Choosing a career path? It can feel like you’re stuck at this huge intersection with roads branching off everywhere. Some people are confident in their path from a very young age. However, for most, it is not so clear. You might change your interests, have new opportunities, and the “right fit” will not be as clear as you expect. This is where an interest inventory makes all the difference.

An interest inventory is a structured approach to research what kinds of tasks, activities and environments you naturally gravitate toward. As opposed to asking you to rely on trial and error, Interest Inventory provides a researched-based picture of the careers and disciplines you are most likely to find fulfillment. So why choose to take an interest inventory? Let us break it down.

What Is an Interest Inventory?

 To put it simply, an interest inventory is a type of assessment that gauges your passions rather than just your abilities. A résumé will highlight your talents and experiences, however an inventory will go deeper to examine your individual tastes (likes and dislikes) over your achievements.

Interest inventories have been around for decades. The Strong Interest Inventory, often known as the Strong Interest Test or the Strong Inventory Test, is the most commonly referred inventory. E.K. Strong, a psychologist, established it in the 1920s, and it is now one of the most studied and respected metrics in the field of career counseling.

An interest inventory is not a personality test that measures how you think or interact; rather, it asks questions about your work preferences, interests, and working environment. It compares your comments to those of you who are successfully and comfortably engaged in various industries. The rationale is that if you have similar tastes to someone who feels fulfilled in that industry, there is a good chance you will enjoy that employment as well.

 

Why Do People Take Interest Inventories?

 People turn to interest inventories at different stages of life. Here are the most common scenarios:

• High school and college students: High school and college students: Let’s face it, choosing a college major or first career is An inventory emphasizes subjects that align with a student’s inherent interests, making the career, college major, college and High School curriculum selection process less overwhelming.
• Career changers: After spending 5, 10, or even 20 years in a job, many professionals wonder if they’re truly happy. An interest inventory might help them discover new directions that fit better with what excites them these days
• Job seekers: When searching for work, if you don’t know which opportunity to focus on, an interest inventory can help you narrow down potential options.
• Counselors and Psychologists: These Professionals utilize modality and work to help clients make confident, well-informed decisions regarding education and employment. An interest inventory is widely used by counselors and psychologists to aid their clients in career choice, as well as college endeavors.

Simply put, an inventory is helpful when a person is asking, “What would make me feel engaged and happy at work?”

How Interest Inventories Work

 The majority of common interest inventories, the Strong Interest Inventory Test included, derive from psychologist John Holland and his RIASEC model. The RIASEC model groups interests into six themes:

• Realistic (hands-on, practical tasks)
• Investigative (researching, analyzing, problems solving)
• Artistic (creative tasks)
• Social (helping, teaching, counseling)
• Enterprising (persuading, leading, managing)
• Conventional (clerical or detail-oriented tasks)

So once you finish the assessment, they give you this report that basically combines everything you answered into a profile. It’ll show you what kind of stuff you’re actually interested in.

Like maybe you end up with something called an “Artistic-Social” result. Which basically means you’d probably do well in careers like design, counseling, teaching, that sort of thing. Jobs where you’re being creative or helping people, not stuck in a cubicle crunching numbers all day.

The Strong Interest Inventory elaborates further through the following categories:

• Basic Interest Scales (specific areas of interest such as healthcare, writing, law, )
• Occupational Scales (comparison to an occupational group, specifically, individuals who report a high degree of satisfaction with work in that field
• Personal Style Scales (comfortable working on team projects or independently, leadership opportunities, compatible learning style, risk tolerance).

The aggregated results of the survey will not only produce a report stating, for example, “You might enjoy working in marketing” or “you would fit right into healthcare,” it offers a clear roadmap of how your interests align with paths of practice in the world of work.

Types of Interest Inventories

 While the standard Strong Interest Inventory is the most recognized, it is not the only option. There are Strong Interest Inventory high school editions that are specifically designed to assist teenagers to begin thinking about their current and future pathways with high school curriculum and future career choice as well as extra curricular activities that might be available to them that match their interests.

Strong Interest Inventory college editions that link interests and personal preferences, such as risk-taking and teamwork, with potential college majors and careers, are available via online practitioners.

Some interest inventories are brief online quizzes, while some are lengthier with supported research and clinically supervised tools completed with an interpretation session with a certified administrator.

That being said, the Strong Interest Inventory Test is still the gold standard. With many decades of data, updates, and relevancy, it is still one of the most valid means to link interests with careers that individuals may find satisfying.

Who Should Take an Interest Inventory?

 An interest inventory is useful throughout most periods of an individual’s life.

• Students: You can gain useful direction before committing time, energy, and money into a degree.
• Career changers: Consider taking an inventory before switching to a new field that may not excite you; this could provide a path away from unfulfilling jobs.
• Professionals: You may seek clarity on the current role in the workplace to see if it is still in alignment to your interests that are developing.
• Counselors: Interest inventories serve as practical resources when guiding clients through career exploration and helping them identify satisfying professional paths.

Whether someone’s 17 and freaking out about picking a major or they’re 45 and sick of their current job, the questions bouncing around in their head are pretty much identical: What won’t make me miserable? Where the heck do I even fit?

Advantages of Taking an Interest Inventory

So, why might someone undertake an interest inventory? There are several potential advantages listed below:

1.  Clarity in Career Decision-Making

Rather than trying to guess or simply change professions, you will gain insight into what professions may best fit your interest patterns, characteristics, and lifestyle preferences.

2.  Reduced Anxiety

Choosing a career can be exciting at first but also pretty intimidating at the same time. An interest inventory helps you by narrowing down your options, which takes some of the pressure and anxiety of your systems in the whole process.

3.  Exploring Interests You May Not Even Know You Have

People often discover careers they had never thought of prior to completing an interest inventory. In one instance, an individual who enjoyed working with numbers discovered they had interests similar to actuaries or data analysts.

4.  Increased Job Satisfaction and Happiness

You’re way more likely to feel satisfied in your career when it actually lines up with your interests and what you’re aiming for professionally.

5.  Better Fit within the Team

Professionally, working with others who share your interests helps to increase appreciation of your coworkers, creating a sense of community, which can lead to further career satisfaction. The Strong Inventory will assist with this by identifying environments where you may obtain a higher probability of developing this feeling of camaraderie.

To Wrap Things Up: What’s the Point of an Interest Inventory?

We’ve all met that person who makes decent money, has a job their parents brag about, but absolutely hates going to work. Or maybe that’s you right now. Because here’s the thing, having a career that doesn’t make you want to bang your head against a wall isn’t about the salary or some fancy designation on your business card.

Interest inventories basically help you figure out what you’re actually into. Not what your parents think you should do, not what sounds impressive at family gatherings, what YOU like doing.

Maybe you’ll realize you dislike working in teams, or that you need a job where you’re solving problems, not just following orders. Once you know that stuff, you can actually look at careers that make sense instead of just applying everywhere and hoping something sticks.

Thinking about quitting your job? Or just wondering if there’s something better out there? The Strong Interest Inventory Test has been around for many years and people actually use it for a reason.

Take it, see what comes up. It might surprise you. Might not. But at least you’ll have something concrete instead of using job boards and sending resume’s to jobs you don’t really want, leaving you feeling overwhelmed.

Discover what excites you! You may be only one interest inventory away from the next chapter of your life!