God gifts us in certain areas and then draws us to those areas to serve Him. Discerning where your interests and your abilities intersect will provide insight into how you can find the most satisfaction in your life and follow the path God is calling you to.  

 

Some guidance and career counselors utilize interest inventory tests to help determine what career choices might be a good fit for individuals. However, going back to the Principle of Subsidiarity, parents should make the final decision as to whether or not a student takes these assessments (such as the ones identified below). Please note, Kolbe Academy does not officially endorse these tools.  

 

CliftonStrengths for Students

Originally titled the Clifton Strengths Finder after psychologist Don Clifton, whose purpose in developing the assessment was based on this question: "What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what's wrong with people?"

“We've all wondered who we are and what makes us unique. The CliftonStrengths assessment answers those questions. Every student deserves the opportunity to learn what they naturally do best.” Purchase CliftonStrengths for Students - Gallup (strengthsquest.com)

 

The Highlands Ability Battery

“The Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) is a human assessment tool that objectively measures your natural abilities by asking you to perform specific tasks or exercises. As part of the Highlands Whole Person Model, the HAB is the foundation and starting point to identify the career best suited for you.

 

The HAB was founded on the work of research scientist Johnson O’Connor, who devoted his life to the study of human engineering. Almost a century of research that began with Johnson O’Connor and continues through the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation has established that every individual is born with a pattern of abilities unique to him or her.”

 

There is a fee to take the HAB, but the information gleaned provides great insight. They also offer a free book, Don’t Waste Your Talent: The 8 Critical Steps to Discover What You Do Best. Scroll down the website page below to download Don’t Waste Your Talent. What is the Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) Assessment? (highlandsco.com)

 

Interest Inventory Test

 

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is a website of the US Department of Labor. It offers a free online assessment test based on Dr. John Holland’s Self-Directed Search (SDS). The SDS has been used in high schools for over 40 years to help students determine a career path based on their interests. The site will provide a list of jobs that best match the student’s interests, plus it will lay out the knowledge, skills, and abilities required, and the personality aspects that make the best fit for someone in the career field.  

 

After taking the free test at the this link students can read in depth about careers they may enjoy here. Of course, the results of the profiler are only statistical indicators, so students should not feel discouraged if they do not find their chosen career path on the list of recommended careers at O*NET Online. However, for students who have not yet discerned what they may like to do after high school, the resources found on the Occupational Information Network website may give them some ideas of career avenues to consider. 

 

Values Assessment

 

The Life Values Inventory (©1996) has 42 forced answer questions that relate to 14 values: achievement, belonging, concern for the environment, concern for others, creativity, financial prosperity, health and activity, humility, independence, loyalty to family or group, privacy, responsibility, scientific understanding, and spirituality. life-values-inventory.pdf (kennesaw.edu)

 

Print Resources

 

There are many print resources available to explore career and personality. Here are a few for you to consider exploring with your student:
 

• Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers and Do What You Are by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron are very informative.

• LifeWork: Finding Your Purpose in Life by Rick Sarkisian is a Catholic resource available through Ignatius Press.

• Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types by Monsignor Chester Michael and Marie C. Norrisey explores the relationship between personality type and prayer.

• The Temperament God Gave You: The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord by Art & Laraine Bennett