The Career Key®

Solutions for School Counselors in High Schools

Download our free white papers/guides for professionals, like "Personality-College Major Match and Student Success" (new!)

Our respected career personality test, career information, career advice, and career development tools are based on the best practices and science of career development. And they are very affordable.

Based on my career in school counseling, I recommend,

1. The Career Key personality test to spark students’ exploration and good decision making. Students taking the Career Key test assess their six Holland personality types, identify career opportunities that match, get full and accurate information about each one, and download a 4-page interpretive booklet – encouraging career exploration.
   
   Research shows that a good personality-career match is a predictor of job satisfaction and success (assuming you use a valid career test). Cost? A dollar with our group discount plan.
   
   Our paper-pencil version is available through ASCA’s bookstore or our eBookStore. There is also a Spanish version.
   
   Transparency is important: the Career Key manual is online so you can review its construction, validity, reliability, and other features. There is also a comprehensive e-book version of the manual. Counselors have used our website with confidence since 1997.
   

   "About The Career Key test: Test takers were able to easily complete The Career Key test. My students found their test results helpful. The large number of matching careers and how they are organized makes career exploration more practical and useful for my students. The Career helped my students engage with the career choice process in a meaningful way. I received great value for the price I paid. The website and test were reliable and accessible on the Internet." Thank you, Maxine Bonneau Holy Name School Fall River, MA

   
   Simplicity, practicality, and validity are Career Key’s strengths. It takes about 15 minutes; results are immediate; and there are no complicated tables or abstract concepts to explain. It also provides a gateway to services unique to Career Key, like the following:
   
   
2. Choosing a Career Cluster, Career Field or Career Pathway that fits your students’ interests. This interactive article clarifies the often confusing concepts of “career clusters and “career pathways”, and helps students match their interests to career clusters and pathways (a close match is a predictor of academic success). It includes a downloadable map showing how the Holland personality types are related to these clusters and pathways.
   
   5 Steps to Choosing the Right Career Cluster, Field, or Pathway provides the full, detailed information needed in a e-book, PDF format. This research-based system is unique to Career Key (read about our ground breaking research in NCDA’s Career Convergence).
   
   
3. Strengthening students’ job skills. Job skills are what count in the workplace. Period. The Foundation Skills: Job Skills All Workers Need article describes those that are essential. And, in The Free Agent Outlook on Work students learn why marketable skills are the key to success.
   
   
4. Choosing a College Major or Training Program that fits students’ personality. A close personality-major match is vital. In this article students learn how to make this match using a 4-step decision-making process. A close personality-major match is vital. It is one of the predictors of academic success and satisfaction -- GPA and graduation. The companion e-book, Match Up! Your Personality to College Majors, links the Holland personality types to all 1300+ college majors and training programs. It is the first to do this (more on our ground breaking research).
   

   “I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for busy school counselors… Match Up! encourages a learner-centered interaction between understanding one's key personality types and occupational and training information… [It] will be of great use to students and counselors who need to provide a list of options related to personality in a quick manner... It is a great resource that provides solid information necessary for making effective career decisions.” Read more. Debra Osborn, Ph.D. President-Elect, 2010-2011 National Career Development Association

   
   
5. Making good decisions. Our article Decision Making Process teaches students this essential life and work skill. The ACIP method is practical and based on numerous research studies.
   
   
6. Using our online guide: Achieving the ASCA National Standards. It gives you practical solutions for creating an effective school counseling program, based on the ASCA National Model.
   
   
7. Involving parents in the career development of their child. Our popular article How Parents Can Help and e-book gives them valuable information and practical tips. Read what we tell parents at our website.
   
   
8. Visiting our eBookStore. We offer many high quality publications. All are offered in a “green”, sustainable PDF file that you download to your computer. Your purchase is an important way to support our efforts.
   Here are a few of our titles:
   Choosing Classes in High School
   Choosing Your College Major
   The 2010 What Job is Best for You?
   What Color are Your Feathers? Holland’s Theory and Your Career
   Advice and Actions For Making Smart Decisions
   How Parents Can Help Their Children’s Career Development
   
   
9. Linking to our website. There is no site license or cost to visiting or linking to our home page or high quality career advice articles without framing. We show no advertising and do not accept reciprocal or paid text linking. Your voluntary links help us keep our website ad-free. Nearly 2,000 non-profits, libraries, and educational institutions link to us and we welcome yours.

Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D., NCC President, Career Key.