A parent at my child’s school was complaining about all the school holidays that teachers get. I pointed out that teachers are working during some of those holidays and that they really need a break to be able to do what they do. I admitted that I couldn’t handle 20 – 30 kids at a time, manage their behaviour and teach them something new, 6 hours a day!

It’s easy to think the grass is greener on the other side. If you or someone you know has job envy – do something about it. Find a careers test to see how you might fit with that particular job area. And look up job guide to see how much study is involved, what the job actually involves and what the training requirements are in your state. You can also visit job outlook to find out employment rates, average pay rates, vacancies by state, and job prospects. And who knows, those green grass tinted glasses might just turn rosy!

Consider someone working in a service skilled area, providing services that cater to the tastes, desires and welfare of others. Such a person would typically value:

• being social → helping others and appreciating the work of charitable service groups
• being practical → having an appreciation of practical ways to assist people and efficient ways of doing things
• being supportive → being a good follower, not needing to exert authority over others, but to support others’ decisions.

One example of someone in this kind of profession would be a preschool teacher. If they were transferred to a different preschool—with their new job having more emphasis on documentation away from the children, being more carefree (requiring a less diligent, more light-hearted, imaginative approach), or requiring them to be in charge, directing colleagues more often—then they might feel less comfortable or fulfilled in the role because of a required shift in values. Many of the things they valued about their role would have changed significantly, leading to stress, reduced job satisfaction and poor performance.

Understanding work values and how they impact performance in a role is key to achieving a good job fit. Considering work values can help people choose a career that will suit them and the way they like to operate. It is so important that interest areas not be the only things considered in determining your students’ or clients’ futures. You really need to use a multidimensional approach to ensure they do not receive shallow or misguiding advice that could impact them for decades—use a career assessment tool that looks at the whole person: their abilities, interests and values.

The mother of a student who recently did a careers assessment—the online COPSystem—with us, was shocked to find out the results indicated the student would suit a trade. “But she’s at the top of her class in all her subjects” was her response. This widespread prejudice against practical occupations and front line roles, may be preventing us from achieving our true potential.

I’ve heard of a CEO who quit his job to pack shelves at the supermarket and a Marketing Executive who moved from the Banking sector to Youth Work. They found their niche in the end but it wasn’t where they first looked! If our preoccupation with executive roles is clouding our perception of what makes a good career, we are really limiting our options. Matching our strengths, interests and values to the right career—be it frontline or management—will give us all a better future.

Secondary students are often unsure what they are good at. And on top of this they have to make year 11 & 12 subject choices that will influence their career options. They need to know what are they’re likely to do well in, where their strengths lie, and what they are capable of. There isn’t any sense in someone who thinks they are good at maths but are actually great at communications, pursuing a degree in accounting. Or someone who thinks they are brilliant at writing only to find out that they were only brilliant in their own mind!

If you know students who aren’t sure where their strengths lie, a comprehensive careers test could help them. Our COPSystem online test ranks abilities by peer group using statistical norms and will give a clear picture of where they should be investing their energy and time. If you haven’t tried the COPSystem Careers Test – contact us for a free trial and see for yourself.

Source: Do People Have Insight Into Their Abilities? A Metasynthesis (E Zell, Z Krizan – Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2014 – pps.sagepub.com)

Much can be read into the way the study was done, what was used to determine happiness and unhappiness, and if it was even reflective of the Australian context but the article does raise some important questions for school students. What would your student’s happiest job be? What would their unhappiest job situation look like? If they’ve had any job experience they might know some of the possible answers. If they haven’t, then it might be hard to imagine what a dream job or worse nightmare might look like. How do you ensure your students spend more time in a job area they love rather than trying a few different courses or jobs before learning what it is?

There are some key factors, such as your abilities, values and interests, that could direct them down the right path. But how do they know what their abilities and strengths are? How do you help them identify what they really value and their exact interests?

A good careers test will be able to identify—what they like, what their strengths are and what’s important to them. The results of a good careers test can provide solid career direction, in a range of careers that can be further investigated and explored.

We invite you to try the COPSystem online careers assessment tool to assist you and your student find subject preference and relevance. What makes the COPSystem different to other careers tests, is the abilities and work values assessments combined with interests.

“The COPSystem assessments not only measure an individual’s interests and abilities as they relate to occupations, but also measure work values and may be a good starting point in a character education component of a career guidance unit. The COPES helps students define how values relate to occupations by measuring the importance of such work environment preferences as Leadership, Independence, or being Social.”

As students begin the career exploration process, it is important for them to have sufficient information so that they will be able to identify the most advantageous career possibilities. With the COPSystem assessments, they can learn more about what interests them, identify and build on their strengths, and explore which types of jobs are most compatible with their personality. Using the results from the COPSystem, students are much more likely to have a more complete picture to prepare them for a career.”^*

To compliment the results, the Australian Job Guide can give you specific information on each career and where to get the qualifications to do the job.

Happy Career Finding!

*Source: http://www.edits.net/information/newsletters/work-values-are-important-in-career-selection.html

Want to know more? Take a tour of the COPSystem or find out more about our Careers Assessment.

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