Career Assessment

This book will help career assessors offer practical guidance that can make a real difference in people's lives. Key assessment factors include occupational interests, abilities, and personality characteristics.

Career and work contribute significantly to personal and life satisfaction—and, when they are problematic, to personal unhappiness and stress. In this comprehensive career assessment book, Rodney L. Lowman addresses the three major areas that matter the most for understanding and helping people with their career choices: occupational interests, abilities (broadly defined), and personality characteristics. Chapters examine how these factors relate to career satisfaction, how to assess them using psychometric measures, and how to integrate the results of these assessments with the clients’ specific needs and goals. Detailed case examples are included, as well as a nuanced discussion of ethics and technology.

Lowman’s career assessment model is one of the few that aims to fully integrate vocational interests, abilities, and personality characteristics—three domains that have proven their value in career assessment across a broad range of career concerns. By applying this model, career assessors can offer practical career guidance that makes a big difference in peoples' lives.

Preface

Introduction: The Interdomain Model of Career Assessment

1. Chapter 1. Scope of Career Assessment Work

I. Assessing Vocational Interests

2. Defining and Contextualizing Vocational Interests: Holland’s RIASEC Model
3. The "Big Six" RIASEC Interest Types
4. Case Illustrations and Interpreting Results

II. Assessing Career-Related Abilities

5. Conceptual Issues and General Intelligence
6. Mechanical and Physical Abilities
7. Spatial Abilities
8. Artistic/Creative Abilities
9. Social Abilities: Social and Emotional Intelligence
10. Managerial and Leadership Abilities
11. Conventional-Related Abilities
12. Other Abilities and Case Illustrations

III. Assessing Career-Related Personality Characteristics

13. Conceptual Issues and Generic Measurement
14. The Five Factor Model of Personality
15. Other Personality Characteristic
16. Case Illustrations

IV. Applying the Interdimensional Model

17. Relationships Across Interests, Abilities, and Personality Domains
18. A Step-by-Step Process for Integrating Career Assessment Data
19. Client Feedback and Report Preparation
20. Ethics and Technology

References

Rodney L. Lowman, PhD, ABAP, is president of Lowman & Richardson/Consulting Psychologists, and a distinguished professor emeritus of CSPP, Alliant International University, San Diego.

Dr. Lowman is author/editor of 13 books and monographs and over 130 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and has made presentations worldwide. His research/practice areas include assessment, career/work issues, and professional ethics.

He is a fellow of several APA divisions (1, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, and 52).

His books include Counseling and Psychotherapy of Work Dysfunctions; An Introduction to Consulting Psychology: Working With Individuals, Groups, and Organizations; and Career Assessment: Integrating Interests, Abilities, and Personality

This very practical and useful book presents a strategy for assessing and integrating the domains of interests, personality, and ability aimed at facilitating career counseling and the career choice process. In a meaningful and informative style, the author integrates theory, research, and practice across these three relevant domains.
—W. Bruce Walsh, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus; Fellow, American Psychological Association

It is rare to find a book on career assessment or, for that matter, on individual differences that presents an integrative literature review and models of abilities, personality traits, and interests. Rodney Lowman has crafted such a book, one that advances assessment and interpretation for practitioners and researchers in vocational and organizational psychology.
— James Rounds, PhD, Professor, Educational Psychology and Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Lowman had done it again! This is the best, most complete, and yet one of the most practical books for career assessment available. If you conduct career or work assessments, or plan to, this volume will be invaluable. The book covers the three main areas of career assessment, including interests, abilities, and personality, and includes an excellent summary of the theory and research of these domains. It is also a practical guide with numerous helpful case examples. Assessments are a critical part of career assessment and coaching, and Lowman provides an excellent review of the key assessments necessary to do this work.
— Jeffrey E. Auerbach, PhD, President, College of Executive Coaching; author of Personal and Executive Coaching: The Complete Guide for Mental Health Professionals

What makes Lowman’s book special is that he understands the essence and purpose of career assessment, as well as the research integrated from the many disciplines that regularly provide these data. Lowman lays out a process and examines the evidence, even identifying unresolved or still-emerging issues. This book is a comprehensive treatment of the core issues in career assessment that also addresses human diversity, technology, and ethics.
— Mark Pope, EdD, Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri–St. Louis; Recipient, Eminent Career Award, National Career Development Association (2008); President, National Career Development Association (1998–1999); President, American Counseling Association (2003–2004)