The Career Aptitude Test

View Interactive

I didn’t think this was possible

The client organisation is a career-focused college. Their customers have typically reached a stage in their career where they feel a little stuck, and decide they want to go back to college to improve their options.

However, they don’t necessarily know what they want to do, they just know they want to do something. That’s where the client provides a service – and content – to help.

With this in mind, one of my colleagues asked if we could make a career aptitude test. I was doubtful. Other than copy someone’s intellectual property, or create a dubious Buzzfeed-esque quiz, what could we do?

But, rather than just saying ‘no’, I asked our data journalist to do a little exploring. And he came back with a bit of a gem. He found a pdf buried in the archives of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Their document allowed you to look up any job, and it would tell you the level of 7 different skills you would need.

But what if we did the reverse?

What if we asked people what level of these skills they had? Then we could tell them which jobs were a match.

So that’s what we did.

As well as presenting the jobs that match your skills, the tool also allows you filter jobs by average salary, predicted job growth, and level of education required.

You can click on each job to find out more. And based on the jobs you’re matched with, the tool also points you to downloadable career guides on the client’s site.

If you’re feeling a little stuck in your career, the tool opens up options to explore.

A lot of people commented online that they found the tool made appropriate suggestions, often including their current occupation within the recommendations.

“Remember those career aptitude tests they had you take in middle school? [Here’s an] easy, interactive version of that test, and it’s much more fun than the middle school version.”

TIME

“Even if you’re not completely sure what you want to do with your life yet, at least you can explore your options.”

Lifehacker

“Although the exam isn’t definitive – no test is – in a matter of minutes it can give you a list of careers that might fit your skills.”

CBS News