Integrating Assessments With Career Conversations

1. Integrating Assessments With Career Conversations Presented by: Dr. Roberta Neault, Life Strategies Ltd. www.lifestrategies.ca

2. Agenda • A Pan-Canadian perspective • 10 tips for integrating assessments into career conversations

3. A Pan-Canadian Perspective • Funder • FLMM Career Development Services Working Group • Purpose • To identify and understand: • Current uses and limitations of assessment processes, models, and tools • Benefits associated with existing tools • Gaps and areas where new work may be needed • Methods • Literature review, key informant interviews, survey

4. Results • Little overlap between • What key informants taught • What survey respondents used • Some evidence of a “one size fits all” approach • Rich mixture of informal and standardized assessments • Caution to not over-rely on assessment instruments • Many specific assessments used with diverse populations • For career decision-making • Interest assessments widely used

5. Popular Assessment Tools GROP

6. Considerations for Effective Use • Use a systematic, holistic framework • e.g., the Wheel, developed by Amundson • Learn about a wide range of assessments • Research appropriate use of assessment tools for diverse client groups

7. 10 Tips for Integrating Assessments with Career Conversations

8. 1. Choose Wisely

9. Purpose of Assessment • Career decision-making • Employee screening and selection • Career and leadership development • Team strengthening • Succession planning

10. Types of Assessments • Informal • Checklists • Games • Fantasies • Forced-choice activities • Card sorts • Structured interviews • Formal • Needs • Interests • Skills • Aptitude/Achievement • Work Values • Personal Style

11. Qualification Levels • A – unrestricted access • B – university training in tests/measurements • C – advanced training and supervision

12. 10 Tips for Selecting Assessments • Clarify goals • Consider the implications of testing (or not) • Decide to test or not to test • Determine budget • Identify special considerations • Avoid a “one size fits all” approach • Research options • Find the right tool(s) for your purpose • Determine logistics • Confirm qualification levels of assessment specialists

13. 2. PREPARE

14. Allow Sufficient Time • Read and highlight • Manuals • Reports • Client files • Referral requests • Conduct additional research if needed

15. How Many Buds Are in the Image?

16. What Did You Miss?

17. Be Aware of... • Confirmatory bias • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Too narrow or too broad of a focus

18. 3. integrate

19. Look at the Big Picture • Consider assessment goals • Integrate contextual information • Dig deeper • Question unusual or contradictory results • Check for missing information • Cross-check with other information sources • Explore flat profiles or random responses • Don’t get bogged down with irrelevant details

20. The Wheel The top half of the Wheel includes external factors (e.g. opportunities, experiences). __________________________ The bottom half of the Wheel includes personal characteristics (e.g. skills, interests). Reproduced with permission from Career Pathways 2nd Ed. (Amundson & Poehnell, 2008)

21. 4. REFLECT

22. Points to Ponder • Potential impact of assessment results • How best to communicate them • Charts? • Graphs? • Reports? • Case examples? • Role play? • Metaphors?

23. 5. FOCUS THE CONVERSATION

24. Career Conversations vs. Performance Conversations • Career conversations • Express career aspirations and concerns • Explore opportunities • Identify goals and next steps • May mention performance • Performance conversations • Focus on a review of performance • Provide an opportunity to benchmark • May identify gaps in need of development

25. If Performance is an Issue... • Ensure performance is “solid” in current job • Offer clear benchmarking and gap analysis • Identify specific strategies to build competency • Provide access to supports • Coaching, self-study, course, external training • Collaborate on action planning • Agree on change/growth plan and timeline

26. 6. DON’T OVERINTERPRET

27. Explore Contradictions

28. 7. DON’T “TEST AND TELL”

29. Beyond “Test and Tell” “[Some] practitioners…conceptualize career counselling as a process of administering tests and providing occupational information. Such views freeze career counselling at the turn of the last century.” ~Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey (2002) Career Counseling Strategies and Techniques for the 21st Century

30. 8. Establish “smart” goals

31. SMART GOALS Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Limited

32. 9. Identify Action Steps

33. Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. ~Joel Barker

34. 10. Facilitate sharing

35. Appropriate Sharing • Get “informed consent” up front • Who owns the results? • How will they be used? • Be strategic • How can the results be helpful? • How can they best be communicated?

36. 10 Tips for Integrating Assessments with Career Conversations • Choose wisely • Prepare • Integrate • Reflect • Focus the conversation • Don’t overinterpret • Don’t test and tell • Establish SMART goals • Identify action steps • Facilitate appropriate sharing