MnCareers Interest Assessment
Before you choose a career or start a job search, you should know which careers match your personality. Picking the right job increases your chances of future job satisfaction and career success.
What is an interest assessment?
When you go on a trip, you know what to pack in your suitcase, right? As you explore careers, you should know what skills, talents, and personality traits you bring to the workplace. Taking an interest assessment can help you understand which careers might be the best fit for you.
An interest assessment will give you a broad list of career options that match your interests. Check out the interest assessment printed in MnCareers. Likewise, skills assessments find careers with duties that match your skill sets.
If any assessment gives you a list of careers that is not interesting to you or that you'd never seriously considered, don't panic. You should always take a few assessments, talk with a career counselor, and discuss your options with family and friends before making your career decision. The overall goal of an assessment is to get you thinking about careers that you might enjoy.
If you are looking for more help with assessing your interests, talk to a career counselor, or go to a workshop at a Minnesota WorkForce Center. The WorkForce Centers offer several skills and interests assessments— some you do alone and others require a counselor.
The MnCareers Interest Assessment
Discover how your interests relate to occupations. Take this inventory and create your own "interest profile" that corresponds to matching occupations and their descriptions. The MnCareers Interest Assessment (1.15MB, .pdf) is a simple 42–statement quiz.
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Tips for taking the MnCareers Interest Assessment
Here are a few simple tips to taking the assessment
- Read each statement on the assessment. If you agree with the statement, fill in the corresponding square. If the statement doesn't match your interests, leave it blank.
- Add each column and record the number of filled circles for each letter at the bottom of the page. The three letters with the highest scores are your interest profile.
- Read the descriptions for each interest type in your Interest Profile.
- Match your interest profile with career clusters and start exploring careers.
Ready? Take the MnCareers Interest Assessment (1.15MB, .pdf) now.
What is the Holland Interest Assessment?
This MnCareers Interest Assessment is based on Holland's Inventory of Basic Interests, sometimes called the RIASEC assessment. The Holland interest assessment shows that people with similar personal interest types often like the same types of careers.
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Holland Interest Profiles
Here are a few simple tips to taking the assessment
R = Realistic
I = Investigative
A = Artistic
S = Social
E = Enterprising
C = ConventionalAfter completing the assessment, you'll have an interest profile that matches occupations in various career clusters. If you already know your Holland interest profile, you can jump ahead to Matching Interest Types to Career Clusters. If not, take this assessment (1.15 MB, .pdf) now.
Remember— interest assessments aren't always completely accurate. It is recommended to take more than one assessment, and talk to people who know you or know about career interests before making your final career choice.
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What are the Holland Interest Types?
What does each interest type mean? Read the descriptions for your top three types to see how well they match your personality and interests. Then, look for careers that match your top interests.
R - Realistic people are DOERS.
Personality Traits
You are probably practical, reserved, curious and persistent. You are good at solving problems. You prefer to work with things, like machines, tools and greenery.Hobbies and Career Interests
You probably like to work with your hands to build or fix things. You like to play sports, be physically active and do outdoor activities. You are often good at activities that involve electronics, mechanics, engineering, lab work, farming and carpentry work.I - Investigative people are THINKERS.
Personality Traits
You are probably curious, observant and analytical. You're usually like to work independently rather than on a team.Hobbies and Career Interests
You are probably good at math and science, or enjoy analyzing other types of data. You probably like to do things like solve puzzles and figure out difficult problems. You often enjoy reading, investigating and research, or using scientific or computer equipment.A - Artistic people are CREATORS.
Personality Traits
You are probably intuitive, sensitive and imaginative. You usually prefer to work in unstructured situations where you can use your creativity and come up with new ideas.Hobbies and Career Interests
You probably enjoy performing or creating visual arts. You like to attend concerts, plays or go to museums. You might enjoy fashion, creative writing, drawing and creating new things in a variety of settings.S - Social people are HELPERS.
Personality Traits
You are friendly, empathetic, cooperative and responsible. You probably like to work directly with people rather than things. You prefer to work as part of a team, and sometimes lead or coordinate activities.Hobbies and Career Interests
You probably enjoy teaching, counseling or curing others. You might be a good public speaker or trainer, and like playing team sports. You might seek out situations where you can work with children, the elderly, people with special needs, or diverse populations.E - Enterprising people are PERSUADERS.
Personality Traits
You are probably enthusiastic, assertive, adventurous and talkative. You like to start new projects and make decisions that affect others. You like to work with other people and often prefer to be in leadership positions.Hobbies and Career Interests
You probably enjoy influencing, persuading and performing. You are good at selling things, promoting ideas and managing people. You might also enjoy starting your own business or running for political office.C - Conventional people are ORGANIZERS.
Personality Traits
You are respectful, orderly, persistent and practical. You probably like working with numbers and are good at following instructions. You like working in structured situations with set goals and deadlines.Hobbies and Career Interests
You are likely to be detail oriented and enjoy working with data. You are often good at following budgets, creating reports, and making sure that systems and projects work efficiently and effectively. -
Matching Interest Types to career clusters
All 16 career clusters are divided by interest types below. Most clusters are listed more than once because they have several occupations that match different Holland interest types. Find occupations that are likely to match your interests by clicking on the clusters listed under interest types.
R-Realistic
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Arts, A/V Technology and Communications
Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
I-Investigative
A-Artistic
S-Social
Arts, A/V Technology and Communications
Government and Public Administration
E-Enterprising
Arts, A/V Technology and Communications
Business, Management and Administration
Government and Public Administration
C-Conventional
