Frequently Asked Questions

 

Careers and Career Change

• What is a career?
• What is career development?
• When is right time for a change in career direction?

Career and Personality Tests/Assessments

• Why choose the Strong Interest Inventory career test?
• What does the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) career test measure?
• Is the Strong Interest Inventory suitable for high school students?
• What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test measure?
• Where do personality types come from for the MBTI?
• How can a personality test help me understand myself and others better?
• Are your answers considered right or wrong?
• What will I learn from the MBTI and Strong test results?

CareerSense Purchase/Checkout

• How can I purchase a career personality test as a gift?
• I have purchased my a career personality test but was not redirected to the testing site. How do I take my test?
• How is my payment processed?

The Testing Process

• How long do the assessments or tests take to complete?
• How do I get my test results?
• I have already made a test purchase, but now I am confused about which test to take.
• How long does it take to get my results after taking a test?
• I have taken my assessment or test and not received my report. What should I do?

Consultation Services

• What services are included with my test purchase?
• How do I receive my free consultation?

 

 

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Careers and Career Change

What is a career?

A career is the sum total of paid and unpaid work, learning and life roles you undertake throughout your life.

The term 'career' was traditionally associated with paid employment and referred to a single occupation. In today's world of work the term 'career' is seen as a continuous process of learning and development. Contributions to a career can include:

• Work experience
• Community involvement
• Employment
• Life roles
• Enterprise activities
• Cultural activities
• Training
• Education
• Interests
• Sport
• Volunteer work.

As you gain more experience in the world of work and undertake a variety of life experiences, you are building your unique career path. All life experiences, including paid work, sporting interests and managing a household should be drawn upon as evidence to a potential employer that you are the person for the job. A career is more than just a job.

 

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What is career development?

Career development is a lifelong process that is unique for every individual. There are many influences that contribute to your career such as:

• Who you are as an individual: This includes your self-concept, interests, skills, knowledge, personality, ethnicity, age, gender, ability, disability, health, beliefs and sexual orientation. For example, your choice of hobbies reflects your interests and abilities.
• Your community: The community plays an important role in forming your identity, beliefs and attitudes. Members of your community can be your family, peers, friends or colleagues from your school or workplace, employers, the media, community groups and clubs. They can influence the lifestyle you want to aspire towards, the work you choose, the life roles you take on and what you value about yourself.
• The environment and wider society: This refers to the opportunities or constraints caused by factors such as the region or location you live in (ie rural or metropolitan), what is happening in the employment market (eg are there job vacancies in your career field), your socioeconomic status (eg do you have to consider financial commitments such as mortgages or children's education), historical trends (eg changes in women's participation in the workforce) and political decisions (eg government grants available for enterprise development).

Random and unpredictable events may also impact on your career. Different sets of influences will be dominant at different stages in your life as you grow and develop as a person.

For example, in childhood, ideas about life roles and work are expressed in play and are based on the adults with whom you identify strongly.

In adolescence, career exploration is based on identifying interests, abilities, capacities and values; learning about the world of work through observing adults at work; participating in the workforce; and accessing career resources and programs.

As an adult, your career development becomes more intricate. 

 

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When is right time for a change in career direction?

Sometimes a change of job within a career field is not enough; nothing short of a move to an entirely new occupation or industry will do.

The need to make big changes like this can come from inside you, or can be imposed by outside circumstances or events.

Everybody likes to feel safe, but you also have to live in the real world, and recognise that change can be as much an opportunity as a threat. Because of the way the working world operates these days, it’s important not to be afraid when a career change announces itself. There’s no point trying to hang onto a job that no one can use any more. It’s not healthy to stay in a job where you’re stagnating, or your talents are going to waste.

There’ll be times in your life when you need to review your situation and think about possible career change. Unpaid work, possibilities for learning, the kind of lifestyle you want and your changing roles within your family—any of these things can trigger career change, and you should consider all of them when you’re thinking of reinventing yourself.

 

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Career and Personality Tests/Assessments

 

Why choose the Strong Interest Inventory career test?

With so many career tests availabe today why choose the Strong Career Test? Used by more than 70 percent of U.S. colleges and universities, the Strong Interest Inventory® assessment is one of the world’s most widely respected and frequently used career planning tools. It helps high school and college students—as well as people in transition—make fulfilling career choices.

The Strong is backed by unparalleled reliability and validity and will help you find career options matched to your personality and interests.

 

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What does the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) career test measure?

The Strong Interest Inventory assessment measures your interests not your abilities. It is predicated on the theory that what people do is a reflection of their interests. People who have similar interests should be more satisfied in certain occupations since their values, knowledge and abilities are also the same. The results will show you where your dominant interests are out of 6 possible occupational themes. It will then give you a profile of desirable work environments for each theme as well as a list of related occupations for those themes. We highly recommend any of the Strong Career Reports if you are seeking career-related information and recommendations.

 

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Is the Strong Interest Inventory suitable for high school students?

The Strong Interest Inventory is ideal for high school and university student as before students can select a career, they first need to find the path that’s right for them. The Strong assessment can help. By giving students insight into their interests, preferences, and personal styles, the Strong enables them to identify specific courses, jobs, internships, and activities they’re likely to enjoy. And that can greatly increase the likelihood that they’ll stay in school and ultimately graduate.

 

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What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test measure?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator measures the four basic personality type preferences. The theory behind the MBTI is that people have a tendency to feel more comfortable at either end of the spectrum across those four preferences as follows:

Extraversion or Introversion
Sensing or Intuitive
Thinking or Feeling
Judging or Perceiving

Your preferences are then put into a profile that is represented by four letters, for example, ISFJ. Your unique pattern will be one of 16 personality types. Your assessment report will help you better understand how you approach the world, how you prefer to make decisions and what kind of environment you feel most comfortable in.

 

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Where do personality types come from for the MBTI?

Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katherine Cook Briggs, the founders of the MBTI, spent years observing human behaviour and personality differences. They based their studies for the MBTI on the work of psychologist Carl Jung. They were keenly interested in explaining why people prefer different kinds of work, why they are interested in different things and why they sometimes find it hard to understand one another. They believed that these differences in people were due to how they take in information and make decisions about it. Based on their extensive research, they wrote questions and categorized the differences in behaviour. They determined that there were 16 unique personality types to explain human behaviour.

 

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How can a personality test help me understand myself and others better?

When you receive your results, you will learn that there are many different ways to interact with others, to make decisions and how you approach situations. Learning more about yourself and your preferences will give you increased understanding about your friends and co-workers which can help improve your interpersonal relationships.

 

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Are your answers considered right or wrong?

There are no right or wrong answers for the MBTI or Strong Interest Inventory test. The answers you provide help to assess your own personal tendencies and preferences in a given situation. By understanding your preferences better, you gain greater understanding into how you will respond most comfortably to a certain task or situation.

 

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What will I learn from the MBTI and Strong test results?

By knowing your personality type, you will gain greater understanding and clarity into your preferences, your strengths and areas you may want to develop further. By understanding yourself better you will be able to appreciate the styles of other people and personality types. You can use your greater understanding and improved self-awareness to assist you in making education and career-related decisions to have a more satisfaction in your job, your relationships and your life.

 

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CareerSense Purchase/Checkout

 

How can I purchase a career personality test as a gift?

Our secure checkout process allows you to easily purchase a test for another person.  During the checkout, simply enter the gift recipient's name where indicated. If you'd like us to send testing instructions to the gift recipient, you can also enter their email address.

 

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I have purchased my a career personality test but was not redirected to the testing site. How do I take my test?

Following your purchase you will be emailed instructions outlining how to access and complete your assessment.  Following completion of the assessment your results will be processed and an individualized report delivered to you via email within 24 to 48 hours.  If you have not received either the initial confirmation email or your report please check the junk folder of your email account and email support@careersense.com.au .

 

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How is my payment processed?

Your payment is processed through our secure server and we use 256-bit SSL encryption and process payments via our secure payment gateway to ensure your information is protected.

 

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The Testing Process

 

How long do the assessments or tests take to complete?

The time taken to complete your test will vary with the particular assessment, but can range from around 20 minutes to 50 minutes to complete per assessment. Tests do not need to be completed in one sitting as you can stop, save your answers and return at another time suitable to you.

 

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How do I get my test results?

After you have completed your test, your report will be processed by us, reviewed by a psychologist before being emailed to you in a PDF format.

 

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I have already made a test purchase, but now I am confused about which test to take.

The testing site lists all of the tests we sell. You will only need to complete those that you have purchased. Please refer to and follow the instructions on the testing site and contact us if you encounter any difficulties.

 

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How long does it take to get my results after taking a test?

In most cases we are able to issue you your report within 24 to 48 hours of your completing the assessment. If you have not received your report within 48 hours of taking your test please email us.

 

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I have taken my assessment or test and not received my report. What should I do?

Our reports can sometimes get stuck in email spam filters. Please check your spam mailbox to see if your report is there. If it's not, please email us and we will work to resolve the issue ASAP.

 

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Consultation Services

 

What services are included with my test purchase?

Taking a career interest questionnaire and personality assessment are valuable first steps in finding the ideal career for you.  Following receipt of your report however it is recommended you further explore your results with an appropriately qualified career professional.  Your purchase from CareerSense includes a consultation and interpretation session by phone or email with your consultant. During your consultation, you will receive a review of your results, assistance with applying your results to your individual situation, and answers to any questions you may have. Phone consultations are focused on addressing your specific individual needs.

 

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How do I receive my free consultation?

After you've completed your testing, you'll receive instructions from us to set up a phone or email consultation.

 

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