The California Career Zone

I developed my career coaching by doing pro bono work at my church and other churches in Northern California target area. I reviewed www.cacareerzone.org based on where I am going with my coaching career, so I could experience what a job seeker would by using this site.

I entered the California Career Zone and read the history of the website and decided that this is a good place for any job seeker to explore job position targets. Read the About Tab to see if you agree with me.

I took their advice and started with the Assess Yourself tab. There are three assessments that you can take. The Quick Assessment; it takes less than 5 minutes this assessment is based on your personality. I scored as Social, Enterprising, Investigative or SEI. The occupations for this profile included social workers, educators, funeral directors and more.

The second assessment is the Interest Profiler. There are 180 questions in this assessment exercise. It takes less than 30 minutes, but gave me a surprising result. I scored highest as Investigative, next Social and finally Realistic or ISR. The list for ISR occupations is quite large. It started with Respiratory Therapists, Chiropractors, and Engineering Teachers. Down the list was Psychology and Sociology Teachers, Post Secondary. I did not see Career Coach in the list but I would say that it is a form of teaching.

You can continue to refine your answers to the Interest Profiler and it may change your results. I answered everything quickly. I had to like something or dislike something or I was unsure. I did not stop to ponder.

The last assessment is the Work Importance Profiler. This assessment focuses on your ideal job. Work attributes are presented and you rank them in order of importance to you. I really like this exercise; only 21 questions to rank profiling your/my ideal job.

Next a list of the same questions requires a yes or no answer that led to the summary below:

Your top two work values in order of importance are:

· Achievement

· Independence

Your other work values in order of importance are:

· Relationships

· Recognition

· Working Conditions

· Support

Happiness in a job or occupational industry increases when a person considers their work values and work needs. Each work value comprises several needs as shown below:

· The Achievement work value involves the need to use your individual abilities and have a feeling of accomplishment.

· The Independence work value refers to the need to do tasks on your own and use creativity in the workplace. It also involves the need to get a job where you can make your own decisions.

· The Recognition work value involves the need to have the opportunity for advancement, obtain prestige, and have the potential for leadership.

· The Relationships work value includes the need for friendly co-workers, to be able to help others, and not be forced to go against your sense of right and wrong.

· The Support work value involves the need for a supportive company, be comfortable with management's style of supervision, and a competent, considerate, and fair management.

· The Working Conditions work value refers to the need to have your pay comparable to others, and have job security and good working conditions. You also need to be busy all the time and have many different types of tasks on the job.

The list of jobs that matched my answers starts out with Anesthesiologist and includes Clinical Psychologists, Counseling Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, and more.

The occupation that is the best fit for me is Educational, Vocational and School Counselors. There isn’t a category for Career Coach. I found an opening on the list that would fit me: A Job Coach opening in Redding, CA. Wow, I found something and I can apply on-line to CalJobs.com; but what a commute; about 5 hours each way.

What a wonderful exercise, especially when approaching this with the right frame of mind. No test can accurately define you or what job you would be best pursuing. At best they can provide clues that will help you sharpen your thinking. As Dick Bolles’ counsels in his book “The Career Counselor’s Handbook,” The right to decide a career direction must be reserved for the individual alone. Test’s are not equal to the complex task of forecasting an individual’s working future.”

If you use this website correctly, you will treat it as research to get some insight into the options that you have for employment. It will give you clues but the critical thinking is an inside job. You have to think through it for yourself.