjoy that particular task.

 

What This Test Reveals: 

The 123 Career Test provides you with a list of 20 jobs that match your personality. Your personality type is based on the Holland code, which is a set of personality types that psychologist, Dr. John L Holland, created. The Holland code has six personality types - Realistic,Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC). Your Holland Code could combine 2 or 3 of the Holland personality types.

 

Why You Should Take This Test:

• If you need to decide, which college, university or professional courses to take, then take this test to understand the associated skills and knowledge you would need to succeed in the careers that best suit your personality.
• If you want a clearer picture of your career direction or you are looking for affirmation in your current career choice, then take this test to understand your career possibilities or to even gain further affirmation on your current career choice. You could even discover potential skills and knowledge that would be good for you to learn to help you succeed in your current career.

 

2. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Test Structure: 

80% of Fortune 500 companies and 89% of Fortune 100 companies use the MBTI personality type test in their recruitment strategy. If you go to the official website, then you will need to pay for this test. However, there are many websites that allow you to take variations of the Myers Briggs test for free like the 16 Personalitiestest. The official website test is a deep-layered, 93-multiple choice test that takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. It will identify your personality type out of the 16 personality types derived from Carl Jung's- a Swiss psychiatrist, work.

 

What This Test Reveals:

You will receive your personality type which will consist of 4 letters (extrovert or introvert, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving, intuitive or observant) as well as a description of your personality type. The analysis will reveal how you prefer to do things, how you absorb information, how you make decisions, how you work with others, how you direct and receive energy and more.

 

Why You Should Take This Test:

• If you are unsure about what to pursue in terms of your career or seem stuck in your current career path, then take this test to understand your personality traits, the best work environment for you, and how to potentially address personality-based interview questions.
• If you have never taken a personality test before, then take this one first. There is a reason many companies depend and hire based on this test. Use the results to understand yourself better.

 

3. My Next Move O'Net Interest ProfilerThe Test Structure: This career aptitude test is free and is used by the US Department of Labor. The test contains 60 questions and you will need to rate how much you like or dislike the work tasks listed based on your interests. The Next Move Interest Profiler matches your interests to the 6 Holland Code personality types and highlights your top 3 scores. What This Test Reveals:  This is the most extensive and thorough career aptitude test because it matches your interests to the best career options and allows you to explore other possible job options. The Next Move Interest Profiler even provides the respective knowledge, experience, education and skills you need for each of the job options. Although the summary reports you get (especially salary and employment trends) are US-related, you can still use the test results as a rough guide no matter where you're based. Why You Should Take This Test: 

• Regardless of where you are in your employment journey - college student, fresh graduate or seasoned employee, this test will help you evaluate potential career options and provide details on what education and training you need. You will be able to map out your current or even future career plan and growth.

  4. The Big FIVE or Who am I Personality Tests[u2]The Test Structure: The Big FIVE test is the most scientifically-recognised, psychological model of personality measurement. The Big FIVE and Who am I personality type tests are based on the Five Factor Model. The Five Factor model scores you according to the five broad dimensions of personality - Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. For the Big FIVE personality test, it should take you about 15 minutes to analyse the 120 statements given and decide whether you agree or disagree. For the Who am I test, commonly referred to as the VisualDNA test, you have to match statements to the most relatable pictures. The Who am I/VisualDNA test is the visual version of the Big FIVE personality test.   What This Test Reveals: As discussed above, the Five Factor Model personality traitsare Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability. You get a summary report, which contains your scores for each of the five traits and a bell-curve comparison of your scores against how the average population ranks for each of the five traits. The short summary is free but if you want the extended report you will need to pay. Remember, this is not a career aptitude test so there won't be any suggested job options, but you will learn more about your own characteristics and personality traits.   Why You Should Take This Test:

• Take this test to help you understand more about who you are. Although it is not a career aptitude test, it can help you improve the way you work and your productivity. Additionally, you will be able to note which one(s) of your capabilities are unique compared to the average population. You can work to improve these capabilities even further and highlight them in your next interview.

5. Career Strengths TestThe Test Structure:  This 5-part career aptitude test is downloadable so you can go through it at your own pace offline. The Career Strengths test is similar to an IQ test as it evaluates your cognitive-based skills by giving you various scenarios and problems. Based on your answers, you will receive specific job functions/roles.   What This Test Reveals: The test assesses your strength in grasping concepts, inductive reasoning, numerical abilities, structural visualisation and foresight. This career aptitude test will let you know which skills are your strong suit and whether your skillset and acumen match your current job. You will also receive a list of jobs that are best suited for you.   Why You Should Take This Test:

• This test should be at the top of your list if you would like a thorough analysis of your strengths and weaknesses. Instead of focussing on your ways of working (work habits, best work environment, etc), this test focusses solely on your acumen and knowledge.

  6. MAPP Career Assessment - Motivation Appraisal Personal PotentialThe Test Structure:  This career aptitude test has 71 questions and takes about 30 minutes to complete. The MAPP test is widely used by career counsellors, placement firms, universities and high schools. However, you can only get a small sample of your results for free, which will be in the "free subscription" section. To receive the full report, you can pick to pay for either 1 of the 3 different premium options. We recommend that you complete the full test and purchase the report if possible because it provides a wealth of information that can help you find the right career path.   What This Test Reveals:  The test provides you with an overall picture of your career motivations and lists out your top 10 vocational areas. The MAPP matches your results with more than 1,000 possible careers within its database. There is a reason as to why many placement firms use this test.   Why You Should Take This Test :

• Take this test if you are stuck in your career journey. This test requires a bit more investment but it is worth it. This should be your top choice of a career aptitude test if you would like to mimic what career counsellors and placement firms do. If you are unable to purchase the full report, then take this test in conjunction with other career aptitude tests.

 

Conclusion

If you are in doubt of which career path to take or you do not enjoy your current job, then try one of the recommended career aptitude tests. If you would like to know more about who you are, then try one of the personality type tests. All of the tests we listed will assess your interests, values, and preferences and reveal your personality and possible career choices. The results provide more information about what motivates and interests you.

 

Just remember that the results of these tests are not absolute, but should serve more as a gauge of the kind of personality you have, and which careers would suit you best. Regardless of which industries and specific jobs the tests suggest for you, you should consider your current interests, likes, dislikes and experiences before you decide on your career path. These career aptitude and personality tests are created to help navigate and push you in the right direction.

 

Of course, the more tests you take the better it is, so that you can reaffirm your personality and suggested career types. You are more than welcome to check out other available tests online. We believe that these 6 are the most reputable and informational ones that you should start with. In order to get more objective and professional feedback, you should consider taking either the career aptitude or personality type tests under the guidance of professional career counsellors.

 

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