The Test Solution “Career Counseling” is designed to assess key psychological characteristics that are relevant for successful professional development and well-founded career decisions. The Test Solution is based on a broad empirical foundation of meta-analyses, longitudinal studies, and vocational psychological theories and includes the core areas of vocational interests, cognitive abilities, and personality traits.
Vocational interests represent a central pillar in career guidance. They are a significant predictor of occupational and academic satisfaction and performance. Sackett et al. (2021), in a revision of the findings by Schmidt and Hunter (1998), showed that the relative relevance of interests with regard to occupational success is higher than originally assumed compared with other procedures (see Evaluation). A well-known model regarding the importance of vocational interests is Holland’s RIASEC model (1985). Meta-analyses have shown that small to moderate relationships exist between RIASEC interest congruence and academic and occupational performance (Nye et al., 2012; Nye et al., 2017) as well as job satisfaction (Hoff et al., 2020). Positive correlations between interest congruence and satisfaction with the chosen field of study have also already been demonstrated (Bai & Liao, 2019). In a recent meta-analysis, De Vries et al. (2024) found significant relationships between academic success, persistence and satisfaction and the congruence between person and field of study, whereby a number of additional personal characteristics as well as the type of measurement proved relevant, with the former showing significance only within the context of a sensitivity analysis. Differentiated relationships between individual RIASEC factors and job-related competencies have been demonstrated in the military context (Van Iddekinge et al., 2011). Assessing the individual interest profile therefore makes it possible to identify educational and career paths that match the personal interests of the counseled person as closely as possible, and to align career guidance accordingly.
To enable a differentiated consideration of individual learning prerequisites and occupational strengths, it is also informative to take a person’s cognitive abilities into account. In the context of career and educational counseling, the assessment of cognitive abilities is not primarily intended to assign people to specific educational paths, but rather serves as an orientation aid that supports people in independently choosing career paths in which they can optimally use their cognitive resources. Numerous studies show that cognitive abilities are central predictors of performance and learning success in education and work (Roth et al., 2015; Deary et al., 2007; Peng & Kievit, 2019; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Sackett et al., 2021; Hambrick et al., 2024). Logical reasoning correlates particularly strongly with examination and graduation grades in these studies, while numerical ability reliably predicts academic success in STEM subjects, and verbal ability predicts grades in humanities and social sciences (Roth et al., 2015; Peng & Kievit, 2019). A meta-analysis by Diedrich et al. (2018) showed that verbal, numerical and spatial-figural intelligence together with conscientiousness explain up to 37% of the variance in vocational school graduation grades. In addition to general cognitive abilities, more specific performance areas such as ability to concentrate, long-term memory and, especially in technical and design contexts, spatial visualization ability play an important role. For technical and scientific performance and corresponding occupational success, spatial visualization ability is a central predictor and shows incremental validity beyond verbal and numerical abilities (Berkowitz & Stern, 2018; National Research Council [NRC], 2015; Lubinski, 2010; Uttal & Cohen, 2012; Shea et al., 2001; Webb et al., 2007). For success in mathematics and physics, general intelligence, numerical ability and verbal ability proved predictive (Berkowitz & Stern, 2018). For selection and training in mechanical occupations as well as success in practical-technical further training, mechanical-technical comprehension represents a central predictor (McDaniels & Reynolds, 1955; Mayberry & Carey, 1997).
Although the predictive validity of personality traits is lower than that of cognitive abilities (Zisman & Ganzach, 2022), they are nevertheless important for occupational fit, performance and satisfaction. A meta-analysis by Mammadov (2022) shows that conscientiousness in particular, controlled for intelligence, is a consistent predictor of academic performance, followed by openness to experience and agreeableness. Overall, conscientiousness emerges as a central driver of academic performance, openness is essential for intellectual curiosity and research success, and emotional stability, extraversion and agreeableness each make specific but smaller contributions (Mammadov, 2022; Wang et al., 2023). Meta-analyses and longitudinal studies on vocational training also confirm that conscientiousness is a significant personality predictor (Diedrich et al., 2018; Nießen et al., 2020; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). The analysis of these characteristics can provide guidance toward career paths in which individuals can particularly develop their personality, while also making development potential visible.
Based on these findings, and to obtain the most comprehensive possible assessment of individual interests, strengths and personality structure, the Test Solution “Career Counseling” includes the following areas and dimensions:
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Cognitive Abilities: Logical reasoning (INT), Numerical ability (INT), Verbal ability (INT), Spatial visualization ability (INT), Long-term memory (INT), Ability to concentrate (TACO), Mechanical-technical comprehension (MECH)
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Personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Emotional stability (FCB5)
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Interests: Realistic interests, Investigative interests, Artistic interests, Social interests, Entrepreneurial interests and Conventional interests (PRIO)
The integration of these three areas enables a comprehensive assessment of individual potentials and interests. The report first presents the RIASEC interest type as well as an overview of the interest profile and its level of differentiation, enabling a quick assessment of potentially suitable occupational areas. In addition, a result table provides a systematic overview of strengths and development areas based on raw scores and percentile ranks, average to above-average performance is marked in green (≥ PR25), slightly below average in yellow (≥ PR16), and clearly below average in red (< PR16). For more detailed results, the individual test results can be consulted. In German-language reports, the PRIO results additionally provide concrete recommendations for suitable occupational areas and professional activities. The Test Solution “Career Counseling” therefore supports the identification of career perspectives that harmonize with individual interests, cognitive strengths and personality traits. It provides a well-founded basis for differentiated, practice-oriented career decisions aimed at long-term occupational satisfaction, sustainable development and realistic chances of success. In addition, the SFS Test Solutions offer a wide range of occupation-specific test combinations to assess the fit between a person and a specific occupational profile. The test duration is approximately 76 minutes.
References can be found here: Literature