Use your values to help determine a meaningful path forward
When thinking about what path you want to pursue in life, determining which values are most important to you is helpful. If you aren’t sure which values are most important, try our Vision Setting activity before moving forward.
If you already completed the Vision Setting activity, you can continue clarifying your future by exploring your interests, skills, and preferences for working with others.
What are your interests and how do they connect with possible careers? What are you good at? How do you communicate? These big questions can be hard to answer, but we have some surveys to help you clarify your passions, strengths, and the types of environments you might enjoy working in. Pick one to get started.
The HIGH5 Test » (120 questions, 20 minutes)
This FREE test will help outline your five biggest strengths to provide you with more insight on what makes you thrive.
The Big 5 Test » (15 minutes)
This more commonly used personality test will help you consider your strengths, communication styles, and likely interests
Reflect! What did you learn from doing one (or both) of the strengths tests? Did the outcome match how you see yourself? What surprised you? Write down your results and your reflection.
Now that you’ve reflected on your values, set some intentions and used one of the tests above to determine your strengths, you’re ready to find careers that match your values, interests, and talents.
To gain insight on how your interests align with different career options, take one of the assessments below. Each one only takes about 10 minutes. Answer as honestly as possible for the best results – there are no right or wrong answers!
Career Fitter »
Answer a series of questions about your preferences and how you relate to people to learn about careers that fit your strengths, work personality and ideal working environment.
Career Characteristics »
Share how much you value certain tasks and working environments to learn about jobs that line up with your interests and working style.
Ponder, journal, or sketch your response to these reflection questions to help make sense of what you’ve identified and learned about your personality, interests, and potential career options.
Tip! The more your vision matches your interests and your needs the more likely you are to have success. For example, if you are feeling tired of school and you want a break, a medical career with 7-9 years of education may not be the best fit for you at this time. Whereas, a 4-month EMT training program might be just what the doctor ordered. 🤷
Check out Ruben’s Story. He is a Chicago student whose journey took him down different pathways at two different colleges before he landed on the major that matched his talents and interests.
Use Roadtrip Nation to learn additional information about specific careers such as:
If you still are struggling to find inspiration, check out this 2-minute video, called the “Purpose Challenge”. It may help you to think about this process differently.
This will help you figure out what programs fit with the career vision you have for yourself. Do you need a 4-year degree to achieve your dreams, or will a 2-year degree or job training certification get you going faster? Check it out!
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