In the job search process, assessing skills, personality, and work values are essential for the right career choice. The O*NET Work Importance Locator is a tool that assists individuals in determining their vision of the perfect job and recognizing the occupations they might find interesting (“O*NET® Work Importance Locator™,” n.d.). This paper aims to discuss the personal experience with the Work Importance Locator tool and share the impressions of its application.
The Work Importance Locator applies a pen-and-pencil approach and uses cards with statements concerning different work values and characteristics. An individual is expected to sort out the cards based on their importance. It can take up to fifteen minutes to decide on the priority. After that, calculations need to be made to determine scores used to identify the occupations linked with the top work value. As indicated in the Work Importance Locator Score Report, my key values are achievement and independence, which suggests that my ideal job should provide an opportunity for applying my skills to get recognition. Besides, it should allow for some initiative and independent decisions. Overall, my impressions from the tool are positive as it encouraged me to reflect on my priorities and consider job options that I have not taken into account before.
The results shown by the Work Importance Locator are useful as they can help people look at occupations focusing on the characteristics crucial to their job satisfaction. Apart from personal experience, another individual’s fundamental values were determined, namely, recognition and achievement. The tool’s administration was useful for identifying fields and occupations where a person can realize their potential. Manually sorting out cards prompted me to reflect on my current professional position and gaps in knowledge and skills that need to be addressed. However, the card sort technique is less time-efficient than computerized versions, and offering a tool that automatically makes all calculations are more effective in the digital age.
Reference
O*NET® Work Importance Locator™. (n.d.). O*NET Resource Center.