COUC 522
BENCHMARK PAPER: CAREER SELF-ASSESSMENT AND EXPLORATION EMPLATE T
PART I: CAREER SELF-ASSESSMENT
After completing the Career Inventory Activity (found in Module 2) please address all aspects
of each question in-depth as related to your assessment results or personal reactions The Part I: .
Career Self-Assessment section of your paper should be in length. 4-6 pages
Career Instrument Results
O*NET Interest Profiler
What were your scores/results from the O*NET Interest Profiler?
Using your textbook, read about John Holland’s theory of types (pp. 60–70). Describe
your top 3 Holland vocational personality types. Describe the characteristics of your
types based on your score report, the textbook descriptions, or any additional scholarly
sources (Please do not just list traits, but integrate the traits into a narrative description).
Name the top 2 occupations that resulted from your primary interest area search.
Value Sort Activity
Describe/define your important values from the Value Sort Activity. Provide a detailed
discussion of at least your top 3 values, but no more than 5 values.
Name the top 2 occupations that appeared based on your principal value search.
Spiritual Discernment Decision-Making Factors Survey
Using the survey found at the end of the Horton (2009) article, discuss which decision-
making factors described by Horton are very important to you when making decisions.
Based on these factors, which approach to spiritual discernment, as described by Horton,
are you most likely to follow? Why?
Personal Reactions
Explore your reactions to and feelings about the results of each instrument.
Do the overall results of your self-assessment fit or not fit your self-perception? Why or
why not?
Identify traits of agreement or disagreement related to the Holland code descriptors.
What past and present factors could have influenced your approach to spiritual
discernment? Include family, spiritual heritage and religious background, present
religious beliefs, and past experiences.
Evaluation of Instruments
Examine the assessment instruments for characteristics such as purpose, reading level,
reliability, validity, gender fairness, and cultural fairness to determine suitability for you
personally. Determine if any intrinsic factors such as race, age, gender, or disabling
conditions may have influenced your assessment results.
Describe any external factors such as feeling tired, being rushed, interruptions,
technology issues, etc., that may have influenced your assessment results.
Conceptualization
Describe how the results of each of the assessments appear to relate to or disagree with
one another.
Utilize the concepts of differentiation and consistency from Holland’s theory to help you
conceptualize your top three Holland scores.
Discuss the best work environment fit (congruence) based on your top three Holland
scores.
COUC 522
Discuss the career themes or patterns that emerged.
Describe how your approach to spiritual discernment has influenced your career
development and/or decisions.
Consider your level of satisfaction in past and/or present occupations. How might your
assessment results explain your level of work satisfaction or fulfillment in these
positions?
Describe any recommendations you (as a Career Counselor) would make for yourself
