Career Aptitude Test

Only 49% of Americans report that they are currently satisfied with their job.

There are many reasons why so many people are unhappy in their work-life. Some enter a field they have no interest in, only realizing it once they’ve already committed to a path. Others feel stymied in their careers, lacking the aptitude or career development skills to advance further.

Career aptitude tests offer a quick and convenient method to prevent these dilemmas. By assessing a variety of personal attributes, such as skills, motivations, and values, these tests provide you critical guidance for advancing your career.

In this article, we’ll show you the many ways that career assessments can markedly increase your chances for future career success. We’ll also provide you with the top free career aptitude tests that’ll offer you the guidance you need.

How a Career Test Can Help

Millions of professionals can testify to the value that career aptitude tests provide. Their benefits have been scientifically studied and are backed by career guidance technicians.

Such tests come in various forms. Some are general psychometric assessments, assessing your interests, behaviors, and values to guide you towards career paths in which you’re most likely to succeed.

Others are industry-specific, asking area-related questions to test your level of knowledge. By identifying your weaknesses, these tests offer insight and appropriate training resources.

There are many other benefits to career tests, such as:

• Reveal your strengths and weaknesses. Understanding your strengths allows you to plan career decisions to play to them. Knowing your shortcomings lets you know where to improve or what career paths to avoid altogether.

• Break out of stagnancy. If it’s been years since you’ve advanced in your career, it could be because of you or your employer. An aptitude assessment will help you determine if you’re making career-hampering mistakes or if you should just change employers.

• Know your value. Many career tests can effectively determine your industry standing. If you’re considering asking for a raise, take an aptitude test first to double-check.

• Supported by data. Quality career aptitude tests are updated continuously by professional career counselors according to feedback and data. Others use machine learning models.

  If a popular test offers you a piece of advice, then it’s probably held true for someone else in a similar position.

• Quick and free. Twenty minutes is a small fee for potentially important information. If you don’t learn anything new, that’s no harm done.

List of Free Career Aptitude Tests

• General career tests. The following are career tests that can produce useful career-related insights for anyone.

  1. 123test: Career Aptitude Test. This test is based on “Holland Codes,” a system of classifying job categories by personality traits. Updated and improved since the 1990s, this method is currently used by the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

     Rather than asking you questions like a conventional test, you’ll be shown four photos. Each picture depicts work that corresponds to a specific personality type. You’re then asked to choose both your favorite and least favorite activity.

     After 15 questions, the test will provide you a list of suggested careers that fit your personality.

  2. 16Personalities: Free Personality Test. This Myer-Briggs type indicator is one of the most trusted and popular personality tests in the world.

     Answer questions relating to your hypothetical behaviors and personal values to find your personality type.

     Your result is a combination of four dimensions:

     • Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I). How you socialize.

     • Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). How you use information.

     • Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). How you make decisions.

     • Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). How you deal with the world.

     Studies have shown a close correlation between a person’s results in this test and their suitability for certain careers. This is so often accurate that top companies regularly use the test to assess employees and applicants.

  3. My Next Move: O*NET Interest Profiler. Answer 60 questions to identify where your occupational passions lie.

     In addition to assessing your surface-level interests, this test examines your core values and behaviors.

     These factors are used together to detect interests you didn’t even know you had. If you’ve been itching for a career change, this test is perfect for you.

     After the test, you can explore your results through two features:

     • Current job zone. Explore personality-matched careers that you’re already qualified for.

     • Future job zone. Learn how much experience and education you’ll need to apply for your matched positions.

  4. CareerExplorer: Career Test. This test gives you personalized career matches and insights by measuring your personal history, goals, and interests.

     A machine learning model is used to constantly improve the test’s accuracy. This way, you can be sure that your results are a close fit.

  5. What Career Is Right For Me? This test asses four different personality aspects:

     • Skills

     • Interests

     • Workstyle

     • Values

     By comprehensively covering multiple aspects, this test maximizes its chances of finding relevant results. Rather than only providing job descriptions like many other career tests, this one directly links you to job openings and listings.

  6. Truity: Big Five Personality Test. This test assesses your scores for five major personality traits:

     • Openness

     • Conscientiousness

     • Extraversion

     • Agreeableness

     • Neuroticism

     Many are surprised by the difference between their self-perceptions and how they actually are. Understanding how others perceive you is a powerful tool for changing or improving your behavior.

     This career test is fast and easy, taking only 10 minutes.

• Industry-specific career tests. Unlike the general aptitude tests, these are designed with a time limit in mind.

  Ensure you complete them in one session and don’t cheat, or your results won’t be accurate. You’ll have to be your own test proctor.

  1. FunEducation: Business Manager Aptitude Test. This career assessment focuses on the aspects relevant to management and leadership.

     The results show how your work behaviors, abilities, and personality traits compare to others in the industry.

     You can use these to determine areas for improvement and whether management is a viable career direction.

  2. Nursing.jnj: Nursing Specialty Finder. With numerous specialties available to nurse practitioners, and even more sub-specialties, the scope of choices can be bewildering.

     This test is designed to find that perfect specialty for you, no matter how far you’ve progressed in your career.

     Start the quiz by choosing whether you’re already a nurse, in nursing school, or considering nursing school. This branching strategy continues to ask about your interests, experience, and abilities until it finally pinpoints the nursing specialty that matches you.

  3. DrJosephHammer: Mental Health Professionals Career Test. This test will provide you scores for a variety of mental health professions based on your personality and levels of interest.

     Learn which mental health career suits you, including vocational counselor, clinical psychologist, and psychiatric aide.

     Your results will be displayed in a comprehensive interpretation chart, filled with information about your top matches’ salary, duties, and educational requirements.

  4. AssessmentDay: Mechanical Reasoning Test. Mechanical reasoning skills are required by professionals, such as engineers and technicians.

     This test assesses how well individuals can apply critical thinking to practical physical environments.

     Candidates will be asked questions relating to topics such as:

     • Tools

     • Gears and Maps

     • Pulleys

     • Levers

     • Springs

     Highly specific mathematical knowledge of the above topics is not required, but rather an understanding of their fundamental principles and interactions.

     For example, one question might depict a mechanical problem or scenario. You’ll then be asked to identify the appropriate tools and objects for the job.

     If you plan on pursuing a career as a nuclear test technician or mechanical engineer, make sure you possess these foundational skills.

  5. TutorialRide: Teaching Aptitude Test. This test is for prospective teachers to check if they’re ready for the accreditation exams they’ll need to pass.

     While the questions do cover generally important aspects of teaching aptitude, they’re mainly formatted to be similar to those present on the National Eligibility Test (NET) for teachers.

     There are questions measuring your ability to provide counseling and assistance to students, which are important for other careers such as career guidance technicians.

  6. Mettl: Aptitude Test For Financial Analysts and Finance Managers. This quiz is designed to cater to professionals who already have 2-5 years in finance. See how you match up to your competitors with similar amounts of experience.

     You will be evaluated on multiple key parameters, such as data analysis, logical reasoning, and numerical ability.

     Expect to answer questions relating to:

     • Recognizing trends in revenue and profitability.

     • Utilizing data to support forecasting and budget-setting.

     • Calculating and comparing returns on investment.

  7. Criteriacorp: Pre-Employment Tests For Marketing Managers. When hiring marketing managers, recruiters look for applicants who are both creative and analytical.

     This career test is composed of two different exams to assess both of these facets:

     • Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT). The CCAT measures one’s ability to solve problems, understand and use new information, and think critically.

     • Employee Personality-Profile (EPP). The EPP assesses the creative abilities of a candidate, among other personality traits.

  8. University of Kent: Computer Programming Aptitude Test. The University of Kent offers a free test to assess your potential in software development without requiring any existing knowledge of programming.

     Three key abilities are tested:

     • Logical thinking and problem-solving. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are critical in software development. Your ability to solve the test’s abstract problems will translate to your ability to solve the kinds of challenges involved in programming.

     • Pattern and syntax recognition. As a single misplaced semicolon can crash a program, it’s essential to assess your ability to understand syntax.

       Among other topics, questions will ask you to compare similarities and differences in strings, label graphical representations of symbols, and detect which elements don’t belong in a set.

     • Ability to follow complex procedures. Your ability to understand complex procedures is vital for multiple aspects of software development.

       Not only will it be required for writing coherent code, but in interpreting the complex requirements and instructions present in any software development work environment.

       Some types of questions relate to sorting and manipulating items in a set, interpreting flow programs, and sequencing events in a logical order.

     Other relevant attributes are assessed, such as time management, creativity, and teamwork skills.

     This test is also useful for other careers that require the ability to understand complex procedures and troubleshoot technical problems, such as test administrators.

  9. RSVPSelling: Sales Aptitude. 50 minutes is all it takes to assess your sales abilities in two critical areas:

     • Theory

     • Practical sales situations

     Answer according to what you believe, rather than what you think is
     theoretically correct.

     Once the exam is completed, you’ll see your scores in seven areas of sales competency:

     • Sales process

     • Communication

     • Knowledge, attitude, and skill

     • Opening

     • Closing

     • Objection handling

     • Opportunity development

     Use these test results to identify your strengths and areas that require improvement.

     Other professionals that require customer service and communication skills should also take this test, such as test proctors.

Knowledge Is Power

Millions of Americans are stuck in careers in which they lack interest or ability.

Career aptitude-tests are the perfect tool to empower you to make informed career decisions and avoid these pitfalls.

Understanding which of your strengths to play towards and which weaknesses to improve is critical for any career success. The tests we’ve provided offer you this understanding and so much more.

They’re free, convenient, and most importantly, supported by data.

Once you’ve discovered the career path to pursue, feel free to take advantage of Zippia’s many other job advancement tools.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Expert

Matt Warzel, CPRW, CIR

Matt Warzel a President of a resume writing firm (MJW Careers, LLC) with 15+ years of recruitment, outplacement, career coaching and resume writing experience. Matt is also a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing Focus) from John Carroll University.