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Health & Fitness

Teens Can Test for Success

Career Testing For Students

When the College admissions application process starts to kick into gear, high school students confront a multitude of choices. In addition to location and size of a school, the array of academic opportunities and majors offered can play a large role in the decision process. This process can be an overwhelming undertaking, but there are steps students can take to navigate the many options. 

“Tim” was extremely high achieving in high school and because he excelled in several areas, he was having difficulty deciding on which direction would be best for him. He embarked on career testing, which revealed some direct career possibilities based on his likes and preferences. Tim also said it revealed what he didn’t like and he was able to “take things off the table.”

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Connecting Strengths And Preferences To The Future

Through career testing, and a professional interpretation of results, a student’s skills, temperament and personality can be matched with careers and college majors thereby giving them insight as to the best options to pursue before applying to college. This type of career testing is not available through Naviance®, a software resource commonly used by students for college planning and career assessment.

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Vocational Psychology helps students to accurately identify their interests, preferences, personal styles, abilities and how these relate to specific career fields, occupations and college majors.

According to Maura McCullough, Clinical Career Counselor at Greenwich Education Group, “selecting a major or deciding on a career can often feel like guesswork. Vocational Psychology gives students the foundation and the knowledge they need to make decisions about degrees, careers, college and the future.”

Individuals are assessed through comprehensive career testing and the vocationally significant attributes that an individual possess are identified and explored through career counseling. The Strong Interest Inventory®, the most powerful career assessment available, enables students to make career choices, identify a college major and develop a career plan. The MBTI® is the world's most widely used Personality assessment. It helps students to better understand themselves and their interaction with others.

“Career testing gives students a starting point,” explains McCullough. However, it is the “interpretation coupled with career counseling” that really makes the difference. While testing may sound clinical to parents, it can provide excellent guidance in pointing kids in the right direction. 

Support That Empowers

For Tim, the result was a journey of self-awareness. After he went through the career testing process, he benefited from the private counseling to review the results. This counseling helped him move forward with planning for college in an informed way. Not only did it make him much more confident in the path he was taking, “it forced me to take a few extra risks. It was healthy for me,” he now reflects.

Looking at all the college possibilities can be “daunting and intimidating,” he says. While he had some idea of the direction he ultimately wanted to go, “having that extra person outside of my family; a 3rd person who objectively says here are your strengths and how to play to these strengths,” was the affirmation he needed. The process for Tim not only identified his strengths, but also helped him to apply them in a college planning process where he would be both successful and happy. 

Career testing is the foundation of a successful college admissions process and undergraduate career. Students interested in career testing need to have completed the 10th grade or be 16 years of age. To learn about how career testing can benefit your child, please email Maura McCullough at: MMcCullough@greenwichedgroup.com.

Maura is a Licensed Professional Counselor with National Counselor Certification. She in certified in the Strong® and MBTI®.

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