The internet is full of quizzes that can provide any level of insight into your personal life. What Game of Thrones character are you? If your dog were a celebrity who would they be? What’s your love language?
Fortunately for those who love a good internet questionnaire, there are quizzes that can also help identify real-world skills and set you on a career path specifically tailored to your abilities.
We’ve gathered 7 of the best career quizzes and personality tests on the web. Whether you need help discovering your ideal professional path or simply want to learn a little more about your strengths to improve the job you already have, these will be sure to point you in the right direction.
1: MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is probably one of the most-used assessments by career centers and managers alike.
The MBTI gives you a sense of your personality preferences: where you get your energy, how you like to take in information, how you make decisions, and what kind of structure you like in the world around you.
The results from the questionnaire then place you into one of 16 personalities, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.The results of the MBTI can help point to careers that might suit you well, they can also provide valuable information about what kind of workplaces might be best for you, what your working preferences are, and how you can best relate to others at the office.
Cost: $175
2: DiSC
The DiSC Behavior Inventory (DiSC) measures a candidate’s primary traits based on four personality types; dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness.
Companies use the DiSC as a tool to help understand an employee’s professional behavior style and his or her ability to work as part of a team. The questionnaire can be used for leadership and executive development, management training, sales training, conflict management, team building, customer services, communication and job coaching.
DiSC is extremely user-friendly and it is significantly shorter than other tests, ranging from 12 to 30 questions. Candidates are provided with adjectives or phrases and asked to choose which they feel applies to them the most and the least.
Cost: $64.50
3: GALLUP STRENGTHSFINDER
My personal favorite, StrengthsFinder aims to help you discover your natural strengths and provides strategies you can use for applying them. The test is built on the premise of positive psychology, meaning that, instead of focusing on weaknesses which can often leave you feeling drained and frustrated by an overall lack of progress, you should instead focus on natural strengths that build off what you do best.
Overall, there are 34 strengths or “themes” that serve as a foundation of the test. Reports include your top 5 strengths and provide information to better understand how you approach projects, work and completing your goals. StrengthsFinder is also great for understanding why you may not do work well with certain personality types or learning styles and explores your ideal environment for personal success.
Cost: $49.99
4: THE ENNEAGRAM
The Enneagram is based on an ancient body of wisdom that identifies nine core personality types and how each sees and interacts with the world. This test tells you which of the nine Enneagram types you are most like: the reformer, the helper, the achiever, the individualist, the investigator, the loyalist, the enthusiast, the challenger, or the peacemaker.
The nine personality types, while distinct, are also interlinked. The Enneagram system believes that each of us has a dominant personality type inside of us that drives how we think, behave, learn, see the world, and evolve. Additionally, this test explores how well you work with co-workers and shows you how to improve in certain areas where you may have scored low.
Cost: $12
5: SELF-DIRECTED SEARCH
The Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a career assessment and exploration tool that matches your aspirations, activities, and talents to the career choices and educational opportunities that fit you best. It is built around the idea that people and jobs can be categorized into six different types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, or conventional.
After providing information about your aspirations, favorite activities, interests, etc., you’ll receive the three types that best fit you, along with a list of careers that generally suit people with the same three types.
Cost: $9.95
6: THE BIG FIVE
This quick test shares information on how you work and relate to others. This psychology-based questionnaire measures your personality characteristics on a spectrum of five dimensions. You’ll receive information on how self-disciplined you are, how extroverted you are, how you handle stressful situations, how open you are to new experiences, and how agreeable you are.
The Big Five personality test is an excellent tool to help increase your self-awareness. While it is less extensive than the previously listed MBTI test, it can still shed some light on your likes and dislikes, which can be useful in determining what career is best suited for your personality.
Cost: Free
7: MY NEXT MOVE O*NET INTERESTS PROFILER
Sponsored by the US Department of Labor, this tool uses a method similar to the formerly listed Self-Directed Search to help you identify where your career interests lie. It then points you towards career paths that might feed those interests.
Additionally, the results section provides the option to search for different careers by how much preparation is necessary to get into them, allowing you to find options that are a fit to your current skill level.
Cost: Free
All in all, it can be difficult to segment any one person into a definitive category, which is what many online personality tests try to do. Your results shouldn’t be seen as a strict guide for your future but should be used to better understand yourself and your behavioral style. With this newly gained insight, you can then look for a career or environment that will allow you to thrive to the best of your individual ability.