University Relations
http://www.umn.edu/urelate
612-624-6868


Personality and Interest Inventories (Assessments)


Students often ask if we have any assessments or tests that will tell them which careers would be a good match for them. An assessment won't give you all the answers or tell you exactly what career to pursue, but they can provide some insights into your personality traits and potential career preferences. We offer multiple assessments: the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) + Skills Confidence Inventory, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

  • The newly revised Strong Interest Inventory (SII) and the Skills Confidence Inventory are administered together. The SII will assess your interests (not your personality or values). The Skills Confidence Inventory will assess the way you perceive your ability to perform certain tasks. (It does not assess your potential to develop those abilities.) The results will identify occupations that may align with your interests, and will assess your confidence about doing some of those activities.

  • The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assesses some of your personality traits and preferences. The results suggest majors, careers, and work environments that might be a good match for you. The Myers-Briggs focuses on four personality areas:
    1) your mental focuses and what energizes you
    2) how you process information
    3) how you make decisions, and
    4) how you respond to the outside world
Fee: Each assessment is $15. This fee covers materials and the fee we are charged for results processing.

If you're a CLA student interested in taking either of these assessments, contact the CLA Career Services office at 612-624-7577. After completing the inventory online, you will schedule an appointment with a career counselor, who will interpret your results and discuss them with you, how they might impact your choice of major or career path, and your possible next steps.

Note about Eligibility: Like all our services, these assessments are available only to current CLA students, and to CLA alumni up to one year after graduation.

For students who have taken the SII inventory:
You can compare your SII results to U of M majors and areas of study. This Excel document lists all U of M majors, and the SII codes that align with that major. (The document may take a few seconds to load and open.)